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Much like its predecessor, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an exercise in how to do a superhero game right. The movement is exhilarating, the combat is well done given the bevy of options at your disposal, and it contains more than enough to keep you busy but not bored. The fact that it can do all of this in a more compact package (in terms of gameplay hours) is a testament to tight design, while the story is more compelling thanks to a new cast of characters. With a presentation that's better than the PS5, provided you have the hardware to push things, Miles Morales is an easy recommendation for PC players.
Soda Crisis succeeds in providing action in small doses. Even if you forget half of the possible moves, you have more than enough to become a formidable action hero who's capable of taking down everyone in a torrent of bullets. The brevity of each stage makes it perfect for bite-sized gaming sessions, and the presentation keeps the high-octane action vibe going. It's a fine outing if you love run-and-gun platformers, but make sure to bring a good pair of glasses or sit very close to the screen if you want to read any text in the game.
That is about the only real criticism I have about The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story. It's a darn enjoyable multi-generation experience that has a lot of unusual mysteries, so it stands strong on its own merits. If you're a fan of mystery games, then it's absolutely worth a shot. The strong acting and good use of FMV help it to stand out from the crowd, and it's almost as much praise and criticism that I wished it were a movie or television show that I could just sit back and watch.
As a story-driven adventure game, Pentiment is a history lesson come to life, with some intriguing mysteries to solve and tricky decisions to make. It's a vertical slice of history, and it provides a glimpse into a turbulent period through the experience of a small town. The experience can be a bit sluggish because it sometimes values historical accuracy over player comfort. Your choices impact the Bavarian town of Tassing over a quarter of a century, all while uncovering a truly interesting mystery. Tassing is the actual protagonist here, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being an integral part in its community and participating in its struggles. It's a bit special and stubborn in its delivery, but Pentiment is an interesting and worthwhile investigation of the period, its customs, and its issues.
Smurfs Kart is pretty smurfy, at least in some parts. It nails the mechanics of Mario Kart quite well, the presentation is quite nice despite the low frame rate, and it has a good sense of speed. That said, the small number of tracks, vagueness on weapons, and basic modes mean that most Smurfs fans will knock out everything in an afternoon and struggle to return. It's not that bad of a kart racer for the Switch, but only die-hard fans of the recent cartoon will want to make this their main kart racer.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn is an incredibly well put together remaster of one of the cult classics from the SNES era. It's an improvement over the well-done PSP remaster and improves upon it in almost every way. The story and translation remain excellent, and the core gameplay is more fun than ever. The only downside is that it didn't get any visual touch-ups, so you'll need to be willing to accept cute, pudgy little sprites acting out the serious tense political drama. If you're a fan of strategy RPGs and haven't played Tactics Ogre yet, then Reborn is well worth a shot.
In the end, GigaBash is a game that's loads of fun if you're playing with local friends. Even if you don't partake in the minigames, the combat is deeper than expected in a fighting game like this, so you'll spend more than a few rounds playing with others. It doesn't have much going for it if you choose to play solo or are trying to get online, but as long as you have a group ready for a get-together, GigaBash fits perfectly in a party-style rotation.
Still, it's hard to feel like the multiplayer wasn't just thrown into the wild for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. It's not unplayable, but there are so many flaws that consistently and almost constantly crop up. The lack of post-launch support makes it feel as though Call of Duty is a victim of its own success, and it really doesn't matter what state it's in or how quickly it gets fixed because millions of people have already purchased it, and it'll all be forgotten before the launch of the next one. My hope is that the players won't be simply taken for granted going forward, but in the meantime, Modern Warfare II certainly subscribes to the mentality of, "Screw it. People are going to buy it anyway."
Sonic Frontiers is an all-around solid Sonic the Hedgehog game. The shift to a more open-world style of gameplay works almost entirely in its favor and allows the game to offer more freedom and exploration without resorting to werehogs. At heart, it's still the same basic 3D-style gameplay that the franchise has been doing lately, but the change in perspective works in its favor. Not every change is a winner, but enough are that I dearly hope that Sega sticks with this flavor instead of reinventing the wheel. Fans of Sonic will be delighted, and those on the fence should give Frontiers a shot. It's easy to see how the greater freedom (and lack of annoying gimmicks) could be the difference between frustration and fun.
NHL 23 has a few nice additions, but they quickly wear thin. There's nothing of substance, except perhaps yet another year of the same grind in HUT to eventually get a team together that is worthy of competition by the time the next installment skates around. That doesn't seem appealing to me, and unless you've already skipped several years' worth of NHL entries, NHL 23 isn't worth the full asking price.
