TheGamer's Reviews
Once Human is a fascinating game. There’s no other way of putting it. It’s a multiplayer open-world survival crafting game with a Ubisoft-style quest system (go here, clear an outpost, find hidden chests), a Pokemon-like creature collecting aspect with Palworld animal-workforce undertones, with Rust - or DayZ-esque - PvP and seasonal wipes to boot. It’s an eclectic hash of all these games, for better, and for worse.
However, it all depends on ongoing support. Ring Fit died because Nintendo added nothing after the game’s initial launch. 64 percent of gym memberships are dormant. While its founders shout ideas about “Rocket League-like” arcadey gameplay like dropping in for a few rounds with friends, there’s a lot of work ahead in order to keep players interested. Just being a fitness game isn’t enough. Luckily for Quell, Shardfall might just have that special spark needed to be something more.
We’ve reached the point where Stellaris has become the Spaceship of Theseus, almost unrecognizable from how it was at launch. The Machine Age is a breath of fresh air in that it’s not ticking the version number up yet another integer, but each new DLC still begs the question; do we really need Stellaris v.3.12, or has the time come for Stellaris 2?
At first, I had my doubts, but now I cannot wait to see how it’s built upon in the year to come, and exactly where these stories and characters will go next. Every single run has memorable dialogue, new discoveries, and deepening relationships with a pantheon worth fighting for. If Hades 2 can keep up this momentum, we could have yet another classic on our hands.
I can’t be too upset, though, as Finding the Flowzone is OlliOlli World at its absolute peak, something I thought it had already hit way back in March. If this is the end of OlliOlli World, at least it went out like it lived - radically.
In terms of difficulty, it felt well-balanced. For someone smarter than me - and with good reflexes - aspects of it may feel too easy, but I found it well pitched. I struggled in a couple of areas but was able to overcome the challenges with a little practice and time. My only real complaint was that a couple of the puzzles were a little difficult due to me struggling to spot the colour differences in some beams that indicated if the power was too low, too high, or just right. However, this is a very minor thing, and I played a beta version, so there’s still a chance for things to change.
Even though the two new elements were a bit of a let down, I'd still thoroughly recommend new players try out Bugsnax as it comes to its new platforms, as it’s a delightfully whimsical take on the catch-'em-up, and the narrative goes to strange, dark places - although it perhaps doesn't commit to the bit as much as it should. Bugsnax is a great game for newcomers, no doubt. For returning players? Well, don't expect much from the new customisation of your house, and while the Bigsnax are just Bugsnax by a slightly different name, if you liked Bugsnax and you want to catch more tasty critters, the DLC has some creative new creatures for you to sink your teeth into.
End of Dragons might not have changed Guild Wars 2 as we long-time fans know it. That can be a really disappointing feeling, especially after the highs of the last two expansions. However, End of Dragons does take the time to improve on all the reasons that I consider Guild Wars 2 to be one of the best MMORPGs available today.
Truthfully, the only kind of person I can recommend this game to is a diehard Sword Art Online superfan who has never played a JRPG (or honestly, any other video game) in their life and therefore has no basis to compare the trainwreck that is Alicization Lycoris to anything else that has substance. Otherwise, just watch the anime. Or play a different game.
The Pirate Queen - A Forgotten Legend is an underwhelming game not worth your time. Its barebones gameplay and unmotivating storytelling failed to entertain or excite, and its disappointingly short runtime only disappointed me further. The story of Cheng Shih is a fascinating one that more people should become aware of, but this game does her legacy little justice.
Little Witch Nobeta is not for me, but then I’m not certain who it is for. It is a catastrophic fumbling of the bag with a narrative that makes no sense, combat that feels far too basic, puzzles that don’t even warrant a mention, and a distinctly unappealing target demographic. The only magic I want from Nobeta is a disappearing act.
Even with PlatinumGames’ signature combat and some mechanics brought in from its past work, Babylon’s Fall babylon-falls short in every department. Any hopes I had were quickly dragged down by wonky combat mechanics, a below-average narrative, poor graphics, and even worse aesthetic choices that only make the whole experience even more unenjoyable and frustrating. Babylon’s Fall is a poor attempt at a cash grab that doesn’t even get that right - no one is going to want to spend money on it.
Game-breaking bugs and the sudden ramp-up in difficulty makes the potential of Animal Friends Adventure on Xbox One sadly wasted.
Down To Hell has all the blood, gore, and screaming metal you could want, it's just missing that little thing called fun.
It’s disappointing to see a project that had potential come up short, but if like me you were anticipating the launch of Untamed Tactics, it turned out to be far from what we were hoping for. The game’s biggest selling point could have been a dynamic Parley System with witty banter and opportunities for hidden characters and plotlines, but like the rest of the title it falls disappointingly flat.
Even with my love of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and my enjoyment of the fun, but simple gameplay, Wrath of the Mutant's short run time and high price point make it an incredibly hard game to recommend. If this was a bonus game added to The Cowabunga Collection or a part of a sequel collection for some of the modern games then it’d be a notable treat, but on its own, it's simply not worth it.
Fashion Dreamer was never going to be a Game of the Year candidate, however it did have the tools to be a favourite game for many. On a purely technical level it runs smoothly (as smoothly as games ever do on Switch), but with its aimless story, lack of depth, oddly colourless world, and misguided focus on influencer culture means it finds itself as one of 2023's worst dressed instead.
If you love Crash Bandicoot and you've been waiting years for what once was Wumpa League, there's probably just enough there to convince you that this is a good game. But it's not. It's a bad game. They shouldn't have made Crash Bandicoot into this thing, and deep down all of us know it.
Redfall isn’t a total disaster, and there’s fun to be had in slaying vampires, especially with a couple of friends. But to call Redfall a shallow experience would be an understatement. I’m happy to loot and shoot and make my own fun, but there still needs to be something there to pull me through it. Nothing in Redfall, from the loot to the characters to the exploration to the power climb, ever made me want to keep playing, or feel like there was something more to achieve. No amount of bug fixes or updates will be able to improve Redfall’s fundamental gameplay flaws. It’s not just rough around the edges, it’s rutted all the way through.