SelectButton
HomepageSelectButton's Reviews
The game rehashes several locations/areas from other Warriors titles, as is usual with these combination games. Most of the game looks great and plays well, but I'm not sure I fully understand some of the crazier elements to the game. Koei Tecmo has been putting many extras into their games in recent years, but some of the ones in this feel too tacked on, too forced. The core gameplay is still fun, and the goofy story is attractive, plus the ability to pick your battles across a large map, but I don't need a billion little things to worry about. One of the attractions of Warriors is the ability to just go hack and slash hundreds of enemies. Now that I've got an option of which character I want from whichever franchise, I'd prefer to not have all of the excess baggage with it. That being said, the game is still solid and fun experience for those who enjoy Warriors.
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is a fantastic game. The gameplay, visuals, and goofiness of the game are treats. I didn't necessarily enjoy the ramping difficulty of the game; I found myself almost destroyed 30 days into the campaign against a single alien fleet that ripped my three ships apart. Combined with the randomness that can potentially kill you (I ended up losing one of those ships in a random encounter) means even the best intentions can kill you. If you enjoy the threat of imminent death with fun gameplay, this one is for you.
Yakuza Kiwami is a worthy follow up to Yakuza 0, and a top-notch remake of the entry title into the Yakuza franchise. Majimi Everywhere is a great inclusion, adding substance and random elements to just running around the city to the narrative waypoints. Side stories feel a bit dated, but there are more than enough worthwhile ones that you'll enjoy.
Sine Mora EX is the definitive version of the game, adding a slew of new options, and bringing the game to the current generation for the first time. Even after five years, the art style and colorful aesthetics still help the game standout. The game's brutal difficulty and optional challenge modes help keep you playing after completing the story, especially if you want to experience it with a second player.
Theseus is a cinematic VR experience for the PlayStation VR, but is over all too soon. The atmosphere inside the labyrinth and beyond is incredible, you really need to see it, but the puzzles and exploration feel quite linear. Combat isn't overly complicated, but fighting multiple creatures at once can lead to frustrating deaths. There is a second ending in the game if you are able to locate all of the corpses scattered throughout.
Fantastic Contraption loses some of its charm with the lack of room-scale functionality, but the game is still enjoyable. The puzzles are purposely obtuse, letting players use their imagination on how to use the various types of objects to build a functional and moving apparatus.
For the price of a cup of coffee, Castle Steps provides a 15-minute amusement park quality ride through two separate haunted locations. I enjoyed the ghost-filled manor much more than the abandoned hospital, but both desperately need more player interaction. The candle-burning lantern provides you with minimal light in the darkened corridors, but outside of opening some doors or pulling a lever, you'll spend your time watching.
Superhot VR is one of the most unique shooters on the market and is without a doubt a must-have VR experience. The PlayStation VR build does have its issues with tracking when compared to the Rift or Vive experiences, but it is still one of the best options on the platform. Once you finish the game's story mode, which lasts less than five hours, you'll unlock bonus levels that are some of the best moments in the game. I never got the hang of tossing items at enemies, but thankfully the shooting mechanics are top-notch.
Ancient Amuletor is an enjoyable PSVR experience but sorely lacks in terms of content. Playing alone or with others online is enjoyable, and I found all of the playable heroes to have their own purpose. Some are better for long-range attacks and others focus on waiting until the enemies come to them to dish out destruction. Multiplayer is the best way to play the game, but I've found it nigh impossible to find anyone else playing outside of launch week. It's a shame, as it is one of the better PlayStation VR games to be released if it had increased the amount of content in the game as well as add more variety to the gameplay.
I appreciate the desire to do something unique with a vertical shooter, but some key elements hold Pressure Overdrive from being great. Local coop is appreciated, but outside of the starting machine gun, I found the additional weapon choices to be lackluster due to a low rate of fire. Not only that, but the lock-on mechanic of the lightning firing weapon would miss half of the time, firing into the ground instead. Boss fights are quite challenging, especially on highly difficulties, but the lack of customizable controls is questionable.
Galaxy of Pen & Paper is an incredibly charming game that I enjoyed. However, I do come from a background of playing tabletop RPGs with friends, and it's impossible to fully recreate those nights of questing and hilarity, even then Pen and Paper does a damn fine job at meta gaming, interjecting comments, and more. I think the game's humor, references, and overall feel will draw many players, but I worry too that some may not fully jump into that recreated world. Combined with larger, but seemingly empty environments and some required grinding, it may be a further turn off to those players.
Black The Fall's uniquely varied puzzles are what kept me playing from start to finish. Without repeating the same element throughout, it always feels fresh, especially with the platforming sections breaking up the different puzzles. There were a few frustrating parts that required me to retry them more times than I would like to admit, but with an instant restart and generous checkpoints, Black The Fall ensures players can keep advancing. As the name implies, there is one section in the game that takes place entirely in darkness, serving as a real highlight of the experience.
Before playing Drifting Lands, it didn't occur to me that adding role-playing game mechanics into a shoot ‘em up was something that I needed in my life, but after playing the game, I can't put it down. The narrative is lacking and serves as a launching point for the missions, but the gameplay is king in Drifting Lands. The visuals are crisp and sharp, and the backgrounds have some great looking effects, such as flying through a lightning storm complete with devastating tornadoes. The soundtrack is comprised of hard rocking beats, but levels tend to be on the shorter side, so it doesn't feel like the repeating tracks overstay their welcome. There are no multiplayer options, but some levels do feature an online leaderboard, which is a nice touch.
Spark of Madness adds some great new variety to Dead by Daylight. I thoroughly enjoyed using the Doctor as I hunted down survivors and Feng, once leveled up, makes a great addition to any survivor team. Considering how generally creepy the Doctor is, I think Spark of Madness does an excellent job in padding out Dead by Daylight.
Dungeon Defenders II is a vast improvement over the previous game, even with its move to a free-to-play model. Sure, it may take some time to unlock the new heroes with in-game currency, but the option is there for those that don't want to spend money. Even with the UI shortcomings and the tutorials being out of date with the current version of the game, Dungeon Defenders II is quite enjoyable. The colorful visuals and stylized characters are a joy to play.
Dead by Daylight is a great game and worth playing a few rounds at the least. Unfortunately, be prepared to face some difficult challenges if your killer or survivors are higher leveled than you. Granted, it's, in my opinion, a much easier experience to play as the killer and advance, the challenge and excitement of teaming up with friends and surviving is much more fun. The cooperative experience combined with a great looking and ambient game makes for a fun package, even if balancing feels off at times.
Perception is a unique and is a downright frightening title. The narrative is well-written, and I was satisfied with my decision to listen to Cassie talk to herself as she explores the haunted estate. As you journey through the lives of the past residents, the house changes, keeping it from growing stale.
Valkyria Revolution fails to live up to the previous games in the series, and although it serves as a spinoff, the new system mechanics don't blend. The narrative approach is admirable; however, most sequences are dull and feel lifeless. Not to mention, the long loading times between each sequence leads to quite a bit of down time before you need to pick up the controller.
Although Nex Machina lacks online multiplayer, the game's euphoric use of bright neon colors and impressive use of voxels is only surpassed by the tight gameplay mechanics. At its heart, Nex Machina is a modern day arcade shooter, with plenty of secrets and the addicting element that will have you challenging for a higher position on the leaderboards well into the wee hours of the night.
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception crosses genres, blending visual novels with a slick strategy role-playing game (SRPG) battle system. The game focuses more on the narrative side, so don't expect anything too deep in the combat. There are some highlights to it, including customizing the stats for characters and staying engaged with critical hits, but for the most part, you should experience Mask of Deception for the story.