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Last Stop feels like a glorified interactive cutscene, though a cutscene I was eager to continue watching. It's just unfortunate that the gameplay comes across as an interruption rather than anything that lifts the experience.
Death’s Door combines excellent story and lore with challenging and rewarding combat. As an action game, there’s a lot to love about the enemies faced and customization available. Story can easily take the backseat in a game like this, but the sheer concept of it all and the lore dumped on top makes the story in Death’s Door equally intriguing. Acid Nerve delivers one of the more well-rounded titles I’ve played this year with Death’s Door.
Hellbound & Undressed has elements fans will enjoy, and if you dig, you can find quirky and interesting things here, but if it catches you having too much fun, be prepared to have that stripped from you like a finely quaffed set of Shadow Soul clothes. This game is a constant chore to enjoy and should be reserved for the folks that really want to see where the series began.
The future of the F1 series is cloudy right now. EA is the new boss, but its influence probably won’t be seen until next year’s game. F1 2021 adds a few new fixins to the strong foundation of last year’s game, along with the misfire that is Braking Point. Having the option to add dynamic dramatic events to the existing Career mode would be preferable to bland pre-rendered cutscenes that come with Braking Point. There's a lot of fun to be had with F1 2021, even if a true next-gen leap may not come along until next year.
Where the Heart Leads does well for what it seemingly aims to do. It’s the surreal narrative journey of a family through years of happiness and sadness with the connective tissue of a disastrous event tying it down to the present. Putting the puzzle pieces of memory, decision, and consequence together as you go takes this game in a number of directions. Not every direction is riveting and there are some definite lulls, but there are also deeply difficult moments to choose between with consequences for the choices made and the paths untaken. If you’re looking for a chill and often lackadaisical journey you'll steer in meaningful ways, Where the Heart Leads is a narrative-heavy series of roads you may be inclined to explore again and again.
Boomerang X is a fresh take on the arena shooter. Focusing on one weapon, the range in abilities and the ceiling for skill make frenetic combat exciting in just about every instance. The game is rather short, but that works perfectly for the pace of both the story and combat. Only feeling dull in the moments between the action, DANG! and Devolver Digital have an impressive indie on their hands with Boomerang X.
A combination that longtime Monster Hunter fans and turn-based RPG fans ought to see for themselves, though the grind might leave some more action-craving adventurers wanting.
LEGO Builder’s Journey is a very relaxing puzzler with some cool concepts and ideas. The game is incredibly serene, as its peaceful tunes and minimalist design are quite relaxing. The integration of ray tracing and Nvidia DLSS make for a visually stunning game. LEGO Builder’s Journey is refreshingly original take on the LEGO series, and represents a direction that I hope to see the franchise head in the future.
The focus on speed and chaos is what ultimately undoes Mario Golf: Super Rush. I would say that when it comes to Mario Golf, slow and steady wins the race, except this game has shown me that racing and golf don't really mix.
I am disappointed by the mixed feelings I get from Backbone. It is absolutely worth a look solely on the merits of its audiovisual presentation, but its attempt to offer commentary or insight into the topics its narrative broaches repeatedly fall flat, particularly in the latter half. EggNut clearly has the goods in the art and music departments, so I would love to see what they can do with a stronger narrative in the future. If you do choose to give Backbone a shot, make sure to get the Artifact Edition, as it includes the wonderful soundtrack.
The anime aesthetic may be a turn off for some players, but those people would be doing themselves a disservice. Scarlet Nexus is a game worth experiencing. It's a game that took me by total surprise and a world I hope to explore more in the future.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX from Merge Games and Jankenteam is a very niche product with very niche marketability. I imagine the game will be received well in territories where the Sega Master System held on to a longer life-span, such as Brazil and Europe. For the rest of the world though, there just isn’t enough here to bring Alex Kidd into the modern age.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance delivers a solid D&D adventure, with exciting combat and a slew of monsters to take down. Though my experience was a bit dulled by crashes and some minor bugs, it certainly didn’t ruin the game for me. Dark Alliance fits in nicely in the pantheon of Dungeons and Dragons games.
Much like most people's first efforts with Game Builder Garage, it's a good first effort. It's just not something people will be revisiting after a few weeks pass.
Whether you've had adventures with Ratchet & Clank in the past or not, Rift Apart is not a game to be missed. It's one of the best games you can get for your PS5 and one of the best games of 2021 so far, period.
I often hear folks talk about their "comfort food game" – that game in which they can turn their mind off and just go at it for pure good feels and satisfaction. I feel like Chivalry 2 is that game for me. If it was even just that it’s a game in which I can pulp a folk or two with a big honkin’ sword, axe, or whatever I can get my mitts on to often hilarious effect, I would be satisfied. That said, Torn Banner and Tripwire Interactive have poured no shortage of love into this game’s environments, objectives, classes, and player customization. It’s that dedicated level of support that will keep me coming back to the game and crossing swords for a long time to come.
It’s not the full-fledged EDF camp and scope you might find in one of the mainline games, but it is a fantastically accessible shooter with a ton of levels to play whether you’re going it alone or with some buds, online or off. If you want to just not think and shoot the big bugs into little square bits and pieces with a library of characters and weapons from across the franchise, EDF: World Bros. might be just the comfort food you need.
It’s been such an incredibly long road for Guilty Gear. I actually cried in joy when Guilty Gear Xrd was first announced, bringing proper 2D fighting back under the reins Arc System Works. With Strive, my heart still fluttered, but for more than just getting a new fighting game in this franchise I so love. I marvel at what it means for fighting games as a whole. Guilty Gear Strive is a whole new level of beast. It represents the most visually gorgeous, the most full-featured, and the most technically sound that modern 2D fighting games have to offer, and anything that hopes to compete with it has quite the work cut out for it.
The Magnificent Trufflepigs is a very condensed story, only taking about a few hours to reach the credits. Because of this, the narrative feels concise and free of filler. Despite spending such little time with them, I felt like I had a good understanding of these characters and the relationship forming between them, thanks to two exceptional voice performances. The game’s metal-detecting segments also make for some relaxing times as well. Although some design choices make certain moments more tedious than they need to be, The Magnificent Trufflepigs is a pleasant little experience.
Still, if you like Nintendo's brand of wholesome humor, Miitopia should be right up your alley. If you have a lot of Mii characters saved up, waiting for an adventure just like this, your moment has arrived.