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The snappy and fluid controls of Destiny 2 are the standout features and work like a dream. It elevates the game to a point where the action is never overwhelming enough to make you want to throw your controller down the nearest black hole. Even if you prefer playing solo, there are hours upon hours of content for you to enjoy. The game treads a line that keeps the game challenging yet accessible, so players of any skill can join in, and while Destiny 2 can feel like a Halo knock off at times, Bungie certainly delivers a AAA experience at a price that’s hard to complain about.
What Lies in the Multiverse is a playful and meandering adventure through time and space that manages to offer a real sense of drama alongside its simple puzzle-platformer mechanics. Shifting between universes to plot your route through each level is fun (if not a little easy), but there’s plenty of interesting tweaks to the gameplay to keep you interested throughout. The enjoyable story, while a little scattershot in tone, is carried by a quirky cast of characters that help make What Lies in the Multiverse an entertaining way to wile away an afternoon or two.
It’s been a long time since I played an RPG that I enjoyed as much as The Cruel King and the Great Hero. The mix of charming storybook visuals, memorable characters and sweet plotline is simply wonderful. In combination with a rapid-fire combat system and some quirky (if never groundbreaking) mechanics, and a host of interesting enemies, this was an experience that pulled me along from start to finish and I had me smiling all the way - I’d recommend it in a heartbeat.
Egglia: Rebirth is a fun, if repetitive, turn-based JRPG that wears it’s mobile origins with pride. With some pretty graphics, catchy soundtrack and simple mechanics, it’s easy to lose an enjoyable hour or so here and there between more substantial games. Had the dungeons had less of a cookie cutter feel and shown some gameplay (rather than just aesthetic) differences, it could have been a great little game, but the repetition turns things stale long before you’re finished. That said, I’d still recommend this to players who are fans of a mobile RPG and looking to transition to console with something familiar, or to younger fans who are dipping their toes into RPGs for the first time.
Overall, I would say that Pokémon Legends Arceus is a really enjoyable game; one with a lot of flaws, but they’re flaws that can be ignored or are mitigated by the fact that you spend the vast majority of your time not interacting with those parts of the game. If you stick to exploring, catching and battling you are going to have a fantastic time, unless you have a fetish for reading long drawn-out walls of text about some random person’s ramblings. Bearing in mind that you read this review, you must have some liking for it, so maybe it won’t be so bad after all.
I desperately wanted to like The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna; from the opening of the game my senses were firing from the visual treat on my eyes, and when the narrator started telling the story, I could feel the beginnings of an exciting tale. But it wasn’t long before the sheen from such a powerful first impression began to fade. The story tries to be cohesive, but it quickly descends into a dark tale revolving ostracisation and finally slides into something so far-fetched it completely ruins the experience.
The Letter is a scary, if somewhat predictable affair riffing heavily from Japanese horror films such as Ringu and The Grudge. The plot starts off strong but by the end game, when you’ve heard the same lines of dialogue seven times, I ended up wishing death upon all of the characters as I skipped through the same dinner party, although the final conclusion wasn’t one I was expecting. Once the main story has concluded there is still a large amount of game left to explore and branching story options to discover, which does add more context to the whole experience and gives the game a tonne of replayability - it’s just a shame that the visuals and scripting hold it back from being a truly great experience.
The Company Man is a short lived rage against the machine that is funnier than it is fun, if that makes any sense. I did absolutely enjoy my time with the game, and Forust’s beautiful cartoon styling that has made an accurate mockery out of big corporations is incredibly well thought out. But while hacking through familiar lackeys and poking fun at business tropes is uproariously enjoyable, beneath a veneer of well crafted jokes is only some pretty easy platforming and combat, and when coupled with a run time that’s shorter than some appraisal meetings, the gameplay ultimately keeps the overall experience from breaking the glass ceiling.
Martha is Dead isn’t a horror game in the sense that ghosts will try to jump scare you around every corner, but the atmosphere LKA have created certainly made me think that might happen, and after realising that Giulia isn’t as a reliable narrator that you think, the game twists and turns in a way I simply didn’t expect. The visuals are stunning and are a great showcase for the new generation of consoles, and when they are paired with an authentic soundtrack, it really felt as if I was in Italy in the 40s. There are moments in this beautifully dark video game that forced me to change the direction of my playthrough and I am already excited to go back and explore the additional routes, especially once those bugs have been flattened out.
