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Come for the delightful artwork, stay for the level editor. You’ve seen everything else before.
The chillest rocket in the galaxy is a fun mascot, even if he’s a little shallow, but he’s not really the star of the show. Instead, it’s that oscillating vector, the new wave sinusoid that you actually control. The wave that is both your new favourite toy and in so many courses your cruel mistress. It’s the creation of a whole new sub-genre, which I am dubbing, the Waveformer. When we talk about game physics in future, I hope Wavey is name-checked along with the likes of Portal.
Streets of Rage 4 is not here to redefine the genre. It’s here to give fans something they have waited over 2 decades for and it doesn’t disappoint.
If you’re a veteran of Solomon’s Key and are desperate for more, Ghost Sweeper will provide you with what feels like the levels from the 1980’s classic that didn’t make the cut. The mechanics and enemy types have been recreated with a spit shine for modern TV’s and having a second playable character is a nice touch. Compared to modern day puzzle platformers though, Ghost Sweeper feels like a relic from the past that needed more of a refresh that simply updated visuals.
Non-violent yet regularly thrilling, it has a surprisingly powerful story that takes a little too long to draw you in, but eventually pays off. The vast majority of the puzzles, mostly based on scouring the environment for clues and thinking outside of the box, are well designed to offer just enough of a challenge without feeling over complex.
As it is now, whilst it’s not unplayable, it’s not far off. It’s trying too hard with its story scenario hopping all over the shop, coupled with an inventory management system that just doesn’t work in this kind of game.
With a few technical restrictions and its demands on your gaming rig, Cloudpunk isn’t perfect. It’s a quite simple in structure and though it promises a lot of freedom, it’s a freedom within certain boundaries and confines of the tech, and within the heavily limited actions available. This is not Grand Theft Auto in a futuristic metropolis. It does however feature the most wonderfully realised sci-fi city I’ve ever had the pleasure to fly around, and goddamn, it’s the first flying car game I’ve ever played, and I can’t believe the stunning lack of flying car games in the gaming market.
You can’t go far wrong with Shred! 2. It has indie title written all over it, so if you can appreciate it at that arcade level and price point, it’s definitely worth a look for those that want to push themselves. It’ll push you and you’ll get mad at times (please, do. I can’t be the only one that gets annoyed), but if you can persevere until you unlock new rides to help, it opens up the challenge with progression and practice.
Dread Nautical is a solid and intriguing turned based, tactical roguelike RPG, just don’t expect your tense horror itch to be scratched, because you’ll be very much looking in the wrong place. The gameplay isn’t too overbearing for newcomers and the games primary characters certainly are fun to explore this doomed ship with, the story is twisty and keeps you engaged, and the hard mode will test your metal beyond much else around at the moment, but there’s very little here you haven’t seen before elsewhere and executed with more panache.
The Inner Friend is a short but sweet experience that will give back as much as you put into it. You’ve got to read between the lines with this game and if you like your narratives to have a clear structure, you’ll likely bounce right off this. If you like a game to challenge you, to make you think and maybe, just maybe, make you feel something, then The Inner Friend is certainly worth a look. Some sticky platforming sections aside, it’s a thrilling and occasionally chilling game that’s truly artistic in its vision.
Ancient Enemy is a chilled out take on Solitaire underneath a RPG card battler. It’s not the longest of games, the narrative is a little rote and if you really dig into the mechanics early on, you can find combinations of attacks and special abilities that make the game a touch too early. That being said, it looks fantastic, sets a brooding tone through its music and writing and, as card battlers go, is really quite enjoyable to play.
Super Toy Cars 2 is one of the worst examples of this genre I’ve played in the past few years (surprisingly not the worst). The visuals, much improved over its predecessor and a decent soundtrack are its only saving graces.
WarriOrb is a painful experience, and your enjoyment levels will depend on how masochistic you are. I found no impetus, no driving force to get the wisecracking Orb from A to B through any more sorry-looking levels. Very quickly I had had enough of retrying broken platforming sections two or three dozen times, for what is essentially no reward, except more of the same relentless, slow, monotonic boredom.
There’s a ton to love about Moving Out and it comes recommended as a new title to place in your party playlists next to Jackbox and Overcooked. It’s just a shame you don’t have the option to also move out that enormous online shaped elephant in the room.
Once you get your head around the time and patience aspect, Snowrunner is going to engross you. It won’t win any Game of the Year awards for being niche, but then neither does Train Simulator. If you can convince some friends to join you, then even better. But even as a solo experience, there’s some absolute joy to be had when you get stuck into it.
MotoGP 20 is a game developed for its existing fans and the lack of any kind of tutorial is testament to that. This game isn’t trying to win over anyone new (or, if it is, isn’t going to do a good job with it). Instead, this is a cracking racing sim that’s a celebration of the MotoGP heroes through the Historic Mode and a gaze into a bizzaro alternative universe where the GP’s actually went ahead this year. It looks great, handles even better and once you’ve got used to its particular idiosyncrasies, it’s a whole lot of fun to play.
Little things have been lost along the way, but what we have gained far outweighs the losses. What matters is still intact, and that’s the heart and soul of one of the greatest stories in video game history. It’s a return to form that has felt a long time in coming, and what’s even better is that there’s still at least two more games of this quality to come.
Arc System Works have only continued to hone their craft and have offered this stunning, smooth and fast-paced fighter as a testament to that. I don’t think it’ll have as big an audience as other genre mainstays, but if you’re a fan of Guilty Gear or Dragonball FighterZ, this is well worth checking out.
As a single-player experience, there is little to keep you playing past the first few rounds, but as a party game with some mates, there’s fun to be had. It’s not the epic that Rocket League is, it’s not the clever and skilled party game that Over-Cooked is, nor is it as memorable as many classic party games, like the Crash Bash, Mario Parties and Pokemon Stadium mini-games of old. But it does what it sets out to do, just with absolutely no embellishments or flair. There’s just very little to it and that lack of content is the main story here.
The journey from PC’s to PS4 has not been a kind one on Construction Simulator 3 – Console Edition. The lack of control inputs has made using the generous real-world excavators and heavy machinery a bit of an unnecessary chore. Fighting the camera in any game isn’t fun and you might be doing that a lot here. Those with the patience to can forgive its foibles and push through the issues that Construction Sim 3 has though will be rewarded with that strangely therapeutic and relaxing game play loop.