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People who have followed the Fazbear saga up to this point will likely want to close out the story, and they'll find enough to enjoy about Five Nights 3 to make it worth their time. New players curious about all the hype and considering a visit to Fazbear's Fright would be ill-advised to choose this as their jumping-on point to the series.
If you can get past the cheap-feeling engine and have three buddies on hand, you'll have a lot of fun with Zombie Army Elite. It's a blast to overcome particularly tough sections with a team, and hitting an on-point shot from 50 feet away can provide quite the rush. While the package has a lot of problems that prevent it from justifying that $50 price tag, I enjoyed my time playing the entire campaign online.
If you like retro shooters and relax by blowing stuff up, Crimsonland is an easy way to spend a few afternoons as long as you don't expect anything groundbreaking. Some of you may want to stay away unless you have constant access to couch co-op, as it can overstay its welcome after every mission is said and done.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is not bad. It is essentially Mini-Land Mayhem! with visual and technical upgrades. It never instills any sense of wonder or accomplishment, and it often feels more like work than play. It's a very paint-by-numbers affair; for a puzzle game it doesn't actually require much thinking, only doing. It is a game that exists, and that's about as much as there is to say about it.
Unrelenting and brutal, Helldivers delivers fast-paced combat, epic standoffs and a comical approach to death. Its enemies are varied, powerful and a constant threat to the players. While the full impact of the larger multiplayer experience remains to be seen, it still adds a nice little scratch to the progress itch. The strategem system provides great flexibility in squad building with many ways to build out team roles to maximize defensive and offensive capabilities. With procedural map generation and just enough mission and enemy variety to prevent a sense of repetition, the twelve levels of difficulty ought to keep players challenged for a good long time.
If you enjoyed the first episode, it's safe to say you'll get your money's worth in the second. So long as you can deal with some backtracking, Resident Evil: Revelations 2: Episode 2 has enough action to keep you interested throughout, in addition to a few unique concepts. But really, it's Raid Mode that keeps me coming back for more on a daily basis. The episodic presentation is odd, but at this part it's starting to feel like a complete game.
Because of the mechanics and varied modes, you're not going to run out of those awkward funny moments. Whether it be spearing a player in their narwhal ass or dry humping in space for an entire round, Starwhal will provide the thrills -- so long as you're willing to take the ride.
Screamride is a limited romp, but its core selection of minigames are fun to play. It's enjoyable for what it is, whether you have a creative mind or just want to blow shit up. I can see myself going back from time to time to top my best score -- I just won't be creating things for months on end.
Whether you're a fan of sci-fi, real-time strategy, or simply just video games in general, Homeworld Remastered Collection is a must-have if you haven't played the series before. For those who spent years guarding their precious pressings of these classics, it's time to rejoice, the Homeworld series is just as good as you remember it.
I really do feel that there are some great ideas and potential here, though. I enjoyed running around the beautifully serene landscapes as a majestic deer, so if that's all you really expect from The Deer God, then you'll likely get some enjoyment out of it. Anyone looking for something more, however, might be left disappointed.
However, impressive aesthetics and weighty mental gymnastics aren't enough to compensate for puzzle design that becomes a slog before long. It's a shame because Pneuma boldly asks questions about player agency, but in ways that are bogged down in tedium.
A fine game which presents a grueling challenge, Aaru's Awakening is perfect for the player who thinks 2D platform games today just aren't difficult enough.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 feels like a budgeted release at times visually, but given the interesting environments and insanely detailed Raid Mode, that's okay. Either mode is worth the $6 entry fee alone, and I will be playing this for weeks to come both alone and with a partner.
While those complaints are niggling to perfectionists, it's not the takeaway here. What's remarkable is that No Goblin took what had all the makings of a gimmick mechanic and turned it into something that feels like a legitimately useful staple, something that requires patience and skill to figure out. Roundabout manages to be simultaneously cumbersome and stiff, and brilliant and endearing -- chances are you'll go 'round and 'round. Actually, that's precisely what you'll do.
The proof of concept is here, and I would certainly look forward to a hypothetical There Came an Echo 2 if it were announced. The groundwork has been laid, and with more content and finer polish it could be great. But knowing Iridium, the studio's next project will be something completely different, taking its science fiction stories into another unusual genre mashup.
Between its charming premise, beautiful graphics, and demanding gameplay, Harold is a winner in the end. Players who appreciate auto-running platform games should find it to be a fresh approach to the concepts found in such titles and a worthy challenge.
Outside of the sleek presentation and interesting world building, there's nothing truly special about The Order: 1886. It's a shame in many ways, because I'd love to see a more tactical style of gameplay in line with Valkyria Chronicles, or a more in-depth game in general using the same engine and lore. I sincerely hope this isn't the last we've seen of this universe, but for now, it's only worth visiting once, briefly.
It's a game that has a little something for everyone, all without compromising its unyielding, unique, and undivided attention on its mission to blast pure adorableness into the world in all directions. If Kirby and the Rainbow Curse doesn't make you smile, you may need to see a doctor for that.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy+ is a great way for Ace veterans to relive a classic on the go, provided that they didn't already buy the original release in 2011. There's just not enough here for entice anyone to double-dip or shell out the full price if you aren't a sim-junkie. While the publisher should be chided for releasing an iteration as rushed as this, they are lucky that the core package was already decent to begin with.
Its greatest strength is the surprisingly poignant narrative about the muddy area between good and evil. I almost want to play through again to see how different choices will affect the later battles and the story's conclusion, but at 25-30 hours for one playthrough and combat that wears thin toward the end, it is just long enough for me to shy away from that idea.