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It’s not perfect, but SOMI gets major points for trying something new and exploring mechanics that other games don’t. Maybe it’s time to look a little deeper into the mirror that Retsnom offers and reflect on your own reasons for avoiding indie games.
Anima: Gate of Memories is a crushing disappointment. There are plenty of places where the love Anima Project’s team has for its world is evident, but they’re buried under an avalanche of stunningly poor design choices. Being forced to listen to the terrible voice acting and relentlessly unfunny humor of protagonist Ergo made me wish for his quick and agonizing death — but even he’s not as painful as the game’s punishingly poor level design. Maybe there’s a way to make the world of this tabletop RPG fun and interesting when translated to the video game medium, but the developers sure didn’t find it this time around.
The ultimate disappointment is that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan has a solid base. A good game could’ve been made with these combat mechanics, but sadly some abysmal level design makes this 4-hour game a complete chore to play. When an uninspired boss rush level is arguably the best part of the game, then you know something went wrong.
With accessibility to spare, a real commitment to diversity and an infectious sense of innocent fun, Overwatch feels like an important game — the sort that can bridge boundaries in the oft-segmented gaming community. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that this may just be the project to revitalize lapsed or disheartened gamers' interest in the medium, or the one to bring new players onboard the FPS wagon.
Homefront: The Revolution fails to stir any real revolution of its own in the genre of first-person open world games. It still has a unique premise with the notion that a unified Korea could ever overtake the United States, but the game is simply adequate. Couple uninspiring gameplay with occasionally broken physics and stupendously idiotic AI, and this is a purchase for fans of the franchise only. Otherwise, just go play Far Cry.
Shadwen makes a lot of smart decisions, and I’ll definitely miss its rewind system in other stealth games, but it never fully comes together as a whole. There’s just not enough enemy variety, and the 15-level campaign grows tiresome as the end nears. Throw in one of the most anticlimactic endings in recent memory, and a lot of the initial goodwill is used up. While far from perfect, there’s still enough ambition here for stealth fans to appreciate, but Shadwen isn’t Agent 47.
Shadow of the Beast hits many right notes for that old-school difficult feeling, even with infinite lives. It's been made more accessible for all walks of players, but that doesn't mean all players are rewarded equally, pushing for practice and building those skills all while giving extra pats to those who tame the beast. It's a rather brilliant method for bringing an old-school difficult game in front of more people.
Defying the odds, id Software has made DOOM not only a relevant series in 2016, but a great one. They've also managed to create three distinct modes that all have their own appeal and feel to them. It's an amazing package, and one that I'll continue to come back to.
I absolutely adore VEV: Viva Ex Vivo‘s concept, which only serves to make me more disappointed in the final release. Exploring these different microscope slides should be exciting, but instead players are left frustrated due to awkward controls and bored by how little there is to do.
Deep challenges and rich rewards await if you decide to take on Valkyria Chronicles Remastered. If you’re playing it for the first time, this is as good a version as any to get a taste of the excellent blend of turn-based strategy and real-time action that made the game such a hit on PS3; if you’re a returning fan, on the other hand, you might be slightly disappointed to learn that this “remastering” doesn’t look much different from the original version (or offer any new content, for that matter). In any case, there’s no denying that it’s a true original that mostly stands the test of time — and if it does well, perhaps Sega will consider bringing new PS4 exclusive Valkyria: Azure Revolution over here. We can dream, can’t we?
If you’re a massive fan of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, or not at all picky about your hack-and-slash titles, you might get a kick out of MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can say is worth the investment for anyone else; outside of a decent multiplayer mode, the game only has a mind-numbingly dull campaign to offer. That mode is so monotonous and soulless — from its endless use of the same enemies over and over again, to its trite and tired narrative — that it drew my attention to just how fatigued this entire franchise is feeling with multiple releases every year. I think it’s time to give Neptune a well-deserved vacation.
A good series should end on a high note. Naughty Dog could beat the series into perpetuity, but they chose to close this chapter of their story at a high point and allow themselves and players to move on. In some ways it feels like I'm playing Uncharted for the first time again, living that sense of incredulity and adventure as we join Nathan Drake and his charming half-tuck for one final adventure rooted in love and sacrifice. It's a bittersweet feeling, but they've gone all in to make sure that A Thief's End is the Uncharted finale that the fans deserve.
If Borderlands and the MOBA genre could have a baby, I imagine it would look something like Battleborn. Gearbox Software's signature style shines here, even if the humor falls flat most of the time. With all kinds of loot to tempt gamers into coming back for more, this "hero shooter" looks to be making a name for itself, and should hopefully stick around for a while with content updates now and in the future. There's so much stuff to unlock and master, Battleborn is one for the collectors.
After an extremely positive first hour that was tremendously terrifying, Neverending Nightmares wears thin. The gorgeous visuals aren't enough to save the game from its own tedious design, and ultimately I was bored by the time the game ended less than three hours later. There's a lot of interesting ideas, but very few are capitalized on in any captivating way.
Ray Gigant doesn’t play like your average dungeon-crawler, and that’s refreshing, but it also doesn’t do enough to warrant more than a hesitant recommendation. Genre nuts will probably eat up the weird variations on combat and character progression, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I found myself enamored with the gameplay. Still, this is far too facile and obtuse an experience to give a hearty thumbs-up — especially with its awkward translation and lackluster visuals.
The Magic Circle will appeal to anyone who can laugh at themselves. The story told here forces you to get a little introspective, especially if you’ve ever backed a game and then felt betrayed by the developer when their finished product is nothing like what you expected. This is also a game for anyone who thought they could’ve made a better Duke Nukem Forever (hint: that was a train wreck from the first delay). But with such a short, occasionally preachy story, this doesn’t appeal to everyone.
While I still think that Chapter 1 has been The Odd Gentlemen’s strongest effort for its perfect weaving of the narrative with complex puzzles, I do love Once Upon a Climb for it’s great story, deep characters, and connections it gives the player to the decisions being made and the outcomes they lead to that actually matter. Chapter 3 had me smiling the entire way throughout, and sometimes even laughing out loud. As Graham matures and makes more meaningful connections during his time in Daventry, it seems like the tale being told deepens too, and I can’t wait to see what part of Graham’s life we get to be a part of next.
Party Hard is seemingly a patch away from being a much better game. The stealth gameplay is satisfying, but a game can't be this difficult while also being unfair to the player. The technical issues that bring down publisher tinyBuild's latest game are disappointing and really tarnish a solid base.
It’s a shame that Severed came so late in the Vita’s life cycle, because it had me wondering whether or not more games like it could have saved the system. That’s just wishful thinking, of course, so it’ll just have to remain what it is: an incredible eleventh-hour treat for fans who have invested their time and money into the handheld. If you enjoyed Guacamelee!, you’ll find a lot of what you loved in that game has returned. Vibrant colors with a unique “diorama” artstyle really pop off the screen, and its inventive gameplay successfully combines touch-twitch antics and old-fashioned role playing. There may not be enough reasons to shell out for a Vita now, but if there had been more content like this arriving alongside the system back in 2012, we might have seen a very different fate for Sony’s second portable.
Alienation is another extremely polished game from Housemarque that takes well known game mechanics and combines them in unconventional ways for an experience that is not only satisfying to play on the surface, but has a layer of depth that most other twin-stick shooters cannot claim. While it could do with a deeper tutorial to engage players in the beginning and the story isn't about to win any special awards, it's a game that I repeatedly find myself coming back to, even if it's just a mission or two here and there with random players. It's one of those games that urges you to continue playing beyond the initial offering and it succeeds in giving us yet another genre to loot a bunch of really cool and powerful weapons in.