ComicBook.com
HomepageComicBook.com's Reviews
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning's story is fascinating and still holds up eight years later. The combat is basic yet enjoyable, providing several opportunities to be a deadly assassin, unstoppable warrior, or powerful mage. However, the near-constant technical issues derail this game almost entirely. Kaiko has since provided a significant quality-of-life patch after the game's release, so fans may not run into the same issues. The early impressions show improved performance and fewer framerate issues.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition feels like a squandered opportunity. The game has seen a number of delays over the last year, but it doesn't feel like Square Enix utilized that time to improve the game over its predecessor. The voice work is rough, the controls are frustrating, load times are laughable, and the lack of couch co-op is glaring. The game's music and overall presentation are great and multiplayer is still fun after all these years, but it's hard to recommend the game when it feels like such a step back.
Don't get us wrong, watching your shark grow from a "toddler" to a "megalodon with bone fins and electric teeth" is a sight to behold, but it ultimately doesn't feel worth the repetitive hours that one has to put in, to say nothing of the game-crashing glitches you may encounter along the way as we did. The idea of playing as a giant shark is a good one, but Maneater just isn't able to capitalize on it.
R.B.I. Baseball 20's exhibition mode and the Home Run Derby provide brief stints of entertainment while the new presentation style and improved controls add even more depth and style. However, the lack of commentary, frequent and infuriating glitches, and shoddy AI cause an insurmountable amount of frustration.
The mini-game portions of Shenmue III were by far the most enjoyable. Whether it's chopping wood for a paycheck, playing the arcade games, or training, these experiences were the most fun, and they do actually help you get lost in the world of Shenmue. That world and its quirky characters are delightful in their own way, but design and dialogue shortcomings are just too much for those elements to overcome. You'll enjoy the thought of Shenmue III more than actually playing it, and, unfortunately, the nostalgia won't be enough to keep you hooked.
Sadly, for all of those great challenges in Ghost Recon Breakpoint that are aimed directly at your skills and abilities, there are 14 more targeting your patience. The experience is only made more frustrating when you think about Wildlands, because the formula felt like it had been figured out. Everything was done right. A sequel to that game should've been an easy home run, but Breakpoint is more of an incredible misfire.
Kill la Kill The Game: IF held promise of being so much more to longtime fans of Honnouji Academy, but it falls short in almost every way. Its limited online play cripples the game's competitive chances, and casual gamers will be left confused by this title's story though enamored by its artwork. Dedicated fans will no doubt stick through the game if not for Satsuki fan service, but an overly complicated story mode will drag some away. If a visual feast is all you need, then Kill la Kill The Game: IF isn't the worst pick, but this certainly isn't a successor that will meet fans' expectations.
Unless you're a Poke-Fanatic or a young child, Detective Pikachu Returns probably won't hold very much for you. Detective Pikachu is still a joy to watch, but his shenanigans are hardly worth the $50 price tag. However, I think that this game would be a great fit for younger Pokemon fans who aren't looking for deep multi-layered mysteries. As much as I wished that Detective Pikachu Returns had a stronger storyline, Detective Pikachu still has plenty of charm and the kids seem to enjoy his shenanigans as much as they did during his movie.
Reviewing a big online multiplayer game like Dragon Ball: The Breakers can be difficult because an asymmetric horror game can often gain a lot of traction in its future by expanding on its mechanics, cosmetics, characters, and so on. Even for Breakers, the game is already hinting at its "second season" which will introduce Great Ape Vegeta to the matches, but the latest entry is just missing too much at present when it comes to bringing fans back on the regular. This isn't to say that the game is a failure, just that it could have been so much more and still has to deal with technical issues as well as cosmetic problems.
Digimon Survive really just gets in its own way. Fans of the anime will find it familiar, but will be able to appreciate what the extra layer of violence adds to it. Getting through it is the tougher ask. Dialogue options leading you away from where you want to go (and potentially disconnecting you to the characters), key battles being few and far in between, and asking you to jump back in multiple times despite all of that seems like rubbing salt in the wound for those who already had notable issues.
