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Stardew Valley represents a major break from reality. It's a game where things are simple, but there's always something new to do. It's a collector's haven; a lover's respite (at least until co-op arrives in the future). This will represent many things to many gamers. Yet the one thing it will remain for as long as people are around to play it, is a magnum opus of the indie developer. Stardew Valley is a game so completely full of content, that it is hard to fathom that it was created by a single person. With a ton of secrets to discover, and fishing, farming, mining, smelting, and even dating as activity options, this feels like a perfect mix of life simulation games of the past, with a decidedly modern take. Hopefully ConcernedApe continues in his relentless march to build the perfect game for this genre, and we can all share in the fruits of his tireless labor.
Drive!Drive!Drive! provides a fresh idea in a very established genre that doesn’t often see them anymore. While it’s easy to dismiss the track-switching action as a gimmick, it actually adds a whole different dimension to racing. There’s a lot to like here, and any racing fans that are growing tired of seemingly playing the same games repeatedly will want to check this one out.
This review will contain spoilers for all previous episodes and the current episode of Batman The Telltale Series. Here are our previous reviews for episode 1, episode 2, episode 3, and episode 4.City of Light isn’t a disappointing ending by itself, but it’s a ham-fisted conclusion to an unfulfilling take on an overplayed hero. Batman in the traditional sense just isn’t interesting anymore. He’s expected. And the unexpected is also expected, to the point that we’re looking for those things that will be different. We’re looking for the younger Cobblepots, the surprise villains, and the Wayne family twists. We’re expecting everything that any new Batman can throw at us, whether it’s the same or a twist. If there is a season two, there need to be some serious refinements to the structure and approach to make it work, and if Telltale doesn’t do something about their failing engine, it won’t matter what type of Batman story they try to tell next. Engine trouble may just end up leaving them stranded.
I Expect You To Die isn’t just stirring up the field of virtual reality. Like a Bond martini, it’s thoroughly shaken.
If you couldn’t tell from my last bit of criticism, I am legitimately grasping at straws when trying to find negative aspects of Lara Croft GO. In a year that has been jam-packed with quality releases, this is an experience that can hold its own. You genuinely owe it to yourself to give this game a try, regardless of whether or not you are a Tomb Raider fan. It is just that good. And when you consider that the game costs less than a ten spot, this purchase should be a no-brainer. Give Lara a chance and you will not be disappointed.
At the end of the day, The Little Acre is a fun, albeit bite-sized, adventure with some beautiful animation work that seeks to re-explore how point-and-click adventures are handled on consoles, but its short length doesn’t leave any room to explore some of the more interesting plot points. As an initial foray for Pewter Games, it makes me excited to see what they’ll follow it up with. I don’t fault The Little Acre as a bad game, but rather as something that comes up short and fails to explore its full potential.
Werewolves Within is an incredible social experience and the first online game to really make it feel like you are sitting around the campfire with seven other people. The character animations are emotive and quite literally come to life through the voices and head movements of each player.
The NBA 2KVR Experience feels more like a proof of concept than a fleshed-out game, and that’s pretty disappointing. Visual Concepts show that they have some good ideas, and could make a more full-fledged offering, but this only touches the edges of what’s possible. It’s more of a tease than anything, which is good for a demo, not a paid product. It’s fun to play for 30 minutes, but don’t expect this to be something that will keep you coming back for more.
Demetrios doesn’t take very long to complete, and the puzzles aren’t so challenging that you risk eating all of your cookies for hints before reaching the end. That may be a turn-off for some, but this game is more about the humor (especially the toilet humor) than the riveting gameplay. The humor is why I stayed up late playing, and it’s that humor that prods me to recommend this title to Vita owners. Even if you don’t like toilet humor, which did get rather old about halfway through, there is an option to cut it down or remove it entirely. It’s still just as funny without it. The important thing to remember about this Big Cynical Adventure is to not expect a deep story throughout. It’s about as deep as a toilet.
Beautiful. In every way.
