SelectButton
HomepageSelectButton's Reviews
Fans of classic shooters will enjoy this one, especially if you were a fan of Descent. It's a hugely different experience from games released today in a tight bundle with lots to offer.
Red Matter has undoubtedly left an impression based on the world-building and interactions within.
The two very different gameplay elements in Moonlighter compliment each other beautifully. Running a successful shop means you need to become a top-notch hero and collect enough items to sell. Becoming a trustworthy hero requires you to be a prosperous shopkeeper to earn enough gold to craft new things and to enchant your gear. While I do have some issues with the combat, namely how you lunge forward with each attack, I thoroughly enjoyed the boss encounters tied to each of the game's dungeons.
I feel like Starship Corporation has some lofty goals and I applaud the developers behind it. I think a better approach would have been an early smaller, more laser-sighted focus on fewer items to strengthen those out before expanding fully. The game's tutorial is beneficial, but there's still a somewhat steep learning curve behind it, and there's just so much at any given point. If players can get past that and overlook some clunky UI aspects, they'll enjoy Starship Corporation immensely for its depth.
State of Decay 2's promise of improving upon the existing formula with cooperative gameplay, fails to capture our attention and ultimately is a disappointment. I've lost countless vehicles due to improper collusion in a mostly static environment. While there is an “I'm stuck” option for players, nothing can resolve anything with your car stuck between a table and a wall. There are too many systems that don't cohesively tie the package together. The game runs rather poorly, even on Xbox One X. The frame rate can undoubtedly dip well below 30 frames per second and is frequently under when on running on an Xbox One S. The included motion blur is way too aggressive, and even the slightest camera movement makes the visuals a blurry mess or swirling colors.
As a roguelike title, Wizard of Legend provides a challenging experience, but that is why I enjoy playing it. You aren't meant to immediately be able to blast your way through the entirety of the game right away. Progression is the key to varying the experience, as well as not only making it slightly easier for consequent attempts. Experimenting with the different spells provides you better insight into what type of play style works best for you. The inclusion of a co-op, even if it's only local is a nice touch.
The Council - Episode 2: Hide and Seek pushes the narrative forward but focuses on Louis exploring the island and solving large-scale environmental puzzles. With that said, the same performance issues and slowdown that plagued the first episode returns. The voice acting tends to be all over the place, even shifting quality during a single conversation. The branching paths provide a different experience, but overall the episode is quite short and once again ends on a cliffhanger.
AO International Tennis has all the makings of a definitive tennis title, with enjoyable core mechanics. However, the movement system is clunky and feels like you don't have total control over your player. I've had the hard game lock on me a couple of times, and I've had moments where my player simply refused to swing for no apparent reason. With that said, I felt more comfortable placing precision shots and increasing the difficulty the longer I played the game. The game's creation suite is outstanding, and each day I find someone new to download.
Dragon's Crown Pro is the definitive version of the game, especially if you have a PlayStation 4 Pro and a 4K supported display. The developers have done an outstanding job, boosting the visuals fidelity from the original release, and including the orchestrated version of the soundtrack. I have already spent dozens of hours on the initial release and considering I was able to use my save file from the PS Vita; I see myself once again spending a crazy amount of hours chasing high-end loot. It is a shame that no new skins for the classes have been released or included and the high price tag may scare some players from double dipping.
Frostpunk is without a doubt an excellent new entry into the city-building genre. It contains enough familiar elements tinged with new, fantastical ones comprised of the steampunk aesthetic and feel. Admittedly though, the game's seemingly shorter length may make it feel like it's not complete, but that's not true in any way. It's great price point, challenging gameplay mechanics, and overall offerings with replayability make this a solid game to pick up. It takes some time to master as well, making it worth the challenge of surviving in the long winter.
Masters of Anima provides an adequate challenge in terms of puzzle solving and combat encounters. You are ranked on each fight based on the number of guardians lost, damage Otto has taken, and how long it took to complete. The stylized visuals are quite charming, and the camera is kept in an isolated view that can't be altered. You may fumble at first with the controls, especially once you are trying to juggle a handful of different guardian types at a single time. However, it has been a delight to play the game and feel like a badass when you find the perfect combination of guardians to utilize.
