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You should play this game because it’s a good game, and could actually teach you something about photography. But if you looked at the last year and felt ambivalent about it all, maybe there’s a lot more you can learn from the red sky generation.
It’s that simplicity at Glyph’s core that keeps it fresh. Piloting the insectoid protagonist feels like learning to play with a toy (and it does kind of resemble a Bakugan, come to think of it). Even when you’re failing at landing a jump time and time again, the looming sense of accomplishment on the other side makes the struggle worthwhile. Before you know it, that double jump to glide sequence might come as naturally to you as a jump from sofa to recliner.
Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is nothing short of an incredible vision and idea executed perfectly. It’s this that makes the reality of Never Yield’s origins a mix of upsetting and uplifting; Neil Jones has spent the last decade as a Black developer doing his best to make it in an industry that he recognized wasn’t making space for him, so he decided to do it himself. If you’d like to learn more about Neil Jones and his journey, I highly recommend reading his recent interview with GamesIndustry.Biz. More than just signing his work by putting his username in the title, Jones is fully stating to the rest of the world that he quite literally will never yield when it comes to doing what he loves to do, and releasing this game is proof of that.
With what we have at launch, Demeo is still an absolute blast. The feeling of conquering a dungeon with your team does feel like an accomplishment, and if my eyes could handle longer sessions of VR, I would likely jump into numerous games one after the other. Yet once those extra maps are introduced and perhaps even a difficulty option to increase the challenge for experienced players, Demeo may find itself as a must-play for VR gamers in the coming months.
Outbreak: Endless Nightmares is not only an insultingly bad roguelike; it’s an insulting and borderline plagiarized emulation of games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. The idea of a survival horror roguelike is very solid, but this game exists as an example of what happens when good ideas fall into the wrong hands. I understand that Dead Drop Studios are a small team, and their love for the genre is clear. But Endless Nightmares is the kind of game that gives small-budget indie horror/survival titles a bad rap in the gaming community. With shoddy controls, uninspired environments, frustrating gameplay design, and tedious systems, the only scary thing about Outbreak: Endless Nightmares is the act of playing the game itself.
I can imagine that for some, King of Seas could be a very satisfying and relaxing game if you have patience and interest in a more realistic style of in-game sailing. But for me, it doesn’t have enough gusto to keep my interest, which is a shame because it promises so much and on the surface looks like such an exciting game.
While Dull Grey has its share of flaws, it’s still a really enjoyable visual novel whose storytelling and minimalist presentation makes for an interesting experience.
Resident Evil Village was a joy to play with lots of fun callbacks to past entries regarding gameplay. It feels like a good mix of everything that makes the series great and still truly terrifies. The Duke and his upgrading system made me search every nook and cranny despite how scared I was, and I can’t wait to jump back into this world. There are tons of reasons to replay thanks to all the difficulty options, new weapons and modes, and a plethora of difficulty options. Unfortunately, the story isn’t the most compelling in the series, but a fantastic setting and great atmosphere make up for those shortcomings. Resident Evil Village is a must-play for anyone who likes Resident Evil, or just horror in general.
It’s hard to say Lifeslide does anything wrong with its execution, at no point did I grow tired or frustrated with the game. It ends just as it risks overstaying its welcome – and the mechanics it does introduce over that runtime fit into the main loop neatly. Still, even those do little to elaborate beyond those initial mechanics in a way that feels intentional. With a gameplay loop that harkens back to an era of lunchtime flash games, Lifeslide will genuinely please people who are looking for a new relaxing experience.
SuperCross 4 takes the prospect of a sport with a fervent fan-base and doubles down on making the gameplay a divisive introduction to the franchise for newcomers. It isn’t quite inside the distinctions of a simulator, but it is the closest this franchise has come yet to that notion. Your mileage may vary in this regard, but the mud and sand covered competition of Monster’s latest installment are ready to test you.
NieR Replicant can feel too slow at parts, but it’s a journey well worth taking (over and over and over). Its story is moving and asks big questions about the nature of humanity, and playing it in 2021 really opened my eyes to how ahead of its time this game must have been in 2010. Combine that story with some kinetic combat, absorbing atmosphere and characters, and a haunting score and you have one of the year’s strongest experiences. It’s held back somewhat by its overly-simplistic mission structure and reliance on backtracking, but the good easily outweighs the bad. NieR Replicant, like its sequel, is a game that makes you think, feel, and dream—all while giving players a very enjoyable gaming experience. It’s the textbook definition of a flawed masterpiece, overcoming its weaknesses to deliver something compelling and affirming.
