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Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition brings additions and fixes that make it more than worth it if you already own the game. if you have yet to play the game for yourself, you’ll be pleasantly surprised and engaged for dozens of hours. The game is also available on the Nintendo Switch, making it such a great portable game as well as a home console experience. Tribute Games continue to put a lot of time and energy into a game that is clearly made with love and care.
SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt is still a great game, but it is undoubtedly a more compact game than what’s come after this game’s original release. SteamWorld Dig offers little exploration for curiosity as it is usually out of necessity to gather as much ore as you can find to sell for cash to then buy upgrades to make Rusty more effective. If nothing else, SteamWorld Dig serves as a reminder at how much Image & Form learned from this game when making SteamWorld Dig 2 – but thankfully there’s so much more to this game to appreciate. Whether you’ve played this before or not, Image & Form make beautiful looking, sounding, and playing games that deserve to have a place in your library.
Joakim ‘konjak’ Sandberg’s Iconoclasts is a one person show that’s a decade in the making. And it pays off so incredibly well in ways you wouldn’t expect. It has its frustrations with certain boss battles, but those can be easily looked over when looking at the larger picture. The game released at a time where in our current climate in the games industry and as a people where Robin is what we all want, and need to be. Iconoclasts is a game that defies expectations and norms, and has been worth that wait.
Railway Empire is a good game held back by its own design and general bugginess. They certainly don’t make them like they used to, but this is a close facsimile of what those games were like. It’s a game that has enough depth to keep you going, but not enough to losing a whole night to it. Railway Empire comes close to greatness, but settles for just being good in the simulation and management.
While Crimsonland is a game that holds a special place in my heart, Tesla vs Lovecraft is very much like that game but with a bigger focus on storytelling and delivering a sense of place. There are thousands of things to kill from creepy crawlers to lumbering creatures, and there’s plenty of weapons and ways to do that to spill eldritch blood. Tesla vs Lovecraft is just a fantastic hybrid of shooter and RPG that maintains its momentum all the way through. Being able decimate crowds of H.P. Lovecraft’s horrors is so damn satisfying while piloting the mech.
The Deer God is an interesting, successful pairing of genres that is well presented and fun to play. What it lacks in-depth it makes up for in character, keeping the adventure light and enjoyable regardless of your experience as a gamer. Right at home on the Switch, it’s a great title to unwind with at the end of a workday, or to spend a full afternoon with on the couch.
X-Plane 11 is an extremely detailed and authentic of truly flying an aircraft. The details and lengths that Laminar Research went to is astounding. X-Plane 11 is rich with life both in the air and on the ground. Novice and veteran pilots use this for training, and the game is such that players of all skill levels will find exactly what they are looking for here. X-Plane 11 a successor to Microsoft’s Flight Simulator and is vastly superior, in just about every way.
Sky Force Reloaded is everything Sky Force Anniversary was, but bigger and better in every conceivable way. Infinite Dreams has re-imagined the scrolling shooter in inventive and exciting ways. Sky Force Reloaded is the best the series has looked, played, and felt yet. I wish Infinite Dreams would make something in the vein of their mobile series, but only for modern consoles and PCs to give it more depth rather than grind. Now, the grind is manageable, but something that not everyone will enjoy. That said, Sky Force Reloaded is still a lot of fun no matter how little or much you put into it.
The prison island of Peh is a living and breathing place, and the quests are deep and varied that you get lost in them, whether it be exploring or having a conversation. The game does a lot of different things, and does them really well in a cohesive and coherent manner that I can’t help but applaud. There are only a few issues I had with the game in terms of camera, inventory management, and its combat, but everything else is so well done and entertaining, it’s easy to forgive it. Seven: The Days Long Gone can be relentless, yes, but that’s what the plentiful saves and quicksaves you can make are for.
Gear.Club Unlimited isn’t a terrible game by any means. It just falls short. I’ll be honest in that I was expecting something more polished from the studio behind the far better Test Drive: Unlimited. Maybe if this sells, a sequel would follow that formula more. At $50 bucks though, I would pass. The game has it’s roots too far into its mobile sibling and even removing all the timers and microtransactions, $50 doesn’t feel like a good deal. Can the game be fun, sure, and being that it’s the only game of its kind on the Switch right now it’s serviceable. My recommendation though, go download the mobile version and see if you enjoy the physics. If they resonate with you then I would say give Gear.Club Unlimited a shot. Just maybe wait for a sale.
