XboxEra's Reviews
Overall Last Stop is a well crafted game by very talented independent developers which will keep players engaged for a couple of hours. A polished and well built experience. Sadly, the journey is definitely more interesting than the destination with this one.
Scarlet Nexus hits a lot of high notes in its lengthy double-story, spanning almost 50 hours of content. An exciting futuristic world, a surprising and great story, excellent combat, lovely artstyle. What’s not to love? Bandai Namco’s new IP is one of the most interesting JRPGs to come out in a long while, and while it’s certainly not perfect, we’re really looking forward to seeing more of this intriguing franchise in the future.
Cris Tales sets a high bar when describing itself as a love letter to some of the best JRPGs of all time, but indie studio Dreams Uncorporated manages to exceed expectations by delivering a charming game with unique and challenging combat mechanics and a gorgeous artstyle. The characters are interesting, and the ability to peer into their past and future makes you care even more for them – especially the protagonist and its allies, which will travel alongside you during the game’s 20-30 hours of gameplay.
This is a fast and (in a cartoon style) gloriously violent game. It looks great and has numerous levels of complexity and depth making it a challenging yet ultimately very satisfying experience. Newly available on Xbox Game Pass, I recommend that you give this gem a try.
I know on the Xbox platform at least there is always a “well I’ll wait for Game Pass” mentality for many, but this game deserves success. It is a remarkable achievement by a very small team, and I simply loved it.
With a solid combat system, pretty visuals, and good level design makes ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights a game I can suggest to just about anyone.
When I played through Streets of Rage 4 just over a year ago, I noticed something almost immediately. There were some Boss characters that felt just a little too...fleshed out to simply remain Bosses you fight in a scrolling beat 'em up. Not to mention two of them had been playable characters in previous entries of the series. Needless to say, when the Mr. X Nightmare DLC was announced a few months ago, my suspicions were confirmed and my excitement took over. Now it's finally here and I got to spend some time going through it all and I must say, I'm very impressed with what's on offer here, particularly at this price point.
‘Arise: A Simple Story’ is a well-designed Platform Puzzler with a very clever time manipulation mechanic. The game is very striking visually and the musical score picks you up and carries you along the way with it. The puzzles are not over-taxing but are challenging enough to keep you interested and create a nice, chill gaming experience. If you are looking for a platformer game that will take you on a bit of an emotional journey, you should check this out.
F1 2021 is not the game that will convince those unsatisfied of Codemasters’ approach to the pinnacle of motorsport, as most of the changes seen in this title are iterative. Braking Point, however, is almost worth the price of admission alone, despite feeling slightly undercooked in some aspects: the narrative, the presentation and tension are truly great, and Codemasters’ first attempt at delivering an actual story mode is worthy of praise. Also, a long list of quality-of-life changes and further customizations offered to players makes F1 2021 perhaps the most accessible and complete Formula 1 experience by Codemasters thus far. The jump to the new generation of consoles isn’t particularly noticeable, aside from the 120fps mode, but Electronic Arts’ long-running expertize in sports games is starting to show its fruits on Codemasters’ 13th attempt to bring Formula 1 to consoles, after the British studio’s acquisition by the American colossus. It’s an exciting Formula 1 season, and the future of the videogame version of the sport is in excellent hands.
The story is fantastic in this game. Do not investigate it beforehand and you will have one HELL of a time. Developer Team Salvato made something truly special. A game that elevates a genre in a way nothing really had before it, at least for me.
The Last Campfire is relatively easy to complete, and while the story is fairly surface-level when it comes to exploring meaning, loss, and frustration, it is easy for everyone to understand and that is good enough. The visuals are dark and the sun rarely strikes through, but its art style and music are cohesive in that they are pleasing to the eye and kept me interested until the end.
But ultimately, King of Seas succeeds in most of its goals. It offers an enjoyable top-down pirate ship experience, with an engaging battle system, pleasant worlds, an interesting RPG skilltree and a pleasant story. On paper, it doesn’t do anything innovative or new, and yet the end result is an original and fun experience with a clear identity, one that we hope the developers can expand upon with updates or a sequel.
As this is on Game Pass the only thing you’re spending extra is your time. If you have a few friends to play with there are worse ways to go about it, but if you’re looking at this game solo then I’d say it’s a hard pass, free or not.
In Conclusion, while the game is stylistically great with a setting that is a joy to immerse yourself in, it is let down by a story that builds to a point then goes off the rails at the end. If a deeper message is in there somewhere the finale makes it difficult to grasp but Backbone is a haunting experience all the same.
If the developers manage to increase the variety and fix the few shortcomings it has, we’re potentially looking at one of the multiplayer hits of the next few years. It’s a bit dangerously low on content for it to last, so they need to act quick to deliver. Ball’s on their court now!
Going back through the campaign for this review has reminded me of just how much I love this game, and I hope it inspires at least a few of you to finally give it a go, and with Game Pass Ultimate offering it up at no extra cost…. Why not?
The Wild at Heart, even with the few frustrations I had, was a fun adventure game. Its story is not horribly depressing but keeps a somber mood of the hardships the two kids and the people of the woods face, and the gameplay is easy to get into. It is an excellent Pikmin-like adventure game that I recommend to everyone, and as of this writing, is available on Game Pass. Its charming art and 2D JRPG-like animation alone is worth looking at.
If you’re looking for something that can last you hundreds of hours as you slowly and sometimes surely search through the wilderness and deliver much needed supplies then this is a Game Pass game that should be right up your alley.
For $40 at launch there is more than enough content here to satisfy anyone interested in the premise. If the thought of chopping off heads, picking them up, and running around with them as you scream like a maniac sounds good to you, then go seek help, that help being playing Chivalry 2 of course.
Update September 21st: The game is finally fixed on Xbox! After having to wait an extra two months for the same performance fix the PS5 received this game is infinitely better on console than it was at launch. Performance and aiming are both rather good now, after being completely broken for months. Thus I have updated my review for the game on our website and open critic to a 7.0