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Legend of Mana Remastered rounds out the 90s Mana titles to be brought onto modern consoles in a true-to-form remaster. Updated visuals and new features are certainly a nice touch, even if the narrative can be a challenge to earn. While the game shows its age in places, fans of the genre and Mana series as a whole will love returning to the world of Fa’Diel, or experience it for the first time.
Imagine Earth is a great strategy title with a meaningful underlying message. With original mechanics regarding natural resources, the health of your planet, and overpopulation, the game offers an immersive and thought-provoking experience that will satisfy both veteran strategy game fans and newbies alike. Its gorgeous visuals and story will be a great fit for anyone who enjoys city builders and strategy titles and is keen to try out something new.
Mario Golf: Super Rush is one of the few games Nintendo puts out that every now and then is a bit of a miss. While trying its best by adding new modes, it doesn’t have the charm, polish and even satisfaction that have come from previous superb titles in the Mario sports series. What it needed to succeed was more doubling down on those beloved Mario characters, more time in the oven and plenty of ways to sink your time. Despite some moments of promise, it failed to match on almost all those fronts.
It’s unmistakable that Disgaea continues to be genuinely unique – there really isn’t anything else like it. Nothing really comes close with such a zany story, beyond ridiculous levelling, and an extreme amount of systems within the game. Every entry tries to change enough to warrant its existence, making improvements but creating new flaws. The 3D modelled characters will be hit or miss, and the current level balancing issues and lack of classes will certainly annoy fans. Yet the chaotic isometric tactical gameplay will always reign supreme over these issues, providing hours upon hours of complex mechanics and charming characters to tinker with. Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny is a delightfully addictive game packed with personality and content.
Scarlet Nexus combines an enthralling story with fascinating characters and an addictive combat system that demands your attention. As you slowly peel back the layers of its cast, the twists and turns of the narrative will keep you engaged throughout its lengthy adventure, and as your skills increase, battles become a chaotic dance of exploding enemy bits, crazy finishing movies and endorphin increasing pleasure. While there are some areas that can feel repetitive at times and the visual novel presentation of its cutscenes might not be for everyone, there’s a lot packed into this dual protagonist story that begs for an extra playthrough as soon as you finish your first. Scarlet Nexus is unmatched when it comes to style and oomph. It manages to incorporate so many clever and creative combat systems that are slick and exciting that it far outweighs the slower pace of its narrative with in-your-face, over-the-top action that simply must be played to be believed.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance isn’t a bad game, but it does feel insubstantial at the moment. The lack of character development, plot or world-building will probably turn away hardcore D&D fans. As for the fans of multiplayer action games, while the core of the experience is fairly solid, the lack of technical polish, repetitive structure and unexciting loot system will likely not satisfy for long. Hopefully over time, patches and additional content can flesh out the experience and make it the rollicking fantasy hack and slash multiplayer funfest it has the potential to be. Just make sure you don’t forget to bring a friend or three.
A niche but mostly well-presented experience, Red Solstice 2 attempts to create something entirely new by blending established genres. While its mishmash of strategy mechanics into an action game doesn’t quite hit the mark, it does provide a swathe of tense, tactical moment-to-moment gameplay and absolutely nails its occasional moments of creeping alien horror. It’s far from a strategy game at heart, and struggles to strike a balance between its complex real-time strategy mechanics and action-oriented gameplay – but for sci-fi fans who are prepared to overcome the game’s learning curve and just want to squad up and rip apart some eldritch abominations, there’ll eventually be plenty of gooey green blood to sink your grenades into.
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is good for a short time, not a long time. What could have been a glorious game full of compelling contracts and challenging assassinations gets muddied by boring regions that are just begging to be filled with objectives to make them seem worthwhile. Instead, you’ll spend more time walking around than actually sniping the baddies. Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 feels unsure of whether it can truly be a strong sniper simulator so instead it tries to outgun other FPS and assassination games – unfortunately, despite it’s fun sniping gunplay, it misses the mark on both.
Remakes of true classics are usually cause for some concern, particularly a game that’s almost 35 years old, but this is so much more than just an old game with a new skin. Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX balances perfectly the updates an old game needs whilst still staying true to what made the original such a landmark title. The quirks of the gameplay are all still there, controlling just like the original, although with little tweaks that make the experience even better. The new levels fit so well, it’s pretty, and it sounds good to boot.
