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As off kilter of a “game” as this might be, it’s nonetheless a heady dose of high strangeness, a cafe blend of Twin Peaks meets Watamote with a fair dash of When Our Journey Ends and just a touch of existential crisis. Like a great book, it leaves you filled, curious, and eager for more. The yearning for explanation, for connection, and the very real taste of loneliness cloaked in dry humor is what will keep me waiting at the station. The next train will surely bring me home.
It was great to play through the first Battle Network for the first time, and having these games available again as a whole. While I still have a GBA, I have only been able to get my hands on Battle Network 5 for it, and being an adult now, it’s hard to hold only for too long having much longer fingers. I’m glad I can sink hours upon hours into this series that I’ve always adored, but it’s even better people will be able to experience this series for the first time. These are definitely the definitive versions of these games, making it the ideal launching place for everyone else to get lost when you’re simply told “I wonder if someone can help” and you need to Google what the hell you’re supposed to be doing.
The sound mixed with the hand drawn art makes for a very clean look and feel in Teslagrad 2. Between that and the gameplay, which has some flaws, but is still pretty good, there is a lot to like in this long-awaited sequel. Teslagrad 2 looks great, sounds cozy, has a ton of interesting puzzles, even more so if you’re looking for all the collectibles, and as said before, the only real issue is how floaty it can feel in some cases, something you can get used to after a while.
Shame Legacy might possibly be one of the most “okay” horror games I’ve played in a while. There’s nothing about it that’s bad. It’s glitch-free, it controls well enough, it has one or two neat ideas. At the same time, nothing about it impressed me, be it its underwhelming plot, 30fps cap, or an overall lack of innovation. It’s just… there. A game worth a look if you’re into horror, but not one to expect a lot from. If anything, the best thing I can say about it is that it didn’t infuriate me or gross me out like Outlast 2 did.
For those who are huge fans of the original release, I am sure that this will be highly regarded as a fantastic remake. But this is more than that: for those new to the franchise, this is also a great point to step in at. Nightdive’s System Shock remake is one that will appeal to both audiences. The core gameplay mechanics may not the best or most polished, but it’s the world design, atmosphere and engaging plot that make for an experience that is still very much unique, and well worth the gigantic wait.
If this is your jam and you have been waiting, you’re a truly fascinating individual and I’m glad you can get this title for less than a movie ticket. Enjoy it, unlock all the hidden achievements, have fun because it’s a cute and simple game. For everyone else… I don’t know what to tell you. I’m at the point where I don’t know how I got here and I need to call an adult. The sheep made me do it.
Maybe when I just want to have a pulpy storyline with a bunch of turn based combat, I pick up a short RPG and blast away at mutated animals and doomsday cultists and call it a day. Perhaps, when I’m hungry for it, For A Vast Future is just the snack I need. Sadly, today, I was looking for something a bit more filling, and this left me just a bit dissatisfied.
There is little else that needs to be said. Shinobi Non Grata is a very straightforward retro platformer that isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel or offer much more than a retro-infused action-platforming experience that might look, sound, and feel like an old-school Ninja Gaiden/Strider hybrid with a handful of quality of life improvements. But that’s not a bad thing. If anything, the fact it’s so down to the point in its premise, being focused on being challenging but fair, is what made me like it so much. It’s no The Messenger, but it wasn’t trying to compete with that game’s level of ambition. It’s just fast-paced, challenging, and above anything else, fun.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is that rarest and most beautiful of things. A great original Warhammer 40K game. It has a solid sense of what it wants to be, and the developers had the skill to nail what they went for. A classic boomer shooter, that doesn’t just copy the classics but replicates and even improves what made them work. The level design is genuinely genius, with so much variety and visual style. The gunplay is fast, hectic, and deliciously gory. And the music and graphics blend classic and modern styles together beautifully.
It’s hard to sell an arcade game beyond what a trailer might tell you, but Formula Retro Racing – World Tour has a sincere veneer about it that keeps you coming back for more. This isn’t just some random cabinet in a smoky arcade in Glendale, this is a lovingly crafted homage that begs you to try and walk away once you get the hang of it. There’s precision, there’s enjoyment, there’s actually fantastic design that promises a fun time and delivers in spades.
Despite the issues, LEGO 2K Drive is a promising beginning to a potential sub-franchise from 2K. There are great ideas that enamor me, thanks to how comforting they are. I hope that if the plan is to do another, the developers don’t try to toss in genres that don’t work here haphazardly. I hope they concentrate on going quickly and create side-quests that make sense for a car.
After Us is a game of contrasts. A game where the harsh grays and pollution of its desolate landscapes contrast with the gorgeous rays of light and greeneries summoned by its protagonist. Where its unwelcome setting contrasts with its easy-going gameplay loop. It’s also a game where the decent gameplay loop contrasts with its excessively on-the-nose story.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is not just an incredible DLC, but it’s an absolutely crucial part of the entire Horizon story.
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble is basically more of the tried and true formula that has been going on for the past thirty years. Despite that somewhat dismissive statement, don’t call that criticism. The franchise has tried to reinvent itself in the recent past with a 3D iteration, and it didn’t work very well. Returning back to its more successful format, with just a few additions here and there to pretty much justify its existence as a brand new, commercially-available product, was the right choice.
Pulling No Punches is a very hard sell unless you fall into its specific target audience: fed-up Brazilians who had to deal with a stupidly stressful couple of years during the pandemic. If you fall into this niche demographic, this is the catharsis you’ve been waiting for. If not, you can still have fun with its good controls and decent art style, but the in-game jokes and overall premise will mean nothing to you.
Gekisou! Benza Race: Toilet Shooting Star is a truly baffling waste of time I would have clearly ignored if it was kept as a Japanese eShop exclusive, as it should have been. It wasn’t the case, however, as some mad mind decided to release it in the West with absolutely no translation or localization efforts. What we ended up getting as a result was a near criminal waste of thirteen dollars, where you can’t have fun with its premise, nor can you understand what the hell is happening onscreen. Fittingly enough, a game about toilets deserves to be thrown into one.
Star Trek: Resurgence absolutely shines when it shines. In many ways, it is the Star Trek game I always wanted; an outstanding Star Trek story, walking the halls of a starship with its crew, enjoying new races, and exploring the outskirts of space. But because of everything that doesn’t fall into those categories, it feels this voyage was ten years too late.
Whatever gripes I may have faced during my dozens, perhaps hundreds of hours with Tears of the Kingdom, don’t make it any less engrossing and amazing. It’s not perfect, it’s not my favorite Zelda game of all time, it’s not even the best game we’ve played and reviewed in 2023. But does that really matter? At the end of the day, it’s an improvement over Breath of the Wild, a really impossible task that Eiji Aonuma managed to achieve.
Afterlife VR falls nicely into the B-tier Horror niche and does a decent job for doing only that, but is too afraid of being anything more. Unknown protagonist goes to unknown location with an unknown connection to an uninteresting story with an unsurprising twist ending. In the end, I have seen Afterlife VR 100 times, basically when my 6 year old watches a random spooky game playthrough on YouTube.
Humanity is the kind of experimental breath of fresh air we rarely see being released nowadays. Evoking the spirit of the more bizarre and experimental games from the Dreamcast era, it features a bonkers premise and a pointless plot, but also excellent controls, a really intuitive gameplay loop, and of course, as to be expected from a game published by Enhance, trippy visuals and great music.