Doublejump's Reviews
A beautiful art style and a fun soundtrack lay the groundwork for Streets of Rage 4’s fun, free-flowing, surprisingly nuanced combat to make it a worthy entry into the long-dormant, much-revered franchise.
There is very little in this world that’s better than a good story that’s told well, and Necrobarista is a beautiful story told perfectly. Its cast of charming characters, great audio and visual design and the very Melbourne aesthetic all weave together to make something you shouldn’t miss.
UnderMine is exceedingly well done for an early access title and deserves just as much fanfare as other big established roguelikes now that it’s a full release. Impressively, it has a complete feature set and seems to be ready for a bright future, quite unlike the mines it’s set in.
Boomerang Fu delivers a deliciously smooth combat experience that begs to be shared with friends and family, serving fun and chaos in heaping amounts that will definitely bring you back for seconds and thirds.
Although A Short Hike is — as the name suggests — a rather short game, its combination of humour and emotion captures the player in a way that many AAA games fail to. If you’ve got a spare $10 and a couple of hours to kill, definitely pick up A Short Hike for the Nintendo Switch!
They’re not perfect, but Pokémon Sword and Shield are sure to delight new and old fans alike with a series of well thought-out, well-implemented changes to the core Pokémon formula.
By focusing the game around risky play and speedrunning, SUPERSCARYSNAKES has made Black Future ’88 one of the most exciting and best-designed roguelikes to release in a long time.
Life is Strange 2 ends Sean and Daniel’s journey to Puerto Lobos the same way it started: as a polarising, subversive sequel dedicated to telling its own powerful tale instead of just falling back onto what made the first game so popular. It may not be quite what fans wanted but Dontnod’s second season absolutely lives up to the original in its own way.
Jamestown+’s fantastic art style, simple yet frenetic gameplay, and hours upon hours of replayability make it a fantastic game whether playing solo or with friends.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is an example of a spin-off done right. While it has its fair share of clunk, and shelves key aspects of the franchise, it succeeds in replacing them with interesting new tricks that one could see fitting into future installments well. There’s a lot of innovation here for the budget price, making it a refreshing jaunt for fans awaiting XCOM 3.
Infinite – Beyond the Mind is an action-packed delight that builds momentum from the first chibi-styled enemy to the final bulletstorm blowout. With a few rough edges, this indie title offers a solid platforming experience for both solo players and co-op setups to replay and master.
With a novel concept and brilliantly thought out execution, Signs of the Sojourner has all the makings of gaming’s next indie darling.
It’s suffering from a lack of players at the moment, but this underwater-set release has all the makings of a creative and fun take on the arena shooter genre.
With plenty of old-school charm, fantastic visuals and robust, fast-paced combat, Trials of Mana is a fantastic remake of an underappreciated ’90s classic.
As with any compilation, some of the games in 51 Worldwide Games are better than others, but great multiplayer and that signature Nintendo design elevate this from a novelty to a truly entertaining little distraction that has the potential to be the focus of many a games night, road trip or free evening curled up on the couch.
Though it does have some online connectivity issues to contend with, Fly Punch Boom! more than makes up for its lack of properly engaging single-player content by bringing an incredibly fun multiplayer experience to the table.
A short and sickly sweet adventure puzzler that drips with originality and creative passion for perfect game design, Neversong is a fantastical nightmare journey that’ll surely leave you wanting more.
Carrion is the opposite of its titular character: slickly presented, polished to a shine and great fun to hang out with. The flashes of tedium and repetition are there, but some decent pacing and consistent progression – along with just how satisfying the carrion beast is to fling around a room – really drown out the minor complaints. It’s definitely worth a spin for a gory good time.
Ghost of Tsushima is a strong farewell for the PlayStation 4. It does fall victim to some of the traps we’ve seen in other open-world games of its ilk, but its engrossing combat, strong sense of progression and well-crafted narrative make it an experience that open-world fans — or those interested in what it has to offer — are sure to enjoy.
Fight Crab is rough and ugly, but it’s charming nonetheless. It embraces the sheer fun of fighting games in a way that I hope we see more of in future.