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I couldn’t help but to feel underwhelmed by Giraffe and Annika, with its adventure doing little to excite during its fairly short runtime. It’s not that anything was particularly bad about the game… there’s just not a whole lot to it. Sure, the vibrant world and quirky narrative do bring some charm to the journey and I enjoyed the rhythm-based battles, but everything else about Giraffe and Annika lacked any real spark of excitement to makes its adventure one that’s worth investing your time into.
Hunting Simulator 2 isn’t a bad game, but its slow-paced gameplay and focus on realism does mean that it isn’t always fun to play. Whilst I’m sure plenty of gamers will enjoy the process of tracking animals carefully, following the rules to a tee, and investing themselves completely in their gear, I just found that it all got a bit boring fast. There’s no denying that it does have its moments where it shines and getting a clean kill can be rewarding, but for the most part Hunting Simulator 2 is just a bit of a drag.
Gods Will Fall certainly has its enjoyable moments and the boss battles themselves were fun, but some frustrating design choices saw me tire of the game quite quickly. Sure, it has some clever ideas on show and it tries to do something unique with its setup, but the unpredictable nature of the game and punishment for failure saw me getting more and more annoyed with each playthrough. It’s a shame too because there were occasions where I was having a really good time battling through each realm, especially when I would finally slay a boss that had been causing me trouble. The times in between though? I don’t necessarily hold such fond memories for those…
I’m not going to pretend that Red Colony is a good game, because between the flawed gameplay and the bugs, it really isn’t. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not entertaining, with the absurdly intriguing story and character interactions (as well as a pretty short length) doing more than enough to keep me entertained during my playthrough. It’s weird, it’s kinda crappy, and it’s buggy, but it’s charming too. Red Colony DEFINITELY won’t be for everyone, but if you do decide to give it a try, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised…
Whilst The Town of Light remains an atmospheric experience from start to end thanks to its fantastic yet harrowing location, the narrative elements don’t quite match up in quality. Renée’s tale has a lot of potential to offer an emotional trip through the treatment of mental patients back in the 1940s, but instead feels slightly fragmented and convoluted. Don’t get me wrong, it has its moments where it shines and you’ll genuinely feel absorbed by what’s going on, but then it’ll quickly move to another scene that’ll leave you a little baffled. I wouldn’t say The Town of Light is a bad game by any means, but I was left a little underwhelmed by it. There’s so much potential here thanks to the genuinely disturbing subject matter, but instead The Town of Light feels like just another average ‘walking simulator’ to add to the ever growing selection.
Ghostanoid certainly has some charm thanks to its cutesy ghost-hunting setup, but a lack of level variety and some frustrating design choices see it feeling like one of the weaker Arkanoid-style titles that are available. Still, with its low price point, it might be worth a punt if you’re interested in this type of game – just expect a few frustrations here and there…
Daymare: 1998 is made by a small studio on a small budget, so it is easy to be more forgiving towards some of its problems. However, when you consider that it’s competing against both the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes for survival horror supremacy on modern consoles, it’s also easy to see how short it falls of the mark in comparative quality. With its clunky controls, poor narrative, and performance issues, it’s just a little difficult to really recommend Daymare: 1998. In fairness, it never felt awful or unplayable whilst the unnerving atmosphere and neat old-school puzzles were highlights of the experience, but overall Daymare: 1998 just felt a little underwhelming – especially when there are much better survival horror titles available on the PlayStation 4 that you can get for much cheaper these days.
Nippon Marathon offered some fun with its multiplayer showdowns and my friends and I had plenty of laughs as we raced across each bizarre course, but there’s no denying that it’s ultimately a flawed experience that lacks the depth to keep you hooked in for too long. Add to that some janky physics, a varying quality of level design, and a lacking single player mode and it’d be easy to completely dismiss the game and play something better. Still, the moments of fun it does offer deserve some praise and the silliness of the whole experience did offer something completely unique when looking for that local multiplayer fix. There are undoubtedly better multiplayer games to play out there, but if you want something a bit different (and completely bizarre) it might be worth giving Nippon Marathon a look just to experience the absurdity of it all first hand – just don’t expect to want to spend more than a few hours playing it.
Island Time VR has some neat ideas on show and can be a lot of fun to play, but unfortunately you’ll see everything that it has to offer in around an hour. After that, you’re simply repeating the same tasks over and over again as you look to survive that little bit longer… there’s really not much to it. This wouldn’t typically be a problem but when you consider that it’s £16.99, you’re not really getting a lot of bang for your buck – especially when there are meatier PlayStation VR titles available right now for a much lower price. It has a lot of charm though and if you saw it on sale for a more reasonable price I’d definitely recommend picking it up, if only to see the many ways you can die or just to experience how fun and creative island life can be. Right now though, there’s simply not enough on offer to make Island Time VR an essential PlayStation VR purchase.
Trulon: The Shadow Engine certainly isn’t a bad game, but the random nature of the battle system and slightly underdeveloped story leaves it falling behind the masses of better RPGs that are out already. I love the vibrant visual style whilst the nods to classic 16-bit RPGs do give it a good amount of personality, but this charming adventure just falls a little short on most other facets of design.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants can be fun, but it’s a bit too simple and short to stand out for anyone other than fans of the series. The side-scrolling brawling gameplay is simplistic and doesn’t bring with it any fresh ideas, whilst the unbalanced difficulty feels like its designed to drain your health as opposed to offer a satisfying sense of challenge to the player. There’s some fun to be had if you can get four players together and there’s no doubting that a younger audience might appreciate the simplicity of the gameplay more, but for everyone else, it’s hard to recommend Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants when there are so many better releases available in the genre.
