Entertainium's Reviews
Bandai Namco has been on a roll with its Japanese releases this year, starting with the very stylish Scarlet Nexus a couple of months ago. Tales of Arise is yet another hit in the series that you’ll want to add to your JRPG library, and one that is very likely to keep you entertained for weeks, if not months, to come.
It’s the relationships that you carve as you play that are by far the best thing going for Boyfriend Dungeon. As someone who’s had a relatively late blooming when it came to romance, it’s fun to see how fluid your love life can be in this game, and in that regard I can see others feel the same way and even help some folks climb out of their shells. Boyfriend Dungeon is a very fun experiment that makes up for its lack of depth with an engaging dating aspect that is sure to keep you going til the end.
Trust me, you’ll want to have Spelunky 2 to play on Switch as it’ll easily net you hundreds of hours of fun provided you’re into the idea of repeated play and inching your way to success.
Deathloop is genuinely refreshing in how different it is. It took me a while to get used to not saving, and being more daring in my battles against the Eternalists, most of which ended successfully and only occasionally ended with me being shot to pieces. The world is fascinating and the way you gradually learn new tidbits of information each loop means that even if you are killed prematurely, you still feel you have meaningfully progressed. Each zone has loads of secrets to uncover and will respond to Colt’s actions in different ways, meaning that mastering the maps and their layouts is crucial to fully upgrading Colt’s weaponry and hopefully bringing about a final end to the time loop. Deathloop is a brave change of direction for Arkane, and one which I think is overall extremely successful. It might not be an immersive sim, but it’s still a hell of a fine game.
If you enjoy turn-based combat and are looking for a fantasy game to whittle away the hours, King’s Bounty II delivers.
All in all, WRC 10 is yet another solid entry in the series. It’s sad to see that it’s probably going to be one of the last ever, but props to KT Racing and Nacon for going the extra mile to make that goodbye go off with a bang as they do with this game. The historical racing is a joy to behold for sure, and the trademark franchise modes found in WRC 10 make it an extremely worthwhile pickup for rally fans and casual racers alike.
Anyone starting Ghost of Tsushima now should totally play this DLC as soon as possible in their campaign, which is as act 2 opens up in the main game. I’m now anxious to jump back and see how the new gear from Iki will help me deal with the original content which at first play kicked my samurai butt seriously.
As it stands, F1 2021 is still a very solid racing simulation game. You’ll be hard pressed to find an alternative when it comes to delivering an authentic experience as this one, with the dedicated, laser-focused aim of covering a single category, F1. 2022’s entry will be even better if Codemasters can dust off some of the issues I had with this one and go ahead and provide even more fun situations to swerve into in a new Braking Point storyline.
No Longer Home doesn’t out stay its welcome and is a relatively short experience, but I generally found it interesting and inventive. It clearly borrows heavily from Kentucky Route Zero, but wisely doesn’t try to imitate it, but rather borrows narratively and structurally. Ao and Bo’s relationship is very well fleshed out, and they are honest and truthful to each other in a refreshing way, their dialogue never feeling forced or unnatural. This is commendable, as realistic romantic relationships are often difficult to accurately convey in video games. It’s a game which pauses and asks you to value the small moments in life. I took this lesson to heart, using every opportunity I could to pet the flat’s two cats, Luna and Autumn. Sometimes, just petting a cat can spark joy. Life consists of a multitude of small moments, and at some point, we all must move from old homes and build new ones. No Longer Home, like Gone Home before it, proves the adage “you can’t go home again” remains as true as ever.
Dreamscaper rewards patience. It may not have immediately pulled me in, but sticking with it was ultimately worth it. In part because the wait wasn’t huge, but also because the majority of my time with it has been worthwhile. It’s a very satisfying game to play once it finds its rhythm. Roguelikes are a crowded genre with plenty of games vying for attention, and Dreamscaper is one definitely worth your attention.
Foreclosed is the work of a very small team, and it shows. This is an indie game which in a number of ways, certainly can’t compete with comparable games with vastly larger budgets. This goes a long way towards explaining the lacklustre combat and the game’s short length, which means it can be completed in under five hours. With that said, Foreclosed has an excellent aesthetic and a number of genuinely intriguing scenes. For fans of cyberpunk, or of third-person adventures generally, this is a trip into the future that is worth taking.
Samurai Warriors 5 is an extremely over-the-top, ridiculous game. It’s a game where your character can slice his enormous sword at a battalion of soldiers, obliterating them in a massive fireball. It’s a game where you can ride your horse through hundreds of archers, cutting them down while barely getting a scratch on you. It’s a game where if you pull off the correct combination of moves, your character can basically “fly”, zipping around with inhuman speed while inflicting devastating power attacks. All of this from what is on paper supposed to be a realistic, historical action game. This juxtaposition of a relatively serious story with the ludicrous action is a formula that works surprisingly well, creating a core gameplay loop which is engaging, if sometimes a bit repetitive. If you accept the game for what it is, you’ll find a satisfying hack-and-slash with plenty of replayability.
There’s enough juicy meat on the bone here for you to enjoy for quite a while, even though in terms of replayability there’s little to come back to once you get through all the cases. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles shows off the amazing talent and creativity of a series that’s in a genre of its own among visual novel games, really. Inherent faults and all, Ace Attorney is absolutely the type of game you’d want to have on whatever system you decide to pick it up for.
Streets of Rage 4 was already the pinnacle of beat ‘em ups in the modern age, and Mr. X Nightmare only fans its flames even more with the new additions it brings. If you have yet to give the game a go for whatever reason, now’s the perfect time to do so.
A grim reaper crow, many souls to collect and one hell of an adventure await you in Death’s Door.
Despite some failings in its tutorial, Guilty Gear Strive is ultimately a more approachable entry in the series.
Scarlet Nexus might lean heavily on the anime for your taste as it did mine, but don’t be surprised if you find it incredibly satisfying anyway, in spite of it. And that’s quite an achievement that developer Tose has managed to accomplish.
The No More Heroes games are a strange, wild ride. They may be repetitive, and potentially wearying if played back to back, but SUDA51’s unique take on the hack-and-slash genre is a frequently intriguing one. The limitations of these PC ports are clear, but hardly a dealbreaker for anyone who is intrigued by the games but missed them the first time around.
Hardcore Monster Hunter fans might turn their nose at Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin’s sheer straight to the point approach to gameplay, but what it goes for is done surprisingly well, and folks who find themselves intimidated by the still high barrier of entry to the main entries might find it a good entry point into the series. It’s got basically every trait from what characterizes a Monster Hunter in one easy to digest JRPG formula.
Wave Break is an eclectic mix of different styles that is almost a guaranteed recommendation on the Switch. It’s a colorful game that’s sure to please anyone looking for a quick pick up n’ play download. But given that the eShop is already packed with similar bite-sized titles, I imagine it’ll be hard for it to set itself apart in the long run, for as nutty as its premise can be.