GamePitt's Reviews
It hadn’t been that long since I last played Resident Evil Zero on PS4, a few months at most. That being said, I couldn’t put the game down again on the Switch because I was just as gripped as I was the first time I played it. The game truly has something for everyone and serves as a perfect introduction to the greatest and most successful horror game series of all time. Resident Evil Zero plays like a nightmare that you want to fall back asleep into; it’s not pleasant but I never want it to end. It’s a fitting and tasteful remaster and the Switch port holds its own against the more powerful platforms while being able to provide an alternate way of playing. There are still those niggling controls that tamper with how your experience plays out but it’s not bad enough to take away from the game.
Should you buy Resident Evil 4 again? If portable Resident Evil 4 is something you are even mildly wanting, then yes. If you have never owned Resident Evil 4 before, then yes. If water is something you can't live without, then yes. See what I'm trying to say here? Sure, there is nothing new added to the game, but does it really need anything new? This may be the eleventh time that Resident Evil 4 has been re-released, but that's fine. The game still holds up great today and plays perfectly on Nintendo's console, albeit without motion controls.
I’m very addicted to Fade to Silence, it’s a great survival game which is very challenging yet hard to stop playing. When I die, I start over almost immediately, ready to do better on my next attempt. The Boons allow you to take a different approach and retain certain items you have previously obtained and they are not locked down once you have selected them on one play, you can totally choose different boons on each playthrough for a different strategy. If you enjoy survival games, resource and camp management, or even games with lots of lush snow, then you should definitely check it out.
Layers of Fear 2 is yet another terrifying masterpiece which will fuck with your mind from the amazing Bloober Team. It finds a perfect balance between jump scares, chasing and stealth segments, puzzles, and following the narrative so that everything feels exciting, suspenseful, and thrilling. Although I found the overall narrative a little hard to follow at times, the action and gameplay you experience throughout your six to ten-hour playthrough will more than keep you engaged – even if you get a little lost in the story.
Despite the story and method of progression being a bit naff, RAGE 2 is one of the most satisfying FPS games I’ve played in a long time. With its multitude of skill trees, funded by both cash and secondary pick-ups, there’s a lot to try and unlock which will enhance your experience as you mercilessly cut off the heads and spill the guts of your foes. The vehicles are heavy and control perfectly, with the exception of the one which would have made my life so much easier, and the combination of weapons and abilities keeps the action diverse and interesting from beginning to end. My main complaint about RAGE 2 is that it’s a little too big for its own good. A more compressed map and fewer skill trees may have made it a more refined experience, but at least there’s plenty to do and see in this post-apocalyptic world. I can’t wait for the DLC expansions to arrive for the game as It’ll give me a reason to play on, post-completing the game, and gear myself up for the upcoming content. RAGE 2 isn’t a narrative-focused adventure, it’s a superb shooter encased within a beautiful world which is held together by a loose narrative.
Observation is one of the most immersive interactive narrative-based games I've played outside of Virtual Reality. Instead of taking control of the protagonist directly, you'll be in control of the AI which can traverse through the various systems as you investigate the disappearance of the crew. You'll be fooled into thinking you're watching an '80s Sci-fi film with all of the VHS post-effects and familiar surroundings which look like they've been ripped right out of the set from Alien. Although built around the incredibly strong narrative and immersive interactions, you'll have to overcome various puzzles as you move around the ship trying to uncover the truth.
I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed Tales of the Neon Sea, it delivered so much more than I was expecting. Not only do you get a good storyline which manages to hook you until the end, but you also get a wide variety of puzzles, investigations, interactions and fun gameplay. Tales of the Neon Sea is an indie game which deserves much more coverage and exposure as it’s such a great game, even though it’s technically incomplete right now. I can easily recommend Tales of the Neon Sea to anyone who enjoys puzzles and appreciates a good story. Even if you’re only somewhat interested in puzzles, please play this wonderful game as it’s one of a kind.
The Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a fine assortment of games, presented in a way that I hope more developers mimic when compiling collections of classic games. The bonus book that is included with the game is probably one of the neatest digital books I have ever seen. The only issues I had with the game was the very little work put into porting the games themselves, as they came off as simple ROMs within an emulator. Regardless of how they’ve been placed upon modern systems, the games are just as hard as they used to be and they’re sure to challenge old and new gamers, even with save states. Relive this classic franchise today and pick up both this and the Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood collections today.
I really enjoyed my time with Marble it Up!, bringing back fond memories of games such as Super Monkey Ball and Marble Madness. However, the game only took me an evening to beat all the levels which come as part of the game (at least once). The beauty of having the time-based medal rating system is that I know that I will want to keep coming back until I have all the Diamond medals. I hope that Bad habit productions continue to support the game as well as all of the talented creators out there who have put together enough downloadable courses to last a very long time!
