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While it isn’t technically a new game, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening looks and feels as fresh and inviting as any new game released on the Switch. It preserves all the strange, playful fun of the original while utterly transforming it visually and mechanically, and preserves everything that made Link’s Awakening a classic.
Almost more than any other expansion or add-on pack, Realm of Magic changes the core gameplay and daily life routine of the Sims characters.
Astral Chain feels like the culmination of Platinum Games’ work, combining sleek character-action gameplay with well-defined progression mechanics, a striking world, and more than a few memorable moments.
Shovel Knight: King of Cards is a successful union of its disparate halves, existing as both a platformer with consistently inventive level design and an engaging collectible card game. Joustus and the platforming offer a well-choreographed sequence of challenges that deliver constant variation.
After playing through certain games, I get all emotional and dazed because the experience, even with some issues along the way, has been so exceptionally strong. The Medium is one of those games. Its distinctive art and sound design, bare-bones gameplay, Marianne’s tender persona, and stripped-down story create a poignant tale.
Games are often escapist entertainment, but not everyone enjoys games that are full of tension, conflict or violence - at least all of the time. Lost Ember is a different form of escapism, an emotional and soothing journey into the natural world and its nonhuman inhabitants.
The Sims 4: Discover University is definitely weighted towards the real-world experiences and lessons of college life and in addition to being highly entertaining, might just possibly have some educational value of its own.
Shenmue III takes a certain state of mind because it’s unmistakably what Shenmue used to be, and not how it’s supposed to be now. I hope that there will be Shenmue IV to give closure to the story and like this, it will stay true to what it is.
New Super Lucky’s Tale is a potpourri of platforming bliss. It borrows from several related genres, including 3D collectathon and 2D sidescroller, but it never betrays its theme of a cute fox running around colorful worlds.
There are plenty of titles that share some common DNA with Manifold Garden but when it really gets into the zone, there's nothing else on the market like it. It brought out feelings in me I've never felt from a video game. I demanded others I know experience it in a way I haven't since the first time I tried VR. At its best, I forgot I was playing a video game, surrendering completely to the audio and visual experience while taking on challenging but not overwhelming puzzles.
Ichidant-R is a challenging taste of retro gameplay. If you have good reflexes and a sharp brain, it’s the game for you. Otherwise, grab a buddy and conquer it together.
It’s clear that earlier Frontier games like Kinectimals, Zoo Tycoon and Planet Coaster have been stage-setters for this ultimate zoo sim. Whether you enjoy theme park builders, economic sims or most importantly, creating the zoo of your dreams, Planet Zoo will satisfy you, but be prepared for an order of complexity that the previous games managed to avoid, or at least hid a little better.
Disco Elysium deserves applause for having a singular vision and generally bringing it to fruition through its art, writing, setting, characters and gameplay mechanics which suggest the heyday of classic isometric RPGs.
It works as a solid point-and-click adventure along with the 3D environments to add some extra depth and uniqueness. The graphics really make it feel more like games such as The Witness or The Talos Principle, rather than just another point-and-click game, though there is nothing bad about those.
There’s a lot to enjoy here for BurgerTime fans, and I have always been one of them. If you are already a fan, I think you will really enjoy the game. However, if you already know you aren’t a fan of the series, then please skip the game. The new ingredients (pun intended again) will not change your mind at all and may actually reinforce the elements you don’t like.
I enjoyed my time in the world of Trine 4. The puzzles are engaging, the world is attractive, and there are few puzzle platform games with local co-op out there. There were a few issues here and there, but I recommend Trine 4 to anyone looking for a game to play with a friend.
If you can ignore some of its questionable elements, Fight'N Rage delivers one of the most mechanically satisfying brawlers out there. It feels responsive and fast, opponents’ attacks are well telegraphed that make encounters fair, and the parry mechanic adds an additional layer of complexity.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered advocates certain innocence that is lost in the today’s gaming climate. Too often games are about killing, killing and some more killing, told in gloomy, cheerless tones.
Blasphemous finds success by adhering to staples of the genre and executing them well. Coupled with its strong art style and design, it’s a great option for anyone seeking another Metroidvania fix. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it proudly shows off its visual personality.
Candleman is a very fun game to play on the go as the short levels allow you to just pick it up and play whenever you feel the need. It’s also easily replayable due to the goals of lighting candles in each level, but overall, it’s a bit short. It’s a shame as I feel like there could have been many more avenues to be explored.