High-Def Digest
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While the game is light on extra content right now, the promise of free DLC that will expand the game dramatically could easily lead to this being the biggest 'Shantae' yet. It might not be the half-genie's best adventure to date, but it's an upbeat, extremely fun game that's well worth checking out for anyone who likes platformers.
There have been some bad PlayStation VR launch titles, but most of them just felt broken or like an extended tech demo. That isn't the case with 'Weeping Doll,' as it works as intended most of the time (although it's very easy to end up staring at the back of the protagonist's head). The faults here are far deeper, as there just isn't anything interesting to experience. It's a bland horror game that doesn't offer anything mechanically satisfying, and ends on an absolute whimper.
'Ace Banana' isn't a particularly fun game when it works, which makes all of the issues I ran into even more damning. There is room for a good archery game on PlayStation VR, but this isn't it. Its wave-based gameplay only serves to mask its lack of content, and even a charming aesthetic can't redeem this poorly designed game.
As a reviewer, I've played my share of bad video games, but honestly, few had managed to infuriate me in the ways 'Legend of Kay Anniversary' did right from the get-go. There is so much wrong with this package, from the severely outdated gameplay to the poor "remastering" job to the grating voice acting, that I truly wonder why Nordic Games decided to even give this title the time of day in the first place.
'Oh...Sir!! The Insult Simulator' feels like the kind of party game idea that devs would bandy about at a brainstorming session, briefly reminiscing about Monte Python before tossing it into the bin with the other bad ideas. Instead, Vile Monarch actually went through with making it, and I can say in no uncertain terms that it is not my cup of tea.
I have not played '7 Days to Die' on Steam and I am struggling to understand why people would choose this over some of the really excellent survival games out there. Maybe on PC it’s really great. On the Xbox One it is not.
Simply put, this game is a total disaster. It's incredibly frustrating to play, the narrative is horrific, gesture control is broken and the menu system will make you pull your hair out within 5 minutes. If there's any glimmer of positive praise for the game, it's that you will probably lose weight while attempting to play the game. Flailing my arms and legs around during each match just to register a single movement on the screen has been more intense than any Xbox Fitness workout. If you have any love for fighting games, you should avoid the 'Fighter Within' at all costs.
With two decades of gaming technology revitalizing numerous other franchises, the final product should have been a nostalgic throwback with just enough modern day spice to keep things fun (much akin to the recent 'NBA Jam' offerings), not the soul-crushing experience with a $20 price tag it turned out to be.
Platforming on the Xbox One is a neglected niche, but even with sparse competition, 'Funk of Titans' doesn't have much going for it. It's value priced, and a first time console effort, and the transition from mobile to console has not been smooth. It's a mostly drab, joyless grind fraught with control issues and beset on all sides by a low production value. It had opportunities for humor and more compelling gameplay, but doesn't capitalize on them, instead opting for shallow level design and an emphasis on quick-time events.
For a series that only has a niche following in the West, 'Touhou' really needs to put its best foot forward to win over a bigger audience. Unfortunately, this fan-game spinoff of the doujin series is not it. While not particularly terrible,'Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity' is about as middle of the road as you can get with an action RPG, and as such does not leave a good impression as one of the few English representations of the 'Touhou' series.
'Shiny' is very lightweight, too lightweight for its own good, in fact. It wants to tap into the ongoing retro platform revival that's so popular in the indie scene, but is a clunky, clumsy imitation without many redeeming qualities.
For as much as 'A.W. : Phoenix Festa' fails to capitalize on the potential of its strong ideas, there is something oddly compelling about the whole game that had me start up a second playthrough pretty much immediately after my first ending. I can't really recommend this to anyone but diehard fans of the series, but even then, it comes with the caveat that it's a flawed, rushed game. It's nice to see more titles like this brought over, but this is one that can safely be skipped.
'Necropolis' feels like an amalgamation of 'Dark Souls,' dungeon crawlers, and roguelikes. Sadly, it also seems to miss the mark on what is enjoyable about those games. The combat lacks variety, the randomized dungeon wasn't fun to explore, and technical issues keep it from ever feeling fair. If anything, it suffers from trying to do too much. When combined with the shocking exclusion of online matchmaking for cooperative play, I simply can't recommend it.
Vile Monarch’s Grzegorz and Kacper have done some awesome stuff in their career - 'This War of Mine' is a personal favorite. With 'Crush Your Enemies' I don’t know what happened. They tried to subvert the genre of mobile gaming and satirize the clickfest, and yet they just created what they were trying to parody.
A collection of good ideas held back by subpar execution, 'Ray Gigant' feels too easy and dull for its own good. I desperately wanted to love it, but outside of the soundtrack, there's little I can say I ultimately enjoyed here. For those looking to get into the genre, the developer's own 'Demon Gaze' does a tremendous job of welcoming newcomers and working as a terrific dungeon crawler in its own right. 'Ray Gigant', however, just feels hollow.
'The Collider 2' just doesn't have enough substance to make it an enjoyable experience. In fact, it even seems like in several ways to be a step back from its predecessor. There's a solid base, though, and with a few tweaks to the progression system it could be a much more enjoyable title.
The general lack of polish and content makes 'Umbrella Corps' highly disappointing. There are rare moments where the round-based gameplay really shines, but it just doesn't happen often enough to make up for the title's many other shortcomings. Similar thrills can be had in recent releases such as 'Overwatch' and 'DOOM,' so there's no shortage of superior alternatives that don't constantly disconnect or feel rushed.
Perhaps after such goodness in licensed games such as 'Arkham' and 'Mordor' I have become spoiled, but I really thought Platinum could deliver a great (or at least good) Ninja Turtles title, especially after their decent work with the Transformers. Sadly, I was mistaken. This is a very short and very weak rendition of the Turtles. With the exception of perhaps the youngest and most devoted fans of the pizza-loving reptilian brothers, it can be easily skipped.
'Laserlife' may have been successful as a tech demo of some kind, perhaps showcasing a new style of music game or abstract take on exposition in gaming. As a final product, it is woefully incomplete. It could have been more, perhaps with clearer writing, a stronger soundtrack, and precise gameplay. Even if it had those traits, it would still struggle, as the gameplay never really shines, despite its hypnotic qualities.
'Full Mojo Rampage' is a forgettable twin stick shooter that offers up very little when compared to the genre's best. It doesn't have the satisfying gameplay of 'Assault Android Cactus' nor the addictive grind of 'Enter the Gungeon.' It's more frustrating than fun, and there's little reason to ever play this when its contemporaries are so far ahead.