USgamer's Reviews
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2 brings together some more of Capcom's classic titles, this time with a focus on the Mega Man X series. Like the previous legacy collections, this is a mix of some absolute masterpieces, some okay games, and some severe missteps. It's missing some features like save states or a rewind function, and a few songs from the original releases are gone completely. The new X Challenge mode also doesn't stand up to Mega Man Legacy Collection's Custom Challenge stages. Still, this a damn good collection for a series that hasn't seen a new entry in 14 years.
Octopath Traveler's attempt to balance new and old JRPG mechanics is impressive, and mostly successful. There's a charming one-of-a-kind title here that opts to talk about eight characters instead of focusing on one team, one world, and one story. Does this unusual method of storytelling work? I think so, but personal preferences will vary. Some over-long boss fights and questionable dedication to certain retro mechanics mar Octopath a bit, but if you own a Switch and love JRPGs, adopt this fluffy, lovely snow leopard of a game for your own.
Red Faction Guerrilla returns, taking a second crack at being an instant classic. The awesome environmental destruction returns alongside the hammer, one of the best gaming weapons ever. And the game has been redone in 4K resolution with improved lighting and textures. Unfortunately, the bad stuff still remains: shooting and driving feel floaty, enemy response is tuned too high, and there are a number of glitches present. As such, the remaster merely brings a great game into the modern age, without the improvements that would mark a better re-release.
The Crew 2 offers players the chance to drive everything with a motor across a shrunken version of the United States. It provides a fun driving experience and looks stunning, but ultimately it lacks focus from being pulled in too many directions. There are bright spots here and there, like Monster Truck trick courses or Rally Cross events, but The Crew 2 falters in equal measure.
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is the endearing, heartbreaking tale of a kid who imagines himself to be a superhero. It's not very long at 2 hours tops, but Dontnod Entertainment uses this teaser for Life is Strange 2 to show they still have the stuff to tell a great story. Captain Spirit isn't really a complete story though and you'll leave this experience with more questions. Ones that will likely be answered in the next game.
Jurassic World Evolution really captures the feeling of the Jurassic Park/World film franchise: it's equally divided between the majesty of seeing well-animated dinosaurs roaming around and fending off corporate bickering. Unfortunately, the game lacks variety in terms of planning out your ideal Jurassic Park, especially in comparison to Frontier's own Planet Coaster. Evolution tries to lean on dinosaur DNA tampering to make up for that lack, but it's not quite enough. Jurassic World Evolution feels like a solid foundation, but there needs to be more DNA in this amber.
The characters, both new and old, feel much more distinctive than the usual "big, medium, small" classes that seem to follow other Mario sports games and even Mario Kart.
There are moments of greatness in this campaign, but I'd still only recommend it to the biggest Splatoon fans—the ones who play it on a nightly basis like me, itching for an Octoling to join Inkopolis in Turf War and Ranked battles. Otherwise, more casual fans might find Octo Expansion to be a touch too grueling to love.
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle has some great ideas, simplifying the mechanics of BlazBlue for newer players and bringing in characters from Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY. The core of the fighter works well, but the character roster is a bit small until you get into a mess of downloadable content. The additional modes also feel a bit dry and threadbare compared to Arc System Works' past efforts. This crossover is solid, but could use some tightening up as a full package.
Onrush makes a bid to revive the arcade racing genre with this wonderfully unique title. It's a little bit Motorstorm, a little bit Burnout, a little bit SSX. It's a beautiful game, with a selection of amazing tracks full of jumps, drops, and takedowns. Onrush is at times too chaotic and busy, but in the end it's damned exciting.
Vampyr unfortunately flounders after building some solid foundations in the opening hours. London feels like a city on a knife edge, and the citizens prove to be an inviting cast of creative characters. But Vampyr then lures you into sacrificing these characters, cutting out a key part of the game, all to have a hope of standing up to the horrors that await you in the shadows of London.
All in all though, Hours of Darkness is a snack, not a meal.
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is an arcade perfect collection of twelve titles across Street Fighter's grand history. Unfortunately, it's missing some of the bells and whistles of their console counterparts and online play is a bit rough. Despite those problems, local play is a winner and the Museum is packed with content showing a real love for the franchise's history. If you know what you're getting into, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is a great compilation, just not a perfect one.
While bare-bones on the surface, Dark Souls Remastered is one of the best games of the last 20 years running better than it ever has. New players will find all of the mood, challenge, and tension of the original, and returning vets are given beefier online options and minor tweaks to small details. More importantly, it keeps one of the medium's best games easily accessible and readily available.
Detroit: Become Human improves upon its predecessors by having a cast that you enjoy and want to spend more time around. Quantic Dream's visual craft and presentation is top-notch, but the writing hasn't quite caught up yet. It isn't subtle and some of the references to social ills are amazingly on-the-nose instead of being more unique. It's better than Beyond: Two Souls, but there's still room to grow.
If you can deal with a healthy dose of bugs, State of Decay 2 is an extremely satisfying and unpredictable management sim with a solid action-survival game laid on top. The sequel's improved UI, new multiplayer component, and additional maps help it stand out from its predecessor, even if the moment-to-moment is largely the same.
It's an older release and the price tag is a little steep, but Hyrule Warriors is pitch-perfect musou gameplay with a heaping handful of Zelda fanservice. The former is still the most important part though, so you need to be a fan of musou titles to really get the most out of this game. If you are a fan though, Hyrule Warriors is one of the better entries and it runs well on Switch.
You may think it's impossible to feel empathetic over an inanimate blanket, and yet, in Forgotton Anne it feels like second nature. And not just for blankets—for all long forgotten things brought to life in the magical Forgotten Lands. While the platforming is often frustrating, the game's captivating world, art direction, and meaningful choices more than make up for it.
It's always refreshing to see an RPG try something new. Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire deftly blends classic RPG fundamentals with more intriguing pirate-themed gameplay. If you enjoy RPGs, you'll almost certainly want to give Deadfire a shot.
Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia aims to focus the Total War series. Instead of a grand chunk of history to explore, it drills down to some specific decades, with a much smaller map. At the end of the day though, you still need to love the real-time strategy play for the Total War series. If you do, Thrones of Britannia is an experience that tries not to suck up all of your time and energy.