video games are good
Homepagevideo games are good's Reviews
I am a self-admitted open-world goblin and that kind of got in the way of what makes this game so great. I was looking for something more than cosmetics when accomplishing tasks and exploring through the world, for the numbers to go up on my gear and stats. But that’s not the kind of game Awaceb was making here. If anything, it’s the exact opposite. Tchia got me to pull back, to stop and smell the roses, to be a kid again. It reminded me of the power of just wandering, of just picking a path and finding fun along the way. Of appreciating the land under my feet and the people and animals who walk it alongside me.
It's been some time since I finished SIGNALIS and parts of it still linger with me. I feel a chill when I think about the implications of some sequences, the dark distorted beasts glitching hidden in the shadows of the room, and the horrifying mental scars the game's characters were left with. While in the moment, the frustrations felt bigger than anything else, they've all but melted away with time. All I can remember is how great of a horror experience this was.
In the end, Jackbox Party Pack 9 delivers an uneven Party Pack experience. But Jackbox 9's missteps are so slight that uneven still equals a great experience. It's because the highs are so HIGH that the lows stand out the way they do, but with the right group, even the lows can be enjoyable. When you've got two games that may just be entries into the Jackbox Hall of Fame, anything can look a little paler in comparison. If you're looking for a Jackbox Party Pack that really sows some chaos within your friend group, all while truly expanding your mind with some abstract thinking and creative problem-solving — you can't do much better than Jackbox 9.
All in all, Symphony of War is a mechanically sound turn-based tactical RPG that hearkens back to the best games in its genre. Dancing Dragon is clearly a team full of passionate folks who have bright futures ahead of them. It shines through in every layer of this experience, with its chapters of lore, a serious approach to war, a light approach to characters, and an intricately detailed visual style and gameplay system.
In nearly every way, this game is absurd. And it delights in its own absurdity. It only attempts to get weirder and weirder as it goes, and I love it for that. Strange Scaffold made a game that revels in late-stage capitalism (like...the latest stage possible) and THEY ADDED KINECT SUPPORT TO IT. Let your freak flag fly, Strange Scaffold.
My view on Sifu is so complicated. Sloclap clearly has a lot of talent and their team has made something special on the pure gameplay side of things, although some decisions have been a bit misguided. Even with the best intentions, the impact is clear. We need to be more thoughtful with the stories that we tell and I hope that Sloclap takes this moment to listen rather than push away. Utilizing imagery of a culture carelessly is a bad look through and through, particularly in a time when members of the AAPI community are facing unprecedented harassment and violence. Ultimately, it's your decision to buy this game or not. I loved a lot about Sifu, in learning and growing through its death mechanics; in its musical and visual artistry; and in its deeply satisfying combat systems. But we can't ignore the conversation surrounding the game and its impact on the communities it claims to represent.
Whether you’re jumping into the game for a few hours of a campground romp, or you’re craving a new ambient game that you can return to when you want to turn your brain off, Haven Park fits the bill.
All together, Nuclear Blaze is a perfect tiny package, but I had so much fun that I only craved more in the end. The developer has mentioned he'd like to make more levels — my own dream is for a tile-based level editor to be released so the community can keep the game alive eternally. Even if it never saw one drip of extra content though, Nuclear Blaze isn't just blowing smoke. These few hours of firefighting bring extremely enjoyable, bite-sized action. As I've said time and time again, I'd rather have a year's worth of these tiny experiences than some 120-hour blockbuster, so I hope Nuclear Blaze is a sign of changing tides in the indie space.
Ambition sells a fairly unique package for the dating sim genre. Attending parties, gathering gossip, and finding time to woo your chosen love interest truly becomes a delicate dance. Living in 2020s America as someone who wouldn't go to parties even sans pandemic, I wasn't sure how engaged I'd be with the narrative and the experience. But thanks to the game's beautiful artistic recreations of major French locales and a beautiful soundtrack of orchestral classical music, I was truly transported to revolutionary France, free to live out my bi dreams: wooing beautiful French people and starting a revolution in the streets. A story that allows a woman to wield her influence and sexuality to not only control her personal narrative but also the narrative of an entire nation is worthy of celebration, especially when it innovates on a formula that can feel a bit same-y. Ambition is a perfect experience for both fans of the genre and those who might be sick of the more traditional dating sim/visual novel experience.
From beginning to end, I found myself waiting for the moment where Road 96's wheels fell off — it never came. With its ambitious randomized engine and political storyline, they had more than a few opportunities to fumble the concept. Instead, Digixart provided an interesting and human experience that we'd recommend to all fans of story-driven releases.
