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If Death’s Door is not mentioned in a list of the year’s best indies, it will only be due to its finer focus and lack of complexity or significant depth, which also speaks to the game's utter lack of bloat. Those who are looking for the cavernous biomes of Hollow Knight or the lore-rich epistolatory storytelling in a Souls game may feel shorted by the 10 or so breezy hours on offer here, but Death’s Door is a precisely engineered and immersive adventure which will fully satisfy anyone seeking that exact experience. Isometric action RPGs are a dime a dozen, but rarely are they polished to such a brilliant sheen.
Akiba's Trip is a poor attempt at creating a tantalizing video game, and it's only the strength of its humor and writing that makes it even worth a look. This is actually the first official English localization of the original Akiba's Trip, though after spending time with it in 2021, it's a mystery why anyone wanted to remaster it in the first place.
The nature of a game like Cotton Reboot! is one where its audience will know immediately if they want to pick it up, because as far as being a classic shooter game, it’s exactly what is to be expected. For those less knowledgeable, however, this game is for players who want to spend quite some time on what amounts to a very short game so that they can learn its ins and outs. It is also far more important than it probably should be to not be bothered by more than a little fanservice.
Cris Tales embraces the old model of JRPGs, making it feel like a well-worn experience for seasoned fans of the genre. All of the charm, whimsy, and innocence of Final Fantasy and The Legend Of Zelda ooze throughout the game’s setting and characters, but Crisbell’s time powers provide a fun new spin on the classic turn-based combat. Cris Tales isn’t that difficult either, making it a good choice for beginners looking to get into turn-based RPGs.
Fans of the original Space Jam had a terrible game to tie in with the movie, and Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Game is a much better experience by comparison. It feels as if the concept could have easily been expanded, as there plenty of scope for more characters and stages, but Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Game is an ok game, for what little runtime it has.
Ages ago, when Castle Crashers hit Xbox Live, fans were happy to just pay out for a few new character and weapon skins, but the Mr. X Nightmare DLC appears to have been treated with the same level of care as the original game. Anyone who’s been looking for a better reason to go back to Streets of Rage 4 than just crawling up the leaderboards should jump on this DLC release, and the Survival mode’s 2-player online capability provides a great excuse to bring a friend along for the ride.
Skyward Sword HD is the definitive version of the game, with many of the annoyances from the original Skyward Sword scrubbed from the experience. Skyward Sword HD has its frustrating moments, but it's still an excellent game, and it's worth a return trip to those who already soared through the skies on the Wii.
Unlike Wildfire, though, Within the Blade works marvelously on the Switch and seems perfectly optimized for the platform, although the speed of the game does make more sense when docked on a nice TV. Little control and camera niggles - inputs to activate skills are constantly stumbled on Joy-Cons, and orienting the camera during stealth attempts is a pitiful chore - don’t compromise what is a weirdly deep, potentially satisfying low-rez action ninja sim. Elaborate and overflowing with optional content and a snappy narrative, Within the Blade should be a hit with the Sengoku set.
Unavowed expertly blends fantasy and crime genres with stellar writing, acting, and artwork to create a game that is both memorable and entertaining, and should be experienced by anyone who thinks the glory days of Sierra On-Line are the only time period where great point-and-click games can be found.
Even with this being the case, however, it doesn’t do enough to really drag down Triversal as a whole. It’s a game that’s meant to be played in brief segments and then set down again. Triversal’s simplicity, relaxing atmosphere, and brain-distracting difficulty can shine and provide just the type of experience needed for any puzzle-lover to unwind.
Overall, F1 2021 is an excellent entry in the series, with a number of additions and tweaks that make it feel refreshing to play. With one of the most comprehensive Career Modes available in a sports game and enough options to make it accessible to anyone, F1 2021 is enjoyable for newcomers and veterans alike. Fans may want to keep an eye on outside influences on Codemasters as time goes on, particularly with cosmetic options, but F1 2021 still provides the incredible thrills and deep choices of how to play that the series has become known for.
Nevertheless, Where the Heart Leads is worth picking up and playing as soon as possible. The story it has to tell is carefully crafted, emotionally vulnerable, and will stick with players long after the final lines of dialogue fade from the screen.
Sniper Elite VR may not be as polished as titles like The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, but despite this, VR may be Sniper Elite's ideal eventual home. Concepts and mechanics that may have felt overdone in a standard console shooter are reinvigorated by the VR format. Sniper Elite VR has some rough spots, but it's easy to look past them when the end result is as fun and immersive as it is. This a must-play for fans of Sniper Elite and VR enthusiasts alike.
From the moment that Boomerang X's demo hit Steam, it was possible that DANG! and Devlover had a hit brewing, and the full experience delivers on that promise. No occasional difficulty spikes can get in the way of this exciting mixture of retro FPS movement and stylish action, and Boomerang X will likely remain a contender for one of 2021's best indie titles throughout the rest of the calendar year.
This one small change from anonymity to recognizability makes Watch Dogs: Legion - Bloodline a vital addition. It's the best story content in the series since Watch Dogs 2's main campaign, and it effectively redeems the story of the original game by acknowledging the cognitive dissonance of Aiden Pearce's rampage through Chicago. Anyone who jumped on with the second game likely won't get a lot out of these revelations, and it's still probably not a great idea to spend 40 hours with 2014's vision of a hacker just to play this DLC, but anyone who's been with Watch Dogs since the beginning will find a lot to like here.
. If Monster Hunter Stories 2 allowed the player full control over the party and made it more about customizing a team, then the overall experience would make it an excellent entry in the franchise. Even without, it's a very good turn-based monster collector with broad appeal that's worth a look for fans of the genre.
Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood is a solid expansion to ZeniMax's popular MMORPG, explaining the rise of Mehrunes Dagon and introducing new mechanics that can be expanded upon in future chapters. Fans of Elder Scrolls Online are likely to find something they really enjoy about the Blackwood zone and story despite some of the drawbacks, and new and solo players can have a much better experience diving in and facing challenges if they start with Blackwood, thanks to the new features.
Secret Agent HD is the type of game that some will see as worthy while others will view as unplayable for the exact same reasons. It has lots of video game style and this rerelease comes packaged with not just more than the original, but the ability to make even more than that. Secret Agent HD is ultimately a mixed bag of “NES hard” clashing with modern sensibilities, while still always managing to show how legitimately fun it can be to play the super spy infiltrating the bad guy’s lair.
A Tale of Synapse: The Chaos Theories is a mixed bag overall. Visually it's extremely impressive, and when the player is able to focus on the game's puzzles it's an immersive head-scratcher. However, its struggles with platforming and combat, alongside its camera issues, means that the title ends up as a good idea not entirely successful in its implementation.
Overall, though, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! shows that the original game has lost none of its power. Those wishing to visit the game again will find its new content deep enough to warrant a replay, and its excellently-told story will still hold weight with newcomers. Go in spoiler free where possible and enjoy its twists and turns.