In the end, I can't shake how captivating the chemistry among the characters was in God of War: Ragnarok. I probably laughed and got misty-eyed more times in the first few hours of playing this than I did for the whole first game. Plenty of heavy themes are tackled here other than life and death: alcoholism, abusive relationships, codependency, depression, emotional breakthroughs, true father-and-son bonding, manipulation, etc. You could call this game God of War: Families, Amirite? I've deliberately been vague about many of the key plot points, funny exchanges and gut-punch moments because I think people need to experience them for themselves. I probably already said too much regarding the bears, but they left an impact. The rest of God of War: Ragnarok will make quite an impression as well, and perhaps provide lessons that can outlive us all.
The Last Friend is awesome. Those who have been looking for a game similar to the first Plants vs. Zombies will instantly fall in love with this, as the core gameplay mechanics faithfully emulate that. The addition of an active participant in the fight gives you much more to do than resource collection and frontline maintenance, while the multi-screen battlefields and boss fights feel like a natural evolution of the formula. It may feel too easy compared to PopCap's classic, especially if you play the whole campaign in co-op mode, but that's a small price to pay for having this game style make a comeback. Unless you absolutely crave a strategy game that will tear you to bits at first glance, The Last Friend is a title that's well worth playing.
Overall, Bayonetta 3 is an incredibly fun game. I like the new mechanics, the new enemies are fun to fight, and it has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. I just wish all of it wasn't surrounded by a dreary tale of multiversal failure leading into a rather bittersweet ending. If you don't care about the story, the game has few flaws that I can think of. It plays great, is full of amazing absurdity, and was absolutely worth the wait for any fan of the franchise. In the long run, I think Bayonetta 2 is my favorite of the franchise, but Bayonetta 3 is still a remarkably good entry in Platinum's best series.
Even if you only play Life Is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection in handheld mode and you've never played either game elsewhere, this offering isn't great. At $40 for a slightly worse version of two older titles, I can't recommend the Arcadia Bay Collection in its current state. It may be worth a pickup at a steep sale, but even then, if you can play it on another platform, do yourself a favor and do that. Both games are still enjoyable narrative adventures with some cool moments, but the Switch iteration simply doesn't do justice to the original releases.
If you've never experienced it before, The Last of Us Part I is a must-buy. It's essential in any library. One of the things I liked about playing this again is that it's a nice change from a lot of the exhaustive open-world concepts out there. The level designs and settings are expansive enough for you to explore, but they're not big enough to go off the rails. You have a definite destination and mission, even if the journey carves a few pieces out of you. It's worth it. Just remember to perhaps pour yourself a drink afterward.
I wanted to like Star Ocean: The Divine Force a lot more than I did. It has a lot of interesting ideas and concepts, and I'm a prime target for Star Ocean 2 nostalgia bait. The game didn't have the time or budget to do what it wanted to do, and what we have is a half-baked title that does very little well. The story is dull, the combat is repetitive and poorly balanced, and the unique features fall by the wayside as the game progresses. There are glimmers that something great could have been created, but it isn't the game that we ended up with. It's difficult to recommend The Divine Force to even die-hard JRPG fans, since the game's few strengths are eclipsed by its many flaws. Wait for a sale if you're curious, but otherwise, there are plenty of other better JRPGs to play this year.
In the end, PGA Tour 2K23 retains the series' reputation of being a solid golf game despite some notable issues that don't affect the gameplay too harshly. The aim for a realistic golf simulator is still present, but things like swing forgiveness and a new control method opens things up for more players of a lower skill level to jump in and have fun. With those solid modes, PGA Tour 2K23 has some real legs even when the presentation isn't mind-blowing. It'll be interesting to see how it and future iterations will stack up once EA gets back into the sport. Until then, golf fans will be well served with this title.
Just like Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, Shovel Knight Dig proves to be a very solid spin-off for a very beloved character. The familiar platforming of the original mixes well with the predominantly vertical focus, while still maintaining a responsiveness that fans expect. The roguelike nature of the title means that there's a good amount of randomization and temporary upgrades. The quick average runs mean that levels aren't a slog. Overall, it works well as a starter roguelike, and it's a perfect choice for both Shovel Knight and platforming fans alike who are looking for something different.
Gotham Knights stands in the shadow of giants, and while it doesn't necessarily stand as an equal, it's a valiant effort. There's clearly a lot of love and care put into the game, and while it doesn't hit every mark, it hits more than it misses. The only thing that really drags it down are some technical issues and a slight drought of unique open-world content to complete. It's a great attempt to figure out how you do Batman without Batman, and this title should scratch the itch of any Batman fan.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is an absolute delight. The new mobility-focused combat trades some difficulty for a more flexible and dynamic battlefield. The more JRPG-styled tone and structure of the game gives it a solid basis that the first game didn't quite reach. Most of the improvements are for the better. There are still some nagging problems here and there, and the frame rate is rough, but if you can get past that, there's a ton to love here.