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A good platformer puts together well constructed levels and a decent challenge, while a great platformer has levels that encourage you to take risks and move through as fast as possible while offering fun challenges to tackle. Sadly Red Goddess doesn't offer any of these. Instead it feels like you are fighting the game every step of the way, and this is frustrating because of how much promise there is underneath all the problems. Given more time I'm sure Yanim Studio could have nailed this on the first attempt, but instead Red Goddess: Inner World's bugs dominate against the gameplay.
Although presented in a nice package, Onechanbara Z2 feels outdated compared to most modern day action games. Tamsoft may have upped the ante on a number of fronts, yet it's the core gameplay where this sequel suffers most. It's all well and good creating an offbeat world in which to put players, but Onechanbara is missing the depth to keep them there.
Games like this live or die by their multiplayer community and while it's sad to see no such community thrive for a competitive platforming racing game, maybe this isn't the best game to mourn for. Its dated looks, slippery controls, and occasional bugs don't exactly help, but the lack of originality compared to both Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams and Speedrunners just highlight the problems with this copy and paste effort. Go play Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams instead of this.
Devil's Third's singleplayer campaign is dumb, misogynistic, shoddy and borderline broken at times, but its multiplayer may well be its saving grace. While it remains lo-fi and decidedly rough around the edges, there's some fun to be had and an experience that could see it gain something of a cult following on Wii U.
How much mileage you'll get out of Gears of War: Ultimate really depends on what you're aiming to play. There's very little you haven't played before in the campaign and the new cinematics and voiceovers do little to assist the bare story, but the gameplay is still great, it looks and sounds fantastic, and fans will no doubt enjoy playing the formerly PC-exclusive section they missed the first time.
Lost Dimension is a well thought out tactical RPG, but it’s the traitor system which is the star of the game. It constantly makes you second guess your choices as you progress, but it comes at the cost of a compelling story. If you’re looking for a tactical RPG on PS3 or Vita then Lost Dimension is worth a go, but don’t expect it to blow you away.
Nova-111 should definitely be played by those who enjoy games with unusual and interesting concepts. Despite a few flaws, it remains a great game, featuring some superb moments and while the first few levels are a slow burn, the pace soon becomes manic. I'm personally very excited to see what Funktronic Labs create in the future.
With its immersive world, branching narrative, and lifelike character work, Until Dawn will have players on the edge of their seats while pounding them with jump scares and a bone-chilling soundtrack. Having previously worked on ports and smaller titles for Sony, Supermassive Games have shown that they can play with the big boys and we can't wait to see what they come up with next.
As an educational tool, Beyond Eyes did a great job of teaching me of the struggles people face when their vision is impaired. Rae's way of seeing the world through memories and senses creates some fascinating insights, together with some genuinely appealing watercolour visuals and brilliant sound direction. As a game though, Beyond Eyes is about plodding through a maze with barely any meaningful plot until right at the end.
Toy Soldiers: War Chest brings its unique brand of tower defense to the new generation, and though there are some wrinkles caused by slight performance issues and questionable DLC practices, this is more of the same classic Toy Soldiers gameplay. There's a lot to enjoy here in a well-rounded package, with plenty of replay value thanks to the range of different heroes, collectibles and high-scores to aim for, as well as the online and offline multiplayer options.
Coming off the back of Thomas Was Alone, Volume is a much more ambitious and expansive project, and there's little sign of this being a difficult second album. It can miss the mark in a few areas, depending on how you play, but this is a clever distillation of the classic stealth genre wrapped up in an excellent retelling of a classic English legend.
Curses N' Chaos is a good arena brawler that throws you right into the action. It may not be the most graphical intensive games out there, but Tribute Games has created something that you can get engrossed in really quickly. You will die a lot to make progress, and that may not be for everyone, but if you like your brawlers, then Curses 'N Chaos is certainly worth a look.
While Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment is an enjoyable budget release that offers hours of anime adventuring, it's tainted by inexplicable performance issues that simply shouldn't have made it to the PS4 edition of the game. If you can look past them, and enjoy anime-flavoured RPG's with an interesting setting, then SAO Re: Hollow Fragment may just be for you, though fans of the TV series will certainly get the most fun out of it.
As light on gameplay as it is, Everbody's Gone to the Rapture is as beautiful as it is thought provoking. It's hard to find fault with its technical prowess, showcasing just how detailed interactive media can be, but on top of this we have a narrative that is disjointed yet somehow works wonderfully as it increases curiosity, and music that is poignant in all the right ways. If Dear Esther was pretentious, in my eyes, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture can only be described as enrapturing.
Whether returning to games of your childhood, or experiencing these titles for the first time, Rare Replay should be an essential purchase for Xbox One owners.
Funk Of Titans isn't a bad game but it doesn't do anything interesting either. It is an incredibly easy game to beat, and the gameplay itself is very, very repetitive. Given that the game's focal theme is about music there simply isn't enough variety in the tracks which is a shame. It looks good and plays fine for what it is, but at the same time it's likely that boredom will quickly set in.
If you can get over that though, there's a great game to be found here. It's visually pleasing, the audio is top-notch, the writing is good, and outside of a few technical hiccups here and there, it performs pretty well. It's not for the faint of heart, but Galak-Z offers enough depth and fun that it will likely keep you coming back, even after you've died for the hundredth time.
Blues & Bullets has a lot of potential and The End Of Peace is a glimpse of that. There is a foundation for a very good mystery thriller, as well as a basis for well thought out characters. The first episode comes across as being too eager to show you everything all at once, instead of taking things slower and allowing you to absorb what just happened. The script is good but has moments that don't seem that logical, but in spite of this The End Of Peace is a decent start to the series.
It hasn't been the easiest journey for Skullgirls to the PlayStation 4, but with 2nd Encore, Lab Zero have turned in the definitive edition of a high-quality fighting game that not only has bags of character but matches it with both technical and enjoyable action.
As much as I wanted to fall in love with Submerged, it's standing proof that a game needs more than good looks and a unique angle to win me over. With the 'emotional' story-driven approach slowly receding from the frontline of gaming, I'm left craving fun and challenging experiences that have us do more than haplessly roam within the confines of a digital sandbox.