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Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a fantastic weekend game that can be completed in four to five hours. Lost Words provides an emotional experience that not only goes beyond the page, but beyond the game. This one is definitely worth your time, whether solo or playing along with your kid. This rousing coming-of-age adventure is wonderful for any kind of player looking for the next imaginative story to embark on.
Although an amazingly beautiful game with a great story, the lack of replay does let it down in the end. I would have liked to have more instances of going back and seeing what happens after the end or changing character story arcs through my actions. All that said, it was a touching and poignant experience that was well told and that is enough.
Supercross 4 is undoubtedly the Forza of the motocross world. It is an immaculate representation of this form of motorsport. However, its grueling riding mechanics and difficulty truly make you feel like a rookie when you begin. There are some great ways to upgrade your ride and express yourself with player and bike customizations. If you are patient and put in the effort the game is extremely rewarding knowing that you developed your skills to compete with the best. There are plenty of modes, challenges, and variety in the game to keep you busy. Yet, like any other grind, it gets repetitive and ends up feeling samey.
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.
The combat is fun but both Switch controllers were problematic. The gameplay isn’t repetitive because there are multiple very small gameplay loops. Olija is infrequently challenging (if at all). Yet it is a nice game to play between major AAA releases or 100 hour RPG’s. Olija is a great game to take out of your pocket and play in small stretches if you are on the road. Especially at the $15 price point. Unfortunately, there is so much coming out and so many games in all of our backlogs that it keeps it from really standing out. Olija will release on January 28th on Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
I could not help but feel that The Medium took inspiration from many beloved franchises before it. The camera angle style, notes and puzzles to keep the player focused, and music that makes your skin crawl all combine to make The Medium feel like a worthy newcomer in a genre with a long legacy. In an era where first-person perspective and jump scares with mediocre psychological horror reign, it is nice to see The Medium take a different approach while utilizing many of the psychological horror tactics of old and new age audio tricks. I cannot help but love the new psychologically induced horror game Bloober Team made The Medium.
If you were lucky enough to score a PS5 this holiday, Sackboy is a 3D audio showcase. If you can’t get enough of the PS5’s pack in-game Astro’s Playroom, Sackboy: A Big Adventure fills a platforming void Sony has been missing for years. While it does have some problems, these are issues most people will be able to get past. Even if it is resorting to buying the $90 version of the game to play as Sackboy Porter Bridges. Or never leaving the disc in your PS5 when you turn the console on. If you are looking for a family game to go with that new PS5, or are just wondering what happened to the platformers in Sony’s past, Sackboy is a must buy.
This is a major turning point in Destiny. A new subclass blueprint and a phenomenal new location make Beyond Light required playing for all Destiny fans. Centering the expansion around literal and emotional coldness paid off in spades. The Exo Stranger, easily the series’ most mysterious character, needed to happen at some point, and Beyond Light was that perfect moment. Even though Europa’s frozen moons don’t cover the glaring flaws, weather effects are great additions to Destiny. When we look back at Beyond Light in a year or two, we’ll see the groundwork for bigger features and story beats in this add-on.
After sinking in dozens of hours, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory became one of my favorites in the series. It is a perfect bookend to the Dark Seeker Saga storyline while teasing its next big step forward. While it is not the best stepping on point for newcomers, it makes a solid landing spot for veteran fans.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales as a sequel is a half-step from Marvel’s Spider-Man. The game is not trying to bring a fresh take on superhero open-worlds. Rather, it is refining the mechanics and shaping it around the true star of the game: Miles. Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a completely character-driven game that knocks it out of the park and some. Miles, his family, and friends, his neighborhood – all are standout parts of this personal coming-of-age story that triumphs the original game. Take into account the rich Hispanic and Harlem culture is seen throughout, and you have something truly unique.
Overall, Dirt 5 is a well-thought-out off-road package that is built upon a successful foundation. Satisfying driving, robust physics, and weather effects remain core to the experience and content is aplenty. The game’s playground mode is a wonderful addition that will help spark its players’ creative juices. While Dirt 5’s graphics and effects are impressive, it does have technical issues like pop-ins and weird audio bugs. A day-one patch and GPU driver optimization should address these issues. All in all, Dirt 5 continues the trend of Codemaster’s already impressive racing pedigree.
As flawed as Dynamax Adventures are, this add-on showcases so much of the future for Pokemon. Yes, Dynamax Adventures should be revisited, but it is still a great addition to the series. Vast open areas should be the standard for Pokemon games now, not just a great showpiece. On that point, bringing back Roaming Legendary Pokemon was the best way to highlight the Wild Areas’ value. You need to regularly change your team for Legendary Clues, so thank goodness you have universal PC access. Finally, letting the player choose which Legendary Pokemon they wanted was a wise design choice, reinforcing a good precedent for future Pokemon DLC.
Disc Room has its sharp edges. I find the story to be fun, imaginative, and clever. With that said, how the story is presented over a few short comic strips with no lines of spoken dialog or names is going to be divisive. Also, I think Disc Room’s difficulty is going to turn some people off. You really have to be patient, die a lot, and adapt. Players should not be bothered by giving up and moving to a different room before coming back. This could be a game you might want to stay away from if you smash controllers. However; there are three difficulty sliders that slow down the pace of the game, decrease the complexity of the goals, as well as the hazards.
Overall Star Wars: Squadrons struggles to find its identity. For a console gamer, it is a small spin-off of Battlefront with a great story and fun flight controls. Yet for a VR consumer, this is one of the biggest games of the year. Moreover, if we are talking about PSVR, this could be the most impressive game to come out all year on the platform. If you own VR on PC or console and enjoy Star Wars you have to pick this game up. The same can be said with flight sticks There is a fantastic story with unique game mechanics. Compounded with a high level of detail given to every aspect of the game. It is a fantastic all-around experience for even the most novice Star Wars fan.
As a new Sam player, I had a ton of fun in both the single-player and co-op modes. I spilled a lot of sweat reloading the last save-game many times until I barely made it through alive. Finally succeeding in killing all the waves of enemies gives you that thrill of accomplishment that many games strive for but few achieve. The soundtrack is one of the highlights of the game. It works with the action very well except for inconsistent timings. Graphics on the other hand feels outdated, and not even the high-res textures can save it from appearing disappointing.
Overall, the game is a complete modern-day experience of both original Tony Hawk games. Aided by remarkable visual improvements, multiplayer, and a park creator. Plus nearly all of the music you know and love is back. All with the feel of one of the greatest games ever made. The discounted price undersells what Vicarious Visions have accomplished here. If you are new to the series this is a great place to experience what the big deal is while not having your eyes hurt from the aged visuals. If Tony Hawk was a part of your youth, this is a must-own game.
At launch, the game delivers on its commitment to provide a modern JRPG experience. Combat, exploration, and its RPG DNA all work together to provide the AAA quality found in full-priced games, but for free. Despite microtransactions and a gacha structure, my core game experience felt rewarding and enjoyable. In fact, the microtransactions were no more than an afterthought for me. Genshin Impact is a standout game you do not want to miss.
Overall, Marvel’s Avengers is a good game that has some technical problems.
Overall, Peril on Gorgon is enjoyable. At 8 hours, this is a proportionally acceptable length for an Outer Worlds add-on. All of the writing and characters that captured our imagination last year are still here.
Inertial Drift is a fun concept, but that's it.