VGChartz's Reviews
Ultimately, a combat game has to be judged by how good its combat is, and in that respect Soulstice passes with flying colors.
It’s more fun, more refined, and more accessible in every way, while somehow managing to surpass the previous games in style and presentation. Evolution, not revolution, is the catch of the day, and that’s fine by me if it’s served up as exquisitely as Splatoon 3.
Sequels can often find themselves in invidious positions; to follow on from what was already successful, while making enough changes to justify its existence, is a tricky balancing act in any form of media. If the necessary criteria are to be bigger, better, and more ambitious, while retaining the original's heart and soul, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope accomplishes that with flying colours.
With Engage, the series continues to be the ultimate jewel in the Japanese SRPG crown.
Thanks to the studio's amazing attention to detail, and its investment in worldbuilding, turn-based mechanics, and production design, Sea of Stars has emerged as one of the best games of 2023.
Instead of being a title that defines the generation - and perhaps even the medium - Ghostrunner II has to settle for being 'merely' great. Hopefully a third entry in the series can strike a better balance between mixing things up and maintaining the well-refined gameplay as the centerpiece of attention.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder couldn't have a more appropriate name. It's filled with beautiful sights, lovely music, unexpected mechanics, unfamiliar enemies and power-ups, and, thanks to Wonder Seeds, revelation after revelation after revelation. Not everything new about the game works, and it suffers slightly from easy levels and boss battles, but it delivers everything you'd expect from the series, and more.
With a mind-bending core concept, breathless pacing, and splendid presentation, Geometric Interactive's debut puzzler will keep you rapt up through every world within a world.
The puzzles, combat, boss fights, and general progression all make The Lost Crown a joy to play, notwithstanding some frustrating technical issues and lackluster optional discoverable items.
For a title so reverent of history, it feels like divine justice that Obsidian's special narrative adventure earns such a high spot in the annals of its own.
This sequel improves upon the original, which was already one of the top indie games in recent memory, by expanding upon its mythology, retaining and enhancing its fast-moving gameplay, introducing extraordinary new level designs, providing plenty of replay value, and wrapping everything in a stunning pixel art package.
While repetitive enemy encounters and mundane micromanagement add a layer of tedium to the proceedings, they don't undermine everything amazing about the game: an interesting cast of characters; impossibly-deep tactical role-playing mechanics; a dizzying amount of engaging, rewarding content; and peerless artistic assets.
The creative fun of Super Mario Odyssey blends with the beauty of Ori to create one of this year’s indie gems.
Between atmosphere, mechanics, and storytelling, Crow Country gets caw-fully close to bonafide classic status in the survival-horror pantheon.
Although it only partially fixes Falcom's woes in terms of story pacing, Trails Through Daybreak is nonetheless a journey full of wonders.
It's a great game that only really suffers from not featuring enough levels.
Amid the Ruins, perhaps later than anticipated for this season, finally brings The Walking Dead to the peak of its own exceptional high-standards.
Featuring unnerving tension, unremitting cruelty and a disarming level of brutality, The Walking Dead series has become a vanguard for narrative shocks and rollicking set-pieces.
Mario Kart 8 stands tall among the kart racing genre once again and is a must-buy game for Wii U owners.
With its unique story, impressive attention to detail, and cleverly implemented time-rewinding mechanic, Life is Strange is shaping up to be a great series.