DayOne's Reviews
In today’s far faster moving market it feels a lot harder to have those moments, and playing through MONOWAVE ended up being genuinely nostalgic for a very different time. While not perfect, it is a beautifully creative debut full of fresh ideas and gorgeous visuals, and it is a fantastic package for any puzzle platformer fan out there.
As a budget title of just £15.99 I have to give WheelMates some credit. It comes with a Friend’s Pass, and while it didn’t blow either myself or my co-op partner away, we did have fun. While it’s got a few issues, there were plenty of collectibles to go back and find, so it’s certainly a decent amount of bang for your buck and a reasonably entertaining time with a friend. It’s just a shame there wasn’t more done to take advantage of WheelMates unique, twitchy RC-Car setup, because on that front, the developers have done a great job. Fingers crossed they take the concept and have another stab at it.
For those with the patience to overlook some rather dated gameplay moments, The Blood of Dawnwalker offers glimpses of a masterpiece, and I am very excited to see what Rebel Wolves have in store for us in the future.
So, as of today, Bus Simulator 27 has all the goods on paper, and if developer Simteract manage to iterate on it via regular updates and tweaks, it has all the chances of becoming another hit, just like Bus Simulator 21 before it. Few games feature the depth and variety of the latest entry in the series, now it’s a matter of fixing a series of issues that currently limit its potential. I plan to revisit the game in the future, and hopefully it will live up to its incredible potential with time.
The excellent foundations of the Hot Wheels Unleashed games have been carried over into a very fun open world racer experience, one that manages to shine during its chill exploration moments and in the midst of high-octane races on plastic tracks suspended above the cities you can explore.
If this review reads a little negatively, it is more down to setting a fair expectation to the sacrifices made to get Elden Ring onto the Nintendo Switch 2 to start with. Whether those ends justify the means is, ultimately, down to the buyer. What I can say is this; Elden Ring is intact on Switch 2, perhaps closer to the older days of FromSoftware releases than the new on the technical side, but the best way to play on a handheld and still an excellent videogame for those who haven’t dived in yet on other consoles. A tarnished epic, but an epic nonetheless.
For all our early reservations, by the time the credits rolled, we were very glad we’d stuck with it. Orbitals is a charming, visually striking co-op adventure. It takes a while to get off the ground, but when it does, it really sticks the landing.
It’s a tough one to answer, especially in a genre where a pattern of dead match queues after short-term success is the common narrative. I can’t speak on that future, but what I can say is right now Halloween needs work: on its match pacing, its learning curve, its gameplay mechanics, and crucially…its bevy of technical issues. There remains potential for a solid multiplayer horror title here, and the IP and visuals might be enough to convince some, but as of right now, Halloween is not an easy title to recommend to all but die-hard fans of the genre.
If you’re a fan of killing demons and the like as an angelic force of destruction, then Crimson Moon is easily worth the $19.99 USD asking price. And hell, even if you’re not, it might still be worth it just to have another fun co-op game to play with friends.
Ultimately, Speedrunners 2: King of Speed is more excellent gameplay buried beneath a collection of unnecessary additions. The classic competitive platforming is still fantastic, and if all you want is more Speedrunners but prettier, then there is absolutely fun to be had here. It’s just a shame that so much of the new content feels like it distracts from, rather than improves upon, what made the original such a brilliant little multiplayer game in the first place.
Blood Dungeon asks the player for a little more patience then I expected. Its biggest weakness is the slow speed at which runs can build towards that wonderful bullet-heaven feeling of becoming hilariously overpowered. With some genuinely great platforming, and a decent number of unlocks, it eventually delivers a decent amount of fun. I just wish it got there a little quicker.
Marsupilami 2 is a solid, packed little platformer that’s fast-paced just enough for everyone to get in on the fun. An easy recommendation for the 2D platforming enthusiast and family looking to do more than just the odd obby. ∎
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a brilliant reboot of the long-running franchise, with only a lack of enemy/boss variety holding it back from greatness.
My early impression of Serious Sam: Shatterverse was not all that positive – felt like a “Serious Sam at home” that lost the uniqueness of the original games, while also simplifying the game formula, losing the wacky easter eggs and more. And yet, despite some repetition of the stages, a couple hours in the game truly shines, thanks to the vast array of stage modifiers, the depth of the loot game and class builds, and the intensity of the gameplay on higher difficulties, making for quite the exhilarating FPS roguelite experience – especially in co-op. While we wait for the next mainline Serious Sam, Shatterverse shall keep us busy with its intense and highly replayable roguelite scenarios.
If you’re looking for a different breed of survivors-like, do give Yet Another Zombie Survivors a chance. Its gory undead theme and squad-based gameplay make for a fun and unique twist on the genre, with more than enough content and gameplay variations to last quite some hours. It doesn’t have the obscene amount of content of Vampire Survivors, nor the extreme depth of Soulstone Survivors, and and form of co-op or multiplayer, local or online, is also missing. Still, this is one bullet heaven not to miss for fans of the genre!
that leaves us with a mechanically simple, yet fairly unique bullet heaven title, one carried by interesting cartoony visual humor and a few interesting twists on the genre. Ground Zero Hero doesn’t quite have the depth or variety of the genre’s bests, but for a handful of hours of radioactive fun I can absolutely recommend it to fans of survivors-like games.
You’ll likely be picking this up for METAL GEAR SOLID 4, its long-overdue port finally making the rounds with this latest Master Collection entry. But don’t sleep on Peace Walker either—both are incredibly fun games and shine like beautiful lights even after twenty whole years, thanks to this great port. ∎
If you haven't played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, this is the perfect time to jump in. Version 2.0 is a massive upgrade. The expansion is seamlessly blended into the progression of the story, and it is fantastic.
Mortal Shell II is a massive glow-up over the first game. It hits every note that I am looking for in a Soulslike, with enough variety and unique ideas to make it a true stand-out.
The Sinking City 2 is an exceptional videogame, and one that deserves its place amongst the all-time great videogame sequels.