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Spirittea is a fantastic cozy game. It sticks closely to the life sim template with the skeleton of its gameplay, but its main gameplay of bathhouse management and its spirit -finding progression system means that players will thoroughly enjoy what Spirittea has to offer. In addition, it's even better on Switch as something to be lazy with on the sofa or on a long journey.
Ugly is a hidden gem among indie games. It features a beautiful, melancholic narrative that will intrigue players as they unravel the nobleman’s hideous past. The puzzles are both challenging and engaging without being too complex for casual players to enjoy as they master the fascinating mirror mechanic of this world. Ugly is an interesting, unique experience that is recommended for players of every kind.
Star Ocean The Second Story R ticks all the right boxes for a faithful remake of a beloved title from the PS1 era. Its stunning new visuals and new meaningful mechanics make it a must-play JRPG for both newcomers and fans of the original. When considering the whole package, Star Ocean The Second Story R may not be a heavy hitter like other titles from this year, but it’s definitely a charming remake that tells a compelling story JRPG fans should experience at least once.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a success. With just five chapters total, it tells a compelling story that maintains interest throughout. It's also a neat summary of Kiryu's storied past, serving as a solid introduction to him for those who found the franchise through Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Ichiban.
The Invincible is hard to recommend on the basis of its gameplay alone, as its walking sim core doesn't always feel like the best use of its potential. Its best features can be found elsewhere, however, with a competent take on a great story and a truly staggering success in the looks department keeping the engine running across a modest runtime. Branching possibilities may not be enough to incentivize a second bout of slow exploration, but as a one-time dip into a mysterious tale of beauty and danger, The Invincible might just do the trick.
It's a matter of taking that memorable original score, the over-the-top firefights, the thoughtful questlines, and the raw retro/pseudo-90s shtick that ultimately leaves less residual concern over a clumsy facial animation or a tedious boss here and there. Every chapter of RoboCop: Rogue City gives players something interesting to do, an unexpected encounter to resolve, or a sly reference to decipher. The result is a great game that accomplishes everything an adaptation could wish for, breathing new life into its source material and setting a new high bar for the franchise.
Alan Wake 2 is a mind-bending, epic thriller that takes the best of Remedy’s catalogue & combines it all into nothing short of a masterpiece.
Despite the game's pacing issues and ability to enrage its players, Ghostrunner 2 can be a challenging game to put down. The game's exciting synth-wave tracks and well-written supporting cast pair well with its visuals and outstanding boss battles to keep players interested. Ghostrunner 2 improves on the first game in many ways, but if the sequel were an anime, a lot of it would feel like filler material between its more engaging, epic boss battles.
At its core, this latest entry in the Just Dance franchise is essentially exactly what players have come to expect. The always-online and subscription components, coupled with a focus on the future at the expense of the present makes this particular title not stand out from its peers. However, a solid song collection and creative routines still makes Just Dance 2024 something probably worth picking up for fans of the series who look forward to a new lineup each year.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder could be Mario's most magical adventure, offering up an enchanting experience that shines among the best of the side-scrolling Mario games.
Even those who enjoyed the show, but never played the original game, may have trouble immersing themselves in Gargoyles Remastered. Many of the changes made in Gargoyles Remastered are simply that - changes - and not necessarily improvements, leading to an overall disappointment for the potential this could have had.
Spider-Man 2 brings Peter Parker and Miles Morales together for what is one of the best PS5 exclusives yet – a triumph of gameplay and storytelling.
And still, there’s the bones of something great here. A mystical underworld to explore, secrets to unearth, terrors lying in wait in the darkness. A heretofore-unseen, fully realized original Hellboy adventure is screaming to be properly told, to be freed from the trappings of this torment. Hellboy Web of Wyrd is a tragically beautiful blunder.
However, it also leaves a lot to be desired in that its graphics are certainly not impressive by any means and its overall gameplay is incredibly simple and repetitive, even for its target audience. At times, many things feel confusingly implemented and the option for co-op feels a bit like an afterthought. With all that being said, it is still potentially worth giving a chance as there is a lot going on for PAW Patrol World that will help introduce young children to modern gaming in a way that not many other games like it can, however, anyone over the age of the target audience is likely to be unimpressed and quickly bored.
As a whole, Party Pack 10 presents a diverse showing of minigames that can appeal to a wide audience of players. The weaker links like Hypnotorious are easier to overlook thanks to its cohorts like FixyText and Tee K.O. 2, and even the titles that don't quite stick the landing bring some interesting ideas to the table. This is a worthy pickup for party game fans in general, and for longtime fans of the series The Jackbox Party Pack 10 presents a fun blend of new ideas alongside improved-upon old ones.
Pixel Ripped 1995 hits the PSVR2, a nostalgic and brief all-ages adventure through classic gaming that leverages 3D interactivity in inventive ways.
The class choices, combat, and gameplay of Minecraft x Dungeons & Dragons are all solid but do feel a bit limited at times because of this being DLC. However, it makes a great case for a fully-fledged Minecraft DnD game. What's here is a ton of fun and feels impressively like DnD. Fans of the tabletop RPG, or even fans of old-school dungeon crawlers, should find something to love about Minecraft x Dungeons & Dragons.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage marks a concerted effort for the series to return to its roots, but that doesn’t make it immune to longstanding issues.
Still, Endless Dungeon’s strong presentation, characterful sci-fi culture, and unique cooperative approach remains intact. It’s a game of on-the-fly decisions and intimidating combat encounters, with success often separated from failure by a hair. Those qualities should draw in the more patient and masochistic roguelite aficionados, and better still if they have a like-minded, agreeable team in tow, the players committed to see the treacherous paths to the reactor all the way through and come back for more. Ultimately, Endless Dungeon offers a smart and strategic co-op challenge with minimal hand-holding, but its structure feels all a little too delicate to deliver up the next real roguelite obsession.
Taking all of this into account, it's still safe to recommend Lords of the Fallen to anyone remotely interested in this genre, be it veterans or those looking for an entry point. When it comes to Soulslikes, this release is very accessible to new players to the genre and offers more than a good challenge to those with more experience. While it still has plenty of fine-tuning ahead, Lords of the Fallen is a worthy reboot of its predecessor that offers something new and lays a strong foundation for future adventures in Mournstead and beyond.