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Hell Pages is hardly a groundbreaking game, but it’s also not all bad. Though decidedly old school and occasionally primitive, it still has a solid core loop, outstanding tunes and hideous demonic boss battles. If you can get past the lack of weapon variety and the ho hum upgrades, you might find something to enjoy in this festival of monsters. For everybody else, get your Evil Dead fix from the source material.
Trolley Problem, Inc. is a cleverly crafted thought experiment that takes familiar moral quandaries and weaves them together into one increasingly over the top storyline. Clocking in at around 2 hours, Trolley Problem, Inc. may be on the shorter side, but the material presented makes for an intellectual deep dive that will amuse, then exhaust players agonizing over each impossible situation. Although the overarching message may get a bit lost in the weeds, Trolley Problem, Inc. is a brilliant title eloquently executed, a must-play for content creators, novelty-seekers, and those wanting more food for thought alike.
I think there’s a solid game here under all the technical issues, but it’s hard to say. XEL’s combat and time-based puzzles are satisfying, the setting and narrative are engaging, and its aesthetically charming. But until those issues are addressed, XEL is largely unplayable. I’ve spent way more time dealing with those issues than I have playing the game. I’d like to revisit it in the future, assuming it gets fixed.
The 80 hours I spent with PowerWash Simulator were gloriously relaxing; I powered through my favorite podcasts on one screen as I powerwashed the days away on another. It’s an easy way to just unplug from life’s stresses and… you know, powerwash those worries away (along with all that muck and grime, of course). Any perceived issues are extremely minor considering how much bang you get for your buck, and that goes doubly so if you’re an achievement hunter. Make no mistake — PowerWash Simulator deserves the Overwhelmingly Positive rating it’s received on Steam, and if you’re looking for the best way to chill after a long day of work, Muckingham is a dirty stone’s throw away.
Despite some unnecessary padding and a combat system that takes a little too long to get into full swing, F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is a compelling and thrilling journey from beginning to end. A stunning world, engaging narrative, and rewarding exploration all combine to create one of the most immersive experiences to grace the genre in quite some time.
Postal: Brain Damaged is, rather ironically, a sane and clear-headed new direction for the Postal series. Taking out the menial errands and aimless open world of Postal 4 to focus on straightforward levels and intense wave shooting was a great choice. Though the humor is as low-brow as ever, it’s much less repetitive and dials the penis and poop jokes down from a grating 10 to a tolerable 5. Featuring a vast variety of wild weapons and a netherworld full of nightmarish nemeses to use them on, Postal: Brain Damaged is a long-awaited return to psychopathic form for the series.
The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle is truly a sight to behold. It’s great that we’ve finally gotten to venture to High Isle after all this time, and everything awaiting us there—both the wonderful and the terrifying—was all a joy to experience. The Legacy of the Bretons may not be entirely over just yet, but I think that ESO will be hard-pressed to release anything that would end up topping what this brand-new piece of Tamriel has given us.
Despite this, Stray has charm to spare and a wonderful world well worth exploring. It would have been nice to have a bit more variety in your objectives and to have to spend a bit more time actually thinking about what to do, but it’s never less than fun to play.
There’s very little to criticize about Super UFO Fighter. It’s a game that’s easy to learn and challenging to master. With campaign mode, a versus mode, and a “hot potato” mode, there’s plenty to keep players entertained. While it may seem simple on the surface, Super UFO Fighter is incredibly entertaining and only gets more challenging the longer you play it. If you’re looking for a new party game to play alone or with a friend, I definitely recommend giving this game a shot. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Frozenheim is probably the most serene war-mongering games I’ve ever played with a lot of fun details that truly flesh out the entire experience. Not quite a city-builder but not entirely a full-on RTS, Frozenheim toes a themed line between the two genres in a fascinating, relaxing way. It has the potential to be a much more in-depth challenge, but for now, it’s a somewhat casual romp through Scandinavian lands (until a neighboring nord horde burns your village down, of course). If you’re ready to plunder and pillage, then build up your village, Frozenheim awaits those with a lust for blood (and an eye for Viking carpentry).
