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It’s hard to ignore how creatively bankrupt The Crew Motorfest is, but it is not a bad game at all. When you’re trying to be a carbon copy of a masterpiece of a racing game, and you do your homework to a satisfactory degree, you need to be utterly incompetent not to be, at the very least, a pretty good time, even if not a jaw-dropping one.
There isn’t a lot that needs to be said because Gunbrella, despite the unique premise, is really straightforward: what you’ve seen from previews and trailers is what you’ll get. It’s a really well-designed platformer that might be a bit too brown and dour at times, but plays like an absolute dream. With excellent level design, great boss fights, and just the right amount of funny dialogue bits to remind you that yes, you’re playing yet another high-quality Devolver outing, Gunbrella might not be one of the publisher’s top titles, but it’s still absolutely worth your while.
This is the best kind of sequel. Horizon Chase 2 is the kind of game that makes its predecessor look and feel obsolete in comparison, with vastly better graphics, AI, tracks, and controls. It might not exactly have a lot of cars for you to choose, but there is still so much content in here that complaining about it almost feels like an annoying nitpick. Aquiris has clearly managed to outdo themselves, with this game being one of the best retro-styled racers available in any console or PC right now.
This is not the worst idea Nintendo has ever had, but it’s really poorly implemented. F-Zero 99 feels restrained, never fully grasping the concept of an actual battle royale, just punishing the smallest percentage of players per race. It’s just a revamped take on the SNES original, with just more drivers per race, with a lot less room for skill, and more room for nonsensical mayhem.
Just by reading the name of the title, you can already expect that Baby Shark: Sing & Swim Party isn’t a good time. Granted, it is not the worst thing in the world, and not even the worst game made for toddlers out there (Race with Ryan exists, after all), but it is a boring, shallow, repetitive experience that goes on for way too long, featuring some of the worst musical compositions these poor ears have ever endured.
Super Bomberman R 2 is a nice improvement over its predecessor, and it features a lot of content, but be realistic. Do not expect it to be the most groundbreaking experience out there, because Bomberman is, has been, and will always be a very simple arcade-like experience with cute visuals, cheerful music and accessible controls, meant to be played for a couple dozen minutes at a time. It does everything it was meant to do with honors, and I’m happy about it. I wanted a an improvement over the flawed, but interesting Super Bomberman R from 2017, and got exactly that.
If like me, you have been itching for another Splinter Cell, then No Sun to Worship will scratch that itch. The unforgiving slow-paced stealth gameplay is worth experiencing, however, its short playtime left me wanting so much more. There’s a solid foundation here that could easily be expanded upon. I look forward to seeing more projects from Antonio Freyre in the future!
If you enjoyed Mugen Souls, you’ll want to play Mugen Souls Z. It’s just more, but better, and the power leveling, the insane equipment hunts and the endless parade of grinding opportunities never relents. If you didn’t like the first one, you might still want to consider Z because it is better, both technically and dynamically.
It is a game you will easily be able to spend hundreds, maybe thousands of hours into, and just complete a tenth of everything it has to offer. It can be a swashbuckling adventure, the next big space RPG since The Outer Worlds, a space trading simulator, or even a straightforward relaxing exploratory experience to play while listening to a podcast. The decision is yours. Welcome to space. Enjoy your stay.
This ain’t it. There are good ideas in Highrise City, but the game is just plastered with nuisances that result in it not being as relaxing or accessible as other city builders. It is too deep in its logistic mechanics, almost to a fault. The beginning of each new save is also painfully slow, poorly explained, and convoluted, meaning that this game also lacks the “pick up and play” aspect seen in Sim City or Cities. It tried, and I respect that, but it needs an extra phase of fixes before I can call it a city builder worth hanging out with the other big boys.
As a fan of Overcooked, Moving Out 2 should have been right up the alley of many fans. The thing is, it feels like it tries to play the same way, just as a moving company. The reality though, is it misses every single mark by a long shot. It’s not that it’s a particularly bad game, it plays as it says for the most part (I have had a couple instances of stuff falling out of the map and never respawning), it’s just overly boring to play alone, and just as boring to play with people. It’s not a party game like Overcooked and it’s not overly cooperative, so it’s hard to say what the aim was, if there even was one.
Considering its origins as a money-hungry mobile game, I have to say I expected a lot worse from Mega Man X Dive Offline. It’s still painfully dumbed down and far from being one of the best Mega Man games released over the past few years, but there is fun to be had with this “gotta catch ’em all” take on the franchise’s long history. It is bogged down by some repetitive grinding, but being able to play as pretty much everyone you can imagine, without having to overspend like a whale, is indeed appealing.
Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation is a competent horror title that won’t be for everyone. It’s not traditionally scary, but the engaging premise and structure make it worth seeing. There are quite a few rough edges, but the strong central mystery to unravel makes it worthwhile.
Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles is a product of the late 90s, and it shows. Sure, it’s painfully easy, but man, if it isn’t super fun and quirky. It’s like comfort food, something I can play and immediately have the expectation that, yeah, I’m in for a delightful romp.
I might be the outlier here, but I just don’t enjoy 30XX in the way that I liked 20XX. The first game had charm, excitement and felt like a real love letter not just to Mega Man X, but to the entire genre unto itself. Much like A Robot Named Fight, it brought something unique to the table that also was clearly rooted in inspiration. 30XX feels like a side step, where things change but don’t necessarily improve.
Daymare 1994: Sandcastle is a step up from the original game and shows that the franchise does have the potential to grow. However, what we have here is a game that is messy; the story was laughably bad and the gameplay whilst improved, it just still isn’t there yet. Maybe with a third entry, Daymare can find its place, which I am very much hoping for.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is my introduction to the series, and I’m thoroughly impressed. FromSoft has delivered an ultra-fast-paced and challenging mech combat game. The deep customisation, great replay value, and level design will keep me coming back for more. If you love FromSoft games and like action-packed mech gameplay, then Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is a must-play.
While this isn’t going to become a regular rotation for me, I sincerely admire and appreciate what Taito Milestones 2 is doing. Taito has such a wonderful history of creations and I don’t have access to most of them, nor do a majority of the world. The ability to look at these games and see them on modern hardware with a genuinely focused attempt at porting them brings a smile to my face.
In the end, the fantastic story gives the perfect gift to players: curiosity about the world we live in and questions about what it means to be alive. If a visual novel can cause you to question existence, it’s doing something right.
I feel like It’s A Wrap is, more than anything else, a great foundation for much better sequels. Its core gameplay idea is sound, but it needs a bit of tinkering with its difficulty spikes (even though the hint system is already excellent) and its visuals. Even though they are great, you can barely look at what’s happening onscreen on portable mode, while you don’t have access to its great touchscreen controls on docked mode. As for the rest, it’s a bit short, but it’s still worth picking up.