WayTooManyGames
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It’s seriously not as if BPM is a bad game. Since its release, so many other games have come out doing roughly the same thing, but building upon it. It runs well on Switch, but definitely is hindered by the limitations of the system, especially in handheld mode. That definitely doesn’t mean don’t play it, because it is easy to pick up and play for one or two runs, and pick up to play on a daily basis. It’s the perfect style game for the Switch, it just needs a little bit of tweaking in order to be fully enjoyed.
NIS Classics Collection Vol. 3 continues revisiting the vault, but this time, it fails to grab hold of a pair of winners.
Even if the gameplay loop outstays its welcome after a few rounds, and you can play all of its songs in about two hours, I can’t help but love the fact that Trombone Champ exists. It’s just… weird. Weird in the most adorable of ways.
Circus Electrique has so much promise. It’s gameplay foundation is incredibly solid, the theme unique and well executed, and there’s plenty of variety in everything. And while it’s definitely inherently flawed, there’s nothing here that can’t be fixed. Right off the bat, a store or resource exchange system would go far in improving your dealings with RNG. A way to leave current districts and replay previous ones to grind would as well. Balance changes are as always the easiest to pull off, and I’m sure some are on the way even now. The point is, while these issues are critical to actually playing and enjoying the game, they’re all easily fixable and I’m really hoping the developers realize this. Because this really is a fun and unique game, and I’d really really love to actually be able to enjoy it.
Shovel Knight Dig is a great Downwell-esque roguelike adaptation of the franchise’s formula, though its somewhat unfair steep difficulty curve can be a bit irritating at times.
It’s hard to recommend PBA Pro Bowling 2023, even though there’s nothing inherently bad about it. Sure, its presentation is really subpar, but as a bowling experience, it does offer more than I was expecting. That’s the problem, though: it’s a bowling video game. It’s very limited in terms of scope and gameplay, despite featuring a career mode and licensed players. You can’t help but feel like you could get similar experiences in other games that just so happen to feature bowling as one of their side activities.
It’s a feeling that can only come from this particular idea playing out as a video game, to be something that combines the best elements of a choose-your-own-adventure book, a 1980s coming of age movie and the moment-to-moment tension of Oxenfree. I cannot and will not stop praising this game, and I earnestly believe this is one of my favorite gaming moments in the past decade. Thank you.
Soulstice is a love letter to the PlayStation 2 era of the action genre, with frantic fast-paced combat and its own spin on things. However, it does bring some of that baggage with it and there are some glaring issues with pacing and repetition, especially in the opening hours. Thankfully, Soulstice does recover in the end and for fans of the genre it is absolutely worth checking out.
Some unnecessary design choices hindered my overall enjoyment with Hardspace: Shipbreaker, namely the monstrously uninteresting story and short work shifts, but I still spent a shocking amount of time with this curiously relaxing mix between a pasttime simulator, a puzzle game, and a survival title. It featured one of the most enjoyable, innovative and relaxing gameplay loops from any game I’ve played this year.
Its online modes are bland, and its gameplay is really sluggish for modern fighting game standards, but the sheer amount of content and fan service make JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R a must-have for fans of this utterly ludicrous but endearing franchise.
The Monkey Island series are adored because of their humor and charm, and Return to Monkey Island is no different. It retains all the same wit, puns, and groan-worthy dad jokes as the rest of the games. In fact, Return to Monkey Island feels more in-line with the earlier titles, no doubt due to Gilbert’s involvement, as well as most of the original cast. The art style might be initially off-putting for some, but it really does grow on you after a while.
Potion Permit is brilliant, offering some incredible quality of life improvements to ease a player into the genre. It introduces several accommodations that I hope become the golden standard of slice-of-life romps.
Madden NFL ’23 is one of those years that if you skipped it, you wouldn’t really be missing anything. The additions to the Face of the Franchise mode aren’t significant enough to drop last year’s iteration and start again here, and that goes for any of the modes. The one big feature, FieldSENSE, didn’t live up to the hype, and even if it isn’t a setback, it didn’t improve upon the main things that annoy me.
I love that Easy Come Easy Golf exists for the Switch. Everything that was wrong with Mario Golf: Super Rush (and honestly, all Mario sports games released over the past decade or so) isn’t present in this adorable title that keeps thing simple, but also fresh. Its gimmicks are minute, only improving what’s still an easy and intuitive gameplay loop. It might be a bit grindy, but it’s also quite addictive. In short, this might actually be the best Mario Golf game in years, and it doesn’t even feature any Italian plumbers in its roster.
The developers behind the project had a specific niche of players they wanted to target, and delivered in spades. You need to like heavy metal, DOOM and rhythm games in order to enjoy this innovative, slightly flawed, but ultimately amazing experience. Brutal, fast-paced, mechanically sound, replayable, and most importantly, a blessing for metalheads’ ears. You will need some time in order to get used to its mechanics, which feel confusing at first, but once everything clicks, you will have the loudest and bloodiest of times with this hellfest of a shooter.
The premise seemed interesting, but it gets bogged down by exceedingly dull dialogue and horrendous pacing. The visuals are an eyesore and the sound design is atrocious. On top of that, the puzzles are of the worst variety, either being too easy, making no sense, or being somewhat broken. Add in the fact that this is basically the same game from 2008, just with the slightest of face lifts, and that makes its thirty dollar price tag almost criminal. I asked you to rock me, Amadeus, not bore me to tears.
This is not an easy recommendation, given how unbelievably challenging this game is, even on the easiest of difficulties. Radiant Silvergun is a gem of its time, but one that has managed to age gracefully. Few bullet hell shooters released in this day and age are able to stand next to it and its sequel, Ikaruga. Being able to take this absolute classic on a portable, with a handful of simple, but welcome quality of life improvements, is worth the entry fee if you’re a fan of bullet hell shooters.
The only thing that makes NBA 2K23 better than its predecessor, even if by just a little bit, is the inclusion of the excellent Jordan Challenge mode, a great love letter to the best player of all time. Does that make the game worth your time? Well, if you’re into basketball, you don’t exactly have a choice, but, at the very least, 2K23 isn’t worse than the games that preceded it. Small wins, y’all.
I was skeptical when I first picked it up, but now I’m positive: Justice Sucks is a surprising hit, and I’m glad for my time with it.
It’s a bit janky and it has some questionable design choices, but Steelrising is yet another pretty good effort from Spiders, solidifying the small French studio as one of the most interesting developers in the industry nowadays. Its absolutely unique premise, mixing the freaking French Revolution with robots and Dark Souls, is the main reason you’ll want to play it. Even though it has some progression and level design issues, as well as a bit of AA jank, it’s still well worth your time.