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In the end, Hellblade is a game that wants to have its cake and eat but forgets that it’s a game first and foremost. At times I found myself extremely bored with the repetitive nature of the game’s design. Open or vaguely circular arenas always painfully signposted another combat section and the visual puzzles, no matter how interesting at first, felt overplayed.
Volition has essentially created their own open world hero shooter in the universe of Saints Row. Taking staple elements that are becoming increasingly popular with each passing day; Hero Characters, Loot Boxes, and Open Worlds. Splicing popular elements from other games has previously worked Volition's favour, but the lack of mission diversity, other than bosses, holds AoM back more than I’d have liked it to. The small world to explore meant things got boring and repetitive. Although, AoM isn’t so long that it becomes a total burden. If you were a fan of Saints Row then Agents of Mayhem could go either way for you, but there are nice nods to the combined universe. But, it can also be lighthearted fun and the humour is on point, as expected from Volition.
Difficulty aside, Sine Mora EX is a unique and fun experience that sits memorable amongst the plethora of cookie cutter shmups. More importantly, it's just a genuinely good game in its own right. If you didn't play it in 2012, you should definitely play it now.
Speaking broadly, Children of Zodiarc is a rather ambitious title, feeling somewhat scaled down. Perhaps its biggest flaw is that it leaves players wanting for more, which can also be considered a compliment. It honestly feels at home in Square Enix' own catalogue, and it's a shame that the publisher presumably had no role in funding. This is a title rich with potential and passion from its developers, but it's still very short and sweet.
And that is really Super Cloudbuilt in a nutshell. A fast paced rollercoaster ride that has its ups and downs. The main selling point is that of speed, precision, and style. If you're a fan of quick platformers that have more awe than punch then Super Cloudbuilt is right up your dream-laden alley.
There's a very fun, albeit rather simple, racing game here. The decent variety in game modes keeps you from getting bored, though variation between the characters' stats would have been welcome. Some of the challenges in the Hall of Fame are actually quite difficult, so there's content to move towards regardless of your skill with racing games. That said, this isn't really a title for diehard fans of very realistic driving games, for obvious reasons.
Sundered, at its heart, is a Metroidvania game that I could only recommend to those who have the tenacity to steel themselves for hours upon hours of grinding. There is a lot of fun to be had with Sundered, but it is quelled by an overwhelming amount of forceful pushback by enemy numbers and its desire to extend its own lifespan.
Technical issues aside, Aven Colony still draws you in for more. With little conversations between characters on missions propelling an intriguing little story forward, there's a lot of potential here. It's an engaging and satisfying experience, and gives you a different experience from the Sim Cities of old.
Which is a real shame because I bet the multiplayer experience would have been a lot of fun, because the game itself is. It's not necessarily groundbreaking in any regard but figuring out the knack to controlling Newbie at high speeds is really rewarding. Some of the challenges lie on the 'childish' side of easy, but not every game needs to be Dark Souls, right?
Deadcore feels like something that should have come to console sooner. It’s not terrible by any means, and many will enjoy the thrill of climbing the leaderboard. The overall 'Tron meets Portal' future aesthetic was also something I enjoyed. Sadly though, it’s all just a little underwhelming.
Granted that you have a few spares hours in the day to get some dirty work in for the mob, Serial Cleaner is not a bad purchase. However, it is fairly simple as far as stealth games go, is hardly demanding and can be completed before it even begins. And maybe that’s a good thing, since Serial Cleaner’s gameplay staggers as you get deeper into The Cleaner’s story.
Overall, if you are a fan of games like Limbo and Inside, then the chances are you’ll enjoy Black The Fall thanks to the similar mechanics and puzzles. Just don’t expect anything new or different being brought to the table. If you’re a newcomer to the genre however, be prepared for a lot of trial and error and potentially some frustrated hair pulling or broken controllers if you’re prone to a bit of rage quitting.
Assuming that you play the titles in chronological order, N. Sane Trilogy will only get better the more you go into it, and the combined playtime of trilogy confidently justifies its current price tag. It’s a reminder of why Crash was arguably the best at 3D platformers in the Nineties, and the few adjustments needed in these remakes show that the original trilogy have stood the test of time; especially Crash: Warped.
Prompto’s outing is underwhelming at best, with the gameplay being subpar to anything that has come before it, the open world being nothing more than a blank canvas that you can't really do much with, and sidequests being rather redundant in the scope. Its only saving grace is Prompto’s continued character development from a weeping man-child to someone more mature and collected, ready to face the world ahead of him.
Overall, Toby: The Secret Mine is a good game, even if it does feel like a shorter version of Limbo. It’s a charming puzzle platformer that I enjoyed putting a few hours into and what little story there was does give you the opportunity to let your imagination go and make up your own backstory for the characters and situations. If that’s the kind of thing you don’t mind doing. The thing that stops Toby: The Secret Mine from being a great game is the numerous similarities to Limbo as well as the lack of guidance around puzzles.
Dirt 4 lets you throw cars around narrow tracks at high speeds, it allows you to pit your machinery and wit against the world, it lets you blaze a trail of glory across the world and put your team in the spotlight. Dirt 4 is the embodiment of what we want, and remember, motor racing to be.
If you’re looking for a game with a strong story, accompanied by stunning visuals and engrossing soundtrack, I would recommend picking it up so long as you’re not looking for a new adventure puzzle experience. If you have played games like The Last Guardian and Journey and just weren’t feeling it, then this would probably be one to avoid as you won’t find anything different.
Even though The Town of Light fails at any sense of creating a compelling gameplay experience, it does do a fantastic job of illustrating the difficulties individuals face with metal health problems, even if it does focus on the past and how such cases were handle.
As a title, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward is polished. It might not always get everything right, but when it does, it does it pretty damn well. It’s an example of developers finally finding their footing and taking a game to its limits. Even if those limits are the consequence of a rather shameful disaster.
All games have their negatives and positives but with In Between the two can conflict and impact the player.