Culture of Gaming
HomepageCulture of Gaming's Reviews
Slender: The Arrival is a front-loaded horror game that brings its best at first but quickly devolves in quality. While later levels help expand the narrative and give context to what you’re doing, it becomes painfully mediocre with fewer scares and repetitious gameplay. As a port, it is well done. Everything from the original games is intact, except for a few graphical downgrades during certain areas. I would still recommend this game at least to experience a pop culture phenomenon. But, know that you’re not getting a solid return on your investment. Slender: The Arrival is available now on the Nintendo Switch. Let us know what you think!
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a bit of a mixed bag. While it excels in keeping (and sometimes improving) the elements that fans adore from its predecessors, these same elements can result in a dated gameplay design. Newcomers that would have probably enjoyed the wonderful plot and presentation that earned the series its current reputation might be put off by the game’s archaic gameplay. Grindy combat and bland dungeons hold it back from reaching its fullest potential. It’s disappointing to say, but both Rescue Team DX and the Mystery Dungeon series as a whole require a bit more of leveling up before they truly amaze.
You’ll meet it with a little resistance but will soon feel surges of joy. However, your enjoyment may short circuit when you blow a fuse because of this titles shortcomings. Also, be wary of the price as there is a danger of being overcharged.
A Knight’s Quest has a solid foundation to be a great game. But it suffers from to many problems to break itself away fro the pack of Zelda-Like games.
I found Battle for the Grid‘s gameplay to be a blast when playing locally with a friend. The easy inputs help new players get into the action quickly without having to overcome a huge learning curve. Power Rangers fans will love this game if they have someone they can consistently play with. The gameplay is smooth and the action is fine-tuned to allow for fast-paced combos. Sadly, everything else about this game makes it painfully clear that this was a budget title. Battle for the Grid is fun because of nWay’s devotion to creating an approachable fighting game with nods to its many predecessors. Other than that, I would not recommend Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, especially if you’re looking for a game with a good amount of content and decent netcode. CultureOfGaming.com is your source for great review, news, podcasts, op-eds and more! Also, be sure to check out my other reviews of my interview with Black Panther’s voice actor James Mathis III or Shades of Magic author V.E. Schwab.
Far Cry: New Dawn is a rather simple, uninspired game, but it manages to capture an important aspect of a quality video game very well. Being fun. It isn’t the best in the series, and I would recommend playing Far Cry 5 before jumping into this. It’s a direct sequel to 5, so that background would help. Far Cry 5 is also generally a better game and is a more traditional Far Cry experience. But don’t let that stop you from picking up New Dawn. If you’re a Far Cry fan then chances are you will enjoy this game. Despite it being a practical DLC to Far Cry 5, it manages to save face by being $40, rather than $60. It means Ubisoft is able to acknowledge that this entry is lacking in many areas compared to the standards the previous games have set.
Vane is an enjoyable journey through a desolate world with the occasional issue with camera controls and glitches that cause you to lose minutes of progress. Despite, its flaws there is something to discover within the game. But at less than two hours worth of content, one can’t justify the twenty-five dollar price tag.
If you’re looking for a fun focused game with laugh a minute content. Then look no further than Totally Reliable Delivery service. This game is a spiritual successor to the obnoxious controlled games like Goat simulator or Octodad. It won’t live long in the memory. Though, for a quick fix of mayhem and fun in equal measure. Pick up this one at a very reasonable price!
In the end, I solely admire that Game Freak managed to create what was clearly a passion project. However, there are quite a few flaws with the game. Primarily the gameplay being overly big and messy while also being quite tedious. Plus the bland character doesn’t really help as well. However, there is some aspect that helps it a lot like the magnificent soundtrack, enjoyable dialogue and great visuals. If this game gets a sequel and fixes these issues and tweaks a few other aspects of the game. Little Town Hero could be something special in the JRPG community.
While there are some aspects that I enjoyed, such as the core mechanics of puzzle solving and explorations and the game’s visuals, I do wish there was more emphasis on a coherent story or goal and more noticeable music. And I truly wish I didn’t have to deal with the obnoxious touch controls. I’m going to give this game a shot on my PC or phone, but for now, I’m going to judge my experience on the Nintendo Switch port. If you like games like Myst or The Witness, you might want to give Eyes of Ara a shot, but I suggest playing on a different platform or waiting for the touch pen accessory.
