Worth Playing
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Ultimately, Siege of Centauri is fine. Its mechanics are solid enough, it does everything else decently on-screen, and the pyrotechnics are spectacular to see. It just doesn't feel like anything special, from the abilities to the story to the units to the towers. It's the kind of game that you wouldn't mind playing but won't rush out to buy immediately, making this difficult to recommend unless you devour every game in the tower defense genre.
They Are Billions boasts strong central ideas about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps to industrialize in the face of grave danger. This is done incredibly well, from the aesthetics to the music and especially the upgrade trees. All of these work in tandem so well that it's cool to see, but unfortunately, the follow-through for the console version isn't done well enough. This on its own is pretty damning, and coupled with the strange aesthetics makes the game considerably less enjoyable. The PC version may run better with the controls, interface and menus.
Super Neptunia RPG negates the positives that it brings about. The fresh perspective that comes from being a classic 2D RPG with a simple battle system clashes with the unintuitive and unresponsive platforming. The presentation is beautiful, but the performance is hampered when compared to its predecessors. The ability to explore also seems nice until you realize that the streamlined side-quest system has been replaced with the more time-consuming method of visiting each quest-giver individually. Fans of the series may still enjoy it.
There's a good chance that the game will improve in the next few months or a year, and at that point, players can easily jump into the game and enjoy the hell out of it. At launch, however, Breakpoint makes sense if you want to get into a looter shooter that isn't full of fantastical weaponry or you aren't playing The Division 2 anymore.
As a fan of the movies and a fan of creative approaches to games, I've had my eye on John Wick Hex since the day it was announced. Its bizarre approach works satisfyingly well in the context of how John Wick would think in the same situations: risk versus reward, careful observation and planning, plays and counter-plays. It is a simple game to understand yet rewarding to attempt to master. It also makes a compelling case of how great movie-inspired games can be if developers really think outside of the box.
Alas, Concrete Genie is far less than the sum of its parts. A strong early game is lost by a bizarre late-game twist that undoes a lot of the charm. If it had just focused on the genies or had been about combat from the start, Concrete Genie would be a much more cohesive experience. Instead, the game has a lot of good moments but ends on a particularly dissatisfying note. There's still a lot to enjoy, but the flaws stand out as brightly as the strengths.
Indivisible was incredibly close to being the best indie RPG I've ever played.
As a multiplayer experience, Gears 5 offers up a wide variety of options, and something is sure to please almost every type of player. There are some rough edges, especially with the way character upgrades are handled, but the core gameplay is solid and satisfying. Combined with the campaign, Microsoft and the Coalition have given players an amazing value, especially if you are getting the title via Game Pass. It may not be perfect, but it'll provide hours of fun, and that's what matters.
After all is said and done, Toki is a labor of love taken on by Microids to refresh and rebrand a game that's been largely forgotten.
Overall, Ace Attorney Trilogy wholeheartedly proves its worth as a remaster. The story still stands up today and balances goofiness and sincerity in a fun and enchanting way. The gameplay is slow but wins over its audience. The graphics are heavily improved from its myriad predecessors, and the music is brought to life in just the right way. Sure, there are some slight slip-ups here and there, but this game is a gem that's worth playing from the pantheon of games, especially those in the visual novel genre. At this time, the defense rests.
Hyperspace Delivery Service is a charming, retro-inspired experience.
Overall, NBA 2K20 is still one of the best basketball games out there, but future iterations should either ease up greatly on the VC spend or drop the price significantly, so players won't have to spend extra money.
The end result is a game that is phenomenal in its presentation and very decent in gameplay. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition doesn't necessarily set a new standard or innovate within the Metroidvania genre, but it does create an experience that is elevated by its otherwise stellar production values. Ultimately, it's up to personal preference, but you should give the game a chance; you'd likely regret it otherwise.
Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns might be a relic of a bygone time, but that isn't the same as being a bad game. Most of the modern match-three games owe something to the original, and it shows. It might not have Marvel characters or shiny graphics, but it's an accessible, enjoyable and fun puzzle game that is excellent to play for a few minutes at a time. For $15, you'll get more fun than you would in spending that same amount on microtransactions in other games.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered on the Switch is a great port of a very good JRPG. Its stellar presentation and unique mix of known JRPG systems make it an engrossing experience that every fan of the genre should experience at least once. It isn't perfect, with some frustrations around its combat system and AI, but that doesn't detract from everything else it does as well or better than many other JRPGs in recent memory. If you have a Switch and are intrigued by Ni No Kuni, you cannot go wrong with this game.
Dangerous Driving feels just like Burnout, but it doesn't look or sound the part.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a delightful remake of an excellent game. A lot of its strength is predicated on the fact that it was built on an already exceptional Zelda game, and if you have any nostalgia for the Game Boy version, you'll be charmed by this update. The game's only real flaws are its overall short length and the frustrating frame rate issues. If you're a Zelda fan, it's still absolutely worth checking out, and if the frame rate issues get patched, this title will be the best way to play the handheld classic.
Borderlands 3 is a solid game for fans. It relishes in the multiplayer moment-to-moment combat, and the multitude of guns and the post-campaign game give players enough reasons to keep playing long after the credits have rolled. It won't convert those who disliked the series into fans, but it also does everything it can to keep itself true to what players liked about the originals. For those who are still deciding whether to jump in, Borderlands 3 is a good place to do so.
To its credit, there's a good amount of fun to be found within Monster Jam Steel Titans. Although the game can feel limited or repetitive, it rarely feels unpolished or incomplete. The truck controls are spot-on and feel fantastic, which is the most important landing to stick. More than anything else, the game feels like it has a limited scope, but importantly, it does well within the goals that it clearly has for itself. It's a fun game involving monster trucks, and the freestyle mode alone carries a lot of the game's entertainment, as it should.
Xenon Racer is made for those who have laser focus and dedication to nailing every detail.