XboxEra's Reviews
Immortals of Aveum is a fantastic game that I’d recommend to just about anyone, especially those hungry for a different take on some familiar formulas.
Madden NFL 24 is made for the returning fans. One title in a series that will continue to go for many years to come. You can see it in the features they've added, such as returning modes and iterative improvements on the presentation and gameplay mechanics. But technical issues compounded with an unintuitive user experience and unhelpful tutorials make it difficult for someone new to the sport to really sink their teeth into American Football. Still, the core gameplay is solid and fun to play—I just wish it were easier to get to.
The game is fantastic in every way. Excellent gameplay, nice graphics, great sound, and a ton of variety in its objectives mean this absolute gem is one you should look into no matter when you’re reading this review.
With a strong control scheme and physics alongside a solid variety of content, Marble It Up! Ultra is a fantastic addition to the arcade slash platforming-lovers library.
Atlas Fallen is close to being damned good. It is let down by a lack of variety in enemy encounters, poor side quests, and dreadful writing. Still, the combat quickly becomes damned fun and with the option of co-op, it’s well worth checking out if you want some God of Crackdown-style action platforming adventures.
Atomic Heart is a good game, but this DLC is an unsatisfying follow-up to that story. It removes the surprising depth of both the characters and gameplay and replaces it with a linear mess that rarely resembles the far superior original title.
Adore offers good ideas, trying to combine ARPG with monster collection, but ultimately doesn't play them as well as I'd hoped especially as a roguelike. Still, there are a few reasons to like this game, just not enough to 'Adore' it.
A fun and cheap (only about 5 bucks) little top-down indie bullet heaven roguelike bonanza, but mainly because this formula doesn't need anything fancy to work and be fun. But with even consoles having far better alternatives already, I can only recommend this one to hardcore fans of the genre who already grinded the hell out of Vampire Survivors, Army of Ruin and so on.
World of Solitaire is one of the best videogame versions on modern consoles of 5 famous solitaire games, and at an inviting price around 10 bucks, it's definitely worth playing for fans of the genre. A lot of cool features extend its longevity, but perhaps allowing more customization of the rules, more actual gameplay variety and some extra quality-of-life changes would have made it a truly unmissable experience for card fans.
Overall I’d argue this is probably the best Double Dragon game yet. It does just enough to modernise the franchise without straying from the path well traveled and alienating fans of the franchise.
Remnant II tickles greatness but falls short due to a few design choices. It is gorgeous, plays incredibly well, and should be one of the year’s best releases. I’m not sure if my issues with the game can be easily patched out, but I hope the devs at Gunfire Games give this one the same love the first game received over time.
Cross Tails is a solid strategy title with strong mechanics and plenty of user choice when it comes to unit customisation along with pleasant visuals and music. Despite the small map sizes, the enemy units provide a good challenge that even some lifelong SRPG developers struggle to accomplish. It’s a ‘thumbs up’ from me.
Maquette is a short, impactful experience. Through clever use of its puzzle mechanics, it forces you to think in ways only the best of the genre tend to do. While the story and writing aren’t as good as the other parts of the title it is still an easy recommendation for anyone to check out for a night or two through Game Pass.
Exoprimal is a solid foundation. What is here now will be fun for a month or two, and Capcom will need to show that they can back up what sounds like a solid live service plan. It is available for $60 or on Game Pass for both console and PC. Solo or with friends it is a hell of a lot of fun, and an easy recommendation to at least give it a try.
But really, Atelier Marie Remake is a fun game. The clock system keeps you on your toes, making you plan out your days, and the town of Salburg always has something to surprise you. An easy recommendation for the systems-driven or RPG player.
Whilst looking nice, the game is overly complex and pretty boring. If you don’t care about the story, characters, mythology, or plot branches which are on display from the start of each act, this soon becomes a slog to play through.
Killer Instinct is a good use of your gaming time. It is well-written, nicely voice-acted, fairly short, and can be seriously creepy at times. Fans of slasher films will have a blast playing this. While I think it would probably be best experienced in VR, it is worth experiencing on a console.
Perhaps the most important game ever gets potentially perfect DLC?!?!
With beautiful visuals and expertly crafted levels alongside a dash of simple but intuitive gameplay, NeverAwake is a fantastic twin-stick shooter and one I can recommend to just about anyone. And lemme tell you, I haven’t quite liked an on-rails shooter in quite a while. This one is the real deal.
AEW: Fight Forever rekindles the flame of the classic N64 wrestling titles. Featuring a fantastic mix of nostalgia and new it is only let down on occasion by budget and scope constraints. I hope this is the start of a new, long-running series that takes this excellent foundation and adds more variety on top of it for years to come.