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Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a faithful return to a PS2 classic. Whether it's taking in the town, interacting with the people, or running into random restaurants, there's always plenty of things to stay busy doing when not playing the main campaign. Combat still feels a bit stiff, but this should be manageable and overcome with ample inventory room for health items at any rate. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an easy purchase for anyone who has even a passing interest in the Yakuza series.
Little Dragon's Café is a unique and utterly delightful adventure. There is no better way to unwind then adventuring with a dragon, while helping people solve their life problems, and indulging in a little bit of cooking.
These are not remakes of the original Shenmue games. We accept these ports as they are, flaws and all, because they have a wonderful and engaging story that has kept fans wanting more for 18 years.
Brawlout rocks up to consoles looking like it's gone a couple of rounds with Floyd Mayweather. Whereas the characters, gameplay, and stages pack a fair punch, overall it suffers due to dire loading times and a stale state of a single-player experience. Even with the framework for one of the best fighting games in our time, the adaption has not been successful, and therefore Brawlout arrives with enough bugs to keep Paco well fed for days. Couch Play delivers rousing competition and progression incentives are a nice touch, yet with the issues present, there's little keeping players tempted for that “one more game.”
Death's Gambit had such promise. At its core, it is the blueprint to properly take risks and make attempts to improve a game design that we all take for granted. But it's just surrounded with poor quality of life choices, while missing some things it should have absolutely nailed. Weird animations, strange pacing, counter-intuitive combat, and way too many bugs holds this game back from being something truly great.
Guacamelee! 2 is the sequel the original deserves. Fast, fun, funny, challenging, and chicken-filled, Juan Aguacate shows us he's still got a few tricks up his mangas (sleeves), especially when he takes on his chicken form. Buying Guacamelee! 2 for $19.99 at launch is a no-brainer for fans of the original, as well as fans of platformers, beat-em-ups, co-op games, and anyone who wants to let their inner Luchador soar.
In its final third, Candleman pulled me into the story, gameplay, and setting all at once. It was finally a full fledged, dynamic, puzzle-platformer rather than a simplistic maze. While the story's end left some questions on the table, I thought the overall message was an important and beautiful one: sometimes what you think is your light/salvation is actually your darkness/demise. And sometimes, the light we seek has always been inside us. At first, playing Candleman will be an unsatisfying, slow-paced act of just going through the motions, but if you stick around, you'll discover some magic by the end.
Detective Gallo has most of the telltale signs that this would be a great point-and-click adventure—on paper, anyway. The cartoonish art style, the dark sarcasm, (most of) the puzzles, and the unpredictable story all heavily suggest this game has the makings of a hit. It's unfortunate that a few bad eggs spoil the experience a smidge.
With that, we're back where we started. VROOM KABOOM has big ideas, but I don't think it's a matter of execution. I think these ideas are just disparate enough that it makes putting them together naturally problematic. It's sort of like the opposite of peanut butter and chocolate. Putting a gun on a car is a pretty good idea, but trying to drive three cars while managing a card deck, paying attention to what the opponent is doing, and accomplishing objectives is just too much. I would happily play a Mad Max-inspired tower defense, or a competitive, on-rails car combat game, but both at the same time is not a great fit.
While H1Z1: Battle Royale doesn't do anything particularly special yet, it sets up a solid foundation that can be expanded with future events and additions, a la Fortnite. It earns its battle royale name, but never tries to stand above the rest of the crowd, instead opting to play it safe with the basics. Without knowing if or when PUBG might come to PS4, H1Z1: Battle Royale gives players an ample replacement if they'd rather not get into Fortnite. Daybreak just needs to start hosting some interesting events and updates in order to keep players hooked and interested going forward. I wouldn't say no to a little bit of work on those visuals either. Until then, I think I'll just go watch the movie that inspired this whole gaming trend.
Zoink has been branching out on their styling a little bit. Both the recently released Fe and upcoming VR game Ghost Giant are a bit of a departure, but their flat, cardboard-styled worlds and laugh-out-loud writing are what I will always know the studio for. Flipping Death is Zoink continuing to polish that formula and correct the balance of compelling gameplay and dialogue. It's visually striking, earns its laughs, and gives plenty of reasons to re-explore both the living and dead sides of Penny Doewood's little town. It might still lean a little heavily on its dialogue, but it never does so in a way that feels like it takes away from the game being played. You might just find Zoink's latest to be worth dying for.
This is an average game wrapped up in an abysmal marketing choice. Avoid for now, just be sure to give it a second look if it hits an amount you're willing to pay.
Anamorphine is a good experience hiding inside of a rough package.
State of Mind has some interesting ideas about the future. Those ideas are presented in a mostly by-the-numbers point-and-click 3D adventure game wrapper, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's an almost believable look and feel to the various environments Richard and Adam find themselves in, though the low-poly character models don't always work as well as intended. Still, for those who just can't get enough of futuristic adventure point-and-click games, State of Mind is worth the virtual trip.
All in all, Phantom Doctrine is good tactical action game with a great spy culture motif. It's perfect for people who like their spy stories grounded in reality, but also appreciate the subtle approach to world dominating super criminals introduced by modern Bond films like Spectre. CreativeForge succeeds at taking lessons from its previous game, Hard West, and updating the formula. Even if that formula is ultimately a less elegant, less original version of the most popular game in the genre.
I genuinely appreciated what We Happy Few was trying to accomplish. Its unique perspective to storytelling and compelling setting kept frustrations at bay for far longer than they had any right to. I even think that the game has the potential to course-correct though their future DLC. However, this doesn't change the fact that the game has serious issues that make this full retail release feel more like a second round of Early Access. I cannot in good conscience encourage anyone to purchase the game in its current state. It would be best to revisit the game in a few months to see if things have improved. Now if you will excuse me, I have to pop a pill and pray to God that my entire memory of this game will just go away.
I'll be the first to admit, the last couple of seasons of The Walking Dead weren't nearly as strong as the first. Finally, it seems, Telltale Games has figured out how to send the series off with a bang. It's still in the early days, but this first episode will have fans chomping at the bit to see how their choices affect others, and of course if Clementine and AJ will make it out alive. The Walking Dead: The Final Season is a great start, and is hopefully a sign that fans will receive the finale the series deserves.
Uninspired music jams, slow loading and rendering of tracks can all become tiresome, taking away from what generally is a wonderful world filled with color.
Its obvious caricatures aside, Overcooked 2 manages, above all else, to feel like working an actual busy restaurant job – you slave away for what feels like an eternity of non-stop, fast-paced work, certain you're always miles behind where you should be, but then you count the tips at the end of the night and think “You know what? Not too bad.” In that respect and many others, Overcooked 2 is a delightful follow-up where each consecutive levels feels either completely satisfying or enticingly challenging.
Maybe that means I should get back to the grindstone, clear up those PS4 trophies, and then tackle the Journey to Olympus DLC that is included in the PS4 and Switch releases.