GameCloud's Reviews
I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing through Yoshi’s Crafted World. It’s smooth to play, easy to pick up and put down while also offering a degree of challenge to those who might be a little rusty in the platformer department. While I don’t think it necessarily does a whole lot in terms of taking the genre to the next level or revolutionising it in any way, what it does do is actively showcase the solid foundations of its predecessors while also making small quality of life improvements to the gameplay. At this stage of the franchise’s development, I think that’s a reasonable place for it to be. I’m also curious to see where the series progresses from here on out, and what future improvements will look like to an already well-rounded bundle of dinosaur shenanigans.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn is a game that still holds up today, so it’s no surprise it’s just as great on the 3DS with the release of Extra Epic Yarn. Much like with Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey earlier in the year, I’m excited that Nintendo is still offering us the opportunity to play these older games we may have missed. With the coming release of Yoshi’s Crafted World, as well, there’s no time like now than to revisit the title that ushered in this fresh approach to platformers by Nintendo. The new features might not add much to the overall experience, but if you haven’t played it before, do yourself a favour and boot up the ol’ girl for one last good old fashioned adventure.
Bayonetta is a distinctive, sometimes-fun hack 'n' slash game with a bonkers story and interesting visual aesthetics. The core fighting mechanics of the game are excellent, but they're let down by a suspect camera and some clunk choreographing. It's also padded out with many less-good filler sections and a lot of tedious cutscenes, and these are ultimately what's putting me off giving it a whole-hearted recommendation.
I don’t hate Crackdown 3, and that’s because I knew exactly what it was I was getting into and wanted that very thing. While the original Crackdown games don’t rate so highly with most, I had a real blast with them for the stupid fun they offered, and Crackdown 3 was the same for me. It certainly helped that it was short because if I had to deal with the game’s many problems for long, I’d be singing a different tune. And those problems that are present could be enough to put off anyone not familiar with the series that wants to try. The design is underdone and the gameplay exceedingly simplistic and unchallenging, with a co-op mode fraught with technical issues and a couple of PvP modes not worth a damn. The good news is that a sequel, or maybe a significant update, is absolutely set up by the ending, which means that Microsoft must be planning on keeping the series around. It absolutely has the potential, and under Microsoft’s new “Initiative” program, I reckon Crackdown could be something really great. Right now, it’s just really alright.
Gran Turismo Sport is a great driving game when reviewed in isolation. It’s got great racing, amazing visuals and stunning attention to detail which would make most petrol-heads froth. However, it also falls short when compared to its competition who boast more cars, tracks and just more fun. This ultimately makes GT Sport tough to recommend.
Mario Maker is an excellent concept that, in my opinion, suffers from a few issues in execution on both platforms. For the Wii U, the way course elements unlocked felt like a drag, having to play the waiting game before you could play the game you actually wanted to. The way they’ve addressed this in the 3DS version is technically faster but feels like a complete slog just to unlock everything. Some features have been taken out when they could easily have been left in, and there are a lot of missed opportunities with what they did introduce. If you’re the kind of person that only owns a 3DS, and never plans to buy a Nintendo console (weirdo), then Mario Maker 3DS is still worth picking up just to experience the game. Otherwise, I’d recommend waiting for the inevitable Switch release, when Nintendo will no doubt take a second swing at making some improvements.
The utterly bizarre nature of Danganronpa is what made me want to play them, and, after a certain point, grim determination is all that kept me going. At their core, there’s a lot of really cool concepts in these games that make for an excellent story overall. To get to those, however, means trudging through some uninspired writing, misguided attempts at genre blending, and just some of the worst anime tropes one could include in their narrative. This all improves for Danganronpa 2, which is a much stronger title than the first, but these problems are still present in some form. This might just be me, however; if visual novels are your thing, I’m sure there’s a lot to love about the games, and there’s no denying the series’ cult following. Danganronpa 1.2 Reload is still a good collection and does an excellent job of presenting both games and their extra content. If you’re interested in seeing them for yourself, or you want to get all nostalgic over the series, it’s a collection worth picking up.
Bulletstorm on its own is a fantastic game that knows exactly what it is – a juvenile romp through the blood-soaked tulips while calling said tulips a pack of cum guzzling c****. Considering this came from the last generation of shooters, carrying many of the design tropes and problems with it, it’s still a lot of fun to play even today. Uncomplicated and uncompromising, its only concern is making sure that the player has a good time with some laughs along the way. It’s just a shame that, under Gearbox’s direction, People Can Fly managed to leave a tarnished mark on what was otherwise a cherished memory for me. Introducing new technical problems and slapping some pointless online content in there does not justify pushing it out the door at full price. If you’ve got no other way of getting hold of a copy, this is still worth playing for the experience of Bulletstorm. Otherwise, just borrow it from a friend or find a cheap old-gen copy online if you can.
Need for Speed Payback is a fun but ultimately flawed and frustrating game. I was optimistic going in based on what had been shown prior to release, and while the racing action is indeed as tight as ever (albeit lacking in set pieces which were so prominently advertised), there are just too many issues which add up to drag the experience down. It’s another classic case of quantity over quality, and while it isn’t an inherently bad game, it’s seriously let down by its linear structure, tedious progression and upgrade system, and terrible dialogue.
