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When I take a step back from Lost Judgment and look at all the individual parts, it feels more like a self-serve buffet rather than a specific meal that a chef made for me. There is a time and place for tossing everything you have at the wall and seeing what sticks, and there are also times when using restraint would be a better option. I am sure that my lack of experience in Japanese culture works against how I perceive many of the sequences in Lost Judgment and I’m sure series fanatics will eat it up. Sega is clearly capable of making a compelling mystery game that could stand in league with the work we see out of studios like Naughty Dog, but that will require a more focused, better-paced approach that Lost Judgement seems eager to avoid.
GameDec does right by the cyberpunk genre by using it as a backdrop to an excellent detective story. The series of virtual worlds makes for a diverse range of environments, filled with characters that all have their own unique characteristics and motivations. The lack of a fail state raises the stakes, and makes it important to learn the ins and outs of dialogue and deduction. Though some bugs and missing functionality can make it rough around the edges, GameDec is still an overall quite enjoyable experience.
There a lot of elements of SkateBIRD that are great. The birds are fun, as is customizing them and finding more things with which to dress them up. Their little adventure is also fun, the soundtrack is excellent, and the levels are fun miniaturized takes on the normal skatepark fare. It’s just that there is so much dragging these charming elements down, the most noticeable of which is the actual skating and the physics involved with it. SkateBIRD might be fun to experience for its premise and cuteness, but those looking for a good technical skate game experience will likely find their expectations crashing and burning frequently, much like most of my sessions with it.
All things considered, it took me a little over an hour or so to see just about everything that Cruis’n Blast has to offer. The Nintendo Switch racing scene has been dominated by Mario Kart and I feel like Cruis’n Blast had a chance to make a real case for bringing other classic Nintendo racers back into the scene. But if lackluster graphics and mediocre racing mechanics are all we’d get it might be better to leave our precious memories in the past. Cruis’n Blast isn’t unplayable though and would probably make an enjoyable experience for someone with kids or younger siblings. Everyone else should probably head to the arcade and hope they have a much more enjoyable arcade experience available to try out.
Still, as a multiplayer romp, WarioWare: Get It Together is a great game to bust out and if you're pressed on time, that's even better! Just don't expect this to be your go-to game for nights in with your buddies.
Colt and Julianna’s rivalry keeps the tension and stakes high and it’s a loop I’ll be going back to over and over again, whether to break it or break other players for trying to break it.
Ultimately, I think what Lost in Random reminds me of most is American McGee’s early Alice games, but less brutal and more whimsical. It’s got a similar form of macabre about its world and narrative, but it also has a similar limitation and technical tarnish that those games had. Even and Dicey’s Journey to save Odd and stop the Queen is well written and presented by the game’s action, music, and narrative, but it feels like there’s also varying degrees of jank just sitting in your periphery. Get past that, and I still feel this is a fairy-tale adventure that deserves a cover-to-cover read.
Tales of Arise is an excellent JRPG that delivers just about everything you want from the genre: a rich story, intriguing characters, satisfying combat, and an endless amount of lore.
Outside of a few flaws, True Colors is the peak of the Life is Strange series to date.
While The Artful Escape does a strong job with its presentation and sense of style, it still suffers the same drawbacks as most adventure games, particularly with the boring-at-best game mechanics.
Owlcat Games captured the creative freedom and magic of tabletop RPG adventure in a way few others do. There is such a good story here with characters and music that really push the desperation of survival in this game’s world. And you get to answer to the ongoing narrative with a character you can truly make your own both before the game begins and throughout the adventure. I wish it wasn’t so unforgiving in its information or that it didn’t deviate so much from the adventure with the Crusade Management, but you can also tone down the challenge at will and automate much of that system to breeze through. Take that for what it is and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is one of the most enjoyable choice-driven tactical RPGs I’ve played.
Refined controls, a revamped soundtrack, and some new features still make Sonic Colors: Ultimate a game that fans of the franchise will surely enjoy.
WRC 10 FIA World Rally Championship is a solid all-around experience built on a reliable foundation.
However, even if it does get monotonous sometimes, I certainly can't fault the originality of the pickpocketing idea. The Big Con is not the kind of adventure game I see every day and credit to Mighty Yell for trying something different. I don't know if it's because I was hoping more would be done with the idea or because the game felt too short, but I ultimately came out of this game wanting something more. Maybe that's just the hunger for a bigger score.
KeyWe does a great job at delivering exactly what's on the parcel: it's a cute and charming co-op experience that will challenge your communication skills. So grab a friend and get ready to sort the mail, because this one is something special.
This game’s open world just isn’t fun, and the activities you need to do to get back to the good stuff are increasingly stretched and dull. I can appreciate the flashy action and grindhouse exploitation nature of No More Heroes 3 for what it is, but it kept the camera on the boring parts a little long for my liking. Still, if you’re looking to continue the weird assassin adventures of Travis Touchdown, then the chores are also probably worth doing to see how the escapade unfolds.
Boyfriend Dungeon is an impressive matchup of two genres that I’d never think would make a decent pair. It juggles interesting personal entanglements with challenging action gameplay via its dungeons. Though it could really benefit from some depth to its romantic structure, it’s not enough to sour what is overall a fascinating experience.
It’s wild to think how many years of development are here in this game, but the end product is undeniably polished and top-to-bottom good gaming.
I have mixed feelings from my time with Aliens: Fireteam Elite. I love the movies (well, the first two) and cooperative shooting is usually in my wheelhouse, but I could never connect with what is on offer here. The feel of the gunplay, mission design, and pacing have been a big turn-off for me, so I don’t personally see much value in endlessly repeating these missions for better attachments or cosmetics. It feels worse at conveying the spirit of the movies than the best of the preceding games adapted from the films and generic even as a modern online co-op shooter.
Hoa is a peaceful experience that makes sure not to overstay its welcome. The environments are gorgeous, the gameplay is neat, and the soundtrack is captivating. More than anything, it makes me excited for what we’ll get from developer Skrollcat Studio down the road. It’s the perfect game to pick up and chill out with if you’re stressed, anxious, or just want a breath of fresh air.