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Horizon Chase Turbo does a good job of creating a sense of speed, and emulating the look and feel of Out Run. Where it falls down is in replacing the timer mechanics of Out Run, which made for a frustrating but ultimately exciting and tense arcade game, with a more typical racing track structure. It plays fine, but with none of the intensity, nor sense of reward, of the game it pulls almost all of its inspiration from.
Ultimately the only complaints that I can levy against SEGA Mega Drive Classics Collection are that there is not quite enough icing on what is an admittedly very generous cake.
The best parts of Cattails are when you're just getting to take in the scenery, hunting some field mice, and then chatting with other cats. There's so much charm in the sprite work and dialogue, so it's all the more disappointing when you're cast into dull combat exchanges simply because a RPG needs fighting. Some variance from the traditional survival game design would've been appreciated, as it stands as a charming survival title that can't quite measure up to the best in the genre. Still, you can do far worse, and who will really complain about getting to be a cat for a while?
Crimson Keep is unplayable.
Atlus has proven that Persona 4 DAN was not a one off, and while SEGA and Atlus seem to have lost the Hatsune Miku license recently, it is clearly not because the company has lost the ability to produce a sublime example of the rhythm game genre.
Darksiders III is a fine return for a series that fans were hoping against hope to see again.
Intriguing, intense and extreme, Killer7 is as relevant, playable, and valuable as it has ever been.
ROCKETSROCKETSROCKETS started its life in Early Access on Steam, spurred by a challenge by Radial Games to ship a product quickly as opposed to getting bogged down in the weeds. And for what it’s worth, content packs throughout the game’s life cycle on Steam have certainly added to its value, and I hope this continues into the future. I do think that the game is one or two elements and patches away from being a truly enjoyable party experience, so while I’m putting it aside for now, hopefully this will be one worth coming back to.
It doesn't offer the dense and intelligent narrative of Final Fantasy at its very best, but it's a joyful and heartfelt ball of fun, and it's great that Square Enix is able to find a way to balance out both approaches with its premiere franchise.
If nothing else, the developers are doing genuinely good work in highlighting a job that we should all be much more aware of. We don't survive without our farmers, after all.
LEGO DC Super Villains is another example of how TT Games haven’t just sat back on its LEGO titles to simply release “just another game” with a reskin. It doesn't always work, but the developer has tried to do something new while also keeping elements of previous titles that worked. Add in the iconic slapstick humour and you're in for a reliably good time.
Colin Thiele’s Storm Boy on the Nintendo Switch is a refreshing take on a classic tale, backed by high production values and a keen eye for beauty. Its brief runtime and interactivity could make it a great resource in the classroom as a companion to a study of the book, while parents are also recommended to pick this one up to play alongside their children.
I already know that this will be my most-played game on the Switch over the longer term. Once you start playing Civilization, it has the most incredible ability to make you lose all sense of time, and desire to play anything else. I was marginally worried about whether the port to the Switch would result in too many compromises, but there have been none and, for the first time since Civilization 2 from way back on the PlayStation, we have a proper Civilization title on console. That's something special.
There's no forced path or endless pile of hints to the point that the game almost plays itself. Hitman 2 lets you play your own way, and it's all the more rewarding as a result.
Although Spyro the Dragon and its subsequent two sequels haven’t aged as well as one would hope, Toys for Bob has done a good effort to put out a remaster that does the nostalgia justice.
Nintendo and Game Freak have managed something quite special with Pokémon: Let's Go.
The Shapeshifting Detective is proof that FMV titles can be done extremely well.
It's by no means an essential game, but it's passable for (very) short bursts of play.
I'm sure there's something good at the core of Road Redemption, but over and over again the developers made some truly horrible decisions that let that core down. Coupled with an attempt to emulate the aesthetic of Mad Max without the slightest understanding on why Mad Max is such a revered series of films, Road Redemption comes across as a wild swing for glory that didn't even come close to connecting with the ball.
Over and over again some truly baffling decisions let it down, and while the scenarios justify the asking price in themselves, for any of us that prefer the sandbox mode of the simulations that we play, Townsmen is a complete misfire.