A few finnicky glitches here, a few difficulty problems there, and I'm still happy to call this game the best in the franchise since Black Flag in 2013 (ironically enough, the last title in the franchise to bridge the gap between generations). Assassin's Creed Valhalla proves that even the big big companies can find ways to bring tons of heart and charm to a cash cow franchise all while embracing its past and setting up for an exciting future.
It's incredibly hard to sleep on this one, as it literally comes free with every PS5, but I can recommend this as the first thing you play on the console without any hesitation. Make the time for it to see where this generation's headed. You won't regret it.
Death Trick: Double Blind was a surprise in more ways than one. It tells a surprisingly warm murder mystery, is carried by some genuinely shocking twists, and successfully implements tension into a formula that games in the genre rarely manage to do in a satisfactory way.
Lil' Guardsman speaks to all parts of me. The child in me who fell in love with adventure games, the 30-year-old who looks back on them longingly, and the jaded human living in 2024 who needed a laugh. It's so genuinely funny, so full of heart, and it's one game you should immediately allow entry to your gaming library in 2024.
When the whole package comes together, Wishfully's debut release truly sings. A straightforward narrative and relatively simple gameplay loop simply feel bigger than they are, made even more engaging when accompanied by an audiovisual experience as strong as Planet of Lana's. Planet of Lana is the epitome of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Every piece taken separately may not seem like something extraordinary, but when Wishfully has each piece of its experience clicked together, it made for one of our favorite experiences of the year.
Jackbox Party Pack 10 would have been worth a look simply for the celebration of a decade's worth of releases. It would have been worth checking out for the ways it celebrates the legacy of each game that came before it, like the return of Party Pack hosts of yore in Tee K.O. 2's character selection. But even removed from that milestone, Jackbox Party Pack 10 offers a package worth celebrating. The artists at Jackbox continue to deliver some of the best looking and sounding pack games yet, whether it's the stellar graphic design and typeface-focused art style found in FixyText or the epic renditions of songs like Pop Goes the Weasel in Dodo Re Mi. After nearly a decade of work, the Jackbox team shows no signs of stopping and the quality is still there 10 games later. Long live Jackbox Party Pack.
Bilkins' Folly is a wholesome puzzle adventure that sticks to its strengths and mines so much cleverness out of a few basic puzzle concepts. It centers on the bond between a man and his dog and tells a story that's just as wholesome and lighthearted as you'd expect from something that calls Monkey Island and Zelda its inspirations. Some of the most difficult puzzles may baffle even the biggest puzzle fans, and people who are looking for a more adventure-focused Zelda-like may find the puzzles a bit much. But if a game that evokes the best parts of adventure games, 2D Zelda, and Layton-level puzzles sounds like it might appeal to you, don't skip Bilkins' Folly. Amid the absolute deluge of AAA and indie releases hitting this October, Bilkins' Folly stands there, a shiny and enticing treasure chest just waiting to be enjoyed.
Final Fantasy 16 is as good as it is not because it strays from what has come before it, but because it embraces its roots. Everything the series has done, gameplay-wise, over the last few mainline releases, has all set up for what FF16 pulls off with its fantastic-feeling combat. For all the focus on its maturity and shocking narrative, the things that FF16 does with its impactful story have been present in games all throughout the series. And by letting a team like Creative Business Unit 3 take the reins, the best aspects of Final Fantasy 16 feel like pieces of one of the most beloved games in all of the franchise: Final Fantasy 14. I won't deny the series is heading in a new direction, but have no fear, the ways in which Final Fantasy 16 succeeds are deeply rooted in the series' greatest traditions.
The Tartarus Key is kind of like the gaming equivalent of the wave of stellar indie horror movies we've been treated to in recent years. In the ways it simultaneously pulls from, makes fun of, and honors its inspirations, and finds a new way forward to deliver its thrills, Vertical Reach's paranoia-driven indie horror is just end-to-end enjoyable for horror gaming fans of all walks. Those who love the constantly unnerving atmosphere of Silent Hill and the mansion-based aesthetic of Resident Evil, all combined with puzzles that are arguably better than the offerings from either series, will find lots to love here. Any game that can get your blood pumping without screaming in your face at every turn is worth its salt.
Strange Scaffold remains one of the most interesting teams in gaming today. Sunshine Shuffle's anything but light and breezy, despite its appearances, and its narrative poker experience is just another in a long list of games from their studio that tells powerful stories in the most interesting formats possible. By keeping the gameplay barriers as light as possible this time while still managing to do something that no one else is doing, the team lets what might be its best batch of writing yet soar here. And that's worth all the applause. Minor quibbles aside, Sunshine Shuffle accomplishes all it sets out to do and does so with a ska-driven flair that can't be denied.