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These issues aside, Rusty Rabbit was still an enjoyable adventure with a unique story and colorful characters. While the platforming and combat were held back by some design issues, and though I was personally frustrated by an occasional lack of guidance in the game, I still think this is a fun adventure that’s worth checking out.
Even now, I want to go start another run of Blue Prince. I have ideas floating around in my head and if I just draft the right room I’ll be on my way to unlocking more of the mysteries of this mansion. I’ve had more than a few late nights since starting this title, telling myself that I was on my last run but then instantly starting another once it ended. That’s what a great roguelike does to players and Blue Prince is certainly that, as well as a great puzzle game. Blue Prince constantly forced me to learn new things and work towards a wide variety of goals in a way which forced me to change my entire way of thinking about similar titles, even changing how I think about progression. It’s a masterpiece that players should run to play.
Despite only offering minor updates, I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the LUNAR Remastered Collection to any fan of RPGs who hasn’t played these great games. I still absolutely love both of these games. Even after all these years, they are well-paced adventures filled with a lot of heart and excellent characters who are highly memorable. It would have been great to see LUNAR once more get the red-carpet treatment, but just having these games easily accessible to modern audiences is a major win.
The itch for logic and working out solutions rarely strikes truer than 3D puzzle games, and The Talos Principle: Reawakened is the perfect place to start with the series. The eureka moments still hit just like they did, and the learning curve is even more buttery smooth than its first iteration. Newcomers will find a delightfully refreshing spin on puzzling and philosophy, while veterans will get to have their need for challenge satisfied with the tastefully sized expansion called In the Beginning. It’s unfortunate that the level editor isn’t in this version and that there are a few framerate kinks to work out, but neither of these issues hamper the experience much. Between much-needed QOL and delightful developer commentary, there’s hardly been a better time to dip your toes in The Talos Principle.
While I honestly enjoyed some of my time Shadow of the Orient, I feel like it was the wrong genre. There’s so much effort put into making expansive levels that I feel this would have worked better as a small Metroidvania than a lackluster platformer. It’s clear Spacelab Games put a lot of time into the experience, and I strongly suspect they might have some future great game in them. As for this one, fans of retro might enjoy it, but probably not many others.
I really wanted to love Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark. I kept giving it more and more time to prove itself and get past the sophomoric slump I kept finding myself in. But alas, this is not the sequel I was hoping for or expecting after Gal Guardians: Demon Purge. This would be one thing from some new upstart developer, but it’s truly surprising and disappointing from the talented folks at Inti Creates. That said, if you can tolerate bad platforming, poorly managed mechanics, and frustrating balance, then you might still find something to love here. For everyone else, this isn’t the adventure for you.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is a charming open-world JRPG and a worthy addition to the Atelier series. While it may not break any new ground in terms of narrative or combat innovation, it excels in being a fun game and an excellent entry point for newcomers to the franchise.
Expelled may not be as original as its predecessor, and the cast of characters isn’t quite as colorful for my money, but this is an extremely worthy follow-up with an excellent setting and a more fulfilling mystery. This is a school that’s full of secrets, and dedicated players will find numerous jaw-dropping moments hidden in its darkest corners.
While its gameplay is sometimes a bit too involved relative to its themes and narrative, Wanderstop is a wonderful experience that overcomes that flaw through its touching cast, fantastic writing, and engaging mechanics that are all set within an incredibly inviting and cozy world. Wanderstop is a shining example of how powerful video games are when utilized to address real-world problems, and if Wanderstop aims to encourage people to look inward and ask its players to shift their perspectives on life, then that mission has been fully accomplished in a heartwarming fashion.
The First Berserker: Khazan is a brutal, beautiful delight. Its elegant parry system, demonic boss battles, and flexible yet approachable take on character development have come together to create a package that may pull directly from many sources in the genre but ultimately delivers a standout experience that easily stands amongst the stiffest competition the genre has to offer. Its early hours may suffer from linearity, and its parry-heavy combat system may not sit well with everyone, but if you’re up for the challenge and willing to adapt to how The First Berserker: Khazan requires you to play, then you’re in for an absolute treat.
Despite an intense and often unforgiving difficulty and unclear emulation, I still had a good time playing through the blast from the past that is Rendering Ranger: R² [Rewind]. It’s clear to me that Manfred Trenz is a very talented and creative developer, though perhaps one who isn’t very focused on balance in his adventures. Still, if you’re a fan of video game history and don’t mind getting your butt kicked repeatedly, you might want to check this out today.
