Gaming Instincts
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Biomutant is an embarrassment and is one of the worst games I’ve played in probably the last decade or so. It’s a game that severely suffers from an identity crisis and doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it an open world action game that resembles Witcher 3 mixed with fast paced hack’n’slash combat? Or is it Zelda: Breath of the Wild with an amazing sense of exploration? The answer is that its neither, its just a bad game all around.
If you are okay with eurojank taking it to the next level, then Elex II might scratch your itch. Some players have a high tolerance for bad gameplay systems, stiff animations that lack polish, and are okay with just seeing it through to the end. Also, if you are a Piranha Bytes fan, then you might already know what you are getting into.
When Twelve Minutes was first announced along with incredible star power, several gamers took interest. Besides, we often gravitate toward new ideas in a world full of rehashes. It is too bad that creativity doesn’t ooze into the gameplay. This results in a head-banging experience that hardly ever feels satisfying.
Dear fans of Saints Row, the reality is that Volition does not care for you anymore, so please stay away from this product, as far as possible, and do not reward lazy and poor quality work. Otherwise, we will keep getting hot garbage like this that fills up your precious Xbox Series X or PS5’s SSD space. There are plenty of games on both Game Pass and PS+ that will give you far better value, gameplay, and, most importantly, entertainment, than this piece of hot boring trash.
At the end of the day, World War Z is trying to bring back the DNA and formula of the beloved Left 4 Dead franchise. While it does feel familiar and tries to be original, it fails due to how buggy the game is, inconsistency with its net code, and weird design choices of not being able to play a private game with a friend or two. The tacked-on, unpolished, lackluster multiplayer doesn’t help the game’s case either.
This is a strange beast of a game, compromised on numerous fronts yet undeniably sincere and energetic at its core. Its haphazard plot and profound design flaws threaten to squash the game’s modest success at delivering a fun combat system. Those capable of overlooking an abundance of issues may find Outriders to be decent action fare, but otherwise it’s best to look elsewhere.
In the end, I am left to wonder if the game itself failed to deliver a fun experience, or if it was the ill-informed blending of genres that left much to be desired. Maybe the issue is a little of both.
Back 4 Blood has good potential to be something really special and the Left 4 Dead 3 game people wanted. Sadly, however, it is not the Left 4 Dead 3 I wanted due to the fact that Turtle Rock Studios decided to make some good ideas but implement them in rather bizarre design choices and limitations.
This is going to sound harsh, but when I played this game it felt like someone just used the ARPG pre-built blueprint/template from Unreal Engine 4 and then went to the Unreal Marketplace and bought a bunch of assets instead of creating their own. This is how uninspiring this game felt. If you are trying to sell a product to people that looks like a basic ARPG template straight out of a well-known engine, then I am not sure what the developer was expecting. It comes off lazy and cheap.
he word annoying sums up my experience with Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. Everything from spawning issues, constant cooldowns, lack of clear strategies, and unbalanced matchmaking soured my experience. There are some bright spots though.
I commend Deck13 for taking the risk of creating a new IP and wanting to make something new and unique. They have definitely achieved some of it with the combat system and the sand traversal mechanics. But that’s about it. The lore and narrative are a bit all over the place, the engine and the tech is outdated and the inconsistent voice acting doesn’t help either.
If there is another Serious Sam, please try to build around the core mechanic, which has always been shooting monsters in the face with insane weapons. Previous titles such as Serious Sam: The First Encounter and Serious Sam: The Second Encounter had fantastic level designs. Every level felt amazing, and it was fun from start to finish. The most recently released games do not feel that way, and please get rid of the strange art style where the game is trying to be more realistic than ever before.
It’s pertinent to note that there have been many reported issues of crashes and fluctuating frame rates when entering a new area. I did encounter one crash in my playthrough, but nothing that disrupted my experience. With that said, The Callisto Protocol is an old-school game where everything was more simple (a lackadaisical story, straightforward linearity, basic upgrades) with a coating of some of the most impressive PlayStation 5 graphics I’ve seen.
Wanted Dead is a game that strives to please gamers of old. While I appreciate that, I think the biggest issue is that the gameplay loop is not polished enough. Something just feels off and overly clunky as well. Maybe I am just stupid and don’t understand the combat system, but I’ve had a healthy share of action titles in my years of gaming. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly.
I do not believe that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a bad game. It’s above average, but it just doesn’t feel any different from other open-world action titles I’ve played in recent years. The excellent visuals are the one thing that sticks out along with the fantastic traversal, platforming, and bow combat. You won’t find a well-written story here or a memorable cast of characters, which is a complete shame because they could have done something really interesting. But sadly, you can thank the “modern-day video game writers” for that as they would rather appeal to a certain crowd than focus on quality.
Overall, Journey to the Savage Planet is a breath of fresh air for a market that’s saturated with battle royale games, FPS, third-person action, and many others. It’s an indie title that’s also priced at $29.99 and is not asking for the full price of $59.99. For the amount of money this game costs and for what it’s trying to achieve, it’s decent.
As a spinoff, XCOM: Chimera Squad ventured into uncharted waters for the series. Some of what it does works and some of it doesn’t. Its revamped combat was a fresh twist on the formula fans were used to but its style of storytelling and presentation leave a lot to be desired. The game’s cast of agents were interesting, but the game holds back on giving them the spotlight outside of combat.
Riders Republic manages to learn from its predecessor Steep where it counts – expanding the experience across multiple sports and regions. This manages to create a diverse experience that allows players to switch it up when one of the modes starts to drain them. With each sport having its own level tree, a large number of events to participate in, and gear to earn and upgrade, there is always a reason to jump in.
Across the board, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is not really a bad game. It hits a certain niche and mixes in your typical Musou genre gameplay with strategic political choices. It’s not really a game for everyone and is quite repetitive, but then again the franchise is known for its repetition and has been around forever. It’s completely up to the player if they enjoy this type of rinse and repeat gameplay or not.
Overall, Thymesia is a decent souls-like indie effort compared to some other ones we’ve seen and played in the past. The game won’t rock your socks off, but the combat system and the setting are quite enjoyable. There is also no multiplayer functionality whatsoever, no PvP or co-op.