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Stunning colours, lovingly recreated Brazilian settings and the right amount of content make Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro one of my favourite entries in Nukearts’ franchise. I would have loved for there to have been a favela stage but there’s still plenty of game in here for the price of a warm drink.
Abysmal game breaking bugs destroy any opportunity A Pizza Delivery had to be a good indie. Progress preventing issues plagued my playthrough, with visual bugs leaving the game’s pretty environments and textures to pop in and out so badly I often couldn’t see the way forward. Whilst bugs can be forgiven for a solo-developer who likely has limited QA testing options, A Pizza Delivery needed more time in the oven and simply should not be launching in the state of the build I was provided.
Outside of playing a few hours of the first Red Dead Redemption, coupled with testing out a friend’s copy of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, Westerns and mech games are a relatively untread genre for me. It’s not through active dislike…it’s just…there are so many other genres of games that no person can simply taste all of them equally. Bounty Star, in my opinion, presents a solid story of survival and overcoming trauma and grief that is unfortunately hampered by its gameplay. Had there been the provision of more frequent Bounties throughout the game, coupled with a stronger benefit of managing your “farm”, I think that this easily could have been at least a 9 out of 10 game. But it’s the little nagging thought that was in the back of my head that kept going “This story…doesn’t need this long to be told.”
Digimon Story: Time Stranger was a welcome surprise. I knew so little of the franchise I expected to be confused more often than not. Instead, I found myself enjoying my time with these monsters. If you aren’t a completionist, you can expect to give up about 40ish hours of game time to get through the entire story. With monsters this cute and personable though, you may find yourself wanting to spend more time with them as you go.
Keeper is a beautiful game in every sense of the word. Its vibrant, creative world will leave you in awe multiple times, while its story will make you feel plenty of emotion. While the gameplay is quite basic and can leave a lot to be desired, there’s enough in the puzzles to get by in Keepers short runtime. A fourth act with Keeper’s final form would have been ideal, but as is Keeper is worth an afternoon to enjoy.
Devil Jam enters an already crowded arena of “Survivor” roguelikes and auto-battlers, but struggles to carve out a lasting identity. While its beat-driven combat and metal-inspired aesthetic offer a fresh twist, the lack of stage variety, limited boss roster, and underwhelming progression system make it hard to stay invested beyond a few runs. The single looping arena and sparse backstage hub contribute to a sense of repetition, and without meaningful unlocks or evolving challenges, replayability suffers. In a genre overflowing with inventive alternatives, Devil Jam feels more like a novelty than a staple – fun in short bursts, but unlikely to hold attention for long.
Is Wreckreation one of the better racing games of recent release? I honestly couldn’t tell you. Will it appeal to an avid fan of the genre? I’m certain it will. The one important question, though, is this – did I have fun? I did. But will I remember my time with the game in six months? Probably not.
While its visuals and music are superb and the narrative has some good ideas, Silly Polly Beast is heavily burdened by clunky, unresponsive combat that drags down what otherwise could have been a unique and interesting psychological survival horror game.
PowerWash Simulator 2 is everything you want from a sequel. Improve the already solid mechanics, add some new fun toys, dozens of different levels and of course that audible DING! from completing a section.
Spooky Express isn’t just a puzzle game that has a lick of Halloween paint thrown over it; it intertwines the game’s mechanics and theming to create a fun, approachable, and cleverly designed series of puzzles that will have fans shrieking with delight.
The story may not be the greatest but that’s not the primary reasons people play character action games. Ninja Gaiden 4 delivers with fun and fluid gameplay. After Ninja Gaiden 3 as well as the spinoff Yaiba left a lot to be desired, it’s a very welcome return to form and along with Ragebound being a great game, the future of Ninja Gaiden looks to be great.
Battlefield 6 will no doubt resonate with fans of the originals as truly does feel like a return to form. The story might miss a few beats, but the multiplayer more than makes up for it once the bullets start flying. The overall presentation is one that seeks to blow your socks off and seeing it in motion is an experience that you’ll dive into for hours at a time. Chaos is a ladder meant to be climbed – and Battlefield 6 throws you straight to the top of it. Massive explosions, shifting fronts, and pure adrenaline from the first shot to the last.
Undusted: Letters from the Past only took me around 4 hours to complete, but not only will I be returning to collect all the hidden steam achievements, but because of the gameplay itself. The story may not change, but cleaning and restoring objects was so peaceful. There was no pressure, no rush, just a calming experience that gave me space to sit with my thoughts and truly reflect on the narrative.
Overall, while there are still some issues, Yooka-Replaylee’s revamped level and game design reflect a more confident identity both for this series and developer Playtonic Games. There is still some room for the series to grow in a potential sequel, but until then Playtonic Games has delivered the game fans have wanted since the initial Kickstarter campaign, which happens to also be one of the strongest collect-a-thon 3D platformers of the current generation.
I know that I definitely presented a veritable list of hiccups with Bye Sweet Carole. But ultimately, they didn’t take me away fully from what I wanted: a good story. I am not one for crying (not a masculinity thing, I just don’t cry too much) but I did find myself getting a little choked up at the end of the game. Bye Sweet Carole will provide you with the gamut of emotions, from stress and discomfort, to happiness, to joy, and to outright sadness. You’ll panic when getting chased by a raging bunny with a meat mallet. You’ll laugh when you hear some of the lines from Baesie. And maybe you’ll cry when you see the resolution of Lana’s journey. Bye Sweet Carole offers this all in a neat little puzzle-game package.
Sonic Wings Reunion, while being a silly little side-stop in my gaming, is not something that is setting the world on fire. For the fanbase of this series, I am certain that I am probably making someone mad over there. But the game…just doesn’t lend itself to being anything beyond an arcade game. If you have been following this series since it began in the early 1990’s, maybe it’s worth picking up. But if you find yourself a newbie to Sonic Wings world, you may not see what the fuss is about and might opt to spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. And I wouldn’t blame you.
The story is still quite good compared to it’s initial release. The small tweaks to the localization with the addition of voice acting adds a nice layer of immersion to the story as well. Overall the game is as good as this reviewer remembers. With an entry like this, one can only hope that perhaps Final Fantasy will revisit the Tactics IP and perhaps even give us a brand new game in the series.
While it might play it safe in some regards, Ghost of Yotei is a sequel that builds off the greatness of the first. Often feeling like a tale pulled straight from the American ‘Wild West’, the vibrant setting of a 17th century Ezo is the perfect backdrop for telling Atzu’s journey of vengeance against those that wronged her. It’s combat might feel similar to the first entry in the series, but the addition of some new weapons and a terrifying companion make it just as brutal and fun to master as before. Though it might not reinvent the wheel, Ghost of Yotei is another solid entry in Sony’s cinematic single player catalog that should be picked up by anyone who enjoy the beauty hidden between the cuts of a katana.
All in all, Tiny Lands Deluxe Edition is a delightful, soothing experience that should happily find its home in your collection on PS5 or Xbox Series if you are looking to relax and enjoy a bit of mindful fun.
Miho’s 5-hour adventure is one that’ll be sticking with me for a while and it is one that I plan to come back to with my young children when they’re ready to play video games. Like the best kids movies, there are important moral and social messages within that I believe this game can be a conduit to communicate.