Screen Rant
HomepageScreen Rant's Reviews
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a great new addition to the Metroidvania subgenre that offers players unique combat and a good time.
Iron's Hot is something of a mixed bag. There's a lot of charm and a lot of promise, but a lack of variety and some unfortunate bugs and sloppy design hold it back from being a must-play. Those who enjoy a cozy game or are after a light-hearted fantasy will still likely enjoy it, but that recommendation does come with some footnotes.
Overall, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a title that is safe, accessible, but lacking in challenge. It provides a story-mode that players will likely love or hate, a narrative that is safe but predictable, combat that is impactful but inconsistent, and controls that are accessible and intuitive. For fans of the series or players that struggle with other fighting games, this is a fine title to jump into. However, for those more experienced in the genre and are looking for something new, this is not the one to pick up.
The list of problems with Arashi: Castles of Sin is long, but beneath them all there's a solid experience that can be genuinely fun to play. In a market with a surplus of better options, however, it's hard to say that Arashi's limitations are worth dealing with. Arashi: Castles of Sin - Final Cut is a frustrating package of a potentially good game, and by the time things come together in a way that's exciting enough to make its sins forgivable, the credits are already rolling.
Like The Teal Mask and the base games before it, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk is a fine experience that just feels like it needed more time to cook. The new features and additions make it an enjoyable DLC, but the performance problems occur frequently and are often distracting. The newest battles add a bit more challenge to Gen 9, and roaming around the Terarium to catch the latest Pokémon is still the biggest draw. Overall, the good outweighs the bad. There's no denying how fun it all is.
This is one of the most enjoyable simulator games available and cannot be recommended enough for fans of the series. And if the DLC packs for the original House Flipper are any indication, there will be plenty more content to come in the future. Anyone who played the original game will absolutely love this, and for those new to the genre House Flipper 2 is the perfect way to see how creative, and addicting, simulator games can be.
Without the free new Leviathan Mode, the Purgatory DLC would not be much to write home about on its own. However, for players who've yet to experience Metal: Hellingsinger, the addition of the new mode makes the game feel more than worth its $30 asking price. Those who've defeated Metal: Hellsinger's epic final boss and are hungry for more rhythm shooting gameplay have quite the challenge ahead of them with Leviathan mode, which is made even more enjoyable with the Purgatory DLC's new music and bow.
The world of Tomarang is beautiful, and there are several meaningful cultural inclusions like recipes and furniture that will undoubtedly help some players better reflect their own life experiences in-game and tell more meaningful stories. The EP may not add as many impactful features as a release like Growing Together, but the renting mechanics will help bring creativity into entirely new places both in terms of building and gameplay. The Sims 4 For Rent is by no means perfect, but it nails its titular feature and adds more overall creative potential to the game than many other recent releases for the franchise.
All of this coalesces into a game that is surprisingly chill but also full of surprises. The storytelling, characters, and monsters are all trademark DQ. And with post-game content (no spoilers here), the good times can keep on rolling. The vibrancy on display here, along with Dragon Quest's signature sense of humor, dares anyone to play it without a smile. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is one of the most fun games of the year.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a staggering sensory experience, and the consistent beauty of its world goes hand-in-hand with an engaging story and meaningful progress for Ubisoft's approach to open-world game design. Its weakest points are the areas where it doesn't go back to the drawing board, although repetitive elements go down more easily as part of a package that stuns in so many ways. A flight to an alien moon might never be in the cards for most of Earth's inhabitants, but Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is, and it might just be the next best thing.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an excellent adaptation of the Warhammer universe into a genre that some may expect not to work. A compelling RPG with a strong understanding of its original property, it’s a great example of the classic C-RPGs of the 1990s and early 2000s. Although it perhaps does nothing revolutionary, it provides an intriguing and exciting adventure, especially for fans of the tabletop game.
