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Bastion is one of the strongest first efforts I’ve seen from an indie studio, easily standing out even amongst triple-A titles. While not perfect, this game has so many bright spots that it will definitely become an instant classic to whomever plays it. If you can tolerate the simplistic combat and linear gameplay, Bastion is definitely one to recommend for any fan looking for an intriguing story, noteworthy characters, and some of the best aesthetics and style around.
It’s safe to say Juggler Games hit their mark with My Memory of Us. I was thoroughly entertained throughout and even as a jaded adult who doesn’t like children, I was completely invested in what happened to the kids and the people around them every step of the way. It’s a bit short, taking less than five hours to finish, but even so I’d still pay the $18 asking price for it. What it may lack in replay value it makes up for in a charming, imaginative world and the struggle of two friends trying to stay together as outside forces seem destined to keep them apart.
It’s disheartening to see a game with a solid concept that badly needed more work before being released. With how exploitable the AI is, I wound up needing less than nine hours to finish Story Mode, four of those coming after discovering the “V” strategy. Even if the bugs were fixed, Ganbare! Super Strikers has some glaring problems in its game mechanics which lead to lopsided teams and unbalanced matches. The limited customization and lackluster Story Mode are the missed penalty shot that seals it for me. I do hope the developer keeps updating and adding onto what’s here as I did enjoy the core gameplay. However, for $10 I can’t in good faith recommend this in its current state.
All in all, I rather enjoyed Mega Man 11, and feel it was worth the long wait. But I have a proviso. I love pretty much everything about this game, but I think it proves Capcom has no more excuses to wait more than two years before the next one. They still know how to make a great Mega Man game, and they can plainly see there is still plenty of demand for them. For $29.99, fans can’t really go wrong with this. It isn’t perfect, and I feel the Double Gear system was a bit half-assed, but it does so many other things right that it’s hard to complain. If you’ve been waiting for a new Mega Man game, or just want a great platformer, you can’t go wrong. Nice to see Mighty No. 9 did one thing right.
This is some of the basic gameplay elements of Disgaea 1 Complete. This may seem a bit overwhelming to newcomers, but if you do the tutorials, you will be slaying your foes and making insane equipment in no time flat. If you enjoyed the original, I think this is well worth the upgrade for the new graphics and the fact that it includes all of the bonus content from the PSP version of the game. Etna mode is just freaking great! The fact that it is portable is just icing on an already delicious cake. It took me around 53 hours to complete the main story, but there are probably another 100 more if I want to do everything, making it well worth the $49.99 price tag. If you’ve been looking for a place to jump into the series, there’s no better place to start than here. It sets an example of how great strategy games could be. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of the newer entries, it’s still pure gold!
Overall, The Lion’s Song is a wonderful game that I highly recommend to anyone who might be interested in it. The stories are fun and all connect in the last chapter of the game, and I had a wonderful time playing it. Right now you can pick up the season pass for about $10, which isn’t bad for the 5 hours of gameplay that I got out of it. I think you’ll have a really good time with it, and I’m excited to check out what this developer has in store for the future!
Wandersong is a pleasant game for the most part, but knows to get serious when the situation calls for it. It makes good use of its fairly simple core mechanic of singing, with a nice variety of puzzles to solve as you progress. I like the various ways it uses music, as a way to communicate, for concerts, and as a tool to solve puzzles, as you meet and help the diverse cast of characters throughout the world. It’s available on both Switch and PC; I played the PC version for this review and the Switch version at PAX. I personally prefer mouse and keyboard, since I find the mouse easier for singing than the right stick, but both styles seem fine. The adventure is about 10 hours long, and is enjoyable throughout for $20 USD. Although completing the game unlocks a scene select function to go back and replay scenes, there’s not much to do beyond that. Even so, it’s a cute game with fun characters and well-designed puzzles, and I think fans of adventure games will find a lot to love with Wandersong.
Your mileage with Treadnauts will vary wildly, depending on how much you make use of multiplayer and how determined you are to unlock everything. From my experience, maxing out at level 30 took a little over 11 hours. While it requires a fair amount of time to complete, the single player Target Test mode loses its luster after the first couple dozen stages and devolves into a chore. If this is the kind of game you plan to regularly spring on unsuspecting friends or break out at get-togethers, the $10 price tag might just be worth it. Otherwise, waiting for a price drop, or a patch for some of the performance issues, is likely the way to go.
Despite my issues with the game, I mostly enjoyed Velocity 2X. I can respect FuturLab for taking a chance with a complex control scheme, even if it didn’t entirely work. Coupled with a interesting plot and captivating characters, I’d still recommend this for fans of both genres. For $19.99, you get at least 10 hours of gameplay, and tons of extra stuff you can unlock. Just don’t go into it expecting a standard SHMUP or platformer, cause in many ways this feels more like a puzzle game. That said, I am glad this indie finally made the Switch, and I’m eager to see what else Curve Digital and the team have up their sleeves next time.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a pure joy on every level. This game excels in every area that I feel like Western gaming completely fails. It balances amazing gameplay and storytelling seamlessly. This is why it’s so damn good. If you’ve never played a Yakuza game before, you can jump right in at this one with no problem. There is a huge optional story recap at the front of the game that will catch you up to speed. I spent about 30 hours with this one and there is still a ton of stuff to see and do. The bonus content here is crazy, from the Majima side story to the ability to play the 2-player arcade games straight from the main menus. That’s right folks, you and a friend can play Virtual On or Virtua Fighter 2 right from the main menu. This game is worth every penny of the $49.99 price tag and I would recommend this to anyone that loves a good story or open world games. If I could give this bad boy 6 out of 5 stars, I would!
