Unboxed's Reviews
Mercurysteam have taken what they learnt from Samus Returns and really upped the ante with the gameplay, Samus controls like butter, running jumping and sliding all other the place feels like a dream. A few years ago we called Samus Returns on 3DS the best 2D Metroid ever made and as good as that game is, Dread improves upon it in almost every sense of the word, hopefully, this is the start of a whole new era for Samus and the Metroid franchise even after a lengthy development.
If you want a story driven game that makes you question everything you know and think about yourself . If you want something with gameplay that isn’t too hard and that you can relax with, get this game. If you want something that narratively challenges you while respecting you as a person, then get this game. If you want a bang for your buck and one of the most underrated gaming experiences this year then please, for the love of god, get this damn game.
To celebrate Mario’s 35th Anniversary Nintendo has released a brand new All Stars Compilation, and unlike their 25th Anniversary it isn’t just slapping the SNES game onto a disc. The brand new 3D All Stars contains three of the biggest 3D Mario titles in Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and the original Super Mario Galaxy.
There’s much more to learn while playing Double Date. Refreshing on the basics and learning how to focus on each girl is easy enough. The challenge comes with the new ‘Stamina’ and ‘Baggage’ feature. And the changes don’t stop there. You now have several new lovely ladies to interact with. Each having twice the questions and convos than the first game.
At its core the gameplay is exactly the same as the original, but it’s all about presentation with this game probably being the best looking Pokemon game ever made, yes Im aware I just said I hadn’t played a Pokemon game since Gold and Silver, but I doubt anyone here will be defending Sword and Shield. The design of each track is absolutely breathtaking, with so many Pokemon to discover.
Playing through Skyward HD on Switch we felt less frustrations than we did 10 years ago, while there was nothing inherently wrong with the original game, we found ourselves breezing through everything at a much more efficient speed. We weren’t getting bogged down with Fi and her dry exposition and the temperamental Wii controls, Skyward Sword HD has taken a buffer to the original game and helped it finally spread it’s wings, anyone who felt frustrated with the controls, the characters or just the overall slog of the original could find themselves finally enjoying what really is a deserving entry into the Zelda series.
Quake is one of the biggest landmark titles in gaming history and this 25th Anniversary with all the features, options and even the ability to run mods, this is an amazing edition that truly respects Quake’s legacy
Even though it’s been almost a decade since it originally came out, The Stanley Parable keeps finding ways to surprise me…. and I hope it never stops.
Stray has got to be one of the most unique and heartfelt narratives I’ve played in a long while. As a former cat owner there was something truly heart-wrenching about playing this game and even if you’ve never owned a pet in your life, you would want to take our feline friend home with you.
You will find yourself coming back to the game over and over again, just to spend time with everybody and explore the islands. The lack of any kind of rush or failure allows for a serious relaxed approach that I can definitely appreciate at the moment. There are also some truly entertaining moments like catching lightning in a bottle during a storm, musical mini-games to help your plants grow or saving a giant serpent by driving a pickaxe into their skull.
While Bowser’s Fury is an impressive addition to 3D World, it will barely clock in any more than 6 hours of playthrough which in this reviewers opinion, really doesn’t justify double-dipping. I wouldn’t say 3D World is an inferior Mario title but it is absolutely standing in the shadows of its bigger bros.
While we have all been drooling over FF7’s shiny new remake, you should give a moment to appreciate Trials as well. A title that just last year was still only available in Japan has now, not only finally gotten localized but a full-blown Remake as well.
Accompanying the game is an absolutely stellar soundtrack that captures the atmosphere of a giant research facility perfectly, reminiscing of similar tensions in movies such as Alien. The cries and whimpering of terrified scientists cowering in a corner before making a satisfying leap from the shadows and throwing them around like an absolute ragdoll.
When you play A Short Hike to its fullest you receive a wholesome experience. This is a positive game with positive characters and positive metaphors that I will admit are a bit on the nose.
While there are certainly some complex sections, especially with Bonus Stages it is a real stretch to consider this game “hard”. We’ve gotten used to so many games hand holding us that we have become blind to any real challenge. Anything even considered hard is automatically paired with Souls or Cuphead. But anybody who is going to strive for full completion, you are certainly getting your money worth with each level having a “Twisted” version with its own set of gems to collect.
There isn’t much challenge or strategy with I Am Dead and honestly, there really doesn’t need to be. It’s more about the sights and the people we meet along the way, it goes to show that even after we’ve passed on we are never truly gone, our stories, our legacies will be remembered by the people around us, sometimes even for centuries. The design of the world is incredibly basic, with a simplistic vector style that doesn’t even have any shadows, but honestly, I don’t hold that against the game.
Age of Calamity seemingly fixes all those niggling little qualms that people had with Breath of the Wild, first and foremost there is no weapon degradation. It was without a doubt one of the most frustrating parts of the game, constantly having to find a new sword halfway through a battle. While you still collect numerous items, food and weaponry in Age of Calamity you really only address that between missions where you can sell or even fuse loose weapons together. Even frustrating enemies from the original game like Lynels have been essentially neutered here to the point that you can easily defeat them,a lot of aspects from Breath of the Wild have been brought over here including Flurry Rush, Paraglider, even the freaking Koroks.
Olija is a fun mystical little game that doesn’t overstay its welcome lasting only 6 or 7 hours at best, boss battles aren’t really that difficult even the final one felt way to simple. Really the only thing that will impede your gameplay is the game locking up, we were playing on the Switch and we found the game having moments of slowdown nearing the end to the point it crashed in the middle of a boss fight and even silently crashed during the final cutscene with the screen staying black and the music fading away.
Axiom Verge was a game so well crafted, that it honestly didn’t need a sequel, while a lot has indeed changed it still at its core feels like the original. It goes without saying If you were a fan of the original or Metroidvania in general, you should definitely check it out.
While the game promotes itself as Kirby's first foray into 3D, at this point it really isn't anything to celebrate with it now been over 25 years since Mario wowed everyone stepping into the new dimension. The big difference here is that Kirby plays exactly the same as he did in 2D and that is probably my biggest issue with the Forgotten Land, with its barriers, directional arrows and no real diverging paths except for some secrets, the 3D feels like an imposter or at the very least outdated.