If you came late to the series, never played V2 and are a fan, Sniper Elite V2 Remastered is a must-play and a great deal with all of the bundled items including the DLC. For those who have followed the series since the beginning, V2 Remastered does look much better and play much better but whether you wish to play through the same adventure again is a matter of personal taste. Just be aware that the gameplay is exactly how you remembered it, a far cry from the sequels.
Team Sonic Racing is an enjoyable Kart Racer that manages to stand out against even the best of its competition. While it has some deep flaws with connectivity and frame rate while online, and a useless ranked system, it delivers one of the greatest single-player experiences in the genre. An experience that can be the exact same with up to three other local players too. The game has a wonderful soundtrack, great designs, and manages to be one of the most unique games out there in terms on teamwork mechanics. It reminds me of Splatoon 2 in many ways, but as its racing counterpart.
It is one of those games that fills a niche genre; being that of an action, co-op side scroller. With that said, if you have a friend who plays action games with you, then yes, it fills that void well. Being a great source of mindlessness and door kicking. But for anyone else, this is not the game for you.
Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut is an extremely in-depth RPG. It has so much wonderful world building that you can’t help but be enticed despite some issues with the combat system, a general lack of direction, and some messy UI components. The many issues that the game had originally as well have been patched up. So, this port manages to be a worthwhile experience, despite some issues players may have with the game.
When FF7: Remake is firing on all cylinders it’s an amazing experience. I have my complaints, but I really did enjoy my time almost they entire way through the game. The story is deep and immersive, the battle system mechanically sound, and the sound and aesthetics are truly remarkable. However, I can’t help but feel like I spent 40 hours to get somewhere should’ve been in maybe 20. Square Enix took 5 hours of game play and stretched it out to a full game. The experience needs to be condensed. The justification was to give us more of the world of FF7, but all the extras kept me from experiencing that world. Midgar was only about 15% of the original game and it was not even the best part. I feel like they did too much focus on Midgar and would rather have the first game get us much further into the FF7 experience. I am still excited to see what comes next, but I am cautiously optimistic in how they will handle the next installment.
As the first game in the Granblue Fantasy series released in the west, Versus doesn’t make much of a case for the series. What it is though is a great anime fighter that fans of the genre will enjoy. Versus doesn’t dumb down its mechanics to make it more accessible and the art style is consistently stunning. It’s a shame the games story mode feels so forgettable and has little gameplay variety over its short length. The game feels like more of a love letter to the fighting game genre than the game/anime series it’s drawn from. Once taken on those merits, Versus offers a lot for fans of the fighting game genre. It offers a fun and dense combat system, a beautiful art style and a lot of options for players who enjoy it. Though it doesn’t have the variety in fighters that other fighters in the genre do. There’s a decent amount of variety between them. It might not do enough to sway hardcore fans of the genre from their fighter of choice. But it offers a decent starting point for newcomers and continues to show Arc System Works grip on the fighting game formula.
While there are a few hiccups, AO Tennis 2 feels like a fairly good tennis game. There are still a couple of things the developers can improve on, like tightening up the controls to finally hit that perfect balance, but as is, it certainly scratches that itch for tennis. The other slightly glaring issue is how there aren’t really that many “real life” tennis players here. That isn’t to say the real-life Australian Open has any particular stipulations in registration and participation, but when you can have about 128 players in the virtual Open and only 25 of them are real life figures (12 men and 13 women), it feels like there isn’t much variety in actual real-life participants. But at least you have Rafael Nadal, so if you like watching him in action, you can enjoy using him.
John Wick Hex provides a unique take on the tactical top down game, and by adopting different systems, is able to capture the fast pace renowned in the films. The fun gameplay combined with the art style make John Wick Hex a fun, but albeit short, and occasionally awkward experience.
You won’t find many games like this. The mirroring of reality and history, the pensive and sober presentation (unlike the over-the-top Far Cry 5) puts you in a different headspace as a gamer if you’re earnest about the experience from the moment you step into the jungle. If you want to experience something that is distinctive, a far cry from what you might be used to, The Church in the Darkness will give your conscience a workout. The weighty subject matter is not for everyone, however.
The Blackout Club is a fun co-op experience, with elements of horror that diminish over time. Nonetheless, the setup is great and the navigation through levels is fun as well. If you or your friends are looking for a new co-op to sink some time into, The Blackout Club is worth your consideration.