Noisy Pixel
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Milky Way Prince: The Vampire Star uses an experimental visual style to tell a story about a topic that is very tough to talk about. While it exceeds in conveying these themes, it feels empty and pushy. All of the actual content in the game is condensed into the first few hours, and then there’s really nothing more to it. I enjoyed the artistic approach and themes, but the execution makes it tough to recommend.
Buried Stars came out of nowhere but it has become one of my favorite visual novels of this year. The titles’ fantastic presentation paired with the gripping narrative creates a unique experience within the genre. The localization can seem flat at times, but this is well worth the time of any adventure fan.
Danmachi Infinite Combate is sadly not a good experience for fans or newcomers. It fails on both its visual novel and gameplay offerings with strange design choices and uninspired execution. Post-game offerings aren’t enough to warrant getting through this mobile-like game brought to console. Still, that may not stop the most diehard Hestia fans from enjoying some aspects of it.
Cuphead on PS4 is an excellent port of a fun and unique boss rush run-and-gun title. Outside of a few quirks with its difficulty scale, everything about this experience is fluid and entertaining. The aesthetic is the star of the show, which pair well with the responsive controls and captivating soundtrack. You might encounter a few moments of frustration after then tenth death to a boss, but the satisfaction of overcoming these moments is a great reward.
Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On may not be newcomer friendly, but it is one of the best Gundam gaming experiences available. It takes everything that makes the arcade version great and brings it to console players. The expanded roster of Mobile Suits with both online and offline modes makes every moment spent playing rewarding. The tutorial desperately needs some addressing, but this is the Versus game we’ve been waiting for
What Happened gives you very little reason to even care about answering that question. The narrative is consistently flimsy as you dive into the mind of an unlikeable protagonist. There are very few moments of redemption with some well-detailed environments and clever transitions, but that is not nearly enough to keep you invested. If the motion sickness doesn’t get you to turn the game off, then the self-deprecating storyline and in-your-face symbolism will cause you to roll your eyes to sleep in no time.
Radical Rabbit Stew is a simple and intuitive puzzle game that is easy to pick up and play for a quick bit of fun. It ends up hitting all the right beats for an intuitive adventure that doesn’t require a massive investment of time from the player. The visual and musical make for the perfect ingredients for this enjoyable experience.
Skater XL has some great trick animations that prove the developer understands the sport and brought that experience to the video game medium. Sadly, nothing else holds up as the environments and playability fall apart the moment you realize there’s nothing to do. The game excels for those who enjoy creating their own fun, but for the price point, I cannot recommend a game that still feels like it’s in Early Access after game crashes and numerous bugs. Anyway, at least the soundtrack is dope.
Fairy Tail covers some of the best story arcs from the series, but sadly that requires players to chug through uninspired quests to witness them. Luckily, the battle system is engaging, and that character interactions are consistently entertaining. This is a game for fans, and it shows during every moment of the gameplay, which might turn away newcomers in the long run. Still, I had a great time hanging out with the Fairy Tail guild and helping them return to their former glory.
Fae Tactics is a wonderful adventure with a compelling narrative and a unique battle system. The developers took a chance on creating a memorable experience within the genre, and they accomplished it with the help of a great cast of characters and some incredible moments of gameplay. There are a few options that I wish were available, but whether this is your first time playing a tactical RPG or your hundredth, you will most definitely have a great time.
Crysis Remastered is not the best way to play Crysis, but it isn’t a terrible port. Still, calling the Switch version a “remaster” is a bit of a stretch. You’ll have to look past the dated visuals of the experience and maybe a few technical bugs, but if you’re looking to play Crysis on the go you’re covered. However, if you can wait, it might be better to wait for a more powerful console release (or just play it on PC).
Hellpoint ends up being for Soulslike fans who are just dying for more experiences within the genre, but if that doesn’t describe you, then you’ll be disappointed. The sci-fi nature of the game and its story offering allows it to find its footing right before it ultimately falls apart from its uninspired gameplay. There’s a decent experience to be found during some late-game plot offerings, but that will require you to be invested past the first boss, which is asking a lot.
Maid of Sker sadly doesn’t stand out in the crowd of other horror adventures. The story’s best moments take place in notes found and environments, but as cohesive and engaging as they are, this isn’t a technical marvel. The blending of puzzle-solving and horror-adventure just doesn’t end up working with the stealth elements, and instead makes it feel like it should have been two different games. Luckily, the experience doesn’t overstay its welcome and can be completed in around 6 hours.
Othercide is a fresh take on the turn-based genre that presents a unique approach to the genre full of challenging moments of strategic combat. With the influx of similar titles, Othercide manages to stand out through its dark and gorgeous themes paired with a memorable narrative. There are moments of the gameflow that can be improved on, but I have rarely been this eager to jump back into a game after suffering a loss.
Death Stranding is a great first look into Sony’s willingness to be more platform-agnostic. It also proves that Kojima Productions doesn’t have to regulate themselves to specific needs or restrictions of a console. While the developer didn’t entirely loosen its grips on its vision of Death Stranding, with the lack of standard PC settings, adapting to an open platform still couldn’t have been easy.
Destroy All Humans is a faithful remake of a great action-adventure series from our past. It brings the series to a new generation while retaining its classic quirks and gameplay systems. In many ways, this works, but not without noticeable systems appearing dated. That said, I was happy to have the chance to get beamed up to invade Earth once more.
Paper Mario: The Origami King might not be the RPG that I was hoping for, but the new systems and clever features made me forget all about that. The attention to developing a compelling plot within this fantasy world makes it a must-play experience for all Mario fans. Battles do inevitably become redundant, but that doesn’t overshadow this beautiful origami world begging to be explored.
Megadimension Neptunia VII on Switch is perfect to play through if you haven’t already experienced this entry. The narrative holds up, but the same can’t be said for the dungeon design. The state of the Switch port is lacking modern quality-of-life updates, which does hurt the user experience, but the battle system makes it a decent RPG experience on the go.
Roki is challenging and captivating during each moment of gameplay. The narrative flows naturally alongside the puzzles, and the world acts as a beautiful set-piece that begs to be explored. Direction and backtracking can bring the pacing down a bit in the later parts, but the conclusion makes every obstacle worth it.
Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection is a great collection of some of the most iconic fighters released to date. However, it comes at the cost of probably playing single-player or local coop only given the limitation of the online features. Regardless, this was an awesome walk down memory lane and offers a way to share a series’ humble beginnings.