Stevivor's Reviews
Ultimately, I think there’s too much here to fully judge the game off one playthrough. Those who dive headlong into this somewhat niche presentation of Australiana are sure to find joy amongst the rough. For gamers like me, boring min-maxers who like to “get it right” the first time, things can be a bit harder – but there’s still plenty here to love.
While Super Princess Peach on the DS was criticised for reducing a female lead to being very literally controlled by her emotions, Princess Peach Showtime only works to allow her to embody so many different roles because there isn’t really a defined character underneath it all. For all its faults, 2023’s Super Mario Brothers Movie at least gave us a Peach who was driven, confident and capable – if Nintendo needs tips on how to build a Princess who could helm a game on her own, they should just ask Anya Taylor-Joy for tips. For now, I don’t see Showtime making it to Broadway – but I might still check out the matinee if there’s nothing else going on.
While true fans of the franchise might get a kick out of seeing a new take on an old story, Alone in the Dark is a tonal and functional mess that frustrates more than it entertains.
Ultimately, I don’t really know who Skull and Bones is for. Diehard pirate nerds may get a kick out of the more “realistic” nature of things as opposed to Sea of Thieves, but after nearly 6 years the latter certainly does most things better. For the MMO, looter shooter gang among us (i.e. me) there’s just not enough meaningful here, and for there’s no depth there for the RPG crew either.
"Mario vs Donkey Kong... is an absolutely fantastic little puzzler."
Banishers Ghosts of New Eden's rough edges are easily compensated by its charm. I had a ball meeting the inhabitants of New Eden and making judgements accordingly.
Currently, I’m roughly 9-10 hours in to Suicide Squad and I feel pretty confident I’ve seen all that it has to offer by way of gameplay. To be honest, I don’t really want to spend any more time with it. That not how this works, of course — I’ve not yet spent enough time to properly score this fairly and accurately because we received our review code three days after the refund window closed on the die-hard DC fans that forked out ridiculous sums for early access, and only 13 hours before its general release. Do what you will with that information.
Persona 3 Reload is the best kind of remake: it honours the core of what makes the game great, but isn’t afraid to modernise the experience at the same time.
Tekken 8 will surely impress fans but I struggled to connect with it like I have Mortal Kombat 1 and Street Fighter 6. There's no denying it's a feast for the senses and is full of stuff to do... but if you're like me and haven't found Tekken memorable despite playing it across many years and many platforms, that's unlikely to change here.
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is devoted to trying all-new things while still reserving time for celebrating its long and storied history.
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown graciously blends the best components of previous iterations -- the original game included -- into what is easily the best Metroidvania game we’ve seen in recent years.
This is textbook average entertainment; it won't disappoint, but it certainly won't excite.
Super Mario RPG is made in reverence to the original, bringing it to a new audience while also reminding returning players what was so great about it in the first place.
Highly stylised and easy enough to understand, though complex and demanding as all hell.
While I did warm to new Like A Dragon protagonist Ichiban quickly, you can’t forget the OG. It’s great to see Kiryu take a victory lap in this tightly designed, smaller-scale story before the next big chapter kicks off
If you’re looking for more mini-games on your Nintendo Switch, or have fond memories of Smooth Moves over on the Wii, this one’s for you. Just make sure to stretch afterward, especially if you’re saddled with a bunch of squat poses.
Alan Wake 2 is the next glorious evolution of Remedy's signature gameplay and doesn't put a foot wrong.
Here, the question isn't whether or not Kojima's works are good, it's if Konami should have repackaged them. Again. I'd argue not. Or at least, I'd argue not in this fashion.
You absolutely need to play Spider-Man 2. Insomniac is the pinnacle Sony studio, showing off not only what it can do, but what the PS5 itself can do.
Super Mario Bros Wonder is a resounding success. It reboots a 2.5D reboot, with far more personality and the best balance and pacing in the modernised side-scrolling Super Mario Bros series.