Starbit's Reviews
Players can perform elaborate tricks and moves, all in an atmosphere that doesn't go heavy on pressure or stress, and they are relatively easy to pull off thanks to simple and accessible controls. And yet, The Ramp could have been more than that, it could have more tricks to perform, more arenas to discover, perhaps a bigger or longer challenge, but other than something for players looking specifically for a simple, unassuming experience, there's not much more The Ramp has to offer.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
What Robo Wars does not manage, however, is to overcome the sense of repetitiveness that starts setting in not long after the beginning, with the players sooner or later feeling less motivated to go on. In this regard, Robo Wars does not stand above its fighting game counterparts.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
AEW Fight Forever marks the premiere of this wrestling promotion on console games and if that means Fight Forever needs to cause a great impression, the reality is this game falls below expectations in most ways. Its career mode is competent and enjoyable, but there is an unexplainable lack of high profile wrestlers on this rather expensive release, and many of its DLC inclusions should have been a part of the initial game. There's also a lack of variety and match types that won't help AEF Fight Forever make a name for itself, and the game's unimpressive visual work leaves a lot to be desired.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The game features intuitive gameplay mechanics and a charming self-deprecating humour that mocks the genre's most common clichés. That does not suffice, however, as One True Hero is unfortunately affected by a series of flaws and execution problems with regards to its graphics and overall experience, as well as by an uninspired level design. Perhaps a future update can correct its most pressing issues but as it is, One True Hero is a game with good ideas tarnished by a frustrating execution.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
As an action-packed experience, OctaFight does a good job, even if its heavily pixellated art style can make things confusing sometimes. Where OctaFight loses its appeal is in its limited format - the only way to play this game is in local multiplayer, with no single player or online multiplayer included. Not only this makes options very narrow for many players, it's also impossible to understand in the context of reinforcing public health measures against the pandemic.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Darksiders III gets its shot on the Nintendo Switch, in a conversion work that includes the whole content of the original, now with the added advantage of being able to play anywhere. Alas, there aren't many more factors working in its favour. Not only does this version come with no additional content whatsoever - which would be very welcome, three years after its release - but its sub-par technical performance makes it increasingly frustrating as the game gets more ambitious.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Rainbow Skies is an RPG that features several familiar elements which will very likely appeal to players looking for an experience where they can feel right at home. At the same time, its character designs look dated, the graphics are unimpressive, and the plot is very poor, but players willing to forgive that will find a fairly good combat system, lots of content to find out, a wide soundtrack, and an overall challenging experience. Rainbow Skies isn't for a very large audience, but it has an undeniable charm for parts of the RPG fandom.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened puts literature's most famous detective out of its usual settings, this time in a world of supernatural elements in what is a remaster of game originally released in 2007. Fans of the long-running Sherlock Holmes series will find elements to enjoy here, such as the appealing plot and the interesting supernatural elements. Nevertheless, for other players the game's technical flaws, the excessive simplicity of the cases, and the lack of actual horror inspiring moments make this an unlikely candidate for players outside its target audience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Tales of Symphonia Remastered is an opportunity to experience one of the best JRPGs of all time. It's also an example of how not to re-release a classic from a previous generation, as this remaster is heavily affected by technical flaws and poor choices. Its downgrade in quality is clear for those who have played the original game, Tales of Symphonia Remastered should undergo an overall revision before being considered as a worthy companion to the 2004 classic.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Primal Light scores points when it comes to the visual ambiance and art style portraying a horrific, evil world. Its level design is less thrilling, though, and combined with enemies that get tiresome too quickly, the levels end up feeling like a burden, with the bosses providing a welcome highlight. Its punishing difficulty will put off less experienced players, though.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Soccer Story joins the roster of sports-themed RPGs, and this one will put players on a quest to save football from a tyrant corporation, which may or may not be based on a real world organization. With that said, the game's puzzles are fun and the open world is nicely presented, but the game's biggest flaw concerns its main point of focus: playing football, which feels too simplistic and features opponents that are too erratic. Soccer Story could be a much more unique game in its kind but the lack of attention dedicated to the sport that inspired it leads to an experience that won't captivate fans.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
First and foremost, the cast of playable characters, which is easily one of the best elements in the game and stands out for the best reasons. On the other hand, the changes to its combat make it a lot less engaging due to a low difficulty level that will have players spending a lot of time to defeat an enemy with very little challenge from their weak combat skills. The level design too falls below expectations, as its dungeons are too repetitive and unoriginal, which ends up making it hard to keep the player's attention. There was a lot of potential that unfortunately was not explored and Dusk Diver 2's good ideas don't quite mitigate the rest.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It follows the regular conventions that we expect to see and does good when it comes to its character cast, with a reasonable assortment of moves, game modes that propose different rules and a good touch of humour. However those looking for a more in-depth experience might not find it in Itadaki Smash's simplistic development, and the way the hit box is implemented might leave more seasoned players to raise their eyebrows at what's on offer.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Bugsnax is a colourful and visually appealing game that boasts an interesting concept. However the way its ideas are implemented and the technical issues that need to be addressed end up harming Bugsnax more than they should. Adding to that some rather frustrating control problems and a feeling of repetitiveness that becomes apparent too early, and the experience of Bugsnax falls below the threshold of a remarkable adventure game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Ashwalkers does a good job in presenting a wide variety of possible endings as well as creating a gloom, somber post-apocalyptic world for the players to dwell in. Ashwalkers doesn't deliver the same positive elements when it comes to technical execution and controls, thus contributing for a rather frustrating experience that makes it difficult to explore and to try to find all the different endings, while also harming the player's connection with the characters.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Unexpected Quest throws a welcoming hand at the audience thanks to a very well done tutorial and overall organization. Where the game starts steering from higher plateaus, however, is when its constrictions come into place - this may seem quite unusual for a Real Time Strategy game, but The Unexpected Quest imposes too many limits that curtail the player's creative and strategic freedom, thus hindering the experience. Adding to that a lack of touchscreen controls, a slow pace, and a somewhat dated visual environment, and the result is a game that falls below its potential.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
With plenty of game modes, an active online community, crossplatform compatibility, and a top-notch visual environment, Poker Club knows how to deliver a realistic poker experience. Where Poker Club doesn't deliver, however, is where the Nintendo Switch handheld capabilities are concerned - the game requires a constant internet connection, which seriously harms playing on the go, and its visual quality on the Nintendo Switch screen decreases significantly. Players at home, though, will find a fun and immersive experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
These two games are very much appreciated by their fans and it was high time to give them a modern release. Alas, this compilation doesn't try to go beyond a mere direct port without any additional value and as a consequence, their flaws only become more apparent before today's audience. The two games are still fun to play and their combat systems very interesting, but other than longtime fans, the rest of the audience won't find reasons to be interested.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Simple and straightforward, as expected from games aimed at young audiences, Ayo features an attractive environment and competent level design. Unfortunately the experience turns out to be far less enjoyable, mostly due to a rather poor execution of the game's controls. It's fundamental for a platformer to have well implemented controls, but Ayo is far from successful at translating the player's inputs into acts and establishing a link between the player and lead character.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
SkateBIRD is a fun and simple skateboarding game that instead of following the tenets of its counterparts with licensed content, rather goes for a free and comedy-filled approach to its settings, and it works very well thanks to a sharp gameplay that feels just right. Not all is perfect, however, and its camera issues can get frustrating, while its main mechanic for performing more complex moves is mostly unnecessary, but SkateBIRD does a good job at delivering a no-frills and enjoyable experience that fans of skateboarding will undoubtedly enjoy.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review