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Perhaps the only good thing that can be said about Dying: Reborn is that you can easily get a Platinum trophy from it, provided you only backtrack after finishing the game. It's faster if you use a guide for the more obtuse puzzles, but the whole endeavor takes only a few hours to accomplish. If you aren't into Trophy hunting, however, there's nothing of value in this title. Poor puzzles that repeat often, dodgy presentation with worse audio, and a story with too many plot holes are all wrapped up with a price tag that's too expensive for what you're getting. On a system that already has plenty of good horror games, there should be no reason for anyone to pick up Dying: Reborn.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is an excellent example of the right kind of remastering for a sprite-based game. Everything from the original is kept intact, with only a few changes that make the game more bearable in the modern era without affecting the difficulty at all. The presentation is what everyone will be talking about, however, as this game surpasses expectations, which is a bigger feat for an indie developer than a larger studio. The game length may be short initially, but the many secrets will keep you coming back, making this title a must-have for platforming fans of all types.
Nioh: Dragon of the North is more of the same, but that is a good thing for such a well-made game. There's a new weapon type, new monsters, new stages, a new story, and some nice mechanical updates. None of them are game-changers, but they flesh out and improve the solid core game. For those who've already finished the game, a handful of requested features help add some zest to the proceedings. If you're desperate for more Nioh and have already finished the main story, then this DLC will scratch that itch quite nicely, but it isn't a must-have.
All in all, Injustice 2 is a solid follow-up to the original. It has a few flaws and stumbles on the story, but they don't add up to more than a slight blemish. The gameplay is fun, it looks awesome, and there's more than enough content to justify a purchase even for casual fighting game fans. If you're looking for an excuse to have Batman and Superman punch each other in the face, Injustice 2 fits the bill.
Dawn of War III is a strong single-player campaign tied to an inconsistent multiplayer. It feels like a more ambitious game than it is able to be. Players who are looking for a single-player adventure will have a lot of fun rampaging through the 15-hour campaign, but those who are in it for the multiplayer may be frustrated by the new and somewhat muddled multiplayer mode. If the multiplayer clicks for you, Dawn of War III will be a delight, but it's a tough sell if you're looking for advancements on prior Dawn of War titles.
Shoot Shoot Mega Pack is fun for those who still crave local multiplayer. The short nature of each game mode ensures that matches don't last too long, while the customization means that you can mix things up if the four main modes are starting to wear on you. It may not have a single-player mode, online play, or even bots to practice against, but it's very good at what it does. If you want another go-to game for local multiplayer sessions, Shoot Shoot Mega Pack is worth a shot.
Ultimately, Akiba's Beat is a poor sequel, a weak homage, and a lackluster game. The strong localization elevates it slightly, but it's crippled by its attempts to impersonate better games. With Persona 5 and Tales of Berseria still fresh on the shelves, it's hard to justify why you'd play this over those games, and once you do, you'll find it difficult to stop noticing the game's "me too" trait. It's not the worst JRPG on the market by any means, but it has very little going for it in terms of strengths. The humor hit enough to give the experience some value, but otherwise it's something for those who've burned through the other top-notch JRPGs on the PS4 and are desperate for a little more.
This is a short game, and at $20, it might be a little expensive for a single evening or weekend, but it's worth checking out. There are a few other games in its small genre pool, but Little Nightmares sets itself apart with its level design and surreal atmosphere. Set aside a block of time, try to go into the game as cold as possible, and be ready for a lot of deaths, some of which are gruesome and many of which won't feel fair. It's a sort of dark fairy tale, to go by my experience, and you'll get about 60 unhappy endings before you get to a slightly better one.
Yooka-Laylee is classic 3D-era platformer. It brings an updated presentation to the genre, and it provides some solid and familiar platforming mechanics. The large levels provide a nice playground for those abilities, and while the combat isn't anything special, it's a lot of fun to complete the various tasks to collect pagies. If you can deal with the problematic camera, Yooka-Laylee is worth checking out.
All in all, The Disney Afternoon Collection is a solid, well-made and dependable collection of some fun, old-school games. You get a lot of content for $20, and the presentation is quite nice. The games are almost untouched except for some minor Boss Rush features and a rewind button. Younger gamers might not be nostalgic for these games, but for anyone who remembers rushing home after school to catch the latest episode of their favorite show, this is a trip worth taking.
