Level Down Games
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For some strange reason, the game hooked me, and I kept playing through. I wanted to see what happened to little Ian and his trusty dog North. I wanted to find out why this all was happening in the town of Wintreal. And I wanted the satisfaction of actually completing this brutally difficult (thanks to the controls) game. Ian's Eyes is definitely not for everyone, and I wouldn't even recommend it to the hardcore crowd. But, there is something to be had here. Clocking in at just over four hours, it isn't a long experience, so if you find yourself on a dark, stormy night with nothing to do.. and you're a glutton for death and punishment.. perhaps you actually might want to give this a try.
Ultimately, Here They Lie is not a particularly great game. It's very average, and if this wasn't taking place in a virtual setting, and wasn't one of the original show pieces for the tech on PlayStation, it'd probably be borderline bad.
In the end, I was left feeling disappointed with Loading Human: Chapter 1. I wanted to like this game, because I felt the idea behind it and the promise it had as a trilogy was strong. But after taking the four or so hours needed to complete the journey, I'm skeptical on the future and for Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. I'm hopeful for a turnaround and for an amazing Chapter 2, whenever that may be.
Earlier in August, another boat-faring game by the name of Spiritfarer was also released, and which I also reviewed, and if you are going to get one game about boats and oceans this month, get Spiritfarer. In fact, I would have a difficult time recommending Windbound over almost any game, and for almost any reason. In most regards, Windbound struggles to feel like a game at all, instead playing like a demo for a far-from-release Kickstarter project, or the alpha build of a new engine, where game mechanics have only been implemented for testing purposes. This isn't an early access project, but is a full release with an audacious asking price of $29.99 for an adventure that, according to Steam metrics, took me all of 4.3 hours to breeze through. The best part is that it only took me less than five hours to see the ending credits. Oh well, at least Tony Hawk comes out this week. DON'T LET ME DOWN, TONY!
Playing video games should always be a fun experience, and if I find myself not enjoying time spent in a game, I begin to seriously question my use of said time. There were moments of Mabel and the Wood that I genuinely enjoyed, but bugs, glitches, poor design, and frustrating mechanics created an affair of disappointment. Considering I was actually unable to finish the campaign to completion, as well as the multitude of quality metroidvania adventures available on nearly every gaming platform, I can not in good conscious recommend a game that is, at its core, broken.
I think this game has the potential to be good. It has a lot of work to do including improving the gun play, varying up the maps, better/balanced match making and fixing the controls (make it friendlier to all players) and it would easily land in the average to good range. Here’s hoping the next update comes out on or before Day of the Dead 2019 (November 2nd).
Rising Islands definitely does not overstay it's welcome though, as my final play time clocked in at just shy of two hours. And at a price of only $9.99, it's worth checking out to see the dimensional and wall running mechanics. I am interested to see what Lone Hero Studios does next. With a bit more polish and slightly better gameplay, they could actually deliver a 3D Platformer that takes us back to the golden era once again.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 has several issues, and because of this, it's hard to recommend anyone to actually go out and play through the game. If you enjoyed the first two games in the franchise, there's a good chance you'll find enjoyment out of this title as well. But for those that are just looking for another first-person shooter to hold them over until the fall, I'd strongly suggest waiting the extra couple months.
In the modern video game industry, so many games have released that have done the formula attempted to be tackled by Devil’s Hunt in a much better way. Look at Devil May Cry. Look at Bayonetta. Look at Prototype. Hell, look at Dante’s Inferno. So many games have released and been really fun to play through while keeping gamers engaged and having strong gameplay mechanics and loops. None of that is found here with Devil’s Hunt. While there are small, very small, amounts of fun to be had, it quickly fades away within the first hour, leaving the remaining four hours to be a bore.
The choices made by SNK to really focus on the visuals of the females and the customization options ultimately ended up hurting the overall game itself. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is fun for a short amount of time, but once the story mode is complete for all the characters, there really isn’t much left except to keep jumping into online lobbies.
The Dwarves was a great concept on paper that failed to materialize into something that should have worked naturally when making the jump to a video game. I’d certainly like to see this type of crossover happen again, as I feel it could easily work. The Dwarves is a very hard game to recommend to even the most hardcore of fans, but there are certainly some out there who will find enjoyment out of what it has to offer.
Cat Quest II inhabits the same world as its predecessor, though stars different characters and locations, and those familiar with Cat Quest will discover the experience has not substantially differed in its sequel. The same action-RPG gameplay abounds in the new entry, with plenty of dungeons, collectibles, and pet-related puns to keep you busy with light-hearted fun for a few hours. Unfortunately, if you’ve already play Cat Quest or are not a fan of action-RPGs, there may not be a lot of substance in this feline frenzy to feast upon.
There’s definitely fun to be had with One Piece World Seeker. I know it may not seem that way after reading through the review, but trust me when I say fans of the anime are going to get a lot of enjoyment out of this title, even if it gets dull rather quickly.
Featuring deep puzzle solving mechanics, a unique graphical style, and a tale that will leave you guessing until the very end, it’s definitely a game worth experiencing at some point. The technical issues and bugs currently present at the time of release really do hold Vane back from being a good game to just being mediocre, and that’s unfortunate.
The game fell flat at times and I wish they would’ve spent more time on the characters all together to help make the story a little better. With all the flaws present, you could still find yourself enjoying a game that others may question because of the slow yet fast paced of everything and the way it doesn’t really tell you where to go exactly. You’re forced to just explore every single section of the area you’re in to get to the next point in the game. All in all, The Caligula Effect is a fun game but it could’ve been better.
Super Bomberman R could have been the return to glory of a franchise that has been missing for quite some time, especially over here in North America. Not counting small releases that hit platforms such as Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360, the PlayStation Store on PlayStation 3, and the eShop on the Nintendo Wii, we haven’t seen an actual Bomberman game since Bomberman Land on the Wii back in 2008. That’s a fairly long time to go without any new releases on a franchise as popular as Bomberman once was. It’s sad to say, but Super Bomberman R is not going to rekindle the love for the series that fans were hoping for. Maybe one day we’ll get lucky, but that day is certainly not today.
While Godfall did a great job of showing off how well games will look on the PS5, the lack of a lengthy campaign paired with repetitive endgame content really hurt a game and left me asking “what could have been”. With games now expecting us to shell out 70 USD for new games, we need to start holding these game studios to higher standards. Especially in this current economic environment with Covid-19 and not having a lot of extra income, I would have much rather spent my money else where to get the value of content I deserved.
While this game took me back to a time I really enjoyed as a child, the frustration of blindly trying to find out what to do was aggravating. My patience was tested very early on because I felt so lost in what I was doing. Sometimes I was starting over from scratch, other times I had found a level that had a portal that was used as almost a saving point on that planet. Do I save my coins for when I die, or do I save up and spend them on upgrades to make me stronger. I struggled with that decision way too much and it took me away from really enjoying the game. If a game doesn’t start clicking somewhat right away and instead leaves you confused and frustrated, it hasn’t done its job to entertain. It is very unfortunate as this game was right in my wheelhouse of ones I love.
Here’s the deal. I have an intense love for all things Japanese, and companies like Nippon Ichi Software tend to release games that speak to my soul. I’ve loved so many things they’re developed as a team and published as a studio, and they’re willing to take risks which I appreciate more than anything. Every now and then, a game comes along that makes me question that, as the disconnect is just too high.
A game where there is fun to be had, but it quickly diminishes and you’re left with an experience that feels as if it should have been preserved in a previous generation.