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Minit is an adventure with a twist—an adventure that turns into work, and a twist that turns into as much of an anchor as any unfulfilling day job.
Detective Pikachu may be for elementary school kids (my dear Watson) but it's still a welcome addition to the extended Pokémon spin-off universe.
I'm in a weird place because I know that Surviving Mars is probably excellent for someone who is not me. If you enjoy Paradox games like Crusader Kings II but not city builders, then this is probably a great bridge for you to relax and play. If you like managing numbers, resources, and people, then this is the game for you. What I wanted was a more freeform experience that allowed me to design and fiddle with Martian landscapes to my heart's content, and this is not the game for that.
At its best, The Fall Part 2 feels more humanist and tactile in its approach to discussing self-preservation and how such desires lead to the defining of one's self.
If you commit and dig in, you'll be rewarded with that rare feeling of accomplishment in a videogame. Not because you leveled up or because you managed to get one over on the game, but because the puzzle feeling of Into The Breach makes the game appear to be extremely fair. I never feel like I've been tricked when I lose, and I never feel like I've done something out of bounds when I win.
Dynasty Warriors 9 exists at the nexus of a lot of different desires on the player community side and the development side. I just want to wander around inside a big space and win epic battles in long-ago China while coveting the throne. That's what I'm in it for, and that's what it delivers. If you're in it for that, you might like it too.
As a person who enjoys the stories and characters of the Final Fantasy franchise, I'm immediately more likely to be invested in Dissidia NT and what it's offering me. However, that's not enough; I need to love these characters and this complicated and opaque game type, and truly enjoying the heart of it isn't really possible for me.
It's very effective at reinforcing the material and committing the facts to memory. The game is a bit too short (the big reveal is never given a chance to really build to its full effect), and I feel it ended a bit abruptly, but after the credits as the events came to a close, I was intrigued by the hint at a later installment. In A Case of Distrust, the verdict is in: guilty of being an enjoyable game.
I enjoy tracking monsters, and using their resources to advance scientific research, but I also love spending time away from the hunt where I can learn the movements of not just the giant monsters but the smaller animals, too. Sure, any animal can be hunted, and I know the name of the game means some will have to die. But the moments of observance recreate the circle of life more than the game's story and left me most excited to return to Astera with my new discoveries, whether they were monster parts or something less grisly.
This is both the fighting game and Dragon Ball spin-off I never realized I always wanted. The production values are better, and the narrative tension is vastly improved. Given how Dragon Ball FighterZ amps up the drama on existing Dragon Ball storylines, increases engagement by allowing the player to take dialogue sequences at their own pace, and puts a polished, beautiful spin on the old cartoon, this isn't just my favorite Dragon Ball game. It's my favorite Dragon Ball anything.
The vibrant use of color and warm, stylistically varied score elevate the retro aesthetic beyond mere homage. Although the game's story feels slightly hampered by the practical necessities of its play, it's still a touching and occasionally insightful depiction of what it's like to live with anxiety and depression. And the mountain, as in every work of art that has ever featured a mountain throughout the history of human expression, remains a metaphor.
Fittingly, a game that is about getting cake is really more of a snack than a meal; you won't find a robust narrative in the Story Mode of Kirby Battle Royale. Like a pastry, the game is mostly empty calories and air. But it's still satisfying, even if it isn't filling, and makes for a happy addition to my 3DS library.
Innerspace has all of the things I like in a game. It has an evocative plot, some well-executed flying and diving mechanics, and some tricky puzzles that genuinely require paying attention to the game world around you. All of this is, sadly, perched on top of a visual mode that made the game literally unplayable for me. A glorious few hours was all I could manage, but maybe you have the fortitude of eye and body to make it through the entire experience. I wish that I could.
The novelty of Never Stop Sneakin's gameplay wears off after a certain number of hours, but the charm of the game's presentation is always intact.
I didn't expect to make room in my heart for one more game this year, but Gorogoa was worth the effort. As a palette cleanser rounding out my year in games, Gorogoa is the perfect snack.
player contests and player vs. environment puzzles. Currently, Hello Neighbor tries to have its cake while eating it too, and everyone goes home disappointed when that happens.
If you're in for some meditative classic gaming, Hyakki Castle is for you. It's a game that knows exactly what it is, and it has no interest in punishing you or making you feel like you don't get it. It's a friendly, old-style game that wants you to succeed, and that seems to be less and less present now. It also has cat people in it.
Like a great novel or a TV show that you're binging, you'll start to think about Chronicles when you're not playing it. You might even dream about it.
Jokes aside, Battle Chef Brigade is pure fun, which as this horrific year wraps up and I throw myself into epic holiday preparations, is just what I needed. With its anime sensibilities and a play style that even my mom likes and appreciates, I suspect it will have strong generational appeal and make for a great family game. I can't recommend it enough.
The campaign focuses on the valiant pursuit of freedom from tyranny, the online (when it works) is once again based on personal growth and progression through experience points and loot drops, and then the zombie lark is pure pulp fantasy. This is standard for games, of course, but this clash of tones and themes is rarely as glaring as with WWII. And because none of these disparate components feel fresh or new on their own, it makes the overall package feel even less like the sum of its parts. Perhaps with a more inspired direction, one similar to that scene where Rousseau tensely explores a Nazi headquarters, the seams wouldn't be as glaring.