Analog Stick Gaming
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Roxy Racoon’s Pinball Panic is certainly aimed at a younger audience, but nearly everything it does pushes against that intent. Its menus are obtuse and incoherent on what you are actually selecting, and the story mode has significant difficulty spikes in the score you are meant to achieve.
RIPOUT has a great concept and strong visuals, but fails in being an engaging experience just a few short hours in. Its repetition undermines the cleverness of its systems, crafting, and arsenal as you simply feel like you are repeating the same mission ad nauseam. The foundation here is solid, but more hand-crafted set-pieces could truly elevate this to be something worth exploring.
XDefiant has a chance to be something pretty impressive and while there are traces of that excellence here, it’s too soon to say considering the lack of significant content and the slim variety within each faction. Once XDefiant begins to grow and add to its core systems, modes, and factions, then Ubisoft will have a major contender in the Free-to-play space that could be something special. When and how they go about that remains to be seen, but with tight gunplay, fun faction abilities, and some clever map design, XDefiant is an impressive game that has a potentially bright future.
Part of what I love so much about Hundred Heroes is the story and its cast of characters. Combat excels well enough in its simplicity, even if I wish it had a bit more going on to take advantage of that turn order. While Suikoden was never a series that I gave notice to or engaged with, apart from Tierkreis, I can see why so many people adore it and why having its creator back and producing such an experience can mean so much to so many people.
Horizon Chase 2’s visuals and approach may deter the more hardcore audience, but it’s a solid throwback to the arcade racers from years past that is ultimately a very satisfying experience.
System Shock’s presentation is honestly quite great as it retains the look of the original while expanding on its locations and scale. The limited voice acting that is here is good, even if the overall narrative just did nothing for me. While the game is rather difficult, it is easy enough to just save anywhere you want with a fast load time to get back into the action. Nightdive Studios has taken a game that was a beloved classic and retooled it to work within a lot of modern sensibilities, even if it does still maintain a certain look and feel.
Like Senua's Sacrifice before it, Saga is a showpiece of technical innovation by an incredibly small team. Its use of mental illness as a narrative device continues to be a core pillar of its experience, tapping into nearly every avenue of combat and narrative. Melina Juergens is joined by a phenomenal cast that each has some fantastic moments to shine. Senua's Saga is a cinematic masterpiece with noticeable blemishes in its puzzles that don't quite measure up to the quality bar raised by nearly every other part of this whole experience.
Hypercharge: Unboxed has been an absolute delight in being one of the only true gaming experiences that allow you to really relive your childhood. The battlegrounds are filled with so many toys that I remember playing with to set pieces and encounters that feel ripped directly from my memory.
Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters was the first title in the series to really disappoint me, and yet Game Maker R:Evolution hands down disappoints me further, making me question if this series is even for me anymore. Its combat and level design are barebones and empty of anything remotely engaging. While the visual novel charm of its writing and characters are as good as they have always been, it's not a strong enough outing for the game's flaws to not be front and center.
Heading Out is a solid concept that I would love to see perfected and improved upon should we see a follow-up, because frankly, it’s a sharp-looking game that really stands out in a sea of games that all look the same.
Mullet MadJack is a tour de force of sensory overload and pure chaos, wrapped in a tight 2-3 hour package that begs to be played over and over. If the final chapter is any indication on where a possible sequel could go, I am strapped in and ready to count down the seconds as bullets and mullets coalecse into something downright incredible.
Terra Memoria does a great job at presenting its story, characters, and combat in a very easy-to-read package, making it a fun almost bite-size adventure that is certainly worth the journey.
Little Kitty Big City will certainly entertain those looking for this type of experience. My own cat was personally interested in the journey I took and was hyper-focused on many of this cat’s movements. The Untitled Goose Game approach certainly works and the game is extremely digestible that you can easily polish it off in a single day or a more casual weekend. If this is the start of a Little Kitty Big City franchise, then Double Dagger certainly has my attention and my time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few more adorable hats to find and a city to explore.
Stellar Blade is a game I could sit here and detail every single enemy, outfit, skill, and character, and feel I am never saying enough about it. Combat is downright incredible, and the style and substance this game brings is impressive.
I went into Another Crab’s Treasure expecting it to be a solid adventure. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t into what the game offered after a few hours, leaving me with a world I didn’t want to explore, and one that felt like a chore to even navigate. While it has some decent accessibility options, and even a gun to one-shot anything in the game, the standard approach here is nonetheless pretty challenging, especially given its aesthetic.
This is not only an improvement for existing players but also more welcoming to new ones. House Flipper 2 has become my new chill-out game, and what a flippin’ game it is!
Granblue Fantasy: Relink brought an engaging story with incredibly fun combat to the forefront, packed with a ton of secondary missions that allow you to get the most out of your team, especially in co-op.
Wrath of the Mutants as TMNT brawlers are rarely bad, but while this expanded port is by no means bad, it’s a pretty remarkable disappointment in that it offers more than what was present in the original and yet feels lesser in many ways.
Despite the lengthy absence from the previous entry and a largely different developer at the reins, TopSpin 2K25 once again delivers that near-perfect gameplay we all remember with top-class modern presentation. Hanger 13 has truly served up an ace with TopSpin 2K25, and I can’t wait to take it to the courts and power-shot my way to victory in the months to come.
Dragon’s Dogma II is certainly a title I strongly recommend, but one that I do caution as it lacks a degree of hand-holding many are likely accustomed to within the genre. If you can meet the game on its terms and find a vocation that works for you, then I certainly recommend this journey as there is nothing really quite like it.