The Cube's Reviews
Steredenn is my contender for the best twinstick shooter of 2016, and I hope it stays this way. While it doesn’t necessarily carve it’s own niche, it does so many things right that it’s rightfully hard to complain. Instead, I’m just having too much fun to worry about specific nitpicks, and let the great gameplay seep back in.
Tumblestone is the corner stone of what an eighth generation Match 3 game should be, even with one or two glaring flaws. It’s central ideas feel so invigorating in a more and more mobile generation, and Tumblestone takes the outsider path, to devastating effect for it’s competition.
Coming off of Ziggurat, it seemed like Milkstone Studios could rule the world, but with every studio, there’s some missteps along the way to the next lauded achievement. Pharaonic is unexciting as it is uninspired, and doesn’t give a good future to the space it’s so willingly trying to occupy. In other words, Egypt fell.
Full Mojo Rampage is another excellent game from Nicalis, that carries the torch for roguelike shooter mashups into the coming years. It's smart and creative, and holds challenge that is tough to overcome, but never insurmountable. If you need a great summer indie game, you may have just found your choice.
Lost Sea is a game that could have been better with a bigger workforce or a better focus. While there was some passion poured in, so much feels cheap and or forceful. It’s a real shame, because you only get a game with a great premise like this so often.
Strategy players can revel in the light that is Total War: Warhammer. Aggressive turn based conquest gameplay mixed with oceans of real-time clashes between foes taken from the depths of Warhammer will capture the eyes of many gamers who may have turned blind to it's table-top counterpart, and at the same time allows old fans to play a slightly different version of the game with people from all over the globe both competitively and cooperatively.
Drawful 2 is an excellent, although mechanically unsubstantial sequel to a hit party game. A small portion of gamers might be disappointed at the lack of true changes, but the hilarity outweighs the innovation, and for good reason. Drawful 2 is a comedic masterpiece.
Fallout 4: Contraptions Workshop could have been an acceptable DLC if the work wasn’t so strenuous. It’s great to see everything in motion, but simply not worth the effort. I understand that Bethesda can’t crack out great story DLC every second and have to cater to every players needs, but this is an insignificant step in making settlements great again.
Robot Arena 3 is a special kind of poor game, mostly because it’s premise is so outstanding. It could easily be the next Rocket League with enough polishing and balancing, but playing the game in practice wipes statements like that from my head. While some of it is salvageable in it’s current form, I hope things can be done better next time.
Grand Kingdom is the best non-traditional role playing game I've played this year, and may even take a place on my end of the year list once I fully take in how outstanding it is. But right now, I'm doing things I couldn't have dreamed of being fun yet are, a common trademark of Grand Kingdom's incredible design.
It didn't seem this way at first, but ImageForm proved Steamworld Heist to be the next logical step after Steamworld Dig. On top of fabulous gameplay and overall intuitiveness, it grasps a personality some other indie games could only dream of. Just get ready for a fun space challenge.
Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator is the best fighter of 2016, and with Injustice 2 being released not even in the next six months, I'm pretty certain it will keep that title. It's attention to detail is refreshing, it's models inventive, and it's gameplay hooking and enormous in depth. It's hard to think that fighters can get any better than this, but Guilty Gear continuously sets the bar.
Mech Land Assault is an acceptable, but not substantial addition to Just Cause 3’s DLC vault. It goes nicely with the previous chunks, but time will have to tell if it completely changes the landscape compared to what else the game will provide in the future. Otherwise, the mechs are the true and only standout.
Broken Bots is the next essential Playstation 4 competitive indie game, and I hope it finds an audience. It’s design elements are smart and rival what’s traditionally seen in it’s genre, and just enough content is there that replayability should last a good while. Overall, it’s a pleasant and greatly enjoyable experience.
If you were eyeing Soul Axiom, I'd say buy Master Reboot or stay clearly away. Wales Interactive has done much greater things in the past, which makes this all the more jarring. Now, I just hope their critical and commercial pinnacle isn't faded away due to a failure like this.
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is an excellent JRPG, and is recommended for anyone wary of the niche after frequent missteps. There’s still a few problems here and there (which could be a bit embarrassing considering it’s the 17th game in the series) but the innovation isn’t overloaded and instead natural.
Hitman’s third episode would have been barely acceptable in non-episodic fashion, but the value both in replay-ability and price starts to diminish when placed elsewhere. I still appreciate the detail in all the locales, but it’s clear the game needs to mature beyond another point.
Fenix Furia is an above acceptable platformer that should reside in the library of any modern console owner looking for a great indie treat. The content’s there, the action too, and it’s a great choice to play with a friend, family member, or significant other. It may not be the most innovative, but it’s another one that proves that doesn’t have to always be the case.
I would recommend getting There Came An Echo if you're looking for a different strategy game, with some light flaws. While it may not be as commending to other players unfamiliar with the genre, it's still a great title where it fits, and I'd like to see more potential from where it came from, in the form of a sequel, spin-off, or new IP.
All in all, Stranger of Sword City is a far surpassing RPG in gameplay, but is brought down to lesser degrees by a majority of flaws found everywhere else. This does not discount the fun I did have with it though, and I would still recommend it to anyone willing to explore the more forgotten parts of JRPG lineage.