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Overall, Foreclosed is a good game with great moments and some awkward caveats. It's a visually compelling experience, with an interesting game world and some strong gameplay ideas, but its occasionally simplistic gameplay and middling story hold Foreclosed back. With an extremely abrupt ending, it's something that will be enjoyed but unlikely to live long in the memory.
While there is definitely room for improvement, Jupiter Hell is one of those Early Access projects that really used its time well. Two years of development make this finished product feel like a polished and definitive roguelike experience. Imminently approachable and nostalgically fulfilling, Jupiter Hell slays all expectations and provides a potent combination of action and strategy that shouldn't be missed. Everyone from veteran rogues to boomer shooter diehards will find something to appreciate in these bloodstained halls.
Overall, NARAKA: BLADEPOINT remains a wonderful, fast-paced, and addicting experience. While it has plenty of room to grow, it holds its own against competitors like Hunter’s Arena: Legends and offers a polished experience to those who choose to join the fight.
Overall, Seed of Life is a game with unique ideas and wonderful worldbuilding, but it needs to heavily refine the parts that matter most. In its current form, Seed of Life is a fantastic proof of concept prototype but an easy to skip final product. While it doesn't take long to beat, due in part to the ability to navigate the world in unintended ways thanks to easily exploitable bugs, it leaves a lasting negative impression that could have been avoided with a little more time spent developing out from its early promise.
Dreamscaper is a game of contrasts and not all of the elements are cohesive. It combines the incredible gameplay loops of Hades and Persona 5, but wraps them in a slice-of-life package that doesn't quite fit them in properly. Weak characters and story aside, however, Dreamscaper is a great roguelike and worth checking out for fans of the genre all the same.
Fire Tonight is a gorgeous game with a cool soundtrack, all steeped in the aesthetic of the '90s. It's just a shame that the player doesn't get to spend more time with Devin and Maya, as the brief glimpse into their lives is too short to get attached to them. It's easy to want them to see them reunited, but the fire in the city burns out so quickly that it doesn't leave too much of an impression.
For players who enjoyed the base game, Barn Finders Amerykan Dream offers more of the same. There are new opportunities to explore abandoned buildings and bid on valuable storage units, more ways to earn quick money, and a few new puzzles to solve. Like the base game, however, this DLC lacks the challenges, length, and variety needed to maintain player momentum and increase replayability. It feels like developer Duality Games missed an opportunity to introduce more new mechanics and deeper, varied challenges to Barn Finders, and without much extra content in this DLC, it's difficult to justify the price.
Shadowverse: Champion's Battle isn't going to be remembered as a game of the year candidate, and fans of the original game will likely have more fun continuing to play on phones rather than giving this a shot. However, for fans of the anime and those who enjoy a good family-friendly JRPG, Cygames has put together a well-rounded experience that shouldn't be ignored. It's fun to spend a few dozen hours remembering how engrossing an absurd story about a group of friends saving the world with card games can be, and Shadowverse: Champion's Battle does that better than most.
Hades remains one of the best roguelikes in recent memory regardless of what machine is housing it. As always, the advice ultimately remains the same for those on the fence about the Supergiant Games spin on mythology: go play Hades. Now there's even more ways to do so.
Button City wants its audience to feel warm and to remember all of the things that they enjoyed when they were kids, and it succeeds in that goal. It feels right at home beside any media from the era it’s invoking.
While there was never anything frustrating enough to make someone want to stop playing the game, the lack of new mechanics as the game goes on makes it hard to come back. It's a shame because Glyph is truly a beautifully designed game that could become a great title to speedrun, so long as future updates make Glyph easier to control. Ultimately, Glyph is a beautiful game that fell short in some pretty important places, but still deserves a chance from those looking for a relaxed gaming experience.
Overall. Vesper is a highly impressive indie platformer. Its stunning visuals and mysterious game world will likely immediately hook the player, while its gameplay hits a sweet spot that will maintain that interest throughout its short runtime. It may sometimes go into comfortable spaces seen by other games in the genre, but even so there's more than enough flair here to make Vesper worthwhile.
Min-maxers can prioritize equipment and stat upgrades to further sabotage any challenge, but everyone else can just jump into Dodgeball Academia’s matches and glide through the snappy story. By the end, a full roster of characters unlock for use in a versus mode pack-in, albeit with no online multiplayer available. Super Dodge Ball fans will immediately respond to what Pocket Trap is up to here, but Dodgeball Academia should also prove an easygoing delight to anyone looking to sink into a very specific type of sports RPG.
The Sims 4 Cottage Living has the potential to become one of The Sims 4's essential Expansion Packs in the eyes of the community, forever altering gameplay like Seasons and Parenthood did. There is a lot to like about The Sims 4 Cottage Living, and with luck, Sims 4 fans will see more like it in the near future.
Some areas of the game do need some improvement, with certain Hunters being a little too strong at launch and button inputs not completely registering in combat engagements, leading to moments of confusion when a Hunter doesn't do what they should. However, Mantisco has already released a patch within the first week to improve the game at time of writing, which indicates the potential for swift improvements to any shortcomings at release. All things considered, Hunter's Arena: Legends is definitely a battle royale game that fans should check out, with enough of its own identity to seriously contend for people's time in an increasingly crowded genre of quality options.
While there is room for growth in Doomsday Vault, currently it offers a variety of good challenges with engaging gameplay. The puzzles are great for players of any age, and those who enjoy relaxing, exploration experiences like Abzu or Monument Valley will likely find the atmosphere of Doomsday Vault a great way to escape at the end of the day. With a few updates to improve replayability, Doomsday Vault could become a great choice for those who enjoy puzzle-style gameplay, and remains solid for those interested in the genre as it currently stands.
Trigger Witch is certainly not a bad game by any stretch, but it does feel like it doesn’t quite hit the highs that it could have. The surreal world and wacky concept can start to feel a bit stale after a while, as the action becomes repetitive and the story fails to really develop. Even with those complaints, though, it’s still a satisfying gameplay experience for the most part and will provide a few hours of fun for those who enjoy twin-stick shooters but want to experience something a little different from the genre.
Although The Ascent is far from perfect, it gets more right than it does wrong and is most successful at creating a world that is filled with interesting characters and fun to explore. The sections that require some grinding might frustrate, but there is enough variety in the combat to keep the gameplay from becoming stale thanks to the wide array of weapons and the cover mechanics. Add in the possibility for co-op multiplayer with some friends and The Ascent can certainly provide hours of riotous fun, especially with a release on Xbox Game Pass day one.
There are some problems in Eldest Souls, though, including weird pathing to certain bosses that require trap-dodging, which just feel out of place. Additionally, the lack of a true pause means re-speccing may require a return to a previous checkpoint. These are ultimately small gripes for what is a wonderful experience overall, as Eldest Souls is a challenging but fair boss-rush with great pixel art and some smart New Game+ content. The Souls community is sure to enjoy this, but the build experimentation and shard system add an appealing sense of growth that makes Eldest Souls feel like it has even broader appeal than its niche.
Orcs Must Die! 3 feels like a known quantity from the moment it loads up. Those who have never played before will have a great time discovering the various traps and monsters the developers at Robot Entertainment have come up with over the years, but experienced players don't have much to get excited about. The additions are nice for what they are, but they don't give a true upgrade to what the series is known for beyond the graphical bump that comes with making a game on new hardware like Xbox Series X. There's no denying that this is the best that Orcs Must Die! has looked, and the War levels do throw more enemies than ever at players. Going in with the lowered expectations of a remaster rather than a full sequel makes all the difference, but it's hard to say whether or not a game that still feels a decade-old is worth the return trip.