Overall, it’s not like the game has any huge, glaring issues. At the same time, I don’t think this has much to offer people, especially if they really like card games. People that like card games tend to like things like building their own decks and thinking of different strategies, but there’s nothing like that here. It took me about 15 hours to beat, and costs $20. It’s not a bad game, it’s not a great game, it’s just mediocre. I could see this being appealing as a beginner’s card game for kids, or those that feel a bit intimidated by more complex card games at least.
The environments and especially their backgrounds are very nice to look at, and the story plus lots of lore and vague hints add tons of depth. However, it also creates an information overload problem for players. The first game had this issue too but not as much. I spent about 50 hours in the Eg-Lana ruins on this Indiana Jones-style adventure. La-Mulana 2 is available on Steam for $24.99. The game will also be coming to consoles, with physical editions in the plans, too. Can you survive the very deadly Eg-Lana ruins, or will they be your grave?
Trying to sum up everything about Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a tumultuous ordeal. Just know it’s an excellent strategy-RPG that is consistently engaging, challenging, and full of depth, vital for the game’s 30+ hour campaign and full $60 price point. Its full of genre-blending combat, likable characters, and potent storytelling that click well together. You don’t need any prior familiarity with the series to enjoy what’s going on. Despite a large learning curve, if you’re a strategy game greenhorn or no, Valkyria Chronicles 4 might just win the battle for your heart.
All in all Unavowed was a really fun experience that I’m planning on going through multiple times just to see how things play out. I’m currently on my second playthough and have a total of 9 hours in the game, which is really good for the $14.99 price tag. I would definitely recommend that anyone and everyone picks this game up. I had a blast and the story/character interactions genuinely brought tears to my eyes on a number of occasions, and made me laugh even more. It’s definitely a must play!
I end with mixed feelings for 2064: Read Only Memories INTEGRAL. On the one hand, I love the visual design for the game, and really grew to appreciate the character of Turing. That said, I feel all the other characters were hasty sketches instead of fully fleshed out characters. Combined with a gender discussion that usually feels like it’s condescending or attacking heterosexual characters, it’s hard to be fully enthused by things. I realize my opinion is only one side of the coin, and I know there are legitimate complaints by the LGBTQ community. Life can be difficult for everyone, especially a community that is often cruelly marginalized. That said, I feel there are much better ways to make your plight heard besides yelling at other people. For $20.64, you’ll get at least 10 hours of content and a compelling story, but it’s bogged down by some questionable decisions by the developers. I wish I could wholeheartedly recommend this for what it does well, but as it is, I feel it’s only targeting a very niche community of gamers. Here’s hoping future projects by MidBoss use more honey and less vinegar.
SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy does exactly what it sets out to do. It provides a fan service filled, over the top fighter anyone can pick up and play. This is pretty much what I expected this title to be from the day that they announced it. I thought the girls’ outfits were all outstanding and I really had a good time playing through the crazy story with each set of girls. I do think this one is a little light on content. A few more gameplay modes or some other extras wouldn’t have hurt this one a bit. If you are an SNK fan and you want to see some of the leading ladies in a very unusual environment, then this one is well worth the $49.99 price tag. I think casual fighting fans would have a great time with this one as well, since it is really easy just to pick up and play. In the end this may be for the casual fighting fan, but I still feel that it’s better than your average anime fighter!
I just have a really hard time recommending this. Even if you really like sim games like this, there’s so much better options out there. Even for a child, a lot of the game is so repetitive, and the game is so long that I don’t think it would hold their attention. For older folks looking for perhaps more robust games out there, I’d give this a hard pass. That’s especially considering the game is $60, which is far too much for a game this lacking. The game is pretty long too, probably about 30-40 hours, but it has such a paltry amount of content. There’s far better out there for far less money.
2018 has been a great year for retro-style exploratory platformers, as seen with Celeste and Dead Cells. The Messenger continues that trend with aplomb with smooth controls, great presentation, and plenty of challenging and exciting levels to explore. It’s much more fair than its inspirations, but you will still die a lot (my final count clocked in at well over 300 and I payed over 1000 gems). If you love classic gaming with new twists, be sure to spread the message that The Messenger is another indie keeper.
The game world doesn’t really come alive as much as it could. Side missions in particular start to become a matter of rinse and repeat, with some bizarrely sending you back to fight at a location that you just recently cleared out in a previous mission or side mission. There are enough places in the world that this shouldn’t be necessary. Defiance 2050 is essentially a remake of the original Defiance on a new engine, including the missions that were themed around the TV series that aired on the Syfy channel before it got cancelled. Defiance 2050 is available as a free-to-play game on Steam, and via Trion Worlds’ own launcher, called Glyph. There are of course in-app purchases as well. Do you have enough bravado to take on hellbugs, raiders, or even both at the same time to save the world?
In closing, I had a fantastic time with Old School Musical. It’s quirky, different, full of humor and charm. For $12.99 you’re getting a hell of a bargain, providing at least 10 hours of gameplay, and that’s without trying to get high scores on all the songs in Arcade mode. La Moutarde wasn’t on my radar before, but they certainly are now. If you own a Switch or game on Steam, Old School Musical is rhythm game you should not miss. Go help Tib and Rob save the day; you won’t regret it.