Hey Poor Player
HomepageHey Poor Player's Reviews
For all intents and purposes, if you want a blast from the past with a hidden twist all wrapped up in a tidy little package, I Doesn’t Exist is harmless enough that I’d recommend the venture. Just temper your expectations a bit and have some patience set aside for the text-input side of I Doesn’t Exist. After all, who knows when the next time will be that we’ll actually see someone using text-adventure gameplay again.
Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles is easily the best game I’ve played from Akupara Games thus far. It’s challenging, beautiful, complex, and an utter joy to play. Not only is it an amazing example of the rogue-like genre, but it’s also one of the first dice-builders I’ve ever played. If you’re at all a fan of the genre, do yourself a favor and get a copy!
Ultimately, High on Knife‘s tale of a wayward Knifey was full of fun characterization combined with a brief but satisfying story. The new pinball-themed gun is a hit, and Knifey’s special upgrade needs to be seen and experienced for yourself. With any luck, we’ll see some more DLC down the road, and hopefully then, Harper will be left behind.
Fate/Samurai Remnant is a must-play for fans of the Fate franchise and worth checking out for anyone who loves a good anime-style game. I can’t say it’ll win over all musou fans due to its focus on storytelling slowing the pacing, but I suspect it may convince those who typically shy away from musou games to give it a second look. In the very least, Fate/Samurai Remnant has a cool premise with fun characters that develop and grow as the story progresses, so if you’ve already had your eye on this one, you shouldn’t be disappointed.
Dai’s video game debut may not feature the same level of robustness as its core series counterparts, but, as an action-based anime spin-off, it’s an absolute delight. Whether you’ve been following the anime or manga, or just consider yourself to be a Dragon Quest fan, Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure offers an all-around good time.
While I do feel its balancing could have used some work, and the overly busy visuals can sometimes make the action indecipherable, Jets’nGuns 2 is tough to put down once it gets its hooks in you and you learn to look past its occasional shortcomings. With its excellent presentation and an upgrade system that encourages experimentation and careful planning, this one’s easy to recommend to shmup junkies looking for a challenge.
Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is a lovingly made restoration of a cult favourite FPS title that significantly improves the source material. However, it can’t hide how fundamentally dated and limited the core design is. It just doesn’t stand the test of time like Doom or other classic 90’s shooters. Nonetheless, old-school FPS fans, and those looking for a shooter that doesn’t take itself too seriously, will be pleased and punch with this truly definitive version of Rise of the Triad.
One Military Camp is a solid, if somewhat safe, base builder that makes crafting your own base and developing your own army a genuinely entertaining affair. There’s a real satisfaction to be had in finally landing on the perfect base and developing squads of soldiers that stand the best chance of surviving certain missions. It’s a shame, then, that an overreliance on manually managing your troops and base, and the lack of any interactive missions or battles, leaves it currently feeling like a bit of a missed opportunity, and somewhat half-baked. That being said, with such a solid foundation, there is definitely fun to be had for fans of the genre, and with a few more content updates that would hopefully address some of the quality-of-life issues while fleshing out some of the more passive elements, One Military Camp has the potential to be something special.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a fun action RPG whose portable origins shine through for better and worse. While definitely fun, its story and gameplay can feel a tad slight at times, especially as the game goes on. Still, fans of Falcom’s other titles will find a lot of what they love about the developer’s work here and should absolutely give The Legend of Nayuta a shot.
For a game that’s supposedly Rune Factory-adjacent, I’ve got to say that I feel a little let down here. Between its engaging premise, large cast of playable characters, and emphasis on crafting, Silent Hope offers a lot to players but never really goes anywhere interesting with it. As a fan of both Marvelous and Rune Factory, I know that this developer is capable of creating games with plenty of depth. Ironically, however, the game about literally exploring a near-endless abyss isn’t one of them. The game does have its charms, to be sure, but the sheer amount of potentially cool things that it could have done (and didn’t do) left me feeling more frustrated than anything.
It’s rare for a sequel to be better than the original. It’s even rarer for it to so eclipse it that they feel like completely different species. Nevertheless, that’s the magic trick that Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace pulls off. It’s a beautiful retro adventure full of great artwork and amazing music, with lots of accessibility options to make it a bit easier. While the goofy story is nothing to write home about, it’s a great adventure and a tribute to a lost era of Japanese-only videogames. If you’re a fan of game history or just enjoy platformers, be sure to check this one out.
