DayOne's Reviews
With a great technical background, too, what's a bit lacking is the inventive in the single player campaign, with merely a largely repetitive sequence of events to beat with little reason or rhyme - one that even shows how little variety the game itself has, as of now, before all DLC or eventual sequels arrive. Personally, that's a prospect I really look forward to, because Monster Jam Showdown's base gameplay is really good, so I'd really love to see the format get expanded upon from here on.
Schim is cute, charming, and has a surprisingly emotional look into the themes of depression and midlife crisis. Perhaps it could dig deeper into its arguments, and maybe even dare a bit more with its gamepaly. Similarly, with a length of only about 3 hours and limited replayability, the launch price of 24.99USD/24,99EUR feels a little excessive, and I would absolutely recommend waiting for a sale. But when that sale does arrive, give Schim your consideration: it’s a quite beautiful little game with an intriguing concept and even a good message to give to its players.
Fans of third person action adventure games should definitely consider playing Kena: Bridge of Spirits, with accessibility options and a story mode difficulty allowing even newcomers to videogames to enjoy this colourful, cartoon-esque journey.
Pepper Grinder is short, fun, and nails what it’s going for. It’s fun solo but if you can convince a few curious friends the leaderboard system could give you way more than four hours of a good time.
Creatures of Ava is an excellent title, and it’s on Game Pass at launch. If you want a game that lets you explore a gorgeous alien planet, get your inner photographer on, and know when to mix in its version of combat then I think it is well worth a download.
SteamWorld Heist II is a delight. Brilliant tactical combat is mixed with a clever story, great music, and engaging progression. Whether you’ve played the first title or not if you’re into turn-based, strategic combat then this is one to check out.
STAR WARS Bounty Hunter is a competent port of a mediocre title. Aspyr has done its best to make the game look and run as well as it can while modernizing the controls. At $20 it will come down to how nostalgic you’re feeling for one of gaming’s biggest franchises’ more mediocre entries.
Sweep the Board is a fun party game that’ll hold you and your family slash friends’ attention for the night. If you don’t have any of that, you could always go online and make new ones that way. But I think you’ll get most of your mileage out of this game by being a fan of Demon Slayer.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a lot of fun if you engage with all of it. At first, I was flying through the main quest before I slowed down and explored every inch of each map. Once I made that change I went from enjoying my time to loving it. It’s not the tightest game out there, but it has a lot of great ideas that come together for a package well worth experience.
Nobody Wants to Die is an incredible experience. Engaging detective gameplay, an incredible soundtrack, and a fascinating noir-yarn come together to create one of my favorite games in a long time.
Magical Delicacy is a beautiful albeit tedious 2D Metroidvania. It’s fun is hampered by clunky platforming and resource management that get in the way of what I want to be—a witch that can cook, not a scavenger
Darkest Dungeon 2 is a beautiful, great-sounding, difficult, and addictive roguelike. If you’re into the genre then it’s an easy recommendation on whatever platform you prefer. It works great with a controller and can last 100+ hours if you want to see everything.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is experimental Capcom at its best. While some of the fights can teeter on feeling unfair the majority of the game is a glorious mix of hack-and-slash action with a heavy dose of tower defense. It’s launching directly into Game Pass and is well worth checking out for anyone looking for 14+ hours of a damned good time.
What a refreshing delight Flock is. Bright, bold and absolutely bursting with vibrant colour and the kind of charming quirkiness that constantly teases a smile; this is truly a world of creature comforts. It doesn't do a lot 'new', but what it does do, it does brilliantly. If you're an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, you should absolutely add this one to your download queue.
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is among the best games I’ve played and easily stands alongside the other greats in this genre. Have you been waiting to play Silksong for years and years? Well you’ll still be waiting, but this game is an absolute must play. And at a reported cost of only 20 USD, I recommend Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus to anyone and everyone even tangibly interested in metroidvanias. Move aside little Knight, it’s the Lotus’s turn in the spotlight.
But colour me impressed. When I think indie, I rarely think “open-world”, but BINGOBELL showed me that’s it’s possible to craft a great and ambitious adventure game without a large body count. KAKU: Ancient Seals is one of the best open-world indie games I’ve ever played and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for their fill of lush environments and challenging dungeoneering.
Neon White features incredible gameplay and some of the best “one more try” levels in recent memory. It’s so fun to play that it can’t be brought down by its poor story. It is worth a purchase or Game Pass download, especially if you’ve got some friends to compete with on the leaderboards
The Case of the Golden Idol is not a game for everyone, but I suspect many who miss the classic adventure and point-and-click games of yesteryear will find an enjoyable and satisfyingly tricky detective based puzzle game to tackle here. The plot thickens as a family yearning for power ‘battle’ over the Idol, and there’s a neat twist to the proceedings that I won’t spoil here. But I fear that many will struggle with the sheer patience required to play on controller, and while it all works just as well it can, it’s a case that many players may not want to solve in the end. And that’s a shame. Here’s hoping touch support on Cloud can step in!
Lifeless Moon takes on the challenge of describing the root of evil, taking to detail what the product of one’s environment is. And even though the game struggles to tell it, it’s a novel story set in the backdrop of space and time (and occasionally the pretty vista). If you can put up with weak platforming and light puzzle solving, you can knock this one out in an afternoon and have something to think about for the evening
It’s nice to see a Neptunia game (and particularly a Compile Heart title) make its way to Xbox platforms. I’ve always thought this series knew its audience and its audience know of it—you’ll know right away whether you like Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters’ video game-themed world and characters and designs. Just keep in mind that you’ll be putting with a fairly weak RPG trapped in a time period where an overclocked GameCube was the hottest gadget on the market and Hannah Montana once had a presence at E3.