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Ultimately Anime Studio Simulator comes to the table a bit rough around the edges but presents a charming story of a group of friends making an anime. Scenes such as going to an anime shop for “research” and the long list of team visits to the café craft an embodiment of playfulness and silly fun, which is, ultimately, embracing what som many of us love about anime in the first place.
This is one of those games which you could buy on a portable device and enjoy far more because of that.
Tyranny is an excellent RPG experience that has many of the hallmarks of great classic role-playing games while still making plenty of smart choices to modernise the experience for today's audience. Refined systems and a story where choices can often have some real consequence made my time with Tyranny rewarding, despite a disappointingly abrupt ending that left me wanting for more.
I know I'm often critical of big budget blockbusters, but the Assassin's Creed series has always been one I've enjoyed because of that historical context. This specific package of games has clearly been designed to fill a gap in Ubisoft's schedule for the series. It shows that none of the main Assassin's Creed games are going to age particularly well, but it also does a good job of highlighting - when freed of the expectations that come with being a blockbuster - that the real strengths of the series are far more subtle than the graphics or size of the cities that it renders.
Ittle Dew 2 has many good things going for it, but I am wondering whether Ittle might thrive more now if she sets off on her raft, unencumbered by trying to be part of another franchise's tradition, to discover a new land all her own.
In the end, Yesterday Origins is part of a resurgence of the old point and click adventure game. It certainly offers a unique story in the realm of video games. Fans of the genre will certainly get a kick out of the game, others may just be intrigued enough by the story to try it out. But will it stand out as a classic in the genre when we're getting so many of them at the moment? Probably not.
Taking a shallow sub-mode from other games, and presenting it in a no-frills manner, might make for a competent and reliable shooter, But Killing Floor 2 also fails to be anything more than a diversion from other, better shooters as a result. It's utterly useless in singleplayer, and for multiplayer hijinks there are more creative examples out there.
The game is simple and fun and can pose a challenge to anyone who wants to find everything in the game. The developers had some really good ideas with the moon phases and to use real world time and weather. I think in the context of a more in-depth and purposeful game, that kind of feature would be distinctive and potent. Hopefully some other developers were paying attention.
The most creative that Game Freak has been with the franchise in quite some time, and players who had grown tired of the iterative approach the developer had been taking may well find this one a Renaissance for the series.
Football Manager 2017 is my favourite in the series so far. Aesthetically it can't hold up to games like FIFA that make the visual presentation a priority, but there are plenty of nice touches for the ever-evolving engine that help to sell the experience as you observe and coach it. Beyond that the depth here should appeal to fans of the sport, especially those willing to let the action take a back seat to strategy and preparation. With so many different options at your disposal, you can dig about as deep as you would like in your experience.
This is a game which tries to sell itself on its mechanics, but by constraint of budget, platform and other resources can’t quite live up to the game it wants to be.
The Little Acre exemplifies every reason indie point-and-click adventure games can still do more than hold a candle to the AAA shoot-em-ups with more brawn than brains and beauty combined. The story of a young single dad with a missing father and a rather rambunctious daughter touched my heart in ways I forgot video games could, and every time I had to put the controller down I yearned to just boot the console again and enter the phenomenal world The Little Acre takes place in.
Steins;Gate already demonstrated just how far the visual novel could be pushed towards an experience with genuine literary merit, and the sequel pushes things even further. This is a highly relevant game to some very real discussions that ethicists and moral philosophers will be pondering in the years ahead, and at the same time it tells a ripping, entertaining story. A real masterpiece on every level, and one of the best games I've played all year.
You'd be able to forgive Dungeon Bros if the action compensated for the misfiring sense of humour. But it doesn't. This is a slog and a grind of the highest order.
Last year I was willing to give the franchise a chance, hoping against hope that, it being the first game, future editions would be better. I am under no such illusions this time around.
Tumblestone deserves credit for being unique in a genre that often times plays things too safe and predictable.
If you can fight your way through it, you’ll find something quite unique. Lithium: Inmate 39 is a very thought-provoking horror game that’s managed to bring some wonderfully creative ideas to the genre.
I appreciate that multiplayer is a big deal in the Souls games, but this is the first time From Software has crafted a piece of DLC content that focuses almost entirely on that multiplayer experience, and I think this will fall flat with plenty of other Souls fans.
Seraph on a whole is brilliant and refreshing in its design. Having the player be able to concentrate on movement while the AI handles the aiming is an inspired idea and I honestly hope to see more of in the future, while the organic approach to difficulty and movement makes for a game that is mesmerising and deeply engaging from start to finish.
If you want cheap jump scares, Wick will do the job. If you’re after a more nuanced approach, one that goes beyond the superficial horror of sudden apparitions accompanied by heavy breathing, identical music, and a handful of different shaped insta-kill radii, then Wick is not for you. Wick is a blunt instrument – one designed not for players, but for observers of players. Aside from the occasional sudden jump caused by an inattentive ear, there is little of that creepy unease, that apprehensive discomfort, to elevate the overall horror experience.