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As for the future of the God of War franchise, I’m not sure what to expect. Ragnarok leaves a few open threads that provide opportunities for DLC expansions. Kratos found an appropriate and redeeming end that I would hate to see taken away from him to just to continue the series. I’m not confident that Atreus would be the right fit to carry the future of the franchise, at least not without a significant time jump and growth of abilities. But whether or not Santa Monica Studios buts the IP to rest or releases new games will be revealed in time.
A likeable protagonist, new abilities and a personal, down-to-earth story made up for the fact Spider-Man: Miles Morales is shorter than its 2018 predecessor. It’s a game with enough qualities to stand on its own, one that proves that Miles isn’t just some fluke character being pushed by Marvel over the past few years. Not only that, but this PC port is the real deal, with some pretty good optimization and performance.
Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx is a pretty basic action-platformer at its core, even though it tries to add some variety to the mix with its barrage of pointless combat mechanics. Not to mention the whole high school social life second half, that felt more like a way to extend its duration, at best. With that being said, it’s polished, it looks decent, runs well, features the cast from the show, enough elements that make the game feel less like a soulless cash grab and more like your typical “it’s average at best, but fans of the show will be very pleased with the results” game.
I didn’t realise going into The Captain that it was a point-and-click adventure. I may have passed up on it had I known. Instead, I found what may arguably be one of the best and most unique games I have played in the genre. I do believe anyone who feels indifferent to this style of game should give it a shot, because it may be the one to change how you feel towards them. That, or if you just like tactical games, the battles can be a lot of fun, but there’s significantly less of those.
Aka is a big disappointment for me, because I was actually really loving what I was able to play of the game until it essentially broke. It’s far more than just a casual slice of life sim, especially if you choose to help the other inhabitants you come across. I really wanted to see what the rest of Aka had in store, but at this point, I can’t. I can’t in good conscience recommend this game in its current state, even if it feels so promising. As of right now, I have to say to hold off until the game breaking bugs are all patched before picking it up.
The Punchuin is good fun and definitely an excellent pickup over the holiday period for something to play, especially in short bursts. See how quickly you can clear it, especially once you know how to do some of those puzzles, because they can be real tough. Plus, the music has got to be better than Christmas tunes.
Sol Cresta is not a bad bullet-hell shooter at all, but it’s far from being the most interesting I’ve played in a while. Its visuals and soundtrack did not wow me, and while it had one very interesting gameplay feature, it wasn’t exactly a new one: other games in the franchise have had them in the past. It felt less of a modern revival of an arcade franchise and just a new version of a 90s title which was locked in someone’s storage for the past 25 years.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns was a game I wanted to love more than I did. And don’t get me wrong, I did really enjoy it. I can’t express my love for the combat enough, it’s fast, furious, and fantastically flashy. The deck-building aspect is great too, with loads of options and variety. It’s what you’re doing when you’re not in combat that’s the problem.
Harvestella is far from being the most impressive and innovative mixture between a farming simulator and an action RPG, but it’s far from being outright bad or worthy of being ignored, either. It’s got some neat redeeming factors, namely its phenomenal soundtrack and relaxing farming vibes, while suffering from an uninspired combat system, and some really poor pacing problems.
Why fix what isn’t broken? For some reason, Cobra Kai 2 decided to go off in a whole new direction from the original game, which was on form and simply just needed a touch of polish. Instead, here we are with something that is so out of left field, and so horrifically broken, that playing it felt more like a chore than a hobby. Hopefully, if a third game ever comes to fruition somehow, I hope there is a long, hard look at what that game should be, and maybe just a touch of quality assurance.
The Callisto Protocol has all the right ingredients for what could have been a phenomenal action-horror experience. Sure, it was still a great time, but repetitive combat and enemy designs mixed with a lacklustre story leave for a somewhat underwhelming experience but one that was dripping in atmosphere and phenomenal visuals. It’s not a disappointment per se, but maybe wait for a discount before tackling this one.
BLACKTAIL is one of the biggest surprises of the year. It’s a game that pulled me into its mysterious and beautifully crafted world, filled with plenty of mysteries to discover. BLACKTAIL is a constantly engaging experience with only a few minor drawbacks.
Players ready for the second or third choices need little else to bring them into the experience. However, if you want to piecemeal Samurai Maiden, you’ll lose steam quickly and get distracted by long dialogues between fights and stages. Personally, I went right down the middle, and I think that’s the best course for everyone. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it keeps me coming back for more, and that’s all I want in a game.
Is there anything else that needs to be said? The The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was nearly perfect back in 2015, mostly hampered by bugs (which have already been fixed) and the hardware they were running on. The hardware issue is no more, with these next-gen versions letting you play these games the way they were intended to be experienced, with nearly no loading times, improved visuals, and a much sexier framerate. Is it worth revisiting it yet again? Absolutely! It might be a nearly 150 hour long RPG (counting the expansions and Gwent, of course), but it’s just way too good to be set aside.
I laud Floodland for being a shockingly niche game, aiming to please a very minute and specific subsection of gamers into survival, city builders, and strategy simulators all at once. It is flawed, being way too slow before it becomes really interesting, not to mention some performance issues, but it does indeed succeed at what it was developed for. It’s just a really hard sell for anyone besides this very specific niche of gamers, and not enough of a “city-builder” for those who are into the genre in particular.
Session: Skate Sim is one of the most rage inducing games I have ever played, and not because I didn’t want to try and learn to get better. It simply felt like overcomplication just for the sake of it. The inputs make sense, what they show on the trick sheet make sense, but it just doesn’t translate into the game.
It might be a bit frustrating in the beginning, given how punishing its first few hours are, but once you rack up some cash to afford new parts and cars altogether, the game becomes a blast. It may not have received the biggest marketing budget, and being borderline stealth released in December did it no favors, but do not miss this one out. It’s one hell of an entertaining racing experience.
I had such high hopes for Gungrave G.O.R.E. and it peaked with the intro cutscene, but it all fell apart from the moment the gameplay started. The worst part is I continued to play mostly in hopes it got better, but also because I just wanted to see more cutscenes. In the end through, Gungrave G.O.R.E. just didn’t feel like a game that respected the time of the people playing it, and didn’t respect the fans who returned from the PS2 days.
This shift back to the franchise’s original premise makes it a much more compelling game, albeit one that is steeped in a lot of the same issues. Despite being a huge improvement, it’s unfortunate Hello Neighbor 2 can’t find its footing, as it stumbles from one encounter to another without any real cohesion.
This feels like a game that really speaks to people who were in the sweet spot for certain points of the release window. If you played this on the DS as a younger person, it’s great to revisit it. If you really enjoy Front Mission titles and want to appreciate the first game, it’s perfect. If you’re an absolute turn-based, grid based, isometric combat beast and can’t wait for the Final Fantasy Tactics remake, this scratches some itches, though in a lesser way. It’s fun, it’s comprehensive, but it’s just not…great.