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Candlelight is a lot of great and fun ideas that feel more disjointed than cohesive. Rather than teach the player or provide a challenge, it throws things at you as if to say “hey, check this cool thing out,” without utilizing that mechanic as a lesson to overcome future challenges, instead getting redundant by often falling back on very basic platforming in the later levels. A bit more thought out design could have made Candlelight shine its own candle as an indie gem, but as it stands, the enjoyment waxes and wanes as little more than a testament to a bunch of pretty cool ideas that the developer had.
“Adorable” is about the biggest compliment I can give to Catlateral Damage as a whole. As a cat lover, I relished the chance to vicariously experience the destruction they cause, only to find that knocking things over ad nauseum wasn’t all I thought it would be. In any case, there are plenty of laughs and smiles to be had if you’re of a mind to enjoy this silly “Simulator” stuff, and creator Chris Chung has seen fit to stuff the game with a plethora of cutesy collectibles (including a surprise “Pawlatinum!”). Go in with modest expectations and a lighthearted attitude and you’ll be sure to have a good time.
Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault is a safe tower defense game. Its rotating zones of units is a novel approach to changing up the gameplay a little bit, but at the end of the day this is yet another tower defense game in a genre full of them. But it does have anime-inspired cutscenes and characters, so it will appeal to a certain niche of gamers. Outside of some blocky textures, there’s nothing terribly wrong with Aegis of Earth — but there’s also nothing groundbreaking here, either.
With LucasArts reduced to a licensor under Disney at this point, Day of the Tentacle Remastered serves as a sobering reminder of the brand’s storied past as a home for some of the most talented storytellers and developers in the gaming industry. Overflowing with buckets of self-aware humor and charm, and bringing the beloved point-and-click cartoon adventure into gorgeous HD, this should be a priority for both fans of the original game as well as anyone looking to play an important and influential part of gaming history. While not all of the game stands toe-to-toe with modern expectations — with some puzzles remaining obnoxiously hard to figure out and voiceover volume that’s sometimes inconsistent — the vast majority of this Maniac Mansion sequel passes the old “test of time” with flying colors.
République has a story to tell, one that will make most players empathize with Hope while laughing at Cooper's dry sense of humor (especially when told through your phone's TTS engine). A lot of thought and care went into this game, more so than expected at first glance. While République can be a little rough around the edges at times, its flaws are never so pronounced that it ruins the experience. If you can power through the occasionally awkward controls and camera cuts, this is a cheap, thought-provoking, and perhaps more than a little terrifyingly realistic view of a possible future for our society. Pick this up if you want a neat take on the stealth genre, and especially if you bought it on mobile and want to experience controlling Hope directly.
If you're going to pilfer game concepts and ideas, the Souls series is up there as one of the best franchises to take from. Salt and Sanctuary is fairly shameless in the way it replicates elements from games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but that's not really a bad thing when you see how it all comes together as a polished and thoroughly enjoyable final product. Sure, it would have been nice to see Ska Studios put a bit more of their own flavor and identity into the project, but let's be honest — effectively bringing the gorgeous aesthetic and brutal challenge of From Software's work together with classic 2D side-scrolling is quite an accomplishment of its own, and players will relish the way that marriage instills a sense of retro nostalgia like never before.
Senran Kagura Estival Versus sure has a lot of fanservice…and, unfortunately, not a whole lot else. If you're a longtime addict of the tongue-in-cheek T&A action here, you may just find enough to enjoy. For everyone else, however, the simplistic beat-'em-up action isn't likely to be substantial enough for more than a quick laugh or two — barely distinguishable characters and repetitive stage design actually make the teenage titillation quite tedious. The presentation, both in the visual and audio departments, has a cartoon energy that leaps out of the screen and the speakers — it's just a shame the gameplay comes nowhere close to matching that level of enthusiasm.
Fast loading, fast hitting, and ready to rumble, EA Sports UFC 2 is ready for the octagon.
The Division is something special that's never really been done before in games, and while I don't expect perfection from such a bold experiment, I'm impressed with what they have been able to pull off so far. We're just one week post-pandemic. Imagine what's in store for us going forward.
It’s been several years since the Western countries last saw a Samurai Warriors Empires release. It appears that the core of this entry is solid, with a few new strategic elements thrown in. Samurai Warriors 4 Empires is definitely an entry for hardcore Empires fans — with the same repetitive combat, and even reused graphics and audio assets, this release will not do much to convert anyone who isn’t already heavily invested in the series.
Io Interactive has taken a different approach to Hitman's release schedule, and if each mission is as fleshed out as what we've seen in Paris, then there is much for fans to be happy about. There's so many ways to take on this single mission, part of the fun will be seeing other players' creative ways that they assassinate the targets. If you've ever wanted to play the part of a super agent in a large sandbox, this is as good as it gets. With a fairly robust content creation engine, and future missions promised throughout the coming year, it looks like Hitman will be the weapon of choice of stealth gamers for the foreseeable future.
Adding up all the features in this arcadey game gives it a pretty high value. There's replayability in the different modes like Daily Drive, Infinity Drive, and Boss Rush for those that like to buckle down and test their skills to get top scores on leaderboards. There's the campaign, which has an interesting story with different dialogue per character. There's extra stuff to buy with credits (earned by your scores per level) like game altering fun features, or concept art and codex entries to further learn about the characters and enemies. The soundtrack is very appropriate to the game, and you can go back and listen to any songs you want. I will even say I would love to see an Assault Android Cactus 2 in the future, because I was so impressed with this one. And hey, if you don't like their silly huge heads, just turn them off with the extra feature!
