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Mable & The Wood's glimmers of potential get buried under heaps of frustration thanks to unfriendly exploration and clunky controls.
If only Caligari could travel back in time and tell themselves that perhaps a gimmick does not a game make. Until then, this game is far from great.
When Eternity: The Last Unicorn isn't putting players to sleep with its bland design, it's driving them up the wall thanks to technical hiccups.
Hard pass.
Tomb Raider as a series is a beloved franchise and one that is sad to ever give a low score to. The problems encountered in this collection were painfully debilitating and would almost be better if one went and played the original game instead. Graphics are improved, but there is so much more that should have been updated that the original Tomb Raider 1–3 games should have had a full remake rather than remaster, or at least a bit more polish and attention given to the glitches and bugs.
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.
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.
As far as survival horror games go, Greyhill Incident is capable of delivering some intense moments. With more fleshed-out characters and aliens as intimidating as Greyhill Incident's atmosphere, the game and its empty world would be much more exciting to interact with. As it currently stands, however, this is one best left alone unless someone is desperate for any alien content, no matter how rote its mechanics.
The Trials of the Dragon King DLC for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is lazy and locks its content behind punishing difficulty.
With the existence of massive performance issues, MX vs ATV Legends just can't compete with any of the top racing games. The best part of the game is driving around in free mode and exploring open areas with a good soundtrack playing in the background. However, actually racing is a struggle, and it's hard to enjoy coming in first place after repeating a race due to glitches. Overall, MX vs ATV Legends has frustrating, repetitive content that lacks any significantly rewarding experience.
It's possible that Chocobo GP could become a respectable kart racer in the future, and the free-to-play version means everyone can try it out without needing to spend any cash. As it stands, the game needs work, as the current product just isn't fun. The spells and abilities need to be toned down and the tracks need redoing or replacing. There is no shortage of kart racers on the market, especially on Nintendo Switch, and there are much better alternatives available right now than Chocobo GP in its current state.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water would be improved with a tighter pace, quicker battles, and more clarity when it comes to objectives in missions. As it stands, the game is often frustrating on both a gameplay and a technical level, but more importantly, it fails as a horror game, as its reuse of the same handful of scares quickly grows tiresome, with attempts to build tension falling flat.
The few times that the RNG in BPM: Bullets Per Minute actually managed to put together a set of weapons and abilities that allowed for significant progress, the game shined, but it's just not worth the hours of suffering failed runs and mistimed shots. To borrow the game's own 90s shooter comparisons, playing BPM is like diving into Doom on Ultra Nightmare before learning how to play an FPS. The fun is still there, but it's buried under so many roadblocks and complications. The frustrating end result is a game with a great idea that bungles just about every part of the execution.
Beyond Mankind: The Awakening has few redeeming qualities. The story is nothing new, the gameplay has pacing issues, and the presentation is generations out of date. There are plenty of indie games out there that showcase innovative gameplay and moving storytelling for a relatively small fee, and with the bar that high, Beyond Mankind: The Awakening fails to even make the jump to try to meet it.
King's Bounty 2 had the potential to be something special in the tactical RPG genre but ultimately falls flat. It's especially disappointing because the idea of combining third-person exploration with hex-based strategic combat isn't incredibly common, and it's clear there was an excellent idea buried in the game somewhere for what the world of Nostria could've been. Unfortunately, that vision didn't quite pan out, leaving King's Bounty 2 a bland, dull slog instead of a deep fantasy.
Despite being widely empty of content outside the main storyline, WitchSpring3 [Re:Fine] costs 39.99 USD on the Nintendo Store at time of writing. With gameplay more in line with mobile-app game expectations, those who enjoy in-depth JRPG titles may be frustrated with the lack of exploration, storyline, and graphic quality. However, for those wanting a simple experience that is easy to set down, WitchSpring3 [Re:Fine] might be a good fit. With a drop in price and a patch to improve translations and add content that takes advantage of the Nintendo Switch's capabilities, WitchSpring3 [Re:Fine] would be a more enjoyable experience for those interested in trying it out.
Fallen Knight could have been a lot of fun, but its inability to master the basic necessities means that it's hard to recommend in its current form. A Hollow Knight-style platformer with parries and counters needs to have the tightest controls possible, and Fallen Knight should be avoided until it is brought up to speed.
Overall, Dark Alliance needs a lot of work to truly warrant a playthrough and can only be recommended in its current state to massive fans of the book series who just want to know what happens in between books 1 and 2. The game itself is a masterpiece to look at, but falls short in the gameplay department, making this a tough sell for anyone who wasn't already going to pick it up and play simply based on its source material.
Though there is plentiful evidence here of worthy inspirations which should feed into a fun run ’n’ gun experience, the finished product fails to deliver. There’s style and pizazz on offer, but even an assortment of unlockable abilities and AI-controlled companions can’t enliven a game which feels this flat and underdeveloped. Mighty Goose is sure to move a few units based on its visuals alone, but they’ll be little comfort when no one can tell what’s happening on the screen.
Godstrike is a punishingly difficult shooter game.