Saving Content
HomepageSaving Content's Reviews
Stronghold: Warlords gets more right than it doesn’t. The unique East-Asian factions that this game provides is a much needed change from the medieval times we’re used to. It’s more RTS than fans of the series will bargain for, and the warlords system is interesting but has its fair share of issues. The game’s attractive pricing should sway anyone on the fence. Stronghold: Warlords is refreshing take on the Stronghold series, but doesn’t quite execute on its new ideas fully — it’s a bit outdated, but not antiquated.
It’s fair to say that RetroMania Wrestling achieves in making the sequel it wants to be by having the gameplay, pixel art, and sound that feels like it came from the SNES era for wrestling fans — albeit for those who follow more wrestling that isn’t WWE. The roster is shallow, and may not be what you want or expect, but it does have talent worthy of being here. The story mode is incomplete, and the flow of combat is often interrupted – these are the real problems. Yet, I can’t help but enjoy everything RetroMania Wrestling has to offer here, even though it doesn’t have staying power.
Without having played the original RUNE II at launch last year, I lack the understanding of the state that game was in. RUNE II: Decapitation Edition appears to be an improvement in just about every aspect. This game suffers from standard open-world problems like repetitive quest design, uneven visuals, and stiff dialogue; some of these things I suspect can’t be helped or fixed. For what issues remain, they don’t detract from the fact that I’m constantly booting up RUNE II: Decapitation Edition to begin the next quest. It can be a bit mindless, but it’s not aimless. I think it’s safe to say that RUNE II: Decapitation Edition has been saved from its own destruction by some passionate developers, and it delivers an enjoyable open-world RPG that has some rough edges, and should be given another chance at life.
While WWE 2K21 was canceled for this year, I found WWE 2K BATTLEGROUNDS to be a solid replacement. While they are not facsimiles to one another, it fills the gap nicely. I think there’s valid concerns with the microtransactions, but for the most part isn’t egregious or tacky. The game’s biggest modes are chock full of content for hours of entertainment, and even the remainder of the modes are fun to play with its stylized visuals. The longevity will lie in its multiplayer modes, and crossplay deepens the player pool. WWE 2K BATTLEGROUNDS is an ultracompetent brawler that doesn’t try to be more than it is, which is a really entertaining take on wrestling.
Crysis was a technical marvel thirteen years ago, and in some respects still is. It was the game to beat in terms of graphics and benchmarks for so many years. Crysis Remastered tries to insert itself into that conversation again, but it’s just not there yet. It’s clear that Crytek and Saber Interactive have made some mistakes here, with removing features deemed essential to the experience, cutting a level inexplicably, and making visual changes that affect the mood. It’s not a mediocre remaster, just disappointing and hamstrung in places you wouldn’t expect. Crysis Remastered is still a solid science-fiction shooter sandbox, lacking things that are supposed to be the barometer of PC gaming excellence in favor for what seems to be console compromises.
Is a dungeon still a dungeon if the majority of the levels are above ground? Well, the game doesn’t seem to need or want to answer this. When The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos isn’t crashing or displaying incorrect text, it’s actually a challenging game that provides some well-earned laughs. The combat can be lengthy, and even sometimes frustrating, but very rewarding when you scrape by with a victory. When you divorce the conflicting ideas being humorous and a hardcore tactical RPG, while ignoring the graphical faults, there is an enjoyable game in The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos. You just have to dig a bit deeper to find it.
Windbound seeks to move beyond the “emergent story through gameplay” standard among survival games, and while it succeeds somewhat, I think it still has some room to grow. There are also some balance issues with some of the systems that the developers have talked about tuning post-launch, so it is entirely possible that Windbound will grow into something that feels overall really polished, but at present it just isn’t quite hitting all the right notes for me. There’s a lot to like about Windbound, and maybe with a little more time and care, there will be a lot to love. For now, it’s a strong concept with some really well implemented mechanics that just leaves me wanting for the better, more fleshed out version of this same thing. In the meantime though, it is a joyful, bright game that has enough going for it that you may want to keep dipping your toes back in. Just know that the waters may be a tad more shallow than they appear.
Hotshot Racing has these early 90s SEGA vibes like SEGA Rally and Virtua Racing, but the performance issues hurt the sense of speed and feeling that it’s going for. The modern-retro look and feel works well with the low-polygon environments and cars, yet crisp textures and no aliased edges. The racing itself offers different styles for all kinds of players, and the boost mechanic is really clever. Hotshot Racing lacks the overall staying power of more modern racers, but it’s sure to occupy your time online and off.
More of a rough stone than a dazzling gem, Raji is glimmering with potential in lots of important ways and has some truly wonderful moments, but leaves something to be desired in terms of polish and consistency, especially where player movement is concerned. Overall this is a solid debut effort from a new developers and I suspect that the Steam version might be the one to play when it comes out later this year. Still, even with its flaws, Raji: An Ancient Epic offers a unique experience and a great story that are worth seeing, if you can get past the rough edges.
I understand that the change in developers would cause 704 Games from touching too much, fearing too big a change could break it. It also gives them time to focus on next year’s product, as they become more familiar with the game engine and code left behind from Monster Games. It’s such a shame that they stalled the momentum they gained from the previous releases, though. Here’s hoping that with the next NASCAR Heat title, they will make some strides in improving the career and continue to deliver a fun racing experience.
