Wccftech's Reviews
Tennis World Tour 2 is an undeniable improvement on the original release and it's also arguably a great tennis game for those who can get into it. Aesthetically, it looks good from afar, with fluid animations and speed that honestly gives the feel of a tennis match and features a wide number of game modes, giving you a lot to play through. The problem, however, is that the core game mechanics are inaccessible and unapproachable, offering no settings to reduce the reliance of awfully specific precision-based button pressing which can ruin the core career mode. A mixed bag, this will appeal for fans of tennis, but the opaque nature of the gameplay makes it too hard to recommend.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is clearly a rush job, but the game's simple, fundamentally sound action can be a real breath of fresh air at times. Unfortunately, that air is tainted by overbearing microtransactions that feel particularly crass given the game's cartoony, kid-friendly aesthetic. Battlegrounds could have been a contender if 2K had truly believed in the game, but once again, the publisher only seems to be interested in wrestling open fans' wallets.
Hades is near perfect, offering exactly what you expect and yet somehow exceeding your wildest expectations. From the art design to the gameplay to the narrative, Hades is proof of the incredible creative power that SuperGiant Games have been honing for the last nine years.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars contains three legendary games, and this package allows you to experience all of them, the way you remember them. Whether or not these games hold up as competitive, contemporary pieces of entertainment is one question, but they do serve as an amazing time machine taking me to the moments I shared with friends and loved ones years ago, and this is a perfect way for you to form new memories with yours. This is three of the very best 3D platformers of all time, at their best.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a riveting tale of high school students, the giant robotic Sentinels they pilot, and a battle against invading kaiju across multiple timelines. This Kamitani-directed JRPG would have been a better read without the cumbersome addition of combat to distract from the plot.
In Spelunky 2 you never get the same game twice, not just because the layout changes but because all the systems interact with each other to kill you in new, imaginative, and hilarious ways. It's almost impossible to put down.
BPM: Bullets Per Minute is an old-school shooter with a twist, adding in roguelike mechanics as well as rhythm-based gameplay. Jump, dash, shoot and reload to the beat to advance through a host of monster-filled levels, collecting keys, coins, equipment, and stats to try and get through the seven stages that constitute each playthrough. The gameplay is fun, fast, and frantic, it looks good and sounds great, with a perfect heavy-metal soundtrack, though there are a few flaws. A lack of enemy variety, particularly bosses, as well as level variety starts to show quickly.
Building off of the success of the Momodora series, Minoria explores a Metrovania-esque cathedral and more active combat that ultimately feels a bit weak compared to Bombservice's other titles.
Spellbreak deserves a place among the other Battle Royale greats. It breaks away from the others in the genre and does so with amazing polish, thoughtful design, and is most importantly just so much fun to play.
Peril on Gorgon, the first DLC released for The Outer Worlds, maintains all of the pros and cons we've already seen in the base game. The plot is intriguing while the characters remain the true highlight, but combat is a bit lackluster and optimization underwhelming.
Though some of the skaters might be past their prime, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is an incredible example of how some classics just never go out of style
While The Last Campfire might not be bristling with new ideas for the genre, it packs more or less every kind of puzzle you could expect and embellishes the package with immerse charm and creative ingenuity.
It's hard to escape the feeling that the current-gen version of NBA 2K21 is merely a rushed appetizer before the next-gen main course. Yes, NBA 2K21 can still be a great time, but stagnant presentation, copy-and-pasted modes and features, and new mechanics that clearly weren't fully worked out combine to make the game feel like a half-hearted buzzer beater throwaway.
Necromunda: Underhive Wars is a great strategy game, with pacing that leaves the entire experience marred. The slow crawl of progress is enough to drive you insane, but despite all of that, it's still a darn good time. If you have a lot of time free and enjoy Warhammer, this is a solid choice, but I'm praying we get an update with a game speed increase option - or a mod, for the PC version.
ATOM RPG is a game so clearly designed for mouse and keyboard on PC that you should only play it on Nintendo Switch if you already have experience with the game. Going in as a complete newbie will be a brutal lesson in patience and frustration, and you need the kind of knowledge of how to play and the ease of use that comes with the PC version first. Ultimately, that makes ATOM RPG an interesting, but incredibly difficult game to recommend.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning finally gives a second chance to one of the best role-playing games released in the previous console generation, making the gameplay even better with select balance tweaks that increase the challenge level and make it easier to engage with side content. Despite some issues and a dated gameplay design, the game's battle system, great writing and extremely deep lore make Re-Reckoning a game that most role-playing game fans will enjoy. Especially if they like juggling enemies to death.
Windbound wants to offer a deep story backed up by rewarding exploration, crafting and survival in a beautiful open world. However, it only really lands the beautiful open world part of this, with it getting close to the line with the rewarding exploration and crafting aspects. The problem is that for all it wants to offer, Windbound is just too shallow and repetitive and offers no real replay value.
WRC 9 is yet another step ahead for the WRC series from KT Racing and Nacon. However, unlike last year's outing which was a massive leap, this seems to be content to simply refine. In keeping with that, the visuals, audio, and general racing have seen improvement, as have the physics, and although there are a few bugs here and there, they're fewer and further between. There's no doubt that WRC 9 is a strong contender and should certainly be on the list for anybody who wants a great rally game.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons is a lovely looking game with some truly smart gameplay ideas, but all of that is plagued by screen-tearing, performance issues, animation bugs, and a general lack of polish in almost every aspect. After a few patches and a sale Ary could become someone's favourite game, but the fact it launched in this state is just a shame.
Crusader Kings III pulls off a difficult dual victory, bringing a new level of depth, charm, and polish to the franchise, while also making it far more approachable than before. Some aspects of Crusader Kings III still aren't as user-friendly as they could be, but overall, this is a worthy heir to the throne.