Gameffine's Reviews
Tails: The Backbone Preludes is the developers’ move of getting rid of the sour taste left behind by Backbone. The move largely pays off thanks to an emotionally moving narrative that emphasizes player-agency, relatable characters and extremely good-looking visuals. The gameplay may be a bit too bare bones, but the story more than makes up for it. Now that the past is fixed, can we have the full-blown sequel with all the unrealized gameplay mechanics the series very much deserves?
Wild Hearts is an amazing game that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Monster Hunter titles as a formidable contender. Its fast-paced combat mechanics feel satisfying, and the integral Karakuri tech allows you to conjure things out of thin air – an opening window to countless possibilities. Through and through, it is a challenging experience that feels oddly satisfying once you manage to overcome the hardships of Kemonos. And the Kemonos themselves are undoubtedly the biggest star of the overall show. The only things that can be a bit of an issue are the long matchmaking times and the complex skill trees that may feel overwhelming from a newcomer’s perspective. Definitely worth a buy!
Very often for AAA games, the hype is built months prior to their official release. There will be story trailers, gameplay footages, interviews with the developers, months of drip-fed content that would build up an idea of what the final product might be. However, very often it so happens that the final product is different from our expectations if not far removed. The game’s actual quality becomes an afterthought in a series of marketing campaigns and publicity cycles. However, when games like Hi-Fi Rush are shadowdropped, the minimalist strategy essentially forces the title to speak for itself. Audiences judge the title on how fun it is to play; it’s the purest test of the product. And Hi-Fi Rush passes this test with flying colors. The love that the ex-Platinum Games developers, now in Tango Gameworks, poured into the game, it shows! It’s got pop-culture references from Jojo’s Bizzare Adventures, Pokemon, Xenogears and even Twin Peaks!
Miles Morales is an intense streamlined experience, that provides some much-needed perspective on the ongoing story of the Spider-Man saga. With the sequel coming up soon, where an epic team-up of the spider-men is teased, this part of the story becomes quintessential to understanding where Miles comes from, and how he has grown. With powers and a personality that set him apart from Peter Parker, Miles Morales uplifts himself from the misnomer that he is just the other Spider-Man. This is a fresh take, which makes him equally important to the story that Insomniac wants to passionately tell. Miles, from the game, might sometimes make a misstep owing to the fact that he is an amateur, but the game does not. Insomniac ain’t new to this, and the mastery with which they wield this game shows that they are in the big leagues now.
If you have played the likes of Subnautica and The Forest, Green Hell: Spirits of Amazonia is undeniably worth checking out. As for existing Green Hell players, it would be a complete no-brainer to miss out on this freebie. While the story can be a bit of a mixed bag when compared to the original campaign, the great sense of exploration and survivability still remains intact at its core. As for newcomers, if you are a fan of survival games and looking for an intense and challenging experience, look no further than this
A Space for the Unbound is an emotional odyssey of love, pain, growth, acceptance, and healing. It is an easy game to play and love. Once someone’s hooked, it’ll be challenging to set the game aside before the 12-hour runtime ends. Though the players can often feel that the game is going in circles, the ability to bring the characters’ lives full circle is a beautiful experience.
Land of the Vikings is a nice little city-building game that rediscovers the genre with an added taste of strategy and micro-management. It might not be the best game of its genre, but it is guaranteed to give you hours of fun if you decide to press the “Buy” button.
Overall, Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song Remastered still remains a solid JRPG classic with a unique battle system, an intriguing story, and a great art style. However, it also suffers from quite-a-few pacing issues and lack-luster localization. The game’s open-world aspect can be overwhelming, and the battle system’s depth is not always effectively utilized by the game’s difficulty. While it is a true classic in its own right, the new generation of players may find it lacking due to its aged visuals and choppy animations. As for the series veterans, it is a love letter to the bygone era.
Overall, Mahokenshi is a great deck building strategy game with easy to grasp gameplay, decent enough plot and beautiful artworks. The cards are varied enough to keep the ball rolling―the more time you spend on the map, the more powerful cards you get with challenging enemies. I would see, Mahokenshi might be a good stress inducer rather than a buster, as you’ll have to think carefully at every step. That said, prepare to die a lot!
