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Overall, Teslagrad 2 is a fun and engaging and succinct platformer, with superb presentation, and great environmental narrative design. If you're in the market for a varied and engaging puzzle platformer I would recommend giving Teslagrad 2 a spin.
As a Star Wars game, Survivor has some very big boots to fill and given the lore contained in this universe and fan expectations, I can safely report that it successfully expands on the first game and on the PlayStation 5 delivers a true next-gen experience. Sure there are a few slight gameplay glitches here and there, however as a whole it is a very polished game from its fine-tuned gaming mechanics, Star Wars inspired graphics, wonderful narrative and characters, including the music, sound effects and voice acting, In the end, Respawn Entertainment efficaciously draw you into the character of Cal Kestis as you fight the good fight to keep the "dark side" at bay.
Overall, I honestly believe that Stray Blade could've been something a lot greater than what it ended up being. Having said that there is room for the developers to fix these little niggling issues and make this into a game worthy of your money. At the moment this title is a souls like for beginners, but even then would not prepare you to put on your big boy pants and play a game that is harder. There are too many technical issues regarding input delay and general timing to ever make you better than what this game will allow you to be right here and now.
Is Front Mission 1st: Remake as good as Advance Wars? Well no, but it is still a lovingly crafted remake and a decent strategy game with a compelling narrative and fun mech customisation. I just wish Forever Entertainment had spent more time modernising and refining the gameplay experience, rather than just the presentation.
For those that clamour for the modern world of over-the-shoulder shooting and action horror, Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a hard sell. Your character moves at a glacial pace and the small bursts of action are broken up by a lot of backtracking, puzzles and hunting for shiny objects in dark rooms. Ghost fights can also become an exercise in tedium, especially on higher-difficulty settings.
Strayed Lights is a decent game with some good ideas but can't use them to their full potential. The gameplay and enemy design will become repetitive after a while, but the narrative design of it is bold and something we don't see often. Strayed Lights isn't the best indie game of this year but it is worth a play if you are looking for something new.
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is one of those games that you will want to strap in and play through, because the story is so compelling.
Minecraft Legends is an RTS-lite Minecraft experience that feels like Pikmin at times. While not the most difficult strategy game on the market, it will suit those gamers who love the Minecraft universe and will give you enough incentive and enjoyment to keep playing in the end. Once it's all done and as the maps are procedurally created, you can start again for a slightly different experience.
Ghostwire: Tokyo on the Xbox Series X successfully creates an interactive Japanese horror movie on this next-gen console that is filled with scares and enjoyable gaming moments. Best of all, this version has all the latest updates and improvements that really fine-tunes this gaming experience.
Dredge is the first indie game of 2023 that will surprise you. The overall simplicity of this game will at first deceive you and afterward, you will appreciate this decision and how everything is synchronized with each other. Maybe the quest designs were too simplistic, but the other aspects of the game, especially the music is so good, that you would eventually forget about it.
So after all that… is it worth it? Well it is a decent price and no doubt will go on special from time to time. If you were hoping for more of the first games dynamics and fun… you may well be disappointed here, but if you simply want to know a bit more about some of the characters from before the events in Road 96… then it could be worth grabbing a copy. At the very least I'd suggest waiting for a sale because even at the low price… there are just too many elements of the game that are disappointing. A halfhearted recommendation at best I'm afraid.
If you have some younger gamers who want a bit of a puzzle game with a magical touch then this could be a good choice, especially if you don't mind playing the game with them.
Overall though I continue to find the Shadow Warrior games a lot of fun… it's nice to have a different main character to the muscle bound blond balls of brawn we are usually provided. Lo Wang is the hero we don't deserve… but he's all we've got… and it's a lot of fun playing as him.
I'm really enjoying Crime Boss Rockay City and highly recommend it! If you have a soft spot for the cast then that's a good draw card… but if you have a big ol' spot of nostalgia for music of the 90's… it will be hard to suppress the smile as you enter a shopping mall only to hear Freestyler playing. If you want a great heist game that involves a bit more thinking and planning than GTA or even Payday… grab a copy!
Peppa Pig World Adventures on the Xbox Series is a fun game for younger gamers and is the perfect match if they love the TV series Peppa Pig. All in all, it successfully creates an interactive Peppa Pig experience with basic gaming mechanics.
Overall I think Gripper is a fairly fun and unique game, however, my main drawback is its price. For $29.50 AUD, I don't believe the game is providing that much value for its asking price, given that you can beat the game in only an hour or two. Sure you can farm old bosses, but you'd have to really be in love with the game to fight the same boss over and over again, and unfortunately, I wasn't.
Atelier Ryza 3 certainly does have depth below its pretty surface – having said that, it is unfortunate that you'll be diving into that depth without adequate assistance on the gameplay side of things. It's funny how in some way, playing the game actually brought me right back to my uneducated thoughts about the series before experiencing it – the characters and aesthetics really are the best parts, or at least the easiest parts to like. For better and for worse, the backbone of the Atelier Ryza 3 experience is its complex crafting system – so if that sounds appealing, I think you'll have a good time with the game. Even when taking that away though, it's still a pretty decent JRPG with fun characters, a beautiful overworld to traverse and a good amount of content to keep you busy.
A well presented game that despite its charm presents a decent challenge
Relive the arcade days without the constant loss of coins.
The ever evolving Pinball FX is back with the third iteration and lots of fun!