Arizona Sunshine 2 is sure not to disappoint players who are looking for all the fun of a zombie slayer and none of the gore. While the gore itself isn't heavily detailed, it's still fun to mow down a horde of zombies, all while listening to the protagonist's colorful humor. On top of that, the VR mechanics themselves make this a must-play title for any VR gamer, as Vertigo Games truly does its best to showcase the limitless potential of making VR feel as lifelike as possible. Overall, this short, zombie-killing survivalist adventure seemingly has something for everyone and is worth checking out, if for no other reason than to experience some of the best that VR technology has to offer.
But perhaps Blood West’s strongest component is its exploration, and the pull to devour every inch of its creepy map design can be reason enough to turn the game into a 30-hour experience or more. The amount of that time spent dying and backtracking are all part of the hellish journey, but the difficulty is balanced such that gamers of all stripes should find enough equipment and upgrades to power their way through. For a combat-heavy horror game, Blood West focuses on the most important details and leaves the rest to rot, and their full release version delivers one of the year's best surprises.
At the time of this review, I have yet to actually beat Astral Ascent in full, so I can't speak to the game's ending. If it's anything like most roguelikes I've played over the years, though, it's not getting to the ending that matters; it's about how enjoyable the trip is. As someone who has put in hundreds of hours in Dead Cells, Hades, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Slay the Spire, and countless others, I really thought I was kind of done with the whole genre. Astral Ascent, though, is the first game since Starfield was released earlier this year that has hooked me. It's always hard to put into words what that "one more run" feeling is the best roguelikes inspire, but Astral Ascent undeniably nails it.
Despite these missing quality of life features, SteamWorld Build still manages to be fairly addicting. Sense of progress is consistent enough even with occasional moments of waiting, and making discoveries feels rewarding enough to keep things engaging. The varied environments found throughout the game all feel uniquely designed, and accompanied by the blend of ambient sounds and satisfying soundtrack, the world as a whole comes off as intriguingly charming. Though it may not feel absolutely complete in its systems, SteamWorld Build is still a worthwhile venture for players looking for a creative new management sim.
Roots of Pacha doesn't entirely reinvent the wheel when it comes to the simulation genre, but it puts an interesting enough spin on things that it still manages to feel like a breath of fresh air compared to a typical farming title. The style is charming and the emphasis it puts on community truly makes progress feel more rewarding than usual, and creative use of the prehistoric setting makes for a world that's easy to want to keep coming back to. Roots of Pacha is equal parts engaging and relaxing, and is a great option for any players looking to experience a new twist on a well-trodden formula.
Additional achievements, challenges, unlocks, and secrets bring enduring value to Risk of Rain Returns, and the new graphics do just enough to contemporize the look of the game without sacrificing its creepy pixelated presentation. This all manifests into a project that feels like a true gift for fans and a premium prospect for roguelite veterans who may have missed its original launch. Risk of Rain Returns takes an all-timer which might have been overshadowed by its sequel and gives it much, much more than a fresh coat of paint.
Sanabi is a stylish grappling hook platformer, but its cumbersome story and interrupting pace risks sacrificing the parts of the game that work.
Assassin's Creed Nexus VR juggles a lot as a standard-bearer for AAA VR games, and the balancing act means that it's unlikely to be exactly what any given person wants it to be. As a loyal and reasonably robust translation of a popular series, however, it smoothly avoids any critical fumble. It's easy to recommend the game for Assassin's Creed fans, and it lays a solid foundation that makes a sequel seem like a tantalizing prospect. Reworked combat could go a long way in making Assassin's Creed Nexus VR better, but the joys of stealth and daredevil exploration are enough to grant the weak points some forgiveness.
At the end of the day, Super Mario RPG has not received much love, outside of a surprising appearance on the SNES Classic and some Geno ephemera in the Smash series. To describe it as a purely niche oddity would be wrong, as it was a massive seller back in its day and has popped up on best-of lists ever since, but it still comes off as an oddball first-party Nintendo game. Super Mario RPG Switch fulfills most expected obligations and even surprises with a few new features, making it a predictable crowd-pleaser for those in the know who should welcome it with open arms while left wanting for even more content. The House of Mario doesn’t bless us with many full-spectrum remakes like this, and maybe this will be enough to spark interest in a real sequel some day.