With 32 games included, most players are going to be able to find a few titles to fall in love with in Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium. With more duds in the lineup this time around, though, combined with a higher percentage of the collection being featured in recent collections you may already own, the value proposition is a lot harder to judge. Thankfully, this time around, Capcom are letting you buy just the individual games you want from the start. Most players with a love of classic arcade games will want to grab at least a few titles from this collection, even if the collection as a whole isn’t quite the no-brainer some of Capcom’s recent classic offerings have been.
I really enjoyed my time with Yurukill. It brings together two very different genres and presents a satisfying version of each. If those two sides elevated each other, we could have been looking at a terrific game. Instead, however, those sides mostly just sit alongside each other, feeling like a strange marriage that doesn’t entirely make sense. Fans of both visual novels and SHMUPs should certainly check Yurukill out, but if you’re only into one side of this equation, it may not entirely satisfy.
The Legend of Bum-Bo is, first and foremost, a game for fans of The Binding of Isaac. But I don’t think that simply relegating it to that is fair. Despite its prequel status, The Legend of Bum-Bo is a unique, addictive, and extremely fun roguelike puzzle game oozing with Edmund McMillen’s signature bizarre charm. Sure, I’d recommend it to BoI fans, but I’d also recommend it to people who like engaging puzzle games. If you’ve never been exposed to McMillen’s work before, you might be a little surprised at first, but don’t worry—it stops being weird after a while.
I very much enjoyed my time playing Spidersaurs. Fellow fans of Contra will find something to love here, while fans of WayForward’s brand of uplifting and chaotic fun should also have a good time. This is the best unofficial spiritual successor to the Contra franchise I’ve played in quite a while, and a great example of a classic genre done justice in the modern era. If you’re itching to blast some hideous hybrids to a pulp, this is your game.
Most of Rune Factory 5 is fine. There are minor issues with everything from the story to the graphics to the gameplay, but only a few of these issues will negatively impact the experience in a meaningful way. The bigger problem is simply that so little about Rune Factory 5 stands out. So many of the minor issues present here could have been overlooked if the core experience was exceptional and really moved the series forward, but instead, the development team spent nine years making a new Rune Factory, only to put out a game that feels like a minor step forward at best and in some ways feels like a step back. If you’re a massive fan of the series and need more of it, you’ll have a fun enough time with Rune Factory 5, but everyone else should proceed with caution.
I truly wanted to love Krut: The Mythic Wings, but ultimately, it’s a title that is extremely difficult to recommend. With its bare-bones combat, imprecise platforming, and an over-reliance on grinding, it completely squanders the potential of its narrative and setting. Whilst there is some fun to be had with the boss fights, the fleeting moments of joy provided by these encounters are completely overshadowed by what a drag the rest of the experience is.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is, quite honestly, everything that I could have asked for. Between the new and returning monsters, wonderful new hunting locales, and a delightful bevy of tweaks and additions, you really can’t consider Rise to be a complete game anymore without Sunbreak. It truly is an already great game’s even better half.
If you’re looking for more brilliantly brutal gunplay and satisfying supernatural shootouts, Outriders: Worldslayer delivers the goods. But there’s a good chance your mileage will vary depending on what you hope to get out of the DLC. If you love fine-tuning your builds and tackling the highest World Tiers, Worldslayer will keep you glued to your controller for the foreseeable future. However, if you’re the type of player who’s strictly in it for the campaign and quest lines, you’ll probably want to wait for it to go on sale before pulling the trigger.
Green Hell VR is the kind of game that will remind you why you bought a VR headset in the first place. It has so much to offer players who enjoy survival games, and the PCVR version is the closer of the existing two VR ports to the PC original for those who care about that sort of thing. If you’re looking to delve into an Amazonian rain forest and see if you can come out of it alive — or just want to stand in awe of the beauty virtual nature has to offer, transfixed by the gentle lighting and distinctive atmosphere — Green Hell VR will put your survival skills to the ultimate test.
While the story never fully grabbed me, Neon White is an absolute joy to play, keeping me hooked and repeatedly making me ask myself if I had one more run in me. Even if you’re not the sort of player who usually gets into chasing high scores and leaderboards, Neon White might surprise you.