Gamer Escape
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So I might be a bit more reluctant to go wade back in, but if you like yourself some Souls-like action and fancy something novel, you should definitely give this a shot. And if you like buckets of blood and body horror, you might get a kick out of it too.
It has the weighty action and focus on learning enemy patterns to punish, but at eight hours to beat it’s relatively short and is lacking depth in many of its systems. At $30 and with an easier learning curve this is a good starter for anyone who hasn’t played this style of game, but veteran players may find the experience underwhelming.
It just doesn’t seem they put as much love and detail into the gameplay as they did the character writing and world building. In the end, while not a must play, Haven is still worth a glance if you’re looking for a feel-good experience.
The story is engaging and filled with noir goodness, the gameplay added to the feeling I was a memory hacking detective, and the visuals felt straight out of one of my favorite 80s movies. But the absolutely relentless and aggressive lights and patterns that invade the game a few hours in made it a hard game to finish. Because of this I still recommend it, but with a large and bold asterisk.
Years later, it’s still a bloody good romp worth a good slash with the added benefit of portable play. Head on down to Santa Destroy, you’ll leave happy.
So the score I’m giving this game is on the high end of that same number… but ultimately, it’s a game I can’t really recommend to a lot of people. For all the neat ideas at play and the interesting visuals, it never quite has enough meat on its bones. There’s just not enough to rave about here.
Like I said at the beginning, you kind of want these games at some point to stop working, but… Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla really works. It works in all the ways it wants to work. It takes the bones of its predecessor and improves the overall gameplay significantly, giving players plenty to do, characters to invest in, and a satisfying core gameplay loop that’s been refined down to a careful formula at this point.
But the whole thing is presented with such care, patient attention to detail, and downright love that it’s impossible not to enjoy the heck out of this game. It’s the sort of game that I highly recommend to people who may naturally only be inclined to one side or the other of this particular melange, because you might find yourself enjoying it more than you expected.
If you’re already a fan of the Dirt franchise, there’s little to take issue with here – jump right in. If you’re a racing fan who’s new to the series, though, I can definitely say Dirt 5 is worth a look.
REKT is a game that has some potential, but ultimately suffers from being very light on content while seemingly missing every chance to realize that potential. If you like the idea of playing a slimmed-down version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater meets Rocket League with cars instead of skateboards, you can certainly get some enjoyment out of this. But I think that’s a pretty niche audience for a game in today’s market.
Overall, Clea goes for an unsettling style of horror and, at least for me, completely fails. The atmosphere never really “lands,” enemies are more frustrating than frightening, and I really just struggled to find the desire to even play this game.
While I wouldn’t list Fallen Angel as my game of the year, it’s definitely entertaining while it lasts. It’s hard to enough to be satisfying, has a fantastic variety of areas, and the combat is fast and snappy. There’s a few flaws here and there, namely in a few minor bugs and the combat stagnating partway through, but it’s definitely worth the asking price.
If you’ve been interested in taking this classic franchise for a spin, New ‘n’ Tasty seems to be the best way to do it. Just be prepared for some of that old-school clunkiness.
Disc Room is short and sweet, with an interesting aesthetic and some intriguing character building. Unfortunately the latter is hidden in menus, so there’s a chance not all players will get to see what is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the game.
But sadly, at the end of the day I just can’t really recommend Tears of Avia to anyone else. Not being terrible is not the same as actually being good, and while I understand that this was made with love, it is ultimately a love that has little to nothing to add to the genre aside from being more of it.
I’m really hoping that additional content is coming for this game. Mostly because this is a passing curiosity at best, and a nose-pickingly boring experience at worst. Wait for a sale if it piques your interest, but avoid it otherwise.
This game is a solid pick-up for beat-’em-up fans, particularly if you can find a friend to play with. Give it a play, and unleash your inner monk.
But otherwise? Caveat emptor. This is a fun game when it works, but the “working” part isn’t assured. It’s just that the technical issues don’t render it unplayable.
Seriously, what downsides it does have are either due to its age or just the fact that the designers prioritized a fun dungeon crawl over character building. That’s fine. The game you have here is a fine, crisp, energetic dungeon crawl that’s good to pick up and play and rewards you with bosses that are tough enough to matter but not so hard that you’ll want to throw the game in the garbage.
In this day and age, sometimes we just need to hold down the trigger and scream at the top of our lungs. Serious Sam 4 succeeds on that front, and delivers it with a dual rocket launcher-wielding grin on its face.