Wccftech's Reviews
Rocket Arena might have some explosive potential as a casual 3v3 competitive shooter but the bright and colorful aesthetics and gameplay where no one dies and everyone's a winner have a major clash with the game's reliance on both twitch and precision aiming.
Creaks renovates a well-worn genre, delivering one of the most satisfying indie puzzle-platformers in some time. Between its stunning visual and audio design, absorbing world, and perfectly-balanced puzzles, it's hard to find serious fault with any part of this game's construction. If you're a fan of puzzles or Amanita Design's past games, you need to grab a flashlight and delve in.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is the best Paper Mario game I've played in over a decade, and yet I'm still feeling let down. While it's incredibly endearing and genuinely funny, it's also painfully boring and the thought of playing it again puts me straight to sleep. There will undoubtedly be massive fans of Paper Mario: The Origami King, but I can't say I'm one of them. A lovely action adventure game, but essential for no one.
Ghost of Tsushima is Sucker Punch's best game yet and a great open world title capable of measuring to some of the biggest names in the genre. The excellent rendition of feudal Japan, along with its well-written characters and story, make Ghost of Tsushima stand out as the last must-have PlayStation 4 exclusive.
Orcs Must Die 3 is a captivating, funny, and varied tower defense/action game hybrid best suited to those that don't want to just be armchair generals. But with a massive difficulty spike halfway through the campaign, it doesn't quite find the perfect balance.
With production values that are through the roof and an extremely engaging story, Death Stranding is among Hideo Kojima's best games. The moment-to-moment gameplay, however, falls short due to its repetitiveness, and the long stretches without any real action make it difficult to recommend the game to all open-world fans. Death Stranding is something different, and only approaching it with an open mind will reveal the brilliance of its themes, its characters and its hauntingly beautiful dystopian world.
SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE is an engaging, albeit shallow experience. The combat is outstanding and still one of the best you can experience, only enhanced by the new abilities featured in this standalone. However, where the combat has improved, the taut and well-thought-out nature of the levels is lost due to the roguelike nature of the game, with the thought and surprise of the originals story lost in what is mostly meandering waffle here. Is it a good game? Yes, it's well worth playing if you just want the combat. If you want more, you'll likely be disappointed.
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is as bonkers as you'd expect and fans will no doubt enjoy catching up with Agent York, but a lack of atmosphere, dull action, serious technical issues, and the creeping sense that Swery is becoming a touch too self-aware conspire to kill the fun. Deadly Premonition 2 is for the hardcores – most other folks can safely close their investigation after finishing the first game.
F1 2020 does as much as can be expected from Codemasters, offering an oustanding racing experience on the track. Where it goes further is off of the track, bringing in an incredibly extensive My Team mode, as well as fleshing out the career mode with a full Formula 2 season. With a massive amount of content, great racing and quality throughout, it's hard not to love the game. The only real issue I have is the inclusion of the new Podium Pass (battle pass) system, adding a microtransaction for cosmetics.
Trackmania is a nice addition to the series, one that looks and sounds great and, even when it's incredibly frustrating, it's fun. The downside is the new monetisation system, a subscription service that looks like it could segregate the community. The game is very extensive and if the audience picks it up, it could be great for the same reason the other Trackmania games were: user-created content using an outstanding track creator and editor.
Ninjala's action doesn't always deliver and the combat can feel unresponsive or slow when you're on the receiving end of attacks, but despite that, Ninjala is an excellent free to play multiplayer title that every Switch player should try out. If you like Splatoon but want something a bit different, this is a great game to play. Just don't expect the story DLC to blow you away. At least it's cheap…
Crayta is yet another game that serves as a platform for user-created content. Despite the competition, it still manages to stand out and not just because the game is on Google Stadia. With its focus on multiplayer experiences and experimental design, this could become a fantastic library of titles once the community starts generating its own products.
With its excellent world-building and intriguing story, P.A.M.E.L.A could have been a great survival game, but it sadly fails to reach the must-have status due to a variety of issues. The game can still be an enjoyable experience, but how much really depends on the player's tolerance for mediocre combat, bad enemy AI and the many technical issues.
The Anno History Collection is as the name implies, a collection of the historical Anno titles. Unlike other re-releases that have come out recently, this isn't a remaster or a remake, with the games coming in their original glory with a few tweaks to enable modern resolutions, allow the games to run smoothly and allow you to play online. Is that enough to justify the high price? That's up for debate, as is the value you'll get out of each of the four titles, with the age of the first two really showing. You can, however, buy the titles separately. So do I recommend it? The games are good and there's a massive amount of content, it's down to you if you're happy playing some (admittedly great) older games with few noticeable advancements.
Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade is a rock solid collection of Taito classic shooters in one package that can be listed more premium than casual fans may be willing to pay.
Despite some interesting mechanics that make the game feel like a true adaptation of a tabletop RPG, The Dark Eye: Book of Heroes is a cRPG that needed a lot more time in the oven. With some technical issues to boot, it is really impossible to recommend the game in its current state to any type of RPG enthusiast, as there are classic and modern games that offer much better experiences.
Pokémon Sword and Shield's Isle of Armor Expansion gives the game the best environment and world design Pokémon has had in any 3D game, mainline, or spin-off, but very little else. If you're a Pokémaniac who is dead-set on completing another Pokédex, you'll love this, but if you want to do something other than filling out a list, this is not for you. This is not the whimsical world-traveling adventure mainline Pokémon games are, this is just boring.
Summer in Mara can be endearing and sometimes evokes the spirit of better games like Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, and Wind Waker, but poor UI, confusing mechanics, and repetitive quest design harshes the game's mellow vibe. Perhaps Summer in Mara can be improved with updates, but for now, I'd only book myself on this island cruise at a discount.
Samurai Shodown is a great fighter that looks beautiful, and deserves a much bigger audience than it has - but as of right now, there aren't enough players online to satisfy fighting game fans, and there isn't enough singleplayer content for more casual fans. The new characters that have been added since launch are great, but Samurai Shodown still feels like a game that needs an overhaul. I still have my fingers crossed that the future of Samurai Shodown and SNK will be bright, but I still have my doubts.
Valorant doesn't stray too far from Riot Games' plethora of hero-focused titles. With the fusion of high-level gunplay and hero mechanics, Valorant is both highly competitive and unfortunately too highly skill focused for casual players to enjoy.