As a platformer, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake doesn’t reinvent the wheel (few games have). It’s a fairly standard platformer, but has all the ingredients that make a fan go “jumping jellyfish!”. A fun story and the signature humour, combined with varied, good-looking levels and a campaign that doesn’t overstay its welcome, do help in negating some of its glaring flaws such as the lacklustre combat and unrewarding exploration. If you’re not familiar with SpongeBob and want just want to buy in for the platforming experience, there are better games out there. But if you’re in for SpongeBob, The Cosmic Shake won’t disappoint.
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a good action-platformer and an even better retro throwback. Amidst a sea of retro-inspired games, Moonrider does enough things to make itself stand out. The controls could have been smoother and a game bit longer. But, as it stands, the satisfying gameplay loop and the excellent aesthetics make it a must-have for folks like you and me.
Need for Speed: Unbound feels fresh when compared to its recent predecessors by featuring a progression system that’s more challenging and does not take things for granted when it comes to street racing. Instead of putting longer cutscenes, it tells the bulk of its story through dialogue exchanges between racers on the street. Thanks to the new art style it is filled with wet Neon-lit streets with influences from the East. Its array of lacklustre soundtracks, never-ending police chases, forgettable plots, and messy traffic may dampen the experience during long hours. Thankfully most of these issues can be dealt with if you put on your own music and chill with it. Overall, It is an easy recommendation for series veterans and new-comers alike.
If you don’t mind the boring story, dated level design and buy in for the explosive combat alone, then Evil West will come across as a cathartic experience. Although the combat experience, too, is riddled with difficulty spikes and some repetition, the sheer chaotic satisfaction the game offers is worth experiencing. Even with all of these drawbacks, I did have a great time shutting off my brain and slaying vampires left and right. That says a lot about the current state of the industry. If you aren’t sure about shelling out 2k INR for such an experience, there will always be a sale down the line.
Overall, though this 2 to 3-hour-long journey is a tribute to uniqueness, it might not be for everyone due to falling short of making the player feel evenly rewarded for their efforts. Paradise Marsh is certainly not a game that should be rushed. It is something that players should allow to immerse them emotionally by indulging in the stories and secrets of the stars more than the quest to quickly catch them all. This game, as its theme suggested, is more about the journey than the destination.
All in all, Lightkravte is a good start to the prequel arc in the fault series, and is a decent introductory game for newcomers. You can expect a decent 7-9 hours from the game, but replay value isn’t something you can expect from this sort of straightforward story. Although it lacks quite a few quality-of-life features you’d expect from a visual novel, its art and story makes it worth the playthrough. Lightkravte is available on the Nintendo Switch eShop as well as Steam.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has both pros and cons blended together. For every fleshed-out character and voice line, we have a mediocre plot. For every tactical gameplay, we have a lack of explosive set-pieces, and for every Co-op mission, we have a grindy multiplayer where 14-year-olds describe how they had consensual intercourse with their mother. All in all, it’s a good game but it somewhat feels like it’s similar to the earlier Battlefield games (except 3) where the maximum focus was on the multiplayer instead of the main campaign. That said most of the multiplayer content will be drip fed to you over the course of the next two years. If only the devs could reduce the number of bugs in this game as it’s too much for a meagre 6–7-hour campaign. However, if you’re in only for multiplayer, it’s quite good.
The Wayward Strand is a heartfelt tale, told in a meticulous way. It features over a dozen characters, each with its own timeline and story. All these stories playout in real-time alongside each other, throughout the ship which greatly bolsters the game’s replayability. It may not stick the landing in the early hours but if you hold on to it for longer, it will not disappoint you.
Sunday Gold is a satire of real London through and through, clad in an aesthetic colour pallet. The plot might seem exaggerated—cybernetic animal bloodsports, secret cyborg labs, billionaire vampires gutting an over-industrialized city—however much of the stuff is based on real-world scenarios. If you read the newspapers, emails, notes and magazines in the game, you’ll know what I’m talking about. However, the game still lacks in-depth combat, even becoming tedious at times especially when you can’t catch a break from random encounters while ending your turn. Despite all that, I would totally play a sequel starring these ragtag trio again.
Bullets Per Minutes is an absolute badass roguelike game with rhythmic shooting and traversal. The Nintendo Switch version did take a big hit in the graphics, but it still has its absolutely amazing fluidity and shooting style. The difficulty arc may make you call it the Aim Labs of the Nintendo Switch, but that is how the game was built to be. Only if you are up to the challenge, give this game a shot! To the beat!
While we do have a heart for the game, we do recommend you to try the game and increase the playerbase to the glory it deserves. But if you’re on a budget, wait for the playerbase to revive itself and several patches to optimize the game.