If you’re the kind of person that complains about games being hard, or unfair in their mechanics, then Darkest Dungeon probably isn’t for you. It’s in that same vein that, if you played the original game and thought that it was too difficult, The Crimson Court expansion probably isn’t for you either. In combination with the base game, it can make progression exceedingly hard, if not outright impossible for some. As end-game content, the process of completing it can become a grind, which takes away from the tension Darkest Dungeon carries so well with its initial design. The expansion isn’t all bad, with the additional content and mechanics themselves being interesting and unique additions to the game. Red Hook is actively updating the expansion content based on player feedback, and have been since its release. Hopefully, in the future, it will be much more balanced and live up to its potential. Right now, however, it’s just kind of a slog through Darkest Dungeon’s oppressive love taps.
FFXV Comrades isn’t great – for now – but the development team behind the game’s post-release content has a track record of improving things over time. The expansion has a mountain of technical problems, a ham-strung design in comparison to the main game, and becomes tedious and repetitive to play after only a short while. These are, however, all fixable issues, and in the immediate wake of Comrades’ release, it was already receiving improvements and fixes. I have little doubt we’ll see more added to it over time, likely in the form of new mission types and possibly some narrative improvements. Whatever the changes, I’m certain that this will feel and play very differently in six months time. For those interested, or burned by the initial offerings, I’d recommend keeping an eye on it and waiting.
Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom was a particular disappointment for me. While beautiful and with a combat system that carries significant potential, the game is undermined by a failure to balance the combat for sufficient threat. While this could have been resolved by the simple inclusion of a difficulty setting, the game also features many weak side features, from the town-building to the side quests. Fans of the original aren’t the only ones who may get some enjoyment from returning to the world of Ni No Kuni, but I suspect there will be others like me who will leave unsatisfied for their time spent.
Lost Sphear is an RPG that does its best to remind you of the classic genre titles that have preceded it, titles such as Chrono Trigger and the earlier Final Fantasy entries. Where this is obvious is in the overall tone and direction of the game, borrowing and reviving many old tropes and dusting off some familiar clichés. Where this fails though, is in the execution. When your company and the games it produces are focused on paying homage to the RPG greats of the last century, your new titles tend to lose a little of their own unique identity in service of “Remember this?” mechanics and nostalgic gameplay moments. I’d say if you didn’t have much else to do, Lost Sphear could probably occupy you for a little while, but there are many other titles I’d recommend, especially those classics, before I’d find myself willingly playing this one again.
There's no doubt that Civilization VI: Rise and Fall is a superior experience to the base game. Having said that, these mostly subtle changes add only a fine layer to the gameplay rather than overhauling the experience or providing a large amount of new content. It feels more like a major patch than an expansion, and the price tag feels a little steep for such minimal change. If you've decided not to try Civ VI in the past, this won't convert you. However, if you're a diehard, you'll probably want to suck it up and shell out for this wisp of fresh air in your Civ runs.
Attack on Titan 2's concepts are sound, much like they were in the original, but it's difficult to recommend the sequel to anyone who already played the first or who isn't a fan of the anime. While the combat is undeniably enjoyable for the first few hours, it inevitably devolves into mindless repetition – and even if you can get past that, it's a slog to play through what feels like a copy and paste of the first game in order to get to anything new. Further disappointment comes from the addition of an original character who doesn't do anything to shake things up in these earlier sections of the game or add anything of significance to the overarching plot. If nothing else, A.O.T 2's a good way to experience the story of Attack on Titan, albeit with the absence of smaller details. If you haven't played the first game and are curious about how a video game adaptation of A.O.T could turn out, maybe try this to see if it's for you.
A Way Out offers a well-made game with a functional but dull story. There’s certainly fun to be had, but depending on who you’re playing the game with, you might want to stick to Fortnite instead. There’s nothing particularly profound about the game, and the story doesn’t stand up to the immense pressure the game forces on it. If you’re looking for a 5-hour detour into cinematic gameplay with a buddy, I’d say try A Way Out, but don’t expect an Oscar-winning performance.
Darksiders III is a fundamentally flawed title that does away with numerous systems and mechanics that the past two titles had iterated and built upon in meaningful ways, but it also allows for a new type of entry in the series as a result. I had way more fun with it than I expected to, but I also can’t recommend it to fans of the series who were looking for more of the same, because they simply won’t get it here. Darksiders III fails to translate the scale of the events transpiring within the franchise’s universe in favour of a more contained narrative that falls flat alongside its boring protagonist. However, if you enjoy Dark Souls, I’d urge you to at least give this title a shot. There’s plenty of fun to be had here if you can accept the game for the fun but flawed experience that it is.
With the outright lazy porting treatment and entirely token presence of DMC 2, it’s difficult to recommend the Devil May Cry HD Collection, especially at its current price. If you have a console from the previous generation, you can find the exact same experience at 720p for significantly cheaper. As for the games themselves, though, they still hold up for the most part, so if you’ve never played them before and are a fan of the hack and slash genre, you owe it to yourself to play the first and third. Just wait for a price drop first if you don’t have any other way to play them.
Kirby Star Allies is cute, comfortable to play, and easy to get someone else involved in, but it's also totally forgettable. I thought perhaps it was just that I hadn't played a Kirby game for years or maybe it was better suited to younger audiences, so I got my son to join in for a second opinion. However, to be completely frank, it was only ever as fun as we made it, and this was especially disappointing for him as he's always placed Kirby on a pedestal. There are certainly some components of the game I can appreciate, but, overall, the experience feels hollow.
Chuchel is absolutely a game you might want to pick up if you have young kids, or if you want a couple of hours of good, unbridled cartoon humour. It’s otherwise not essential. Fans of Amanita’s other games may find something to like here, but also something lacking. For others, give your time to Amanita’s older titles first, particularly Botanicula and the Samorost series. These showcase a similar vein of creativity and humour to Chuchel but are overall more affecting and rewarding, if not quite as thematically or functionally child-friendly.