I’m having an absolute blast with Black Paradox. I keep coming back to it as there’s just so much more fun for me to have in this retro-futuristic world. The Roguelike gameplay is addictive and for every death I experience, I feel pumped to just try that little bit harder. It’s so ’80s it hurts and I absolutely love that about it. Is it the best game ever made? No, of course not but that’s not what it’s trying to be. Instead, it’s a beautiful homage to the classic arcade days, made even better when you bring along a friend to shoot up all of those evil space baddies. The frustrating progression system holds it back from being the best side-scroller shooter I’ve ever played but it’s certainly one of the most fun.
Ultimately, while The World Next Door is quite short, it ended up being such a lovely game to me. This game is kept rather light-hearted, and while there are choices implemented, they won’t make a big impact on the story. Although this might turn some people off, I still liked the way the choices were presented as I felt like I was actually able to form Jun’s personality. The relationships between the characters and its storytelling are definitely the main aspect of the game and I found The World Next Door is a quite relaxing and uncomplicated game with beautiful art and a unique battle system.
Do I recommend you pick up Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love today? Absolutely! It’s a homage to old-school Point and Click games with a strong emphasis on inventory and environmental puzzles which will keep you constantly thinking about what to do next. Not only that, even if you get stuck, you’ll be determined to work out the solution as you’ll be hooked to the story and want to find out what happens next.
A Plague Tale: Innocence is a brilliant new IP which satisfied me in every way imaginable. The visuals were simply stunning, albeit a little blurry in certain scenes, the voice acting and music were perfectly recorded and pieced together, the gameplay was broken up between stealth, exploration and puzzles, and the narrative was both exciting and engaging to play through. Despite the few personal issues I had with the forced combat segments, I thoroughly enjoyed playing through this alternative take on the deadly Black Death and how two siblings worked together to overcome the dangers they were faced with.
Whilst not the best Sniper Elite game in the franchise, Sniper Elite V2 is certainly worth a look at if you’ve not played it before or have fond memories of it. The remaster has done wonders to the games visuals, pushing the resolution along with various enhancements to the lighting, shadows and textures – it’s never looked so pretty! Not only that, with the addition of a performance mode (I was playing on the PS4 Pro so I’m not sure of this on other models), the gameplay swaps from a solid 30fps to a buttery smooth 60fps at the blink of an eye. There’s just something therapeutic about sniping down Nazis in 60fps, watching their innards crumble in slow motion…
FAR: Lone Sails created a sense of isolation unlike I’ve ever felt before from a game. It’s visually stunning and moulds resource management and exploration in a fun and unique way with having to operate your land-ship to traverse the beautiful, yet bleak world. It might be a tad on the short side but as a whole, the game is extremely satisfying and a pleasure to play.
Mechstermination Force is the love child of Contra and Shadow of the Colossus, brought up by loving parents and nurtured into a well-designed experience. The gameplay may throw some people off, with its steep level of difficulty and almost rogue-lite mechanics where you must play to pay for a way to win the day. The visuals are really bright and vibrant, despite the main focus here being ginormous invading robots from another planet who are causing havoc upon the world. As far as Boss-Rush games go, Mechstermination Force sits up there with the best this generation.
PQube Games have once again published an amazing Visual Novel with Our World is Ended. At times I felt like I was within Inception, as we connected to the new world in order to take down the new manifestation of one of our previous games, then it’s like we’ve taken the red pill and we’re being pulled out of the Matrix in order to return to real life. It’s all very exciting and each time you hook into the virtual world you’ll see new events and obstacles the team must overcome in order to survive and get out alive. Sure, there’s a lot of crude and toilet humour, mild small-boob body shaming, lolicon and shotacon questionable moments, and lots of perverted and borderline illegal-in-the-west moments, but it’s all in the name of comedy and fits in perfectly with the personalities of the characters.
If you like story-driven suspenseful horror games which aren’t too scary, Close to the Sun is perfect for you. With it’s beautiful Art Deco design, horrific scenes of gore and brutality, incredible inventions from Nikola Tesla, and an engaging storyline, you’ll be hooked from the moment you step aboard the Helios. I found some of the narrative predictable and muddy towards the final chapters, but the overall experience was very enjoyable and entertaining. If you go into the game thinking it’s going to be like Bioshock, you’ll be disappointed, be open-minded and you’ll enjoy it a lot more.
To sum it up, I absolutely fell in love with Yakuza Kiwami 2 and its series in general. While I never thought I would be able to love a game where it’s core component is fighting, I am absolutely glad I decided to give this game a try. While I have to admit there’s something really satisfying about beating up thieves, the story totally threw me off and got me hooked right until the end. Yakuza Kiwami 2 managed to make me care about its characters a lot and surprisingly, the mini-games were unbelievably fun.
I went into Super Blood Hockey thinking it was just a homage to Nintendo’s ‘Ice Hockey’ but I quickly realised that it was much more than that! It was as if the developer took the classic title and used it as a starting point to create a much bigger and bloodier game than I could ever imagine. I love the progression you get via completing the various challenges to unlock all the special options and the Franchise Mode was something that I simply did not see coming. Come for the hockey and stay for all the shenanigans!