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Toem is an enjoyable and charming game where you get to look at a beautifully hand-drawn world through multiple perspectives. There’s the right amount of challenge offered to keep players engaged in a chill experience that also tests their knack for capturing that perfect shot. This is a game to relax with, where the destination is as picture-perfect as the journey.
Deathloop is for detective nerds who just want to blow shit up. Each moment of this game offers some insane new plot twists and discoveries that further highlights how amazing the writing is. Players are rewarded through exploration, but at the cost that they could lose it all if they die in the process. It’s an experience that demands a keen eye and patience at times to unlock everything it has to offer, but at least the dumb enemies will rarely get in your way.
Ultra Age is a no-brainer for indie action game fans. The adventure features seamless gameplay, fun boss designs, a low price, and the potential to create a franchise. It challenges the player to pay attention to enemy movements, create new playstyles and understand the game mechanics to the fullest while keeping it fun and creative. While the story has its shortcomings, I am sure with some added detail in the future; it can become a hit of its own.
Tales of Arise is the grand adventure we’ve been waiting for, and more, for veteran players and new fans alike. Its addictive and satisfying combat design, breathtaking narrative, gorgeous presentation, and engaging cast make it the quintessential JRPG to play. The characters met in this entry add to the growing cast of memorable personalities this series has given us, solidifying it as a true Tales title.
I wanted to come away from The Artful Escape feeling inspired and changed, with a story to really mull over. I came into this four-to-five-hour experience with expectations set by early gameplay, and while some of them were met, I don’t know that it does enough to really justify its choice of medium. It has got more than enough in terms of eye candy and audio bliss, but I can’t confidently say that any of the other pieces manage to come together in this space oddity.
Life is Strange: True Colors presents a great adventure in this beloved series with significant choices and player-driven interactions. The result is a beautiful story of empathy and new beginnings where players have the freedom to shape the narrative the way they want and deal with the consequences along the way. The character animations and voiced dialogue only elevate it to new levels of quality, but long loading times and strange responses can hurt the pacing tremendously.
El Shaddai has a lot to offer players with its art direction and stunning visuals though I found it difficult to appreciate them when dealing with graphical issues, generic combat, and a ham-fisted story. This port should have been a great introduction to new players and giving veterans a clean way to view it. Instead, we are left looking at a port with missed potential in various ways.
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch is a gorgeous Metroidvania that tells a much better story than any anthropomorphic narrative has a right to tell. It’s emotional and engaging during each scene brought together with challenging moments of action and puzzle-platforming. This game respects your time, but some moments can drag on due to limited fast travel and some confusing objectives. Who cares though, you’re a rabbit with a robotic fist attached to your back; how cool is that!?
Sonic Colors Ultimate‘s gameplay loop is enjoyable and boasts high replayability. However, the Tails Save implementation, boss battles, and some Wisp power utilization slow this speedy adventure down to a crawl. It’s undeniably fun but trips up the moment you find your pace. Here’s to looking forward to new Sonic adventures in the future.
Does Lake push the boundaries and redefine the genre of a narrative adventure? I wouldn’t say so, but I would contend that it’s a welcome addition. The game is a great exploration of the impact one can have on others’ lives with simple interactions in a peaceful manner. There are quality-of-life issues, and the impact may not be as great as you would hope. In fact, there’s nothing grandiose about the game, but that works in its favor–it’s a calming presence in a world of chaos.
Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is one for the movie fans, but it’s also a fun arcade boxing game for anyone who happens to be looking for one. The core boxing action is entertaining, with a wide cast of characters to try out. While the game falls short in its presentation and gameplay modes, there is still enough here to provide a satisfying boxing challenge as you unlock new content and relive your favorite moments from the movies.
Kitaria Fables is a laid-back experience of item collecting and farming, all brought together by a decent narrative and a responsive action system. Pace yourself, though, because getting the most of this adventure requires it. However, the artificial padding on the gameplay found in the limited fast travel, lack of universal storage, slow-moving characters, and much more causes some confusion and endless backtracking. This won’t replace your love for Rune Factory, but it’ll definitely supplement your craving for a charming adventure.
Snails may be soft and slimy, but Clid is one tough mollusk. With an engaging narrative brimming with unexpected twists, Clid The Snail successfully delivers a mayhem-filled adventure and tells a story where you can clearly see the character’s development and motivation. Unfortunately, the core gameplay mechanics contain questionable design choices with the unnatural difficulty curve and lack of I-frames, making the game more frustrating than fun.
With an expansive story and unique presentation bringing everything beloved from the prior Opus entries, Opus: Echo of Starsong is by far the franchise’s best outing. We get some standout narrative and interactive segments by taking what worked before and improving the design and presentation. The random elements and item management require more hands-on from the player, but the result is a gorgeous and low barrier of entry adventure through space.
Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol. 1 is a brilliant idea in concept. Nippon Ichi has a large library of games that deserve to be readily available to modern players. However, they need to take the advancements found in recent remasters and apply those options to these titles. Phantom Brave is a lengthy and beautiful JRPG with its remastered assets, but Soul Nomad & the World Eaters really doesn’t compare, and it shows from the second you boot of the game.
Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery is certainly a beautiful game. From its vibrant and chill atmosphere to the gameplay, I enjoyed every moment of it, which left me surprised by its short runtime. The music across all six chapters and the engaging story that sits behind every puzzle flow naturally together providing a seamless experience. For a laidback and whimsical game, Behind the Frame can bring out the artist in all of us.
No More Heroes 3 is composed of a fantastic combat system with stylish visual flair but, on a narrative level, falls flat in every way compared to its predecessors. However, you weren’t really coming into No More Heroes 3 for the story, were you? This is why after completing the adventure, I simply booted it up to play again. I guess the fights are just that good.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is extremely fun to play once through with your friends, but when you’re expected to play the same stages multiple times, the gameplay wains on the player. It becomes more tedious than anything because the stages themselves just aren’t that interesting. Playing higher difficulties provides more challenge to your crew, but it gets repetitive. You’re expected to want to do this for more gun customization, but that’s barely interesting. Regardless, I have to admit, shooting down waves of aliens with friends sure is entertaining.
When Nakara: Bladepoint runs without performance issues, it’s a highly-polished, technical hack n slash Battle Royale. Its extensive customization options made each character unique and left me wanting to play just one more round to level up and collect a few more cosmetic items. For those tired of traditional “shooter” Battle Royals, Naraka is an addictive and fluid action-packed direction for the genre.
Lamentum embodies all the elements of a good survival horror experience: helplessness, isolation, tension, uncertainty, and fear. In addition, it has every feature one would want in an old-school survivor horror game: grotesque monsters, an arsenal of weapons, brain-teasing puzzles, limited saves, free-roam exploration, and multiple endings.