El Paso, Elsewhere stands as a testament to what indie games can achieve. While it borrows elements from giants, it carves its unique identity, blending retro aesthetics, a gripping narrative, and a hip-hop soundtrack into a cohesive experience. Its shortcomings, though present, don’t overshadow its achievements. The game offers a haunting journey through its surreal world, making it a memorable title in the third-person shooter genre. As the credits rolled, I couldn’t help but appreciate the game’s effort to be more than just another shooter—it’s an earnest triumph that breathes freshness into a sea of familiarity.
Horizon Chase 2 is, in its most distilled form, the perfect modern arcade racer. Its mechanics are scaled back but refined, the drop-in/drop-out multiplayer works well and never fails to excite, and the game has just enough customization to make every racer feel at home behind the wheel. While I’d love to see some more cheeky references thrown in to add to the fun and the game could certainly benefit from some DLC tracks down the road, it’s nevertheless filled to the brim with a charm and a love-letter to classic coin-op racers that’ll keep fans coming back for a long while. If arcades were still around and prevalent, Horizon Chase 2 would be my cabinet of choice any day of the week.
Chants of Sennaar is beautifully designed from the ground up. With a fantastic look, beautiful music, and unique gameplay almost entirely focused on translating various languages, there’s nothing like it on the market. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, you’re almost certainly right that it will be. If you’re like me, though, and barely managed to squeak through foreign language classes in school by memorizing what you needed for the next test, Chants of Sennaar likely isn’t for you.
Moonstone Island is easily going to become the favorite game of many. When people rattle off games they’ve dumped an insane amount of hours into, Moonstone Island will fall somewhere between Stardew Valley and Potion Permit. While I do think there are a few aspects that are objectively holding it back (and a few that are subjectively distracting), the fixes to those issues are a few quality of life updates away. At the end of the day, Moonstone Island has done more than given players a chance at capturing cute creatures — it’s given them a chance to capture pure magical whimsy.
Osyaberi! Horijyo! Gekihori: Anna Holinski Saves The Universe, Alright?! is an absolutely crazy Shmup that reminds me of games long past. It’s colorful, hectic, and full of unlockable content and additional modes to keep you playing. If you’re a fan of games that don’t hold back, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here.
Phantom Liberty on its own would be a stellar expansion, but combined with the radical 2.0 update, it’s a game changer for Cyberpunk 2077. The road to redemption has been long, and yes, you could argue that it’s unacceptable that such a long road to redemption was even required, but it’s hard to argue that CD Projekt Red hasn’t paid its dues at this stage. Phantom Liberty almost feels like a celebration – CD Projekt Red bowing out on an amazing high, with fans finally able to play a version of Cyberpunk 2077 that feels closer to those original promises than it ever has. Whatever way you look at it, update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty combined are a fantastic capstone on the Cyberpunk 2077 journey, and one that everyone should experience.
Taito Milestones 2 doesn’t do a lot to justify its existence. I usually don’t overly factor price into my thoughts on a game, but when you can purchase almost every game in the collection separately with the exact same features, it’s hard not to. This collection gives you ten Arcade Archives games for the price of five. That’s a good deal if you want all of these titles, but it’s hard to see most players wanting all ten of these games. There are five I would particularly recommend, and one of those has another version in a different collection, which is a better fit for the Switch. When two of the three exclusives to this collection aren’t very good, it gets even harder to recommend. Ultimately, those who do pick up Taito Milestones 2 will find some fun games included, but the best of these titles deserve more than such a barebones release.
With its bite-sized stages and mostly braindead enemies, CrossFire: Sierra Squad might disappoint players hoping to find the closest thing to Call of Duty in VR. However, that doesn’t mean you should write it off completely. If you’re looking for a solid arcade shooter with a wide variety of weapons to wield and lots of replay value, CrossFire: Sierra Squad is a solid addition to your PSVR2 library. And if you can find a friend to enlist with, you’re bound to have some fun ridding the world of terrorists, one bullet at a time.
Hellsweeper VR, with its ambitious design and promise of an intense, infernal combat experience, positions itself as a potential standout in the VR space. It teases players with the allure of an underworld filled with challenges, unique mechanics, and the thrill of mastering both melee and magic in tandem. But more often than not, its execution stumbles, falling short of the high bar it sets for itself. While it showed glimpses of being a genre-defining title, the overall experience felt fragmented. Moments of brilliance were overshadowed by missed beats and incongruities. It aspired to blend the detailed immersion of Blade and Sorcery with the unpredictable challenges of Risk of Rain. Yet, the final product often felt like it was caught in limbo between these inspirations, not quite reaching the heights of either. Despite its flashes of potential, Hellsweeper VR left a lingering feeling of wanting more, a deeper dive into the descent that it promised.