The Outerhaven Productions
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Sea of Solitude is an emotional journey with the bones of a truly gripping story of self-reflection and relativley satisfying climax, marred by its often ham-fisted writing and lack of subtlety. Even with gameplay variety as a sacrifice, the story itself does lack some nuance but tackles heavy topics headstrong in ways few games have done before.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, for lack of a better description is a modern-day Castlevania game. It's typical Koji Igarashi gameplay at its finest and fans of his works will find everything here very familiar. Lots of stuff to do, enjoyable gameplay and a game that has more than enough to offer fans of the genre. The four-year wait was worth it.
My Friend Pedro is a wonderfully short-but-sweet, shoot em' up action romp that relishes over the top gunplay and comical absurdity. Despite being functionally quirky at times, the arcade-shooter gameplay experience rewards skillful movement and weapon management whilst feeling incredibly satisfying to play well.
Sairento Untethered is a nice bite-sized version of the critically-acclaimed PCVR shooter. It's very light on content, only having five maps, but the complex movement system and vast and varied arsenal of weapons create a very high skill ceiling that will definitely keep players coming back for more. Progression and loot are disappointing overall, but mastering the locomotion mechanics provides a sense of accomplishment that few games can. Despite a substantial graphical downgrade and having only a handful of levels, Sairento's gameplay is enough to merit a few hours of fun.
Despite its many shortcomings, Far From Home VR is very much worth checking out, especially for the low price of free.
Forza Horizon 4: LEGO Speed Champions is a nice change of pace and lets you explore a world of pure imagination. With plenty to do with several brickly block cars that will have you wondering why no one has done this before.
Judgment is without a doubt the best playing Yakuza game to date. It has all of the quality of life improvements of the Dragon Engine alongside a host of new welcome features. The combat and minigames are the best they've ever been. The narrative is interesting overall, but can feel misguided and aimless at certain points.
Layers of Fear 2 provides an atmospheric horror story that uses scares to its advantage. Despite some buggy mechanics, the game contains beautiful and haunting visuals, varied gameplay, and satisfying plot elements incorporating classic films.
Trover Saves the Universe was created with a very specific audience in mind. Fans of Roiland's work will absolutely adore this game, but those who don't like his particular style of humor will find this game's writing tasteless and annoying. The game is a little weak on the gameplay front, but the hilarious dialogue and beautiful scenery more than make up for that. Trover Saves the Universe is an excellent game, but only a select group of people will enjoy it.
BoxVR is incredibly unique in that it aims to help its players get in shape and burn calories first and foremost while being a game second. That's not to say that it isn't fun, it's incredibly engaging and the huge assortment of excellently-paced routines offer enough variety to make it worth coming back to on a regular basis. This game sets a very high bar for VR fitness, and it has found its way into my daily routine.
Blood and Truth's bombastic setpieces, satisfying gunplay, and varied locales more than make up for a cliche-ridden plot and paper-thin characters. Some bugs hamper the experience, but a quick restart will fix most, if not all problems. The PSVR's tracking solution holds the game back just a bit, but the overall experience is enrapturing enough to ignore that. This is a standout VR title and a must-play for all PSVR owners.
Incredible graphics and sound help Vader Immortal overcome its short runtime and shallow story. Characters are likable and performances are stellar. The gameplay lacks depth but this isn't a problem thanks to the game's brief length. Those unhappy with how short the experience is can find extra gameplay in the lightsaber dojo. This is a must-buy for Oculus Quest owners.
This is Doom 2016 all over again. The action, the gunplay, the amazing gameplay is present. But this time, with Avalanche at the helm we also have this vast open-world fun of dynamic moments and plenty to do. Definitely don't sleep on Rage 2, because this is a game that doesn't let down as soon as you start it up. If only there was a way to get people out into the world outside of the story-based missions.
Days Gone is so clearly inspired by other pillars of video game storytelling, but it fails to meet the standards set forth by those that came before it. While there are good ideas and a lot of heart in Days Gone, it ultimately stumbles in execution and is plagued by a number of technical issues, making it hard to recommend Bend's post-apocalyptic biker adventure.
Dark Devotion has a lot going for it. Sadly, the cons outweigh the pros and drop in several systems that really need to be fleshed out before the game can shine. Until that happens, this game will leave you frustrated and lost, which isn't a good feeling.
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom brings a long dormant franchise back into the limelight for a whole new generation to enjoy.
Mortal Kombat 11 serves up everything that you would expect from an MK game. Gore, broken bones, fatalities, brutalities, great combat, and a solid netcode. The Story Mode was entertaining for a bit but felt a bit cheesy. The Towers and The Krypt are things you could skip if you don't care about cosmetics.
Yoshi's Crafted World proves that Yoshi can have a deep and fun title that everyone can enjoy. If you have a Nintendo Switch, this should be in your library.
I went into this game with the highest of hopes and the lowest of expectations. Even with the most open of minds I could possibly muster, it's still difficult to find good things to say about Generation Zero. Overall, Generation Zero's incredible atmosphere, mostly beautiful visuals, and great soundtrack feel wasted alongside countless technical issues, horrendous pacing, unbalanced combat, and an almost nonexistent story.
Fromsoftware's gamble to put down the sword and shield and take us to the Sengoku Japan period, with a lovable one-armed Shinboi has paid off. While being a fantastic hack and slash title, with an outstanding combat system that forces you to do better that's only matched by visuals and amazing sound production. Lots of action, with even more content to play through. Sekiro is one of the best gems of 2019 and I simply can't put it down.