It has been quite some time since I have enjoyed a platformer as much as I have with The Adventure Pals. The zany premise, characters, and colorful cartoon visuals certainly put a smile on my face. Video games are all about having fun, and The Adventure Pals is simply a fun game to play. You earn additional items and upgrade your character as you progress through the 105 different levels in the game. Don't forget to feed the cupcake king and collect wacky customization options. The co-op mechanics is somewhat lackluster, and I would have liked to see that implemented better so that both players and grow their characters.
Truthfully I do like some of the core mechanics of the game. I've done small-scale farming in real life and understood the requirements that kind of profession and lifestyle places on you. A lot of things in this game remind me of those days, but there's a lot that breaks the simulation and realism. The odd vehicle controls, random issues when driving that will instantly slow you down, and the need to continually open that damn tablet really deter me from the game. Otherwise, it does perfectly capture the tedium of the farming life reasonably well even if your character seemingly never has to sleep.
The Council - Episode 1: The Mad Ones perfectly sets the tone for the remaining episodes, crafting an enthralling narrative with a colorful cast of characters. The inclusion of the RPG elements helps dynamically influence conversations and how you perceive other characters. Using your skills instead of focusing on win or lose quick time events is a nice change of pace for the genre. Finding manuscripts/books while you are exploring yield free skill points during each quest, rewarding players that thoroughly search the environments, not to mention pieces of amber that extends the number of available effort points. Although there were slight visual irregularities, and minor hiccups on panning camera shots, The Council performs rather well but doesn't have added support for PlayStation 4 Pro or Xbox One X.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life brings a fitting and satisfying conclusion to Kiryu's story and character. Even though I have only played three Yakuza games, I will miss his attitude and demeanor always fighting for what is right and honest. The Song of Life struck a perfect balance between goofy and serious missions, but I would have liked to see some of the other series-favorite cast have a more prominent role. The smaller scope of the narrative gives off an intimate sensation, but with that being said, I am quite interested in where Sega will take the decade-old franchise in the future, especially with its growing popularity in the West.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is absolutely a solid and engrossing game. It may be slower for some, but even then it's something to play for a few hours at the least. I found myself traveling to faraway points just to see what little story I could find and unravel in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed finding stories I previously told become larger and larger, subtly changing with each new retelling. I enjoyed getting to know those who lived on the road and away from civilization, understanding their quirks and seeing just how my interactions with them affected my travels. Topped with impressive voice acting, a stunning soundtrack, and beautiful visuals...I highly recommend trying this game out. It's a different experience, but getting to explore early Americana and listening to its tales should be hard to pass up.
The performance issues, missing content, and brain-dead AI are simply inexcusable.
As an arcade-style VR shooter, Shooty Fruity is engaging and fun, but only in short bursts. The gameplay loop can feel repetitive if you try and extend your play session, but I found varying your loadout does wonders to keep you enjoying the experience.
The journey towards the light is something everyone can relate to, and the game is framed like an enjoyable fairy tale come to life. The visuals are gorgeous, and the controls are easily accessible. Without spoiling anything, the game didn't end how I expected, failing to bring a satisfying closure to the game's narrative. Movement speed is a tad slow, and the jump is a bit floaty, so that could be a deal breaker to some. Candleman is only available on Xbox One and PC in North America, but can be found on the Chinese PS Store.
I feel Hyper Universe may fill an unrealized niche in the MOBA genre. The gameplay feels fresh, the controller support is an excellent perk, and for those tired of other MOBA games might find themselves falling quickly into Hyper's simple, free-to-play model. While yes, it's possible to go and buy equipment and Hypers, I'm never sure how much that may or may not imbalance overall gameplay. That being said, given some time and server tweaking to fix those crazy lag spikes and I think this game will continue to grow.