Atomfall’s commitment to player freedom is baked into its design, and it works really well. I’d love to see the team at Rebellion, or other developers, for that matter, iterate on its structure and build more games designed around this level of freedom. Even most open-world games aren’t even close. Atomfall itself, though, is a tougher recommendation. It isn’t that it does anything terribly wrong, it’s just that little about it other than the structure stands out. Once you get used to the flow of things, there’s not much else I can point at and say this is why you should play Atomfall instead of any number of other survival games. Still, it’s always nice to see a developer try something outside of what has become the accepted right way to do things, and for the most part, Atomfall succeeds on that front.
The wait was well worth it for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The fans have been asking for an AC game set in Japan, and Ubisoft has finally delivered, with a dual-protagonist experience that offers crisp combat mechanics, a bombastic musical score, and a beautiful visual presentation. Assassin’s Creed is so back!
My complaints about the difficulty aside, Rift of the NecroDancer is a hell of a good time. This is a colorful, charming, and unpredictable story that’s a lot of fun to experience. Not to be outdone, there’s a ton of content here, from 20+ main songs to DLC tunes, Steam Workshop music, and more. While I wish the game had been a bit more precise about the difficulty selections, I think any fan of rhythm games will find something to enjoy in the latest from Brace Yourself Games.
As RPGs, Suikoden is still excellent even today, and Suikoden II remains my favorite game of all time. Revisiting them for the first time in nearly a decade has solidified that opinion. These games have been hard to access in recent years, and I’m thrilled to see them made readily available to a whole new generation of players. As a remaster, Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars is relatively bare bones, and a few of the choices the developers made are baffling, but most of the changes they did make are still welcome. This is the best way to play two fantastic games, including my personal pick for the best game ever.
I feel like I keep coming back to the idea, though, that things might matter in Tape 2. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 isn’t bad, but it’s very slow to get going and feels almost entirely like character-building. After completing it, I still don’t fully understand what this game is going to be. Even if the full game was out now this would be a slow burn that could use to pick up the pace, but when all you have is the burn it becomes very hard to justify playing the game. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good enough time. I did, and I can see a world where Tape 2 pays off this character development with a second half that really makes the most of it. Without knowing what’s to come, though, I might recommend waiting to see what comes next.
With its incredible roster, awesome selection of game modes both new and old, and huge improvements made across the likes of Showcase and MyRise modes, WWE 2K25 is, at its core, a Wrestlemania main-event-worthy addition to the series. The in-ring action is so good that when I’m playing, I want to do nothing apart from keep playing, and in that sense, this feels like the absolute pinnacle of wrestling video games. What a shame that it’s all held back by greed, then, and I hope that players send a message to 2K and voice their concerns, as The Island, being the first prominent new mode the series has received in years, has me seriously concerned for the future of the franchise. For now, though, it’s easy enough to ignore, given the quality on display throughout the rest of the package, and wrestling geeks like me can rest easy knowing we have a quality product to get us through the next 12 months.
Ultimately, I’m still a fan of MainFrames, and I think Assoupi and The Arcade Crew have given us a unique and charismatic puzzle platformer experience. Whether or not you can see past the inconsistent and occasionally very high difficulty to enjoying the full experience is the real question.
With how uneven the core games are in Tomb Raider Remastered IV – VI, it would be incredibly easy to dismiss this and tell you to avoid purchasing, but it’s a lot more nuanced than that. The Last Revelation is a genuinely great game that is only made better by the improvements this package builds in, and Chronicles is a solid continuation of a formula that suffers from being a little too similar to what went before. Even The Angel of Darkness, though without much merit as a video game, serves as a fascinating insight into the eventual downfall of classic Tomb Raider. How appealing that is will depend on how much attachment you have to the series, or video game preservation as a whole and while I would advise casual Tomb Raider fans to avoid, there’s a lot to love here for anyone who does want to explore classic Lara and video game history in a lovingly put together package.
Monster Hunter Wilds is a solid entry in one of Capcom’s best-selling franchises. The new features, such as Focus mode and the seamless open world, are welcome additions to gameplay. However, the removal of previous mechanics and modes, the lack of new weapons, and poor technical issues are inevitably disappointing. Two steps forward, one step back.