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It's not the longest game, and doesn't offer anything that will be remembered as a classic game by any means, but the tense atmosphere, striking art style, and challenge, will surely help this game find itself a niche.
Effortlessly, it’s the best game that has been released on the Wii U, and, given the games to come, discounting Zelda as an NX launch title, it will be the best game that will ever be released on the Wii U.
On a whole, while Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus offers more than a dozen hours of content, it doesn’t offer much variety in terms of gameplay. That being said, the visual novel-like storytelling does add enough of an interesting plot and characters that, assuming you're okay with seeing them in underwear most of the time, makes this game worth playing through.
There is a solid core game here in Trials of the Blood Dragon, the problem is when the team extends away from that core to do other things. Not all of the motorbike tracks are great, but that is true of the Trials games as well. The platforming segments are terrible, however, some of the more bombastic and colourful stages are an absolute joy to play, and the neon visuals and pounding soundtrack do an excellent job of selling the action.
Because it plays so differently, the game requires that you take a very different approach to playing it, and while I don't think this is an innovation that's going mainstream any time soon, having a voice controlled game on the PlayStation 4 makes for a unique, interesting, diversion. Throw in production values well beyond what most indies can achieve, and a plot that will get you thinking across its last few hours, and you've got a genuinely worthwhile little experiment here.
Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator is a fantastic fighting package offering lots to love for both series fans and newcomers alike. This is a flashy, modern fighter which boasts both gameplay depth and an anachronistic punk aesthetic.
Underneath that surface of naked or nearly naked anime girls is a quality dungeon crawler, and one that deserves notice.
Here's hoping Wales Interactive are able to keep working on Soul Axiom, because these game-breaking bugs are holding back a game that's otherwise creative, intriguing, and utterly gorgeous.
For the patient, Grand Kingdom is very worthwhile stuff. As a debut, it proves that Monochrome Corporation is a talented development outfit, and this is one of the more original takes on the tactics genre that we've seen in recent years. The reliance on a specific online experience that is reminiscent of mobile games makes me almost wish I was playing this on iPad, but the sheer depth and breadth of content more than validate the premium price point.
The Last Days of Old Earth is one of those lighter weight strategy games that can scratch a quick itch to unwind after a long day (beer and all), but is not the sort of game you will sit down with for an entire afternoon. That can be a good or a bad thing depending on what you are looking for, but there are enough unique ideas injected into the familiar turn-based formula that helps Last Days of Old Earth stand out from a rather crowded field of niche strategy games.
Despite its flaws, Catalyst is a worthy concept of the game, and the improvement from the last one to this shows that it can mature into a quality game franchise, beyond its concept. The sense of scale and the way the world has been designed for travel makes for a fantastic experience.
It’s a great game for the young ones, and still enough there for older players, but if you’re looking for a challenge, there are some stronger contenders on the 3DS.
The core gameplay is solid, but there’s not enough variety to sustain a long gaming session. What’s left is a game which makes a good first impression and delivers a unique set of ideas, but ultimately gives the same repetitive white mage routine that other RPG’s have been doing for years now.
You may well have missed Fairy Fencer F on its first round, but it is nonetheless a worthy JRPG, and it’s great having it on the current generation PlayStation.
Neon Chrome certainly has its charms, and it can be a lot of fun, especially if you bring some friends along. At the same time, I feel like there’s a lot of missed opportunity here. The “succession planning” mechanics add depth and a sense of progress to the roguelike aspect of the game, but not enough to incite the obsessive “just one more try!” feeling that this genre needs.
Score Rush Extended is a marvellous and elegant bullet-hell shmup that is fantastically balanced and very well crafted. It's a heartfelt celebration of a genre that is often, sadly, overlooked by today's gamers. Those looking for a taste of the old-school shmups of yore will quite simply be in bullet heaven with this little gem.
So, again, there’s nothing overtly wrong with Anima. It works, and it is, mechanically, a competent action RPG. What lets it down is that it is so painfully artificial. I tend to think it’s a consequence of relatively inexperienced developers having major ambition, and I don’t begrudge them for that, but at every turn Anima really does try to force itself into an experience well beyond what the team was capable of pulling off.
While Shadow Blade: Reload may not re-invent the platformer genre, it is both pretty to look at and fun to play. With multiple stages, collectables, difficulties, and challenges there’s more than enough ninja action to keep Kuro busy for a while.
What Somi has achieved in creating Retsnom all by himself is remarkable. It’s just a shame that the frustrating puzzle design and brutal level of difficulty will, I imagine, prevent most people from being able to experience the full weight of what it has to offer.
Sophie herself is beautiful and adorable, and I hope she gets to come back in the other two games in this series come (we assume), because with her, Gust has a new heroine that deserves real attention.