Rock of Ages 3: Make and Break is not a bad game by any stretch, but what was once a promising, unique idea is itself beginning to feel somewhat rote. The game looks great and runs very well, and playing it is absolutely a fine experience, I just never really felt the pull to keep going and had to dig to find the fun in all of it. It may just be series fatigue, and the fact that I played Rock of Ages 2 a little over a year ago, but for all that Rock of Ages 3 adds to its own pantheon of tricks, it doesn’t quite go far enough for me to eagerly recommend it, which is a shame because it may be the most robust offering in the series yet. There’s definitely joy to be found here, but only for the right person who either really loves Rock of Ages, or somebody who’s been waiting for just the right time to jump in.
Bite the Bullet is mostly worth what they’re asking for it. It’s an unfocused gem, relying on a lot of mechanics, systems, and subsystems that gets in its own way. The traditional run and gun gameplay is amplified by being able to eat almost everything in sight, and the artful precision one must employ keeps you always thinking when other games wouldn’t. Bite the Bullet is a clever, but flawed game drenched in nostalgia that never existed, while also reminding you to be careful what you eat.
For all of its frustration and foibles, Skully's traversal and puzzles make-up the most interesting parts of the game to keep you invested. With a story that manages to actually hit emotionally, it balances out the missteps of the platforming. The collectibles are rather unexciting and the color palette of earth tones lends itself to looking bland, but it'll surprise you. Much like the character, Skully is unassuming and meek, and will fill you with wonder throughout.
The underpinnings of a great racing sim are here, but for Assetto Corsa to branch out and hit that next level, it needs more next time. They have a physics engine that feels good, even if it’s too temperamental with a gamepad. The cars and the environments are stunning to look at, even if it’s not the best you’ll find on a PS4. It can even be fun to play, but with how dry the game feels, there isn’t any incentive for those other than your hardcore endurance sim fan to continue racing.
Ultimately, Munch’s Oddysee as a game hasn’t aged particularly well. It shows very plainly that it was made in a transitional era, when 3D adventure games were still coming into their own and finding ways to create purpose for themselves. The charm of the Oddworld franchise is here of course, and performance of the game is excellent. As far as ports go, this is about as solid as you could ask for, but all of the improved performance mostly serves to center the shortcomings and frustrating mechanics of this awkward duck. For longtime fans of the Oddworld series, this is a fine way to revisit Munch’s Oddysee, but I don’t know that there’s much joy to be had here for anybody who isn’t a staunch fan, an avid collector, or a dedicated archivist.
ELDERBORN spent five years in development to include Steam Early Access, and it doesn’t feel like enough still. It’s an unremarkable, yet interesting bite-sized Souls-like that’s worth playing, but at a discount. There’s a lot of squandered opportunity here, but the small team at Hyperstrange clearly has passion and talent. ELDERBORN wears its influences on its sleeve, and I can appreciate that.
realMyst: Masterpiece Edition on Switch is a curious to me. I think that on paper, it makes a lot of sense to bring Myst to the Switch, but the execution leaves something to be desired for me, especially when talking about a game that isn’t exactly new and doesn’t seem like it ought to be taxing from a performance perspective. It seems that the game could have benefited from some additional optimizations for the platform, and perhaps those could come in the future, though I wouldn’t hold my breath for that. That having been said, Myst itself is a great game, arguably one of the all-time greats, and none of the things that make Myst so special are changed by the issues with this particular release. It’s a great opportunity to connect with your gaming nostalgia, and if the Switch is your platform of choice, you can still get a great deal of enjoyment out of realMyst: Masterpiece Edition. It is far from a perfect port, but it is the same beloved game it always has been, and like an old friend slightly worse for the wear, you’ll still be glad for the chance to spend some time with it.
For a game that’s so dependent on its art style to drive home much of its personality, character interactions and the story are left to carry the weight of completing the sense of immersion, and most of the time that load is too great for them to bear on their own. The Outer Worlds on Switch just doesn’t land well without all of the aspects working together in concert. I’m not saying the game is unplayable, it just feels like the experience is severely hamstrung and it’s hard to get a proper sense of enjoyment out of it. There’s still fun to be had, but it comes in fits and starts, and it really doesn’t stand up to any of the other platforms the game is available on. If the Switch is your only gaming system, you’re really hankering for a space adventure, and you don’t mind or notice technical problems, then there may be something here for you. Otherwise, you’d do well to play elsewhere. To paraphrase the game itself, the Switch version of this game isn’t the best choice, it’s… well, you know the rest.
It’s evident that 80’s OVERDRIVE takes inspiration from games like Outrun and Rad Racer, and thankfully does a lot new things to separate itself from what came before it. The racing feels good, and is backed by an appropriate synthwave soundtrack. However, later races have too much going on and with some randomness of collisions will force you to restart more often than you’d like. Some issues aside, 80’s OVERDRIVE is a solid racer with depth in a gorgeous and vibrant palette.
Over the course of fifteen or so hours to see the game to completion, Iron Danger offers a good challenge, even on the default normal difficulty. The ability to infinitely bend time to your will to fine-tune encounters to perfection can be really satisfying. Its biggest detriment is how clunky and unpolished it all feels. That said, Iron Danger is really fun, and completely distinct from every other tactical combat game you’ve played. And for that, it should be on your radar.