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I certainly didn’t come away from this game with any lost affection for dolls, and my Miku continues to own the living room. More seriously, though, Weeping Doll had a lot of potential, and it’s genuinely disappointing that it wasn’t able to follow through with it. This one you can’t chalk up as developer teething pains with VR; this game would be every bit as flawed, regardless of the platform it was on.
Orson Welles once said the enemy of art is the absence of limitations and that rings true for Corpse Party. A game made decades ago on outdated RPG Maker software is as successful in achieving its vision today as it always was because the creator used the limited palette effectively. The reliance on imagination and familiarity with Japanese horror influences present in Corpse Party aren’t going to resonate universally, but some of that horror defies cultural barriers and speaks to the human condition.
In the end, Mark McMorris Infinite Air is not going to appeal to more casual snowboarding fans, and unfortunately I would include myself in that category. If you are looking for a game that you can pick up easily and pull off some crazy looking tricks, you might want to look elsewhere. However, with properly aligned expectations and a willingness to sink some time into learning the game's mechanics, you can get a lot out of this one.
At its worst, Civilization VI is a game with a handful of bugs and a somewhat lacking AI that is wrapped up in a somewhat cartoon-like package. At its best however, Civilization VI is an engrossing 4X strategy game that has more depth and features than ever before.
It can be completely disorientating to be playing a monster game without direct control over your creatures, I appreciate that. But Yo-Kai Watch 2 is a game that asks for your patience. After an initiation period the cultural context of the game will grow on anyone who has ever had an interest in Japan, and that charm, humour and raw personality of the game carries it through. I’m still surprised that Nintendo ever thought that there would be an audience for Yo-Kai Watch 2 in the west, but boy am I glad that they did.
Necropolis is best taken as a satire. It’s not perfect in that role, but it’s good fun nonetheless, and a healthy foil to the kind of experiences that have become so in-demand with the success of the Souls games. If you’re able to get the full complement of four players together, you’re in for some classically entertaining and self-aware dungeon crawling fun.
Due to the simplicity of the gameplay, the small number of buildings, and the general ease of play, Tethered is rather limited in its replay value, and the presence of leaderboards isn’t enough to compensate for this.
I found myself completely immersed in the castle’s world — except when the audio cut out — and plan on going back again soon.
Horror is a very natural fit for [VR technology], but some awkward juxtapositions between Here They Lie’s art direction and theming, and the critical lack of physical feedback after providing such a sensory overload in other ways, is perhaps an argument that the best horror experiences we’ll see on VR will be the “walking simulators” that focus on psychological fear rather than physical threats.
Putting aside those issues, however, the core game is a lot of fun. I know I always end up saying this, but I prefer kicking back to play games on my lounge TV rather than at a PC. As a casual, streamlined take on the 4X genre, with a nice fantasy vibe to boot, I expect I’ll be keeping this on rotation for quite some time to come.
Thumper is a very good rhythm game, if obscenely difficult, and that should make it appeal to any fans of the genre. But it’s a lot more than that, too; it’s an experience unlike any other, one that pushes the bounds of pure audiovisual immersion even with its standard 2D display – to say nothing of its VR capabilities – and that makes it something that I think everyone should at least try.
The game is simply too limited, too clunky, too ugly, and too underdeveloped for its own good. Especially when Blast ‘em Bunnies does the same thing, only much better. The extra VR effect in Ace Banana just isn’t worth the trade-off in every other way.
If you've got a PC that can handle it, Shadow Warrior 2 is a fantastic bloody game. If you love yourself a good, over-the-top action video game that brings to mind the ridiculous (but enjoyable) action flicks of the 70's and 80's, then the Shadow Warrior franchise is not to be missed.
The campaign is actually worth experiencing for a change and the multiplayer will no doubt keep fans of the formula coming back for some time. The historical scenario is a refreshing change of pace from far too many other shooters that insist on science fiction settings, rounding out an excellent overall package for FPS fans.
Paper Mario: Color Splash is an endlessly charming, cutesy journey that represents a greater achievement for the art directors and script writers than Intelligent Systems as a whole. It’s a shame that such a talented studio opted only to tweak the flawed Sticker Star and, as a result, dull and unbalanced gameplay often holds back this whimsical romp. As one of the final Wii U titles, though, it’s certifiably hilarious and might just warrant a second look.
As someone who has been a lifelong fan of Final Fantasy, World of Final Fantasy was specifically designed for people like me, and I love Square Enix for it. Respectful of its heritage, but creative with how it presents it, this game has had a far more meaningful impact on me than almost any other game I’ve played this year. So, thank you, Square Enix. It feels like a gift.
Gearbox has done a great job with the overall package and deserves a new look for fans. While it may not be the most complete version, that all-new chapter is good enough in itself to get fans interested again. Hopefully, at some stage, we can enjoy new Duke game that does the original King justice, baby.
This game, like its predecessor, is very niche and very serious, but it’s a very worthy and very intelligent complement to last year’s Nobunaga’s Ambition.
All in all WWE 2K17 is a really good experience. The smaller design choices both in the ring and for customising your experience are incredible, and when looked at as a completely package it is the best wrestling experience I have had to date.
You have to be a rally game fan to enjoy WRC 6 much, but if you are, then I suspect you’ll appreciate the authenticity the game offers that other, more general interest rally gamers, like Dirt, do not offer.