VGChartz's Reviews
Humanity's confident blend of abstract visuals and ever-evolving puzzle design make it a fantastic example of the medium.
It should be removed from physical & digital shelves until it can be finished without resorting to banging your skull against sheetrock.
Returning to A Wonderful Life after 19 years is a comforting, warmly nostalgic experience. The colorful characters and climactic moments in Forgotten Valley stand the test of time, even if the mechanics and gameplay possibilities compare unfavorably to modern takes on the farming/life simulation model.
Loop8: Summer of Gods had the potential to be a serious outsider with an innovative approach to the JRPG genre, if only it were better executed. Instead, it's such a massive disappointment that it will make me think twice before purchasing a Marvelous game again.
The initial doldrums won’t easily sell everyone – especially with some design drawbacks and an $11.99 price point, but it makes way for a succinctly-designed adventure that plunges further and further into insanity.
The best way I think I can describe The Bunker is that it is an exceptional proof of concept. There's immense potential here, and the first couple of hours or so are genuinely great horror, but the game doesn't have enough tricks up its sleeve to maintain momentum.
Regardless of whether it’s superior or inferior to its predecessor, Tears of the Kingdom is a staggering achievement in video game design and programming, and one of the very best games of the generation.
Darkest Dungeon II reminds me of Salt and Sacrifice; both sequels to cult classic titles that tried to innovate by mashing up with entirely different genres, both significantly worse off as a result.
Redfall's grocery list of problems, from storytelling to open world design, are so extensive that it seems more humane to drive a stake through this beating heart – if you can find it.
Mia and the Dragon Princess wants to harness the spirit of a B-movie adventure serial, but forgets to have any coherence or fun.
With a new coach in his corner, Kao finds more spring in his step and gives a stronger performance than the main title.
With Jedi: Survivor, Cal Kestis might make it onto the Jedi council, but major performance issues and technical hiccups prevent him from ever attaining the rank of Jedi Master.
Benedict Fox's phantasmagorical detective work through the minds of the recently-deceased flaunts a wonderful & moody aesthetic, but unpolished gameplay left me nearly as cold as his corpses.
The Xenoblade Chronicles series may not have needed a redemption, but that didn't stop Future Redeemed from being one of the best entries in the franchise.
While a scattershot finale and outdated point-n-click mechanics diminish Fran Bow's broader appeal, there are enough positives for adventure fans to appreciate this vividly horrific Wonderland.
The building blocks of Legends' personality and hybrid design are there, but Mojang & Blackbird fumbled with this blueprint.
The vast tactical system, well-designed maps, and great characters alone make Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp a must-have for any Switch owner.
From mechanics to personality, Modus Studios' genre-mashup runs into major trouble by the first chords.
Unlike a lot of games that pull together pieces from the Souls-like formula and the Metroidvania template, Afterimage manages to give equal weight to each half. Better yet, it mostly delivers on the best parts of both sub-genres.
It never manages to reach the mechanical and stylistic heights of its inspiration, due to its ordinary storytelling, generic art direction, and a predictable gameplay loop, but overall it's a decent RPG with a good amount of content, some likable characters, and an engaging tactical weapons system.