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If you enjoy pulp horror, you’ll have a lot of fun with Mothmen 1966. I certainly did. It’s a sharp, well-crafted package that nails the style and aesthetic. Mothmen 1966 doesn’t have a lot of depth or nuance, which may not be to everyone’s taste, but this is very much an intentional choice. And if you’re unfamiliar with pulp, Mothmen 1966 is short and accessible: a great introduction that’s worth giving a shot.
Featuring a vibrant animal hospital where the staff are full of zest and trained to tackle a myriad of ailments, Pups & Purrs: Animal Hospital is a casual vet sim that is not just educational for younger players but entertaining for everyone. Most of the medical information presented is nothing new to me, yet that did not stop me from having plenty of fun, laughing, and smiling a lot throughout my 25 hours with the game. There is also something relaxing about playing mini-game after mini-game in an environment filled with bright pastel colors, pleasing chibi 3D character models, festive music, and realistic sound effects. And although things easily feel repetitive as the short main and side stories begin to wrap up, the healing effect I felt upon seeing the healed pets’ smiling faces hardly gets stale. Thus, no matter your age, if you love cute things, are interested in veterinary work, and enjoy playing casual mini-games, then Pups & Purrs: Animal Hospital could be a nice fit for you.
Final Vendetta is a brilliant time capsule of an era currently making a comeback. While it doesn't exactly move the needle in innovation, it does provide fans of the genre a much-needed booster of brawling fun. Deliciously 90s in all the right areas, this is certainly one for the retro enthusiasts who like a bit of a challenge when they roam the mean streets dishing out some justice.
I do not doubt that Remote Life will be a marmite-style title. It’ll have its fans and its haters. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a game I enjoyed that much, but I can appreciate what the developer tried to do.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is one of the best Warriors games available. It implements many of the best features from other Warriors titles, adds in an interesting story told through cut scenes, and backs it up with a ton of systems to grow and customize your characters.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is a game for and by series fans, but also doubles up as one of the most fun beat 'em ups around. It even edges out mighty titles like Streets of Rage 4 and Scott Pilgrim with its intuitive controls and 6-player multiplayer. To put it into perspective, I am a fan of the Turtles but haven't followed them since I was a child. From start to finish, I was grinning from ear to ear as nostalgia washed over me and my love of beat 'em ups was catered to with its addictive gameplay. While it's more of an essential purchase for fans of the Ninja Turtles and provides long-time fans with references and nostalgia by the boatload, there is enough fun to be had here to not only justify its price tag but make it feel like that feel-good game of the summer. It's one where you can sit down either by yourself or with friends and really have a great time every time you play.
While it hits a few snags, Sonic Origins is a compilation that runs with absolute confidence in itself. Smooth gameplay and smart new features make for the best ways to experience each of these games. Sonic might be 31 years old, but with this collection, it looks like he hasn’t aged a day.
Neon White is slick, exciting, addictive, and most of all, exhilarating fun. Strap on your belts, and get ready to race through heaven and ice some demons because this is one you won’t want to miss.
Though at times it plays things too closely to the original game for its own good, that’s in testament to how rock solid it was to begin with. Even 35 years after the fact, this game is still unlike anything else you’ll find in the bullet hell genre. While the restrictions to multiplayer hold back its fullest potential, Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined is otherwise the golden standard for how to do remakes.
Biomotor Unitron is yet another curiosity in the NeoGeo Pocket Color library much like Card Fighters’ Clash and Big Bang Pro Wrestling. Fortunately, it falls in the more playable and enjoyable court of the former than the latter, which while unique and nice-looking didn’t play too well. If you’re a fan of mechs, don’t want to spend too much, and have 10 hours spare, then you can’t do much better than Biomotor Unitron.
While minor storytelling and other issues persist, I had a great time playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It’s a story of friendship, family, and betrayal with constant twists and turns, set in an intriguing world. It’s all set in a city with tons to do, so it never gets old – or if it does, then you can just hop on a go-kart or go to the arcade for a while.
Solid fun gameplay, outstanding performance, and those timeless Nintendo visuals make Mario Strikers: Battle League Football yet another fun Nintendo Switch exclusive title that can convert the masses to pick up and play sports. Even the ones like myself that detest the source game it comes from!
Soda Crisis serves up a sugary, refreshing can of good old arcade-style fun. Whether you’re in cola withdraw rage or just want to blast baddies and cause chaos, Soda Crisis goes down sweet and satisfying.
You don’t see puzzle games that are as ambitious and well-executed as Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 very often. While not every single idea it offers fully sticks the landing, the broad majority of it vastly outclasses the majority of games that are like it. Puyo and Tetris have been around for a long time, and if you want the best of both worlds, look no further.
It's hard to say that Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising isn't worth the small asking price of £12.99 when it feels more like an indie Metroidvania than a taster of what's to come in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising - at least from a world-building aspect. On the other hand, I just didn't find too much of the game enjoyable. It mostly boils down to inane tasks held together with weak combat and shallow exploration, along with very light city-building aspects. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising manages to land firmly as a middle-of-the-road title for me. While not a horrible game by any standard, it just did nothing to convert me to its cause. Unless you're extremely hyped for the main event, it might be worth picking up on a sale out of curiosity at best.
Salt and Sacrifice does have room for improvement. That said, the things I disliked about the game are far outweighed by the swaths of things this game gets right. I was hooked from the word “Go!” and even though I’ve finished the game, I’m still hooked. There’s so much to experiment with, so many more hunts to carry out and that doesn’t even factor in the multiplayer! After every sitting with this game, I found myself wanting more. Surely that’s the best endorsement a game could receive? When you stop playing, but you don’t really want to. When the credits roll, but you really wish they weren’t. Salt and Sacrifice is a fantastic title with an infectious gameplay loop that makes it hard to put down, but easy to recommend.
Touken Ranbu Warriors might be a surprising entry to the Warriors franchise, but it’s a welcome addition. I’m not sure that it’ll be a hit due to its niche appeal and unusual targeting, but there’s plenty of fun to be had here.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an interesting time capsule from an era that wasn't actually a long time ago but feels like forever. It's a fun 8-hour romp as long as you turn your mind off and expect a somewhat budget feeling PS2 era title. Visually and in its gameplay it has started to show its age. It's a shame that the 360/PS3 version didn't make the jump. I feel these stand up to today's standards a little better than its Frankenstein of a baby brother. It's not got the legacy of Jedi Knight and it's not in the same league as Jedi Fallen Order, but there is still a decent bit of budget fun that can be found here. If nothing else, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is still miles better than its rushed-out sequel!
Cotton Fantasy is frankly my favorite Cute 'em Up I've played in years. The different character playstyles caught me off guard and I fell in love with the title so quickly. In the gameplay department, it does very little long and sets the standard of the series for the most part. If it took the omissions from Cotton Reboot for a potential sequel we could be looking at a G.O.A.T contender. Sadly the visuals do let the overall package down and I feel that may have done some damage to the stage designs. It's not enough to knock the title down but is something that could be easily addressed in a future title in the series. This Cotton anniversary stretch has been great and what better way to cap it all off with the best gameplay the franchise has seen? The only thing sweeter than Willows it seems is Cotton Fantasy!
Maglam Lord is a game I really want to like. It has strong aesthetics, a cute premise, and a deep weapon customization system. It’s the elements around them that I’m not that fond of. A good JRPG needs a good story to encourage you to see it through to the end, but its plot and characters are sadly not that great. The camera issues during combat also didn't help matters much. Don't get me wrong, this game isn't a poor showing and I’m sure there’s someone out there who will gel with this title and have a great time, but I can’t say I’m among them.