It is hard to evaluate a title like Steep without comparing it to the promise of its premise. The sheer idea of a gigantic extreme winter sports sandbox is extremely compelling. While the game manages to live up to some of its potential by offering up an expansive, beautifully detailed map and an extensive collection of modes, it falls short on several fundamental elements, critical to the success of a new franchise. Odd storytelling, inconsistent controls, practically non-existent tutorials and imprecise collision detection all combine to derail what should have been a new premier franchise for Ubisoft. Though it still has plenty of redeeming qualities, Steep proves to be an interesting new framework in serious need of polishing. Player beware. Your mileage may vary.
Almost everything from The Dwarves‘ gameplay to the presentation seems unpolished. It’s a real shame, since there are some good ideas, and the book it’s based upon is ripe for a video game adaptation. The mission objectives are far too rigid, the controls too cumbersome, and ultimately it’s a game that constantly gets in the way of itself. Every moment of enjoyment was quickly followed by bouts of annoyance, and this title clearly needed more time in development.
Square Enix has taken quite a few risks with Final Fantasy XV to make it different from past installments or even JRPGs overall. Despite some graphical issues, they have pulled off an amazing experience, and it's one that veterans and newcomers alike can immensely enjoy. This road trip has been well worth the wait.
Pinball FX2 VR has completely morphed my perception of what VR is capable of as a platform. It helps that the folks over at Zen Studios went above and beyond to make the experience trans formative. As both a gamer and a pinball fanatic, I cannot recommend this release highly enough. The scary part is that it can only get better from here. I will see you on the leaderboards.
This review will contain spoilers for all previous episodes and the current episode of Batman The Telltale Series. Here are our previous reviews for episode 1, episode 2, and episode 3.For everything that Guardian of Gotham does right, it makes all the wrong moves to get there. The story reaches a precipice of intensity after a very slow burn over the last three episodes, and the dire situations at hand seem impossible to resolve within a single finale, with far too many threads left open after the conclusion of this penultimate episode. I really wish that the story had built to this level of intensity much earlier instead of waiting this long, but it’s great to finally see this Batman tale coming to fruition with real stakes for the dark knight, even if it has to come through forced storytelling and a poor use of the engine.
Unless you are a passionate fan of pre-historic underwater exploration, Time Machine VR is not worth your time. Despite the premise being interesting, the gameplay and overall design fails to deliver on any of its promise. The resulting experience feels like a soggy slog through a minimalistic proof-of-concept, that somehow managed to make its way onto the PlayStation VR. If you can pick up the game up at a deep discount and are hard up for a new PSVR experience, feel free to give it a try. Just be warned that won’t take long before you experience grade school flashbacks and everything begins to feel like homework.
Visual novels are an underappreciated niche of gaming to be sure, but games like this don’t do the genre any favors. This might have been fantastic as an anime series, but the lack of real choices in how the story goes kind of kills the interactive vibe a visual novel is supposed to have. Even though the text messages and phone calls alter the story, the length of the full story, complete with monotonous gameplay, doesn’t make replaying it for all the endings very enticing.
Forgotten.
Despite how much Ezio Auditore da Firenze is showing his age, you can’t help but enjoy yourself as you stab your way through countless Templars. That said, it’s only fun if you already played and enjoyed the games the first time. I can’t imagine taking such a large backwards step in gameplay evolution for those who have only played Black Flag or Syndicate. The Ezio Collection is obviously for die-hard Assassin’s Creed fans who loved the original games. As such, it’s not recommended for newcomers to the franchise or those who have only played recent installments. Even then it’s hard to recommend this for die-hard fans, because the games look so rough compared to current titles. At least it has a frame rate improvement and two films, one animated and one live-action, that serve as bookends to Ezio’s overall story, giving hardcore fans a few more reasons to pick it up. To truly get newcomers and even veteran fans excited about Ezio, perhaps a remastered version is in order.
Killing Floor 2 just doesn’t have the variety needed to keep the attention of players. No matter what map is being played, things start to feel eerily similar after the first few hours. It desperately needs a cherry on top of the solid gunplay, and it just isn’t here. Pick it up if you’re desperate for cooperative offerings, but try to play it in short bursts as the monotony sets in rather quickly.