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Crossfire X is possibly one of the most soulless multiplayer games I have played in a very long time. The lack of variety in maps and game modes, as well as the sheer lack of balance, will drive most players away within the first few hours. Crossfire X lacks enough meaningful content to keep the few players who might find this game interesting coming back. As the biggest AAA games such as Battlefield 2042 struggle to find the balance in delivering what fans want. Crossfire X almost knowingly commits every sin that many FPS fans have been complaining about in the multiplayer space for the past few years. In a month packed full of incredible games, I would not even recommend wasting time downloading Crossfire X nonetheless playing it.
I enjoyed this game and would recommend it to adventure game fans, especially for anyone who, like me, never played the original. But I wish they had either gone all in with the preservation and just added the audio-visual updates or gone for it and revamped the whole thing. Instead, we are left with a half-measure that does not live up to the fans’ hopes nor presents something new players will want to engage with. That said, I still hope to see more from the Williams. I remain a massive fan of their work and will always be grateful for their impact on me as a child.
The Invincible plays much like I would imagine the book feels. Its heady exploration of evolution, adaptation, and the nature of life wraps around the video game shell. The game drags on just a little too long. Ultimately, the game part of the equation just doesn’t do enough to make the experience fun to play. The ideas presented while compelling, fall apart in multiple of the game’s endings leaving me feeling baffled at some of the design decisions made. The Invincible feels like a palette cleanser of a game. It attempts to be literature in a marketplace surrounded by bombast. Somewhere along the line though, Starward Industries lost sight of the fact that interacting with the world has to be engaging and not just a canvas upon which to paint a story.
The finale of the campaign is undoubtedly one of the high points. A couple of near-end frantic and action packed segments reveal more twists and revelations than a rerun of a Jerry Springer episode. After the credits roll in Stranger of Paradise, you are treated to a fun endgame that has the potential to be entertaining, and even better, the game’s co-op feature allows you to buddy up with 2 of your pals for some friendly monster slaying. The problem is though, that getting to the finale may well prove too difficult for some. Not because of the game’s actual difficulty, but because of the string of huge issues that litter the game. The graphics, the characters, the dialogue, the inconsistency amongst levels and boss design. You could literally spin a roulette wheel with all of these things on it, and whichever one the needle lands on has the potential to make this game very tough to play through. Given the pedigree of both Final Fantasy and Team Ninja as developers, it is incredibly disappointing that this game fell so short of expectations. The combat is super fun throughout, and the story concludes very cleverly, but these things are dwarfed in comparison to all of the issues Stranger of Paradise presents us with.
In the end, Song of Iron gives players a beautiful world that is enriched with enchanting music and effects. But ultimately the game falls short. It is hampered by its controls in both combat and platforming which will likely frustrate many players. The story feels like an afterthought, and honestly had so much potential with the setting, but it misses the mark. The game could have benefited from the protagonist having actual lines of dialogue, or even dialogue choices. This would have lifted Song of Iron to another level. With all the criticism I have of this game, admittedly it certainly was a solid effort. I commend the developer for making such an ambitious title. I look forward to seeing what he is able to build on and improve with his next title.
For a developer’s maiden title, Dolmen is a really ambitious project. In some places, it works. The boss encounters are the high point and for Soulslike addicts, they alone are probably enough reason to check the game out. There are, however, some glaring issues that prevent this game from getting anywhere near the heights of a Dark Souls, or even a Nioh. Poor enemy and level design, lack of visual or audial atmosphere, and a story that doesn’t engage the player. The list goes on. On balance, the bad probably slightly outweighs the good. Too much emphasis was placed on difficulty, without ensuring there was enough meat on the bone in other areas of the game. However, for Soulslike fans, there is certainly enough here to warrant a look, especially at its launch price point. The raw difficulty, and the tough, engaging boss encounters, provide more than an ample challenge for those looking for their next fix in this post-Elden Ring world.
All things considered, Achilles: Legends Untold is by no means a bad game. It ticks a lot of the boxes you’d look for in a soulslike, with robust combat, a cool world to explore, and challenging bosses. The issue is the repetitive nature of the game. After a while, each dungeon will look the same. Each combat encounter will feel slow and methodical. While the handful of enemy types on offer will wear extremely thin. The game also suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. It isn’t quite sure if it wants to be a Diablo-style looter/ dungeon crawler, or an isometric soulslike. The result is it ends up being a little of both, without doing either particularly well. That being said, developer Darkpoint Games deserves praise for showing an impressive amount of affection for the source material. Fans of Ancient Greek mythology, as well as Diablo or soulslikes, could do a lot worse than checking this game out. Just don’t expect much innovation.
Ultimately the shift to real-time combat was a difficult transition that the game was unable to effectively make. For me, the simplistic systems do too little to provide longevity or replayability. However, if you have wanted to get into XCOM but couldn’t because you hate turn-based combat, this may be the game for you. The story, too, is worth your time, but as for me, my time with Aliens: Dark Descent is over.
Somewhere deep inside Redfall, there’s a great game with interesting concepts. However, a multitude of technical issues from dodgy AI to texture pop-in and FPS drops are keeping it from its potential. Despite these glaring issues, I did manage to find enjoyable moments in the New England town, and the game made use of the power fantasy that many looter games provide. However, the more I ventured into Redfall, the more fatigued I grew. The lack of stealth kill/knockout options also feels like a major misstep that diluted Arkane Austin’s signature immersive sim foundations. No doubt, Redfall will remain a blemish for the studio, and I hope they find their footing once again.
