TheGamer's Reviews
All things considered, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a great sports game but only a decent Olympics game. Nearly all of the 20 (or is it 16?) events offer an enjoyable enough time and only a few are bogged down by mechanics, but once you’ve played them all a couple of times, you’re done. If you dabble in the two player mode regularly or find a game online, it could be a deeper experience, but it just feels like the trimmings aren’t quite there. I won the boxing gold medal as a bunny rabbit maid with blue hair though, so there’s that.
Mario Golf: Super Rush is a Mario sports game, and as is par for the course (sorry) with such titles, it's best when played with friends. You'll need to play it solo for a while to unlock all of the courses, mind, but once that's done, this is an experience you should save for when the pals are either coming to visit, or when they're ready to play online with the gang. Super Rush is an excellent golf game, but the fact that only one of the advertised modes can be played with three-to-four players simultaneously on a single console is a little bit disappointing. Still, this manages to be the best Mario sports title on Nintendo Switch, and a great multiplayer gem for low-energy gatherings with pals.
The only gripe anyone could possibly have about this game is that they personally prefer the narrative driven THUG and THAW games. I probably do too, but in terms of the raw THPS experience, this game has everything you need and more. Warehouse is the best opening level of all time, and you can spend hours in each park figuring out new lines. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remake is a magnificent game, and while the Nintendo Switch doesn’t offer the definitive version of the game, but it almost does, and that’s good enough for Jamie Thomas.
If you’re after an anime-infused action romp in a similar vein to Akira or Sword Art Online, Scarlet Nexus is almost certainly worth a punt. However, there are a few caveats. Combat is excellent yet not without its flaws, while the story being told and characters you encounter don’t have nearly enough depth to feel emotionally resonant. The potential for something brilliant is here, but much like Code Vein before it, this is a game that seems determined to stop itself from achieving something truly special.
I certainly enjoyed the game a lot despite this though, and I think CI Games has established a winning formula for the future. It’d be even better if it had any idea what it was trying to say.
Legend of Mana is a competent port of an odd little game, which is honestly an achievement for Square Enix. The fun of the original is intact, and small quality of life additions help ease the grind of '90s JRPG design. Ring Ring Land doesn't add much, but it doesn't take away either. The Mana series has gotten a lot of love from both fans and Square Enix recently, and this Legend of Mana remaster keeps the brand growing strong.
So many of these problems can and should be fixed. Better netcode will go a long way, and I expect to see improvements to the controls, the combat inputs, and hopefully even more mechanically intense boss fights. There’s a tendency to recommend bad games to the most devoted fans, but I think fans of Drizzt and Co. will hate this game even more than the uninitiated. The saving grace is that Dark Alliance is included with Game Pass, so it won’t cost you anything to check back in from time to time and see how it’s doing. There is an enjoyable game buried here, I just wouldn’t expect to see it anytime soon.
If you enjoyed the first Red Solstice game, then perhaps this will be a satisfying sequel that continues the saga. But unless you got a bunch of buddies who are all itching to furiously click mutated aliens to death, you'll probably have a better time loading up another game of XCOM than trying to survive in the Martian wasteland of Red Solstice 2.
In reality, Game Builder Garage feels like the perfect place to build a game prototype. You can create a basic idea, see if it works and is fun, and then maybe take that concept into a real game engine development kit - but not much more. It can truly pique the curiosities of kids, and I hope it does, but it's launched in a world where it has big competition, and the depth and charm of those tutorials which only Nintendo could pull off so well can't carry the rest of the experience.
Intermission is an excellent expansion for the world of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, introducing Yuffie Kisaragi and expanding upon her character and history in ways that simply weren’t possible in the 1997 original. She absolutely steals the show here, bolstered up by a selection of compelling newcomers and a continuation of the main narrative that teases a tantalisingly exciting future for this ambitious project. I’m unsure when we will next see something from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but if it’s anything like this - we’re in for a treat.
Chivalry 2 doesn’t necessarily feel like a totally new game, but it brings a lot of little changes that make it feel like a fresh experience. While there are still a few kinks to be worked out, Chivalry 2 brings everything that I loved from the first game and takes it to the next level in an incredibly fun and addicting experience.
Rift Apart is a magnificent game, one that sets the series on a clear path forward. Wherever it goes next, Rivet has to be there.
Guilty Gear Strive is easily the best fighting game of 2021 so far, and there doesn't seem to be much on the horizon that can top it. If you're looking for a new fighting game to play this year, this is the easiest decision you'll ever make.
It is a little rough in places and there's room for improvement, but I'll gladly play something that's as weird and creative as this over another generic triple-A open-world game. If the idea of a mech game crossed with Fern Gully sounds like a good time to you, then I'd say Stonefly is definitely worth a try.
Sumire mostly accomplishes what it sets out to do through its remarkable visuals and emotion-evoking narrative. It somehow manages to be both thought-provoking and soothing, despite some shortcomings with the dialogue options.
If it wasn't for its awful art style and attitude that screams "look how rad we are fellow teens!" then I'd probably like it a whole lot more. But as long as it adds more content, I can see this gaining an audience with players who are really into over-the-top sports games like Rocket League. Just remember the five D's of dodgeball and you'll have a fun time in Knockout City.
At its core, Biomutant is a game that's still evolving. Plenty of bugs need to be ironed out, its combat system could use another coat of paint, and it desperately needs new puzzles – they rarely move beyond a simple "match-two-colors" format. Much of the game works exactly as intended, including a robust crafting system, a fantastic suite of side quests, and an open world that's begging to be explored. Dozens of great ideas are lurking just below the jank, and so is an enjoyable game if you're able to look past them.
There’s no doubt that this is an incredibly fun way to play Capcom arcade classics - better than throwing all of your loose change at a game you’ll never actually finish, at least - but the selection available here hasn’t left me feeling inspired. The games in this collection feel like the last options, the games that could never be sold individually. Cult classics like Darkstalkers and every other version of Street Fighter are entirely missing - instead we have a bunch of Capcom arcade games that, for the most part, weren’t deserving of sequels, or any other recognition this far removed from their release. It sounds harsh, but these are the rejects, propped up by Street Fighter 2 and Ghosts ‘N Goblins. There’s fun to be had here, but without nostalgia you probably won’t find much to love.
Ultimately Shin Megami Tensei 3 HD Remaster is a perfectly acceptable port of a cult classic PS2 RPG. Playing this at the same time as Mass Effect Legendary Edition has definitely coloured my perception of what we should expect from a remaster, but despite the fact it doesn’t have AI upscaled textures and 4K60fps presentation, it’s still a masterful example of how to build atmosphere in a game while still keeping players engaged, instead of bored. It also features Dante from the Devil May Cry series, which always helps.
Even with small issues, I have absolutely no trouble recommending Mass Effect: Legendary Edition to anyone looking for a good RPG, a good story, or just a good shooter. The effort put into the original Mass Effect is commendable, especially considering its age, and Mass Effect 2 and 3 are as great as before but with better visuals and the ease of access of all being on the same disk. Like the title says, this is a legendary trilogy, and it’s one that everyone should play.