Prey is simply exceptional. The story is twisting and confusing in a way that is exciting, and it makes you crave the next scene. The survival-horror approach to combat and gameplay creates the right amount of tension, while the crafting elements and ability to use almost anything in the world allows for emergent solutions thanks to the different approaches to almost every situation. Most of the flaws are technical in nature, and they're not enough to severely impact the game, so Prey earns its place as one of the hallmarks of this platform generation.
Your enjoyment of Alone With You will depend greatly on your expectations. If you're taking it as a traditional adventure game, then you'll be left wanting more. You'll spend more of your time walking than solving anything, and the few puzzles that are available present very little challenge. If you're looking for a melancholy sci-fi tale, Alone With You delivers on that expectation quite well. The illusion of choice is broken rather quickly, but the characters and their dialogue more than make up for it, and the intriguing tale comes to some satisfying conclusions. Alone With You is recommended for that latter group, but anyone who's looking for an adventure game that's a bit out of the ordinary should also check it out.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 has the potential to be a solid B-tier title. Most of the good trappings of open-world games are here, and the sniping mechanics are as solid as ever. The missions provide some great variety since you can take different approaches, and the crafting and different weapons are nice to have, even if you never use more than your default set. However, the presentation isn't up to par. Some of the mechanics are finicky, like shooting and tagging, and the AI can waffle between being superhuman and dim. More importantly, the load times immediately sap any fun that could be had from the title. A few of these things can be fixed with a patch, but until they're addressed, it's best to approach GW3 on consoles with caution.
Although it's short, Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight is solid. It hits the beats of a standard Metroidvania game perfectly, and while it doesn't add anything groundbreaking or new to the genre, it gives the player a great combat system to work with. Except for the lack of music in spots and some enemy blending due to the color palette, the presentation is solid, especially for fans of pixels. The level of difficulty on display can be hit-and-miss depending on your expectations, but otherwise, fans of side-scrolling adventure games will want to check out Momodora.
All in all, What Remains of Edith Finch is a solid experience. You're going to play through it once, which makes the $20 price tag a little difficult to swallow, but it's a well-made and interesting experience that does an excellent job in evoking emotions. The plot is slightly inconsistent, but it more than makes up for it with style. It's absolutely worth the time it takes to play through, and even if every beat doesn't hit, enough of them do to be worth your time. It won't change your mind if you dislike the "walking simulator" genre, but if you're a fan, then Edith Finch is a great experience.
The conclusion of Thicker Than Water is exactly what you'd expect from the series, and that's not a bad thing. For action fans, the setup means that the final episode is sure to be full of gore. For everyone else, though, having to spend so much time with some unlikeable and underdeveloped characters makes the episode feel like a drag, so the end is met with relief rather than longing to see the conclusion. It shouldn't be long before the final episode hits, but here's hoping things end on an upswing.
The Keeper of 4 Elements handles the basics of a tower defense game well enough. It may be too difficult for most people, but it's not done in the pleasing way that other titles can get away with. Without a strong presentation and no real defining factors, however, there's not much of a reason to pay attention to this game when there are far more exciting offerings in the same genre and on the same platform. Unless you really like cheap games, you should pass on this.
If you can stand the grind, Sky Force Anniversary is great for fans of the classic shooter style. The pacing is done well, and the upgrade system gives you something to work for, even in death. The medals provide an incentive to aim for perfection, but their forced nature will turn off a few players. Sky Force Anniversary is worth checking out.
There's a germ of a good idea in RWBY: Grimm Eclipse. The counter system alone makes this button-masher feel more refined. However, the rest of it — the presentation, the actual gameplay, and the lack of story — does such a terrible job at supporting this system that the overall game feels unfinished. Only a handful of fans may be fine with the title, but everyone else can easily ignore this offering.
It's difficult to judge how successful Dragon Quest Heroes II's changes are because at the end of the day, they are both drastic and minor. The core gameplay is almost the same, but the shift in gameplay changes the feel. Someone who enjoyed the focused tower defense gameplay of Dragon Quest Heroes would be less pleased with this iteration. Taken on its own merits, it's a fun enough game, and its flaws are relatively minor. Multiplayer alone should be enough to give it an edge. Fans of Dragon Quest should enjoy DQH 2 regardless, and newcomers should find it just as good of a starting point as the previous title. Be prepared to be overwhelmed by the puns.