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I know I’ve said time and time again that “game x” is a love letter to “franchise y”, to a nearly exhaustive degree, but Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is just something else. It’s a worthy celebration of one of the most important companies not in gaming’s history, but technology history in general. Hell, maybe even the 20th century as a whole. The sheer amount of games included in it, both old and new, would already make this collection worth checking out for a retro enthusiast, but the tons of extras, namely footage from the 70s and modern interviews with Atari alumni and celebrity fans, result in this almost becoming a playable documentary.
The minigame competitive scene is already chock full of great choices, and Garfield Lasagna Party isn’t one of them. It’s somehow both too long and too short at the same time, with minigames and animations running overtime, and gameplay being terse and light.
Signalis pretty much perfects this new wave of retro survival horror. It has a surprisingly engaging world that just pulls you in and never lets go. If you are a fan of the genre this is an absolute must-play. Signalis is easily one of my favourite games of this year.
Modern Warfare 2 is the strongest release from the series in quite a while, possibly since Modern Warfare, maybe even longer than that. There are some missing features though: the battle pass won’t launch until nearer the end of November, while hardcore playlists don’t exist. The multiplayer maps are decent enough, but nothing overly spectacular, but at least the multiplayer feels mostly balanced. The campaign was a great experience, with a small visual glitch here and there.
Let’s put it this way: there’s enough content in Let’s Play Curling to justify its existence as a video game, and not just a mode in a winter sport compilation title, but not at the currently asked price tag. It’s not a deep experience, it doesn’t look appealing, and you won’t play it for more than twenty or so minutes at a time. I commend Imagineer for milking as much content as possible with what little they had at their disposal, especially in an ultra niche sport like curling, but this one is a tough recommendation.
I imagine that Vampire Survivors is going to spawn a legion of imitators and developers trying to capture the same effect but with some variation, and I’ll be staying far, far away from them. This game is amazing, and it’s one of those titles where I don’t know or care about the lore: I just want to get those blue gems and feel the chemical reward of doing something that my brain says is good. Pick it up and play, but be sure to block off an afternoon. Any other plans you have are going to get canceled.
Arkanoid: Eternal Battle is a fun take on a dated and immovable gameplay loop, that suffers from the fact it will only be fully enjoyed if more people buy it and play its excellent battle royale mode. Even though it has other modes to satiate your brick breaking needs in case you’re a solo player, be it with the inclusion of the old arcade game or bots, it’s just not the same without the sheer chaos provided by lots of players going nuts at once.
Tt’s pure, cathartic, and an unapologetic sensory overload. It’s pure nonsense. It’s a game that doesn’t excite with its visuals and overexcited sound design, but it’s so bizarre you will keep on playing it out of sheer amusement. There isn’t anything else like it on the Nintendo Switch or any other console.
The differences being minute aren’t exactly a deal-breaker. It’s legitimately hard to improve upon a formula that has been polished to near perfection for Sports Interactive’s small, but die-hard loyal fanbase. Football Manager 2023 caters to its audience and gives zero craps if you’re not part of this minute niche. If you are part of this demographic, however, this will once again be a time-consuming, heart-wrenching, immersive, and engrossing experience, one you could easily spend spend hundreds of hours playing.
But I also recognize that players can and will enjoy this challenge and get a few hours of enjoyment out of the full game, much as I did. So I say this: if you see the raccoon on the longboard and think “I love where this is going,” then come on the journey. I’ve spent far more and played far less, so let’s groove together. If you’re hesitant, just roll on by. Tanuki’s living his best life, you should too.
The Winters’ Expansion feels like a victory lap for this era of Resident Evil. It closes the story with a smaller and more personal end to Winters’ storyline. Going through the same locations as the base game may feel cheap, but just enough has changed to justify it and the inclusion of third-person and expanded mercenaries means that there’s plenty of stuff to do here.
Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms was hugely disappointing, mainly due to the fact that the last game from this franchise was an unexpected delight. The controls are awful, the settings are bland, and the puzzles are a joke. In fact, about the biggest challenge you’ll find in Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms is trying to get your dragon to properly aim at a target.
Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief is a game that shows its age in a ton of different ways: from its rough graphics, janky controls, and bizarre structure. However, it’s a game with charm and it provides a gameplay experience that I don’t think I have ever seen before. It combines action game genres into a fast-paced, janky stealth experience. If you can overlook a lot of its flaws, then I would actually recommend checking it out if it goes on sale.
I will commend The Case of the Golden Idol for being an excruciatingly smart game with a neat method of developing its lore and world-building, but its mystery solving gameplay loop, while engaging for those into whodunits, features some flaws worth pointing out. Solving a case is really rewarding, but getting stuck in a particular puzzle feels punishing, with the game nearly starting to treat you in a condescending way if you start using its (tiresome) hint system too often.
It isn’t going to prepare you for diving into Europa Universalis: if anything, it might make those big games feel even bigger coming from such a small pond with very same-ish maps and layouts. But it might let you see if you’ve got a taste for the run, and, if so, this is an inexpensive starting point, both in actual price tag and time investment. As for people like me who long for the simpler days, this could be the next great pocket game to keep around for a turn or two of research, raids and risky alliances.
For newcomers, really consider what the game is and what you want it to be. If you sincerely want a full fledged experience, Factorio on the Switch will get you 80% of the way there, but I can’t conceivably think that chat or keyboards can be put in the Switch version. Still, it’s got everything important, and that should be more than enough to keep the cycle going. The machines must grow, and you shall be their farmer.
I can appreciate a game with some jankiness if its world is rich, the characters are well fleshed out, and the story is compelling. I loved GreedFall for this exact reason, despite its flaws. Unfortunately, The Last Oricru feels like it’s still in early access, and none of its other attributes are strong enough to make up for its shortcomings. As it stands right now, I would have to recommend waiting for it to go on sale or until more patches are released to make it more playable.
This chaotic gameplay and a really simple yet neat RPG progression system, where you’re given the opportunity to level up skills and increase stats like HP and attack, are what make The Pinball Wizard more entertaining and replayable than it should be.
Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is a hilariously absurd game from a novelty standpoint, and it has neat elements, such as hunting for NFC-infused objects at home in order to generate monsters, which gave me a nostalgic feeling of inserting CDs in order to get monsters back in the 90s. However, it is still a dated and clunky game for 2022 standards. It gets repetitive quickly, but if you’re part of the aforementioned demographics, you’ll have the time of your life with this dude-in-a-rubber-suit breeding simulator.
Batora: Lost Haven is a thrilling romp of fast-paced carnage. The combat system is a blast and left me constantly engaged, gripping my total and utter attention. Once beaten, I immediately hopped back into New Game+ for another round.