L.A. Noire is a game that feels better on this current generation of consoles over the last. The ability to replay cases gives plenty of reasons to get perfect ratings on each one. The investigations are deep, and rewarding as you solve each one. L.A. Noire has been given a second chance, and while flawed it is like nothing else out there today. Whether you are returning to 1940s Los Angeles, or starting new, L.A. Noire being remastered for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch is worth every bit of the experience, like a modern day adventure game.
Outcast Second Contact is a neat idea and one that I wish brought Outcast updated mechanics and controls. Instead of being something that can bring in new fans, it feels like an attempt to just update the visuals and that’s it. New updates to all these features, new voice acting, and perhaps some more ease of use and quality of life improvements could have gone a long way to making this more than it is. As it stands, it’s a fascinating look at an old game with new visuals and that’s about it. The game hugely impacted and helped shape and mold what we have known to become open world games, but it’s not caught up yet with all the new improvements in today’s standards for this release. If a sequel does ever see the light of day, I’d love to see how they can actually refine and perhaps mold new open world games into become something more. If the first game could help start a genre, let’s see if a second one could improve and rejuvenate it. Outcast Second Contact is an experience most will likely want to leave in the past, new visual upgrades or not.
I still enjoyed Call of Duty: WWII, more so the multiplayer over the campaign, but it had its moments that kept me invested throughout. The multiplayer feels "back to basics" like what Modern Warfare Remastered did last year that I really enjoy. It's easier to keep track of people and removes a lot of the verticality the latest entries has introduced, for better or worse. Call of Duty: WWII feels like a much-needed reset for the genre-defining series.
Tower 57‘s old school approach to twin-stick shooters in the modern era failed to impress as a complete package. Parts of it on their own like the visuals, physics, upgrades, and elemental properties are all really cool, but the core combat and traversal of Tower 57 really ruined the experience. Pixwerk is comprised of two individuals, one a veteran and one newcomer to game development, and there’s some really great ideas trapped behind retro ideas. I like what’s on offer here, but it comes cautiously recommended.
Harmonix, the fine folks who brought us some of our favorite rhythm games over the years, has a brand new title available on the Nintendo Switch. A cute family friendly rhythm game that brings the rhythm genre to its basics; a fun and easy one to hop into that the whole family can enjoy.
Nioh: Complete Edition is worth every penny and hour of time you put into it, which will be over 100 hours of playtime. No matter how often you die, or what you do, you’re making progress. That second boss is still way too hard, but everything that comes before and after it is so good. This is the most refreshing take on the Dark Souls style of game, and is well executed. The use of historical figures and supernatural abilities create for a unique atmosphere.
Offering more of the same, but for the better, Hand of Fate 2 is more of what you liked, none of what you didn't over the original. Defiant Development have done exactly what you need to do for a sequel, improve and cut out the fat. The improved missions and importance of character creation and development make it feel more personal and like your story, rather than playing someone else's. Hand of Fate 2 offers a lot of variety you would have to play several other games to get in the quality that's available here.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus has a campaign I highly implore people play. The pacing is all over the place, but its quick emotional shifts are to the game’s benefit – one moment has you seething with what you’ve just witnessed, and others have you laughing at the well-timed humor in contrast to a world so wrought with evil. Bethesda has resurrected the most iconic first-person shooter franchises, and MachineGames have elevated the genre with Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
I found Spintires: MudRunner to be an improvement over the original, but not enough to come fully recommended. The physics and simulation that goes into the game puts Euro Truck Simulator to shame. It does seem that Saber Interactive really went through the list of complaints, even adding a model of a driver to the barren cockpits of the prior game. But it seems no matter the improvements, the game is only as good as much as you enjoy the challenge and desire to make it to your destination – if the terrain lets you.
With all these new systems, it distracts from how great Forza is to play and how gorgeous it is to look at. The dynamic weather is magnificently done and the night races are a hoot to race in. You can feel the road surface changing to the weather and your car responding accordingly. It’s such an amazing game to drive. It’s sad that there are now credit draining hoops you have to go through. New level restrictions placed upon you; creating this vision of a roadblock keeping you from playing a Forza game your way. Not something Turn 10 has forced upon players in the past. Then there is the ever looming threat of those pesky loot boxes. Forza Motorsport is my comfort food, my mac and cheese if you will. It always has been. It’s sad that I have to tear into extra layers of packaging before I can enjoy my meal this year.