You might call me old before my time, but for me Word Forward is an engaging puzzle game that really tests mental capacity. Despite how tough it gets, I enjoyed what can only be described as an oddly specific form of torture (particularly once I clicked the music off). By implementing a chess-level of strategy, it elevates the title to one that stands out in the overcrowded casual-puzzle game space. Word Forward makes no bones about being difficult; even with the power ups it will be a struggle to complete all of the challenges, that is unless you either take a serious amount of time carefully planning each move, or are a seasoned enigmatologist. Either way, I’d say it’s worth it to try.
Overall Headland on the Switch sits at a slightly odd place. It’s a budget game but at too high a price, with very basic graphics but some pleasantly surprising depth to the combat and character build options. It’s certainly kid friendly, and good training wheels for someone looking to move onto challenging fare, but hard to recommend on this platform when it’s available elsewhere at far better value for money.
A wonderfully simple game with just enough complexity to make it incredibly addictive, SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash is a nostalgic blast from the past that’s as fun to play today as it was 20 years ago. The playful art style and masterful pixel art really bring your favourite characters to life, and completionists will get a tonne of playtime out of the ‘collect them all’ aspect of the game. With some slightly better sound, a few modern quality of life improvements, and some online features, this game
If Impious Pumpkins was a mobile game that you could poke at for 5 minutes while you're waiting for a bus then it would be a nice little distraction. At the time of writing however, it's a Steam only release and I can't recommend it as anything more than an excuse to turn off your brain for a few hours.
Monark treads the fine line between a good RPG and a truly great one. I enjoyed that it was a stripped back affair and that I only had the story to focus on instead of thousands of pointless side quests. The story, while dark, was enjoyable, particularly in the second half of the game. Some of the investigative portions really tested my mettle and while there is a grind to keep up with the difficulty curve, this was well balanced and always fair. If the early stages of hunting Pactbearers wasn’t the same process in a different environment, Monark would be a truly great game. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty good RPG, but the flaws are noticeable, and it runs the risk of putting people off.
From the beautiful visual style and catchy music to the throwback level design and tight mechanics, Grapple Dog is a blast all around. The gameplay is easy enough to pick up but difficult enough to feel rewarding, and the light-heartedly story and adorable characters round out the experience really nicely. Having watched Grapple Dog swing around social media for a long while, it’s incredibly fulfilling for me as a reviewer to finally get my hands on it and enjoy it so much - I can only imagine the sense of achievement that the Medallion Games team are feeling at creating such a wonderful experience.
All-in-all, Gang Beasts is a fun multiplayer romp that’s best enjoyed with a few friends after a couple of beers, but doesn’t hold up nearly as well once you try to take the party online. The derpy characters, intentionally awkward controls, and daft physics will bring plenty of laughs in a room full of pals, but become more frustrating as a solo experience. Ultimately, once you’ve played a few rounds in each mode there isn’t an awful lot of meat on the bone; Gang Beasts is an admittedly tasty morsel, it just carries the price tag of a prime cut.
Cake Invaders was a rather fun time, and in the couple of hours I’ve put into it so far, blasting wave after wave of enemies didn’t get as stale as I thought it would. The graphics are cute, the music is just repetitive enough to be annoying, yet forgettable, and the price point is absolutely spot on for the amount of game you are getting. A multiplayer mode would have been nice, but the charm, accessibility, and simplicity of Cake Invaders meant I just wanted to try to beat my own score and is a true guilty pleasure in the making.
Despite all of the shortcomings, Nexomon is a fun video game to play, especially factoring in the cost of the game. Even at it's full price, there is a compact RPG that you can play and enjoy the visuals and story. There is a tough grind that feels like a slog early on, but this isn’t a game that offers more than 30 hours of gameplay, nor does it pretend to. The simplicity of the gameplay means that even after an extended break away from playing, which is probably caused by using the stock of twenty Nexotraps, you’re always able to pick up where you left off with relative ease.
Broken Age is a shining example of the point-and click adventure genre, and is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The gameplay delivers on a tried and tested recipe and while it doesn't take any risks, the rewards are in the story, visuals and voice-acting. The pastel-style imagery and playful characters are truly memorable, and the stellar voice-cast deliver a script full of laugh-out-loud moments. Another Tim Schafer classic.
Ultimately The Lightbringer isn’t a bad game, it’s just not a particularly noteworthy or interesting one. If retro-styled puzzle-platformers are your thing, and you don’t really care about story beyond the most superficial level, then for the price you could certainly do worse, though if it’s a meatier experience that you’re looking for you may want to look instead to some of the titles that provided its inspiration.