Smash Jump's Reviews
Black Myth: Wukong is a technical feat that deserves attention. Not only does it deliver on outstanding graphical settings, it also sends players to different locations and environments that all look just as stunning as the last. Combat is the main focus of the game, and it proves to be as responsive as any game I’ve played. Combat feels like a worthy challenge, but sometimes the challenge seems a little too much to handle. This feeling is where the game really shines, because it forces players to find a strategy that will work. That is the beauty of the game. The challenge makes players think, strategize, and sometimes level up some additional skills to help in the upcoming battle.
The Mortuary Assistant is a very well-crafted horror game. The gameplay is surprisingly addictive and its use of sound and randomized scares make it a nerve-wracking experience to play. A few confusing tutorials and clunky story moments aside, this is a horror game that does a lot of things right.
Cat Quest 3 is another solid entry in the adorable, indie RPG series. Its fast-paced land and sea combat, colorful designs, and fun new additions make this a must-play for anyone looking for a short, entertaining experience. However, after over eight hours with the game, I can’t help but feel like this game was only half-cooked.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit is a creepy game with a unique story and characters. However, while the story kept my interest, the gameplay was repetitive at times, which held the game back from being great.
Capes has several good ideas that it grapples with, although its potential is not fully realized. The title impresses through its solid tactical combat, compelling characters backed up by mission-based characterization, challenging action that will make you think, and a stable performance on the Switch.
I went into this game with no expectations. I felt continually impressed with what independent developers Ember Lab cooked up for players with Kena: Bridge of Spirits. What few misses there are, Ember Lab makes up for it with a bright and colorful creation, wrapped around some dark narrative moments.
Crafting a space adventure as an Indie studio is no easy feat. The love that KeokeN has put into the game is reflected in the stunning visuals, immersive exploration, human story, and emotional soundtrack.
Deathbound is a failed experiment. The morph system is its one saving grace and truly does differentiate the game from others in the genre. Weaving together morphs into combo attacks and dodges is exciting and fun. The rest of the game just does not back it up. A forgettable story, comical voice acting, missed opportunities, frustrating level design, and unfair enemies push Deathbound away from the echelons of greatness in the soulslike genre. Perhaps with this experience under their belts, Trialforge Studio can learn from the missteps of Deathbound and come out of the other side with a new vision and a more realized adventure.
Magical Delicacy carves itself a niche place in the cozy game market. It stands out from the crowd by its mix of Metroidvania platforming and cooking mechanics. The title is a delightful offering of cozy exploration, resource gathering, and hands-on cooking. Magical Delicacy impresses through its pixel art style, town exploration, hands-on crafting mechanics, soundtrack, and accessibility. Nonetheless, the sluggish platformer mechanics, a slow and often confusing story progression, and cumbersome cooking and delivery UI slightly affect this enjoyment.
If a narrative, dystopian, neo-noir detective experience sounds compelling or interesting, then Nobody Wants to Die is worthy of your time and attention. The experience struggles with creating compelling gameplay even for an adventure title and fails to make the player feel like the detective that they play as. Thankfully, the atmosphere, picturesque visuals, and intriguing story propel the narrative experience forward into a worthwhile one.
Vampire Therapist is a narrative adventure, with simple gameplay, a terrific sense of humor, outstanding visuals, and great storytelling, made even better by its characters and actors. Sink your fangs into this one.
Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC expansion is nothing short of superb. The game showcases a wide variety of everything, inclusive of adding new characters, areas, weapons, spells and more for the Tarnished to utilize in their journey. Its features rival and sometimes even dwarf aspects of the base game, but the same can be said in the inverse. At launch, there are major issues with regards to the difficulty and performance of the expansion, but these problems are likely to be addressed and fixed appropriately within the future.
Paper Trail is an exceptionally innovative puzzler that is challenging and offers solid features even if the story falls paper flat. I started off prejudging the game’s difficulty, but by the end of the few hours of the campaign I was astonished by the multi-layered puzzles that were expertly crafted with challenge.
Morbid The Lords of Ire is a slightly above average game that tries to reinvent certain aspects of the Soulslike formula, but falls somewhat short.
Another Crab’s Treasure is a fresh take on genre that delivers an amusing plot, creative and deep mechanics while exhibiting a balanced challenge for new and veteran players alike. Kril’s journey is wholesome and full of charming and curious moments. Its combat is layered and full of creative shell abilities that keep the playstyle ever changing. Despite the game looking colorful and cartoony, the grunts and bosses do present a challenging experience that is a test of skill and patience. The performance is noticeably rough around the edges, but the experience is fun nonetheless. Another Crab’s Treasure is a treasure worth digging for indeed. I recommend this to those looking for a new challenge and those who have yet to experience a ‘soulslike.’
System Shock has been lovingly restored in this authentic remake. The game impresses through its environmental storytelling, challenging gameplay, great presentation, and stable PS5 performance. Nonetheless, the game suffers from outdated gameplay mechanics, stiff controls, awkward UI, and an unbalanced difficulty. These limitations are mostly a by-product of staying faithful to the original game.
Little Kitty, Big City is not a perfect game by any means, but it just may be the right amount of purrrfect given the heart and love that it exudes. Kitty is a great game that shines due to its wonderful sense of exploration, charming art style and presentation, addictive and mischievous adventures, and generally polished Switch technical implementation. However, the light story and abrupt ending, often challenging camera, sometime imprecise jump controls, and lack of multiple save slots per playthrough detract from this enjoyment.
Sky: Children of the Light is a great game that does something different in the multiplayer gaming genre and casts a primary focus on socializing, whether it be having fun with friends, making new peers, and anything in-between. It’s an experience that you definitely would not want to miss out on, with its beautiful visuals, unique style, interesting lore, and fascinating characters in the form of both spirits and players alike. There is no end to what you can accomplish in the game, and with new content being added every season, it’s safe to say that the game will continue to have a successful run for a long time to come.
Overall, Planet of Lana is a polished puzzle platformer that lacks combat but makes up for that with cool stealth and satisfying platforming. Atmospheric sound design and terrifying enemies mean that setting traps and using your intelligence is what will help you conquer the game. In terms of art, the game uses an attractive graphical style, and animation is smooth. However, it takes while to get used to the controls and to get used to using Lana’s cat companion Mui to solve puzzles. This results in a few difficulty spikes.
For a game under £10 (or under $10, for that matter), the game is worth it if you like rich, Zelda-like experiences. The game, although the story is rooted (pun intended) in science and research, flirts with the supernatural, so don’t expect a boring story. The progression is satisfying like Metroid or Zelda. While I wouldn’t say that there’s much replay value, since it is a pretty linear journey, what it does give is a puzzle-filled adventure with great characters and a happy, positive vibe. It’s a great adventure and although I played the Switch version, as the Game Boy version is exactly the same, I think it’ll be an asset to the Game Boy’s growing library of modern games.