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Dungeons 4 was the gaming palette cleanser I didn’t know I was looking for. Its story is nonsense told very well, but its gameplay loop is practiced, iterated, and masterful. Mission and map design is unique with varied and distinct units. It could be easy for the game to be too much or complex is instead the first RTS I’ve ever played with a controller that actually felt comfortable.
As much time as I try to put into Modern Warfare III, and as many chances as I try to give it, it’s just way too rough. This feels like an early access version of the game. It’s missing way too much that would make it it’s own game in its own right, including original maps, an original zombies experience (with maps that aren’t just the DMZ map), and a campaign that is actually engaging. Playing four hours of a campaign you don’t really have any interest in isn’t worth $70.
If the intention of this collection was to preserve the (mixed-at-best) legacy of the original Jurassic Park‘s tie-in releases, then I feel more worked should had been put into it. As it stands, this is not a terrible first attempt from Limited Run Games in terms of remastering and emulating games, but they do need to improve upon the amount of extras and title variety included in their compilations.
Born of Bread is all the ingredients of Paper Mario put together in a different construct, and yet there’s something there that just doesn’t gel quite right. If someone had told me it was akin to Bug Fables or Costume Quest, I’d feel differently and mark it higher. But the constant hammering that this is supposed to be akin to the games of the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube makes a high water mark that simply cannot be reached. It’s a lovely title, of that there’s no doubt, but the final product just doesn’t rise to the occasion: it’s just a bit more than half baked.
Even though The King of Fighters XIII: Global Match is, by and large, the same game originally released in 2011 for Xbox 360, with just a handful of technical improvements, that’s not exactly a bad thing. Granted, it suffers from having a particularly small roster (for KoF standards, that is), and its story mode is a waste of time, but it’s still a top-notch King of Fighters game that’s well worth your time if you want a brand new fighting game fix with some juicy rollback netcode.
With such a paltry amount of content and limited gameplay loop, there’s little else that can or should be said about Pickleball Smash. Even if it’s not glitchy or broken, it’s just really boring. There’s not enough substance to keep you entertained for more than a few minutes at a time. The pickleball ruleset also doesn’t translate very well to an arcade-like environment, with matches possibly lasting for a damn eternity if players keep breaking each other’s serves. There is no reason to grab this over any other racket-based sports game, even if you, somehow, prefer pickleball over tennis.
This is one of those games that comes along every once in a great while, and I can’t recommend it enough to absolutely everyone. Whether or not you’re well versed in the genre, you should absolutely hop onboard and get ready to sail the Sea of Stars. If not for yourself, do it for Garl.
This was such an unexpected treat. I adore reading in games, even though that feels counterintuitive to the point of video games. Being swept up in visual novels is a passion of mine, so I love when I can get that safe effect elsewhere. Frog Detective is such a silly and genuinely funny read from start to finish that I didn’t even mind that it was in the first person perspective. It’s like Inspector Clouseau and Detective Drebin taught a frog everything they knew and sent him off into the world.
There is a reason why Turok 3 isn’t as well-known as the first two games in the Nintendo 64 trilogy: gameplay-wise, it might be the weakest of the bunch. Still, it’s a shockingly revolutionary and monstrously underrated title that deserves a lot more love. It was way ahead of its time in terms of presentation, storytelling and level design. Too bad the N64 just couldn’t handle it properly. Nightdive, on the other hand, could. Thanks to them, Turok 3 can finally shine, with vastly improved visuals and gameplay. The excessive linearity and focus on storytelling might annoy fans of the previous Turok games, but it’s still a fantastic conversion of an underrated gem.
Zipp’s Café is an enjoyable (albeit short) adventure set within the wild world of the Chicken Police games. It does quite a bit within its short runtime to connect the events of the first game to the upcoming sequel, which will no doubt appease the fans (like myself) until the next full installment is released. However, it also delivers a compelling story on its own merit, making it an intriguing standalone game in its own right.
You Will Die Here Tonight is a fascinating twist on the survival horror genre, taking inspiration from one of the most niche games in the Resident Evil franchise: Gaiden. It has fantastic level designs and almost no hand-holding whatsoever. However, not all these ideas work, leaving You Will Die Here Tonight with a fun, but not entirely solid, spin on the retro horror genre.
Phantom Liberty is a bittersweet ending for Cyberpunk 2077. It’s culmination of all the efforts made to make the game something special. A stellar expansion that dramatically improves on the base experience, whilst delivering an epic spy-thriller storyline.
In any case, Alina of the Arena takes some bold steps forward in maintaining the constant of deck-building while injecting plenty of fresh ideas and approaches to the game. It was satisfying, engaging and never left me bored. I didn’t always have the easiest time making choices, but that was part of the thrill, and I appreciate it. Players who love Into the Breach, but wanted a bit more chaos to it should give this a play, and for the rest of us it’s a great exercise in keeping you always surprised by video games.
In lieu of my initial reservations, The Last Faith not only won me over but has me eagerly desiring a sequel. The blend of Metroidvania, requiring me to backtrack to access areas previously unreachable, and that bone-crunching misery that Soulslike is known for is simply enticing. Sure, being endlessly dismantled isn’t exactly my definition of fun, but how this game implements that toughness and whether I’m in for a challenge or not, cushions the grief.
Vengeance of Mr. Peppermint is a clear example of style over substance. As cool as the game looks and plays at first, there’s not a lot of level or gameplay variety to keep you entertaining for a long period of time. All you do is sluggishly move to the right and beat the hell out of some goons at a time. As interesting as its nods to Oldboy can be, that movie was fast-paced, captivating and stylish all throughout. This game, on the other hand, is just stylish at best.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is the kind of game that doesn’t do anything well enough to satisfy any of its intended audiences. For survival fans nothing is done better than titles they’re already playing, and in fact does plenty worse. And for diehard Lord of the Rings fans, the strange lore deviations and limited vision of Khazad-Dum and the canonical events portrayed aren’t any more attractive.
I was drawn in by the visuals and utterly hooked by the musical scoring, the expansive areas and the implied lore that was further cemented by my own character’s evolution. The combat, when it was good, was SO GOOD and the reason I kept coming back is because I wanted to be as precise and murderous as the game thought I could be. There is no death, no save points, no turning back and no way out but through. You find more, you see more, you fight more and all you want is more. It is a hunger that spawns from the epoch of creation.
The blend of metal music with the constant action of a shmup is a fantastic experience that I would recommend to any fan of the genre.
Virtual reality makes PowerWash Simulator more intuitive and immersive, but still very relaxing. Sure, the convoluted nature of having to put a visor onto your face for lengthy periods of time means that this game won’t be played in sessions as long as the ones you’ve been playing on PC or console. Still, you’ll still have tons of fun with PowerWash Simulator VR. I sure did. The superior control scheme, and the novelty of playing such a game on VR are enough to make this particular port of the cult hit my favorite, even though I don’t think it’s the best one, at least technically speaking.
In short, Assassin’s Creed Nexus was one of the most impressive surprises of the year. I wasn’t expecting much from it due to Ubisoft’s lack of pre-release promotion, but what I ended up getting instead was a true testament of what the Quest 2 can do, and how to properly adapt a third-person action-adventure series into VR. It’s shorter than your average Assassin’s Creed, but still substantially meaty for a VR game, complete with occasional pseudo-open worlds with extra challenges to discover.