The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered has some neat ideas, but the repetitive gameplay loop and lack of engaging storytelling holds it back. It’s not that I’d say that anything in the game is bad at all, but rather that the systems it has didn’t offer enough to keep me invested in the meaty adventure. Whilst I enjoyed toying about with the formation system, loved the visuals, and found the gameplay loop engaging early on, there are a few too many flaws for it to stand out as an essential release of the genre.
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection could have been an old-school treat, but a botched launch has made it hard to recommend to even the most die-hard of Star Wars fans. Don’t get me wrong, it has been a lot of fun to re-visit the single player modes and the technical improvements really do enhance the experience, but the issues that have plagued multiplayer are an absolute nightmare. Whilst it has been easier to get into matches since launch, the fact that they still bring with them a myriad of bugs really does sour the collection as a whole. I do believe that Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is going to be fixed over the coming weeks and the single player modes certainly offers enough enjoyable content to keep players busy, but if you’re hoping to re-live the multiplayer battles of yesteryear, you’ll want to hold off on purchasing for now. My score mostly reflects on the single player experience and the rare success I had with online play, but you can take two points off if you’re only interested in the multiplayer.
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle improves over the original game and has some cool ideas, but it still has some issues that stop it from being a must-play release in the genre.
Lifeless Moon is an intriguing sci-fi escapade that has some cool ideas, but the lacking gameplay mechanics and overall simplicity let it down. It’s not that anything in the game is bad at all, but rather that it doesn’t do anything that feels exciting – exploration is limited and linear despite the open environments, the puzzles are unusual but lack any challenge, whilst the story can feel a little convoluted despite its many moments of intrigue. I’m glad I played the game and there was certainly more that I liked about Lifeless Moon than I disliked, but it just needed a bit more oomph to stand out in the very crowded narrative-driven puzzler genre. It has been a long time since I played the first game so it’s hard to say how it compares exactly, but with so many years since its original release, it’s disappointing that Lifeless Moon doesn’t feel like it has built upon that game’s successful formula in a more meaningful manner.
Death or Treat has a charming Halloween vibe, but its repetitive gameplay mechanics and awkward loot system do make it hard to recommend when compared to other roguelites. It’s not that anything is bad at all, but rather that it lacks to depth and creativity to keep players hooked in for long – especially with its tiring emphasis on gathering randomised loot. It just doesn’t do anything I haven’t seen done much better in other roguelite titles. The visuals are great and the whole ‘us versus the corporation’ vibe of HallowTown was fun to see unfold, but Death or Treat just lacked that special *something* to stand out in what is a very crowded genre.
Redfall is a bit of a technical mess right now, but there’s no doubting that behind the issues there’s a satisfying vampire-slaying romp for players to embark on. It won’t win points for originality with its gunplay and the missions can get repetitive, but between uncovering the sinister sights of the town, working with friends in rewarding co-op action, and utilising the wonderful abilities of your character, there is a good time to be had. As it stands, though? It really needs some work. I would recommend holding off on Redfall until it has a couple of patches to fix its issues, but when the game is finally in full working order, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Moviehouse certainly nails the vibe of running your own movie studio, but the gameplay loop can get repetitive quite quickly. It’s not that anything is bad at all, but rather you do a lot of the same things over and over again with not much extra to do in between. Sure, some new ideas are introduced to spice things up as you play, but they don’t really make the process any more exciting. I don’t think the game is bad at all and those early hours playing were a lot of fun as I slowly figured out what worked (and nothing beat getting that massive blockbuster success). Moviehouse just didn’t do enough to keep me invested for long, with the management gameplay lacking the depth and creativity for my movie making career to be an ongoing one.
When played with friends, Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a whole lot of fun. When played with strangers, it’s just a bit tedious and dull. It really is a multiplayer game that demands strategy and player coordination and, when played right, it can really make for a thrilling experience. If you end up with players who don’t want to chat and just do their own thing, though? Expect to be left frustrated. The lack of content doesn’t help either, with the one game mode and five maps growing repetitive the more you play. It’s clear that there’s Hood: Outlaws & Legends is doing something right (I can vouch for that with the fun I’ve had with friends), but it does lack that special *something* right now. With the right amount of support and content though, I can see it being a game I’ll come back to again… well… as long as my teammates are willing to communicate with me, that is.
Say NO! More is an undoubtedly unique game and its quirky sense of humour is certainly endearing, but its gameplay lacks any sort of depth to make it feel that engaging. You’re literally just pressing a button to say NO over and over again… and that’s it. That sort of simplicity CAN work in games, but in this case I couldn’t help but to wish that it offered a little something extra – if only to help immerse me further and make me feel like I’m really having an impact on its bizarre (yet relatable) world. It’s not a bad game by any means and the zany scenarios, charming narrative, and wacky ways of saying NO do make for a memorable experience. It just doesn’t really do enough to make it essential playing when compared to other comical games that try to do something a bit *different*.