Ultimately, Hooked on You has some funny aspects to it that are worth checking out for Dead by Daylight fans, but for everyone else who might not be familiar with the lore, this feels like a weaker dating sim that isn't able to truly feel like its own game that's independent of the main series.
Trek to Yomi starts to come into its own only as it heads towards its finish. It's easy to admire what Flying Wild Hog set you to do with Trek to Yomi. It's an attempt to blend the appeal of the classic samurai film genre with the interactive moodiness of fellow indie games like Playdead's Limbo or Inside. It's partially successful in that regard, but while the ideas underpinning the game are solid, their execution leaves something to be desired. Ultimately, Trek to Yomi could have benefitted from more time studying the blade.
While Chocobo GP feels very much like a Mario Kart clone, it would do the Nintendo game a major disservice to call these titles equal. Square Enix has a polished game here that races rather well, and its surprising difficulty will challenge racing veterans. However, it is just too cluttered with junk to enjoy. Its lacking story mode can be overlooked easily enough by most, but its limited local co-op will make it a no-go for plenty. But if you're strictly in this for moogles and magic, well – Chocobo GP might not be so bad.
But the "6" in "Far Cry 6" means you know what you're getting at this point, so none of this should be exceptionally surprising. Longtime fans were worried about things like reduced customizations for Dani and the first-person cutscenes, but the real issue here is that the formula feels less sustainable now more than ever. The big, beautiful country of Yara was squandered by Far Cry staples, and it'd be a shame to see that happen to whatever world comes next.
But there's no denying Death Stranding: Director's Cut's technical achievements. It's incredibly immersive, putting every new capability built into the PlayStation 5 to the test and coming out triumphant. If you were disappointed by Death Stranding's unwieldy gameplay the first time around, the Director's Cut isn't going to win you over. But if Kojima's storytelling won you over, this will be a worthwhile upgrade.
I really wanted to like 12 Minutes. It's a compelling concept, but the game's rigid structure and lack of options make it feel less like a game about a time loop and more like a narrative adventure where I kept having to sit through "Game Over" screens because I didn't make the specific choice necessary. As a result, it feels like the most irksome elements of Capcom's Ace Attorney series, without the rewarding aspects. At times, I was genuinely surprised by the options made available to me, but far more often, I found myself feeling like the game's concept was basically just window dressing. 12 Minutes feels far too limited for its concept, and that makes the game feel like a chore far more often than not.
Those moments are memorable and are unfortunately far less common than The Ascent's pitfalls. I'm right near the end of the game's main story after crossing off plenty of side missions, but with the charm of The Ascent's firefights and scenery long since expired, there's nothing much left to inspire confidence in what remains.
Rise of the Ronin isn't necessarily an awful game, it's just one that's quite unremarkable. When this project was first unveiled back in 2022, I was ecstatic to see Team Ninja tackle the open-world genre and was curious to see how the studio would bring its own unique ideas to this format. Instead, virtually nothing that Team Ninja has done with Rise of the Ronin is enough to set itself apart from a growing deluge of games in the genre. With so many other titles to choose from in this space, there are far better options that warrant your time and attention.
Hellboy: Web of Wyrd has spurts of fun to be found in its gameplay, which is held up by the grand visual aesthetics at the heart of it all. If the game didn't look like a living Hellboy comic it wouldn't be engaging, but that alone cannot save it from the repetitive and slow gameplay that sits at the heart of the entire thing.
Ultimately, I enjoyed Gotham Knights for what it was – a basic superhero game that provides players with plenty to do. It will not live up to the standard of the height of the Batman: Arkham series, but it's still a fun game, especially if you want to just tune out and beat up some nameless thugs. There is plenty of room for improvement in Gotham Knights, but this game provides a solid enough foundation for future installments, and I enjoyed a game that looked at the wider Batman family rather than focusing on just one character.