Worth Playing
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Individually, the games in the Toaplan Arcade Shoot 'Em Up Collection Vol. 1 bundle are good. Zero Wing is fine, Truxton is solid, Out Zone is a forgotten gem, and Twin Cobra is one of the few shooters to star a helicopter rather than a spaceship. As a package, though, it is a reminder of just how good Toaplan was when it was around. This is good stuff, and we hope that Bitwave plans to release the rest of Toaplan's games soon on the PC.
It's been over a decade since Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective came out, and the game remains as charming and delightful as the day it was released. The HD remake does a fantastic job of updating the title for modern displays without losing the style that made it so engrossing in the first place. When the biggest flaw is that I wish there was more of it, that says a lot about its quality. It's weird, it's silly, and it has the best darn Pomeranian in video games. If you like the Ace Attorney games or colorful puzzle titles, you owe it to yourself to give Ghost Trick a try. Now if we could just get a sequel ....
Fans of the promotion and wrestling games in general will find themselves partially satisfied with AEW: Fight Forever. The flaws are noticeable, such as the truncated introductions, limited arenas, and a smaller roster compared to the competition. The presence of creative tools gets hampered by the lack of a built-in way to share them, and the absence/trimming of match types can feel off. While the story mode is goofy in several ways, it is the strength of the wrestling engine that keeps the game fun to play, match after match. If the rumors are true, then this good game can get much better with patches and downloadable content for years to come. Otherwise, if this potential series follows a more traditional development cycle, this title is a very good base to work with for a hopefully more ambitious and meatier sequel.
Overall Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a solid, if overpriced, collection of some excellent dungeon crawlers. The same core gameplay remains strong to this day, but series vets might be annoyed at the lack of Untold's features. Any of the games is an excellent game on its own and provides gameplay for quite a while. If not for the price tag, this is an incredibly easy game to recommend, with or without Untold features. Even the most hardcore of Etrian Odyssey fans may want to stick to one game or wait for a sale.
The Case of Golden Idol is an engaging adventure game that completely won me over, even though it's not remotely what I thought it would be. It's more about observation than actual detective work, but it requires more deduction skills than many games of its kind would feel comfortable to burden the player with. It's very much in the vein of Return of the Obra Dinn, where it's more about your logical deduction skills than about pretend detective play. If that's your cup of tea, The Case of the Golden Idol is an easy recommendation. Given the choice, I would opt for the PC version, especially if you don't intend to play the game in the Switch's docked mode.
Classic Sport Driving is fine if you don't mind some quirks. Having to register before playing online is rather unnecessary, and some of the campaign bugs detract from the enjoyment of the title. Still, the racing is good once you get used to the handling and driving, while the track randomization and leaderboards for each permutation ensures that you can get in some quick challenges when time permits. It's a nice diversion for fans of old-school racers who don't mind playing solo.
Sonic Origins Plus still can't be considered the most comprehensive collection of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog titles. From a completionist's standpoint, it would've been nice to have Sonic 3D Blast, and the Genesis version of Sonic Spinball and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. Others will lament the fact that the original music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 remains missing. The inclusion of 12 Game Gear titles makes this feel like a better value, while the modified versions of the original four titles are still a great way for new players to experience these classics without dealing with the things that don't fly in modern game design. For fans of old-school platformers, Sonic Origins Plus is well worth checking out.
Final Fantasy XVI is by no means a perfect game, but it is an exceptionally good one. The engaging plot, beautiful visuals, and enjoyable gameplay all combine to create something that feels special. It can occasionally be a little long for its own good, and the combat system is slow to get going, but once it hits all the right marks, it knocks them out of the park. I left Final Fantasy XV disappointed by how unfinished it felt, but Final Fantasy XVI is a true rarity these days: a fully finished game that is satisfying from start to finish.
Players will find something special here, as the stories told in the overall game and the books you dive into are rich and well written.
I'm shocked with just how good Aliens: Dark Descent ended up being, and I could hardly put it down from the moment I loaded it up. It clearly respects the Aliens franchise, but it uses the elements in a way that is in service to the gameplay rather than as mere fan service for the player. Its gameplay is not only incredibly fresh compared to the other games of the franchise, but it's also so well executed that it stands as a high point among real-time tactical games, let alone for an Aliens game. Out of the franchise's entire history of games, there are only three games notable for how uniquely good they are; Aliens: Dark Descent is one of them.
Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a gem of a shooter that has arrived fashionably late to the PS4. The frantic action that's expected from a bullet hell shooter is improved upon with interesting attack patterns and a set of mechanics that rewards quick kills and exhibiting some flair during gameplay. There's a nice balance for veterans and genre newcomers, with the latter being served especially well; the difficulty and lack of continues fosters a need to improve, while ensuring that death isn't as immediate as in other games. Topped off with a great presentation all around, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a standout in the genre that fans shouldn't miss.
Diablo IV is an extremely good Diablo game, and that is all it needs to be. It doesn't change much, and it focuses on polishing what the franchise already did well. It's always difficult to tell how these kinds of games will develop; by the end of its life cycle, Diablo III was almost unrecognizable compared to its launch state. Barring some terrible missteps, Diablo IV has everything it needs to grasp your soul with its malevolent claws and eat up hours of your life. Newcomers or long-time fans alike should find it easy to pick up and play Diablo IV.
Impaler is a fun game if you know what you're getting into. It's a simple enough arena shooter that plays fast and is short enough to ensure that you can squeeze in multiple runs in a short play session. The need to kill airborne enemies with a stomp can put a damper on things, but the rest of the gameplay is solid. Impaler is priced at $2.99, so it's worth a look for shooting fans who want a quick fix.
In its current state, the Xbox version of Pinball FX still feels like a work in progress and isn't an improvement from the prior version of the game. For a product that targets a niche market, that's a hard pill to swallow. I really wanted to like Pinball FX, but every time I fired it up, I found myself switching back to Pinball FX3. It's best to wait for improvements before investing a lot of money on upgrading and rebuying tables you already own.
Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 is a very safe sequel. It's the same characters, same gameplay, and a very similar plot, but with some additions and new mechanics and general upgrades. The result is an experience that feels familiar but has enough adjustments and changes to feel fresh. The excellent combat system is as good as ever. I can't help but hope that the next game shows a little more ambition, but at the same time, I'd happily play another entry. Sometimes, it's OK to stick to what works, and Fuga 2 shows that this particular franchise has a lot of life left in it.
Dredge has no right to be as good as it is, but it effectively plays to its strengths and mixes solid systems with a strong theme. If you're not into fishing or Lovecraft, Dredge won't be your cup of tea. However, if either even slightly tickles your fancy, I can almost guarantee that you'll have a blast delving into the twisted mysteries of Dredge - and you'll even make a decent buck with mutant fish while you're at it.
With Super Mega Baseball 4, Metalhead has another solid baseball title on its hands. The existing modes get enough overall improvements to make them worthwhile, while Shuffle Draft keeps things fresh for a long time. The introduction of pros is awesome, but the game did well to not forget the originals, while the gameplay remains rock solid. Baseball fans of all types who aren't hung up on only playing with the current pros will enjoy this title.
As a straightforward port of the GBC classic, Shantae works quite well. Minor issues like button remapping aside, once you get over a few things like the lack of a map and a more brutal life system, you'll find this to be a classic platformer that shows off how good this series and WayForward were from the beginning. Shantae fans who only own a PlayStation system will be very happy with this, and we hope that this means Xbox and PC fans will also be able to get this game on their platform of choice soon.
Street Fighter 6 succeeds in its ambition to cram some big things into one fighting game. Battle Hub may be silly, but it has a lot more personality and more to do than most other titles with their own online lobbies. Fighting Ground does a great job of showing off the new roster and improvements to the fighting engine, while placing an equal amount of attention on both offline and online players. World Tour makes for a somewhat nonsensical yet addictive adventure that can serve as a good basis for a full-fledged Street Fighter RPG. All of this is tied together with a presentation that does well in improving what came before it, only with more fidelity and flash. As stated at the beginning of this review, fighting game fans are going to have a good year, and Street Fighter 6 is an excellent component of that.
System Shock Remake is a solid remake of an exceptional game. It doesn't quite reach the levels of modernization that you might see from something like Resident Evil 4 Remake, but it does a good job of adapting a classic without losing what made it a classic in the first place. It's a clever and creative game that deserves its place in gaming history, and the remake emphasizes that.