Unrailed! on the Switch is a very fun time sink when you fancy a quick game of something before upcoming plans. There is a great core game here with a very enjoyable look, but it’s initially let down by the lack of player communication mechanics, which prevents new players from understanding the game’s intricacies and learning from experienced players without actively leaving the game in pursuit of external materials. Once you do overcome this hurdle, however, you are rewarded with the true quality of the game being presented to you, and you’ll very quickly find yourself engrossed even for just the short time span you intend to play for.
So where does it all land? Like I said at the beginning, it landed me at “interesting.” I genuinely have an incredible time with the gameplay, especially when I’m playing co-op. I think the different character abilities that come with the classes are all really well designed and work beautifully to create different combinations in combat, both within a single character class and with other players. The fun I have with the core gameplay, though, does not lessen the frustration and issues I have with the difficulty balancing, consistent network issues, and the ultimately poor story—which has a disappointing ending that could have been so much more. What we’re left with is a game that feels tragically half-finished, because it was halfway to greatness.
Forgotten Fields is a very charming, warm game that I highly recommend. If you’re looking for an inspiring, emotional, and heart-warming story with personality-filled characters and humorous writing, it’s here in spades. The minimalist but stylised graphics are very appealing, though the character models do need some improvement and some idle animations would be appreciated. The gameplay has some fun quirks but is quite simple overall, with some intuitive issues such as getting stuck on terrain, but those are very easily overlooked. I, personally, am now considering picking up Frostwood’s first release, Rainswept, as I enjoyed Forgotten Fields so thoroughly. It’s also nice to support an independent creator who clearly has a passion for well-written narratives and emotionally-driven themes.
Studio Koba calls their game ‘a poetic, subtle and beautiful handcrafted experience’, and honestly, it’s hard to disagree. What they have created here is a stunning platformer that you will enjoy every second of being in – and whilst I enjoyed my time playing it on the PS5, I feel like it’s a perfect game to boot up on your Nintendo Switch, cozy up in your favourite gaming spot, and get completely lost in. And with the full soundtrack available on Spotify, you can get that nostalgia hit even when you’re not near your console.
Monster Hunter Rise is another triumph of the series. While it doesn’t do much to win over new players, fans of the series will appreciate the smoother, faster experience.
If you are a fan of RPGs, this game is an absolute “must experience.” It completely rewrites the possibilities of what a role-playing game can be mechanically, and does so while also providing a fascinating and twisty narrative and characters who will test your resolve and allegiances. Combine all this with a revolutionary skill system, and you are faced with the best game of the year so far—and one of the greatest RPGs ever made. So get up, detective—it’s time to dance.
Doom 3 VR Edition is a solid idea—a somewhat slower, more atmosphere affair that seems perfect for VR. Instead, we are left with nothing more than a quick cash grab. With its dated graphics, flat-screen cutscenes, and a lack of VR interactivity, Doom 3 VR Edition does so little to validate its porting into virtual reality that a few hours in I had a yearning to simply experience the game on a television. For any fans of this FPS then, sure, this is probably worth checking out, and with its relatively low £20 price tag coming with around 15-hours of content (including its DLC), it can’t be disputed that there is bang for a fan’s buck—especially as a VR experience. Yet Doom 3 VR Edition proves that the mere premise of VR isn’t enough to guarantee a fun experience. This is a game that deserved a more thoughtful repurposing to allow its players to feel a part of its world. Instead, I was left with an experience that made me wholly aware that I was wearing a bit of plastic over my face.
I left it emboldened in my refusal to cause any kind of harm to someone else for the sake of “art”, because it will leave me with nothing but solitude.
I wasn’t convinced that using a webcam was going to add anything to a video game, but I’m glad to have been proven wrong. Before Your Eyes is an innovative title that uses webcam technology to enhance the story. With a world that you’ll fall in love with and characters you’ll care about, you’ll want to soak up as much of Benny’s life as possible, but only as long as you don’t blink—and unfortunately, that’s got to happen at some point.