At every turn Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed heads the wrong way. It has a stylized art direction but lacks ambitious cosmetics. It has a story but it is merely a crumb within the multiplayer-first experience. Then there are the great mechanics paired with a lack of meaningful depth. As a whole, the game is content impoverished. The end result is not a game that feels like it is missing something, it feels like it is missing some of everything. If it were to grow and continue as a live service, the team has a lot to work with. There should be a dozen ghosts to play as, and they all could be from the movies. The cosmetics need to be expanded tenfold. Also, if there is nothing they can do in the way of adding more weapons due to the franchise’s limits, there should be classes like Medic and Engineer. Along with a complete re-balance of how playing as the ghost works. There is something here that is fun to play for a shot bit. However, all we are left with is hope that it can grow as a live service.
I look at Triangle Strategy as a game that does everything right that The Diofield Chronicle gets wrong. The story and characters aren’t inherently bad but are ultimately forgettable and uninteresting. The strategy gameplay is engaging and unique but fails to stick the landing. The visuals are pretty but simplistic and lack any sense of real identity. Not to mention the soundtrack and audio obscure good voice acting. At its current price of $59.99 USD, The Diofield Chronicle is difficult to recommend. Personally, I would wait for a sale and lower my expectations. There’s so much about this game that feels unfinished. I was surprised that it was installed from the disc on Xbox Series X and in the time that I played it, not once did the game require an update. To be honest, I think Square Enix simply got the game out and I’d be surprised if it received any improvements in the future.
Without a doubt, Whalefood Games, which impressively consists of just the creator Jonah Wallerstein, created a really fun, enjoyable game here. It is perfect for groups of friends to kick back and enjoy playing together while getting competitive and providing some real laughs along the way. While it definitely has a limited shelf life, your time spent with Kung Fu Kickball will be remembered fondly. You’ll no doubt keep it stored away for parties when you can prove you’re the best once again!
Ultra Age executes a very fun and engaging combat system with bosses that were unique and great to fight. However, introducing so many combat mechanics with its many swords and never using them during boss fights is a major letdown. The story was basic and the dynamic of Age and Helvis never grew over the journey in the many boxed-in levels. Thus, I can not recommend this game since the only enjoyment to be found is in its combat. But the game never felt boring, and it shows the clear ambitions that weren’t executed well by two indie studios. While I won’t remember the journey Age and Helvis went through in the years to come, I will remember the fun I had with its combat.
It is here where we run into the Destruction AllStars microtransaction problem. With this egregious practice in place, the game sure feels more like a live service free-to-play title than a once-$70 game. However, this may be PlayStation’s intention since Destruction AllStars is free to active PS Plus members until April. As of writing this, there is no way to purchase the game physically or digitally. So while Destruction AllStars has the potential to be greater in its post-launch life, it is going to be a steep hill drive up. The game looks and runs fantastic on Sony’s newest console, but that does not detract from the obvious shortcomings. A poor progression system and microtransactions are just surface-level problems.
Inertial Drift is a fun concept, but that's it.
With a story that didn’t grab me, repetitive gameplay, and some game-breaking bugs, Drake Hollow is really only left with its charm to lean on.
When it comes to the PSVR version of the game, at its present state, more than 20 days post-release, there are still too many problems for this to be a game we can recommend. With that, if you are a PC or Oculus user, After the Fall is a fun time with both friends and strangers. It is a shame there are so many problems because After the Fall could have been one of the best PSVR games to come out in 2021.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage is an experience tailored to those who remember the early days of the franchise fondly. Yet, it relies on the coattails of its founding games without evolving what made them great. Furthermore, this lack of innovation harms your time exploring beautiful parts of its scenery. Your time could be well spent when completing its story if Basim carried more weight and did not fall prey to a haphazard ending. Overall, the game is nothing more than a mediocre trip down memory lane while Ubisoft prepares for its next big entry.
The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a frustrating experience. On one hand, the game has a beautiful art style and graphics, an intriguing plot coupled with serviceable combat, and fun puzzle mechanics. But its technical issues and unguided Metroidvania design choices let it down immensely. The only mystery left to solve is what could have been had the game had better-streamlined design choices
Despite being utterly grotesque, Scorn’s visuals are great, and the sound design is a cut above. The puzzle-adventure gameplay is intuitively designed and is a great pairing. However, the vagueness of its design philosophy is often confusing, and I think the confusion outweighs the fun. Unfortunately, the creative choices the developers took with the story didn’t do it for me. While I can appreciate a show-don’t-tell approach, I think there needs to be some bespoke parameters. Solely relying on environmental storytelling is a cool idea in theory, and I appreciate Ebb Software seeing it through to the end, but ultimately it felt all for naught. As a result, this game is incredibly niche, and I think the audience for Scorn is really small. Everything in Scorn is clearly deliberate, so I can’t imagine the story and plot are any exception. However, I completely beat this game, rounding up every achievement on offer, and I have little to no idea what it was about. I don’t think it’s completely devoid of meaning, but I won’t be sticking around to uncover that for myself.