For those that miss the '90s and its truly classic FPS titles, then Gunscape is going to be a real treat. The builder is easy to use and offers a pleasantly nostalgic array of materials that are really only limited by your imagination, as cliché as that sounds. The story is poor beyond belief, but works well enough to inspire creativity and showcase the tools at your disposal. It's a very niche title that's not going to appeal to those looking for a plug in and play experience, but for those looking to sink some methodical hours and create something unique, it's an undeniably effective tool that's as functional and rewarding as it is nostalgic.
If you're a huge fan of Nippon Ichi's games, then this is the game for you. However, the same reasons that fans enjoy their games are the same reasons to avoid them if you've not liked their work up to this point. The story is absurd, bordering on nonsensical at times. The graphics are disappointing at best, laggy at worst. Combat has a unique multi-weapon approach, but still mostly boils down to mashing the Square button until you can occasionally use a special ability. But by now, you likely know what to expect from this developer. Nippon continues to show that they really understand their demographic. They even have a decent combat system. This is, however, still the same game that released two years ago, with the same flaws and blemishes as before. If you really wanted the game on the PS3 but missed it, then go ahead and grab this. However, if you already own the PS3 version, then there is little reason to pick it up.
Ironcast has a fascinatingly complex base game, filled with myriad details to keep track of and a brilliant sense of strategy. Unfortunately, while serious tacticians will find themselves enjoying the nightmarish difficulty, anyone looking for a lighter challenge will be left in the dust, as permadeath and a merciless RNG slow progress to an unsatisfying crawl. That may seem like a personal problem rather than a serious criticism, but there is so much richness here that a lot of players will probably never get to see — repeating the same missions over and over again is only fun for so long, and "so long" is exactly what I said to Dreadbit's fiendish genre-blend.
Hitman GO: Definitive Edition takes the critically acclaimed mobile game and all its DLC, then slaps it on PS4. If you've already got the game in to-go form, there's really no reason to opt into its release on consoles; this version is just as fun and cerebral as the mobile experience, but it's held back a bit by its lack of portability. That's not to say anything is necessarily lost, but it's definitely a pick-up-and-play experience that's better enjoyed on the move — "GO" is in the title for a reason. On the other hand, if you haven't gotten around to this quirky and minimalist little spinoff, PS4's a fine place to take a crack at its ingenious little puzzles. There's a Vita version as well, though, and if you're an owner of Sony's portable and regularly bring it with you, that might be the best way to enjoy the temporary zen of Square Enix's little puzzler.
In terms of gameplay though? Far Cry Primal is a shining example of how a game series should advance, with meaningful and broad changes to the status quo while retaining the characteristics of the core game. A better backstory for Takkar, the Wenja, or even a stronger interwoven narrative may have helped, but it's still a lot of fun to ride a saber tooth tiger and launch spears at cannibalistic primitives for no other reason than we can.
If you think you have no interest in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, I implore you to reconsider. Distinctive characters, detailed maps and a lively sense of chaos all add up to one of the finest family-friendly multiplayer experiences on PS4. There's also solo play this time around, and while that suffers a bit from balancing issues, it's nice to be able to squeeze in a little experience-building and item-collecting in between rounds of online action. Overall, though, it's the childlike qualities at the center of GW2 that are the most important — a seemingly limitless energy, a fearlessly goofy aesthetic and a commitment to making playing fun above all else. Sure, you're not going to see this at any serious competitive tournaments, but you will laugh and smile a lot if you round up some friends and family to play with, and that seems to get to the heart of why we play video games in the first place.
Street Fighter V feels like a gigantic tease for the hardcore fans of the franchise. If Capcom can stay true to their word, however, then it sounds like this is just the tip of the iceberg. It'll feel strange playing a fighting game for hours on end in order to unlock a character, which is a sad statement of the current state of the video game industry. Short campaigns and a lack of meaty content aside, the important part of this fighting game, namely, the combat, is solid. Yet the net code, at least at launch, is not stable. With the lack of fighting game basics such as a proper Arcade Mode, Street Fighter V feels like an appetizer, rather than the main course that it should be as a numbered entry in a venerable franchise. Capcom's DLC plans also leave some questions up in the air: will the pricing be fair with the game's "free" currency, or is it going to be more like a freemium game? Can they really deliver the planned content on-time? As of the time of this review, Street Fighter V is a showcase of potential, but little else.
What Layers of Fear lacks in complexity, it more than makes up for with atmosphere. It's a bizarre and thrilling ride that doesn't even considering letting up as you traverse a truly broken mind. The concept is incredibly novel and well portrayed, the wellbeing of your limping vessel never coming into debate as he works on his masterpiece. It's just a shame that, even with all the literary influences, the phenomenal and thought-provoking ambience isn't backed up by the writing or voice work that can both feel flat and uninspired more often than not. The dodgy frame rate that's becoming depressingly synonymous with Unity on PS4 adds to the issues here and pushes it that bit further away from truly hitting the mark P.T seems to dominate, even if it's now starting to pass into gaming mythology.