Game Builder Garage makes programming fun, with easy-to-follow tutorials and plenty of in-game resources to help you if you get lost. It’s easy on the eyes too, although a lack of visual customisation options was disappointing to see. With so many things it does right, it’s astounding that Nintendo would shoot themselves in their own foot so badly by not including any in-game search function. It may find an audience with some budding game designers, but it’s unlikely to become the phenomenon it could have been.
As is the case with many good multiplayer games, the game itself is well made, but mileage may vary with your actual experience playing it. Mechanically, I was impressed with the depth and breadth of everything that you get to play with. Combat itself is incredibly detailed, and the capabilities to have such a compelling game in a crowd of warring factions is impressive. However, the chaos of the battlefield may be a dealbreaker for you; you may find it compelling, or you may find it frustrating. At best I can say it is part of Chivalry 2’s charm, but I’m not able to say that I always appreciated it. Regardless, the specific flavour of madness it provides makes for a fun, violent time, even amongst the varying degrees of chaos.
Roguebook is a refreshing take on traditional card games. With its original map and combat mechanics, it delivers engaging roguelike elements that keep things interesting run after run. While the game might not contain the world’s most ground-breaking story, card game aficionados are sure to find something to their liking in this Faeria-themed release.
Studio Fizbin have crafted a wonderful experience that achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It’s set in an intriguing world and tells an emotional story that explores a specific type of sadness, and how it affects relationships between loved ones. I can’t remember the last time a game affected me so much that I yelled at my screen due to something a character said. Despite my pedantry, I had a brilliant time with Minute of Islands and look forward to playing it again some day.
Final Fantasy VII Remake and its DLC carry the feeling of majesty throughout. Yes, it’s at times arguably unnecessary. Yes, it’s ridiculous that this even exists. Still, I can’t wait to be along for every turn of the future Final Fantasy VII ride. Bumps and all.
Impressively, this superhero action game isn’t just a cash-grab, shovelware release for kids. Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and friends are charming representations of their cartoon and comic-book counterparts with heaps of flair. The slice of life elements are decent, with humorous stories and meaningful drama peppered throughout, but not without superficial parts.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is another action adventure triumph for PlayStation and Insomniac Games. It’s got a world that’s so full of colour and life, lovable new characters who bring clever diversity to a well-established cast, and an ever-changing gameplay loop that’s downright fun and engaging. Even if the game panders a little too heavily to a younger audience for my taste, it still excels in enough areas to make this an easy recommendation for nostalgic fans and newcomers alike.
Backbone is full of potential for greatness and makes a terrific first impression. With its compelling lead and supporting cast, and a fascinating setting full of tantalising lore and mysteries to solve, I spent most of my experience excited to find out where it was all leading. Unfortunately, much of the detective gameplay and plot start to come apart by the end, leading to an oddly inconclusive and unsatisfying conclusion.
Sunblaze earns its place as a brutal but mostly fair challenge. It is exciting and fresh in its gameplay in a lot of ways that people should pay attention to. The difficulty will be satisfying for some but frustrating for others. Whilst a lacking story holds it back, clever design mechanics propel it forward. With all that said, when you’re dying every seven seconds, it’s easy for any shining praise to start to dull.
Guilty Gear -Strive- is a very competent modern fighting game that will appease both veterans and newcomers alike. With a gripping plot, enjoyable cast of characters, and steady learning curve the game is set to be one of the series’ most popular entries. I know for myself, I am keen to get stuck into the nitty gritty as I get deeper with the game, and will eventually take my skills online for the real test against actual human players. While I am disappointed the story side of Guilty Gear -Strive- is relegated to a cinematic story, the plot is rich with drama and stands toe-to-toe with actual anime productions made for TV. Some variety in the battle dialogue and narration wouldn’t have gone astray, either, but in the grand scheme of things is a minor ding against an otherwise brilliant fighter.
The Invisible Hand is oftentimes more frustrating and confusing than it is fun. It’s definitely made for people who are more knowledgeable or interested in the subject matter of trading stocks. Though, even from the point of view of someone who knows nothing about stock markets, I can see its value to those who do. It’s satirical and well crafted for what it is. Even I could have some fun while playing the game. Ultimately though, this game is not made for everyone, and that’s okay. Those who find themselves in The Invisible Hand’s niche corner will no doubt find some nefarious fun to be had.