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Mothmen 1966 is a creepy and atmospheric visual novel that nails the computer graphics style of the 1980s. It has great writing, interesting characters, and breaks up the reading with some timely puzzles. It is on the short side though and there isn’t much reason to replay it once you’ve reached the end so those seeking a longer visual novel experience won’t find it here. For those who are fine with getting their creepy story fill in an hour or two and getting out this one should be right up your alley.
Live A Live is a beautiful remake of a cult classic JRPG and one that any fan of the genre should take time out to play. The HD-2D visuals are superb throughout and along with the musical score, helps to make each time period feel distinct. I loved playing through each character’s story and seeing how the game would surprise me next even if all of them weren’t as memorable as certain others. Live A Live has certain things that hold it back a little due to the era it was originally made in but those few nitpicks aren’t enough to dissuade me from wholeheartedly recommending it to any JRPG fan out there.
MX vs. ATV Legends makes some improvements from prior entries but still needs more time in the shop to deliver a great experience. The Career Mode has a lot to do and being split into three racing styles helps it stay fresh. That said, problems with the controls, the unbalanced AI, and technical issues really brought down my enjoyment of this game and makes it hard to recommend over other racing games. You can have some off-road fun here but expect some misfires along the way.
Matchpoint: Tennis Championships isn’t the best Tennis game I’ve ever played but it manages to be more fun than some others I’ve played in recent years. The act of actually playing it is what I liked the most about it as moving and performing shots generally felt really good. It doesn’t have much to offer outside of the Career Mode though and the overall presentation needs to be improved if this team makes another one. If you’re looking for a good playing Tennis game then I think you’ll like what this one has to offer.
Rayland is a perfectly fine puzzle game about bouncing lasers around with mirrors and that’s about it. Many of us have done this same thing in other games and this game doesn’t do anything to set itself apart. If spending a few dollars to do that while earning some easy trophies sounds up your alley than Rayland may be for you.
Crypt of the Serpent King Remastered 4K Edition is just a prettier version of this previously released dungeon crawler and that’s it. If you played it before there isn’t much reason to return unless you want some more easy trophies. Newcomers won’t have to spend much to gain entry to these dungeons but will quickly see that this game has little substance and will likely move on from it quickly.
AI: The Somnium Files – nivranA Initiative is a bigger and better version of the first game that left me thinking about its story long after I rolled credits. It’s got another captivating story that is a delight to unravel, great cast of characters to interact with, some smartly designed puzzles, and a wonderful soundtrack and voice overs to listen to. My only real complains are that I wish there was an actual PS5 version so that the visuals and load times were a bit better. If you were a fan of the first game or just enjoy visual novels based around mysteries then this is a must-buy.
Auto runners don’t always appeal to me when I try them but I did enjoy the time I spent with Superola Champion Edition. The premise is silly and it blatantly copies ideas from other games but for a few dollars you are getting a lot of content here to play through.
Wreckfest took its time getting onto the Nintendo Switch but that wait led to one of the best third-party ports I’ve seen on the platform yet. This is a very demanding game performance wise and the Switch version delivers on that front for the most part. It does have some brief moments of slowdown and the visuals take a little bit of a hit but being able to smash up a ton of vehicles on the go is heaps of fun despite those few drawbacks.
Eastasiasoft has a lot of games that are worth your time but Neko Secret Room is not one of them. There is nothing much to do here at all other than match some picture pieces together and even after doing that you are left with the feeling of “why did I just spend my time doing that?” Pass on this one and go find one of the many other games in this publisher’s catalog to play instead.
REDO! has an interesting world and horrifying enemy designs but is held back by some clucky gameplay controls and the lack of some metroidvania staples like a map. This game is brutally tough which will appeal to fans of Souls games but for those who aren’t you’ll likely find yourself growing annoyed at how easy it is to die. I don’t think this is a must-play but it can offer up some brutal fun for a few hours if this is your type of thing.
Thunder Kid II: Null Mission is exactly more of the same from the first game for better or for worse. It will provide you with some brief running and gunning fun through some low poly environments but outside of that it doesn’t have much to offer.
Squish is an easy to pick-up and play party game with some nice visuals and tunes but it doesn’t have enough meat on its gooey bones for me to fully recommend it. There is nothing here for solo players to enjoy and it is near impossible to find anyone online to play with either. It can be fun to play it locally with other players but with only a few different modes that mostly play the same and nothing to unlock you’ll likely move on from this one pretty quickly.
If you’re a fan of turn-based RPGs, XCOM, and games where you have to make tough choices then The Hand of Merlin will likely be for you. All of the systems at play here can be a bit much to wrap your head around at first but the more you stick with it the more you’ll enjoy it. It isn’t a very pretty game and control wise it is probably best experienced on PC but it is still perfectly playable on console.
Sonic Origins contains the best Sonic games ever made but a lack of features, games, and new music holds it back from greatness. If Origins would’ve had more Sonic games in it along with things like save states and a rewind option than it would be a better package. The new music in Sonic 3 is also a letdown when compared to the original tracks. There is still a lot here to love though like the new animated cutscenes, the challenge system, and the new aspect ratio for these games. While Sonic Origins is a fine way to celebrate the series, the blue blur deserves a little bit better after everything he has been through over recent years.
Zorro the Chronicles is a solid family-friendly action-adventure game but one that is mainly aimed at younger players. If you got a young gamer who enjoys the types of titles that Outright Games puts out then they will most likely enjoy this one too. Anyone older will likely find the gameplay to be too simple and repetitive to get much enjoyment out of it.
Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is a flashy and fun anime arena fighter. The story mode is done so well that both veterans of the series and newcomers can jump right in and enjoy it equally. The visuals and voice acting are also top notch and extremely faithful to the source material. I’ll also be jumping back into it later this year when various characters from the Entertainment District Arc get added to it such as the flashy Uzui. If you don’t typically enjoy these arena fighters than this one won’t do anything to change your mind but for those who do or are just pure Demon Slayer fans you are in for a treat.
Destroy All Humans! Clone Carnage seemed like a good idea on paper but the execution just didn’t go well at all. The game is struggling to find an online audience and it doesn’t have much meat on its bones either to keep people around. I really think this should’ve either been released as a free-to-play game or bundled with the new game coming out soon (although it is free if you pre-order it). I loved the first remake and am looking forward to the remake of the second game but Clone Carnage simply isn’t worth your time while we wait for Reprobed to get here.
TEN – Ten Rooms, Ten Seconds is a brutal 2D platformer that has no qualms about punishing you over and over again. It will require you to make precise movements and memorize room layouts in order to conquer all that it has to offer. That admittedly isn’t much as the game is fairly short but considering it’s only a few dollars you should get plenty enough out of it for that.
Square Keeper is an enjoyable enough dungeon crawler with a card twist but needs a bit more going for it to really stand out. There isn’t much variety in the cards or enemies and you’ll quickly see all that this one has to offer.