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I have never played another game quite like Echo before. Folks are always rallying for innovation in the industry, and I can't think of too many better examples of that in recent years. It's not all perfect, but what's there is extremely refreshing. This is not an easy game. You will die a lot. You will get angry. However, when you finally defeat your opponents, it's like sex. A huge release where, for a few small minutes, you genuinely feel like you just accomplished something. It's glorious.
While my group and I enjoyed trying out this year's Party Pack, it's fair to say it didn't live up to my expectations. It's still a lot of fun, and there were frequent outbursts of laughter in my living room. But there really wasn't a standout title here, nothing to recommend this year's pack over previous entries in the series. It felt like all the games here would've benefited from a little more playtesting, a little more polish. I think it's telling that at the end of the night, we ended by loading up The Jackbox Party Pack 3 and playing a couple rounds of last year's Trivia Murder Party. You'll get your money's worth out of The Jackbox Party Pack 4, but you might have a better time with one of its predecessors.
Despite its sometimes uneven writing, The Fractured but Whole is worthy of the highest compliment a game like this could get: It feels like a long, quality episode of South Park. It's an improvement over The Stick of Truth in terms of combat mechanics, ridiculous plot escalation, and amount of content. It's really all that a South Park lover could ask for.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a perfect example of how to create a sequel. It took what the first game did well and ramped it up while fixing many of the original's annoyances. The freedom here is unlike anything I have come across in a long time, and the game is better for it. There are certainly some things that still don't feel quite right, in addition to various bugs, but this is easily one of the best RPGs of modern times.
I really hope that Turn 10 takes an honest look at what these prize crates have done to Forza, since the game is otherwise solid. I would have an easier time accepting some flaws if I could make honest progress in the career mode or have a chance in hell of acquiring the cars in a reasonable amount of time. Instead, Forza 7 just makes me think of how much time I'll be wasting and what else I could be doing instead of racing on Spa for the 90th time.
The Evil Within 2 often feels uneven, but that's probably the point. Even if it isn't, there's enough blood, guts, and horror to keep your heart racing.
I'm torn on Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth. I sincerely believe it could be the best entry in the series, that it has refined the formula to near perfection. But in perfecting what is already there, it makes no strides to further advance the series.
Even though Golf Story isn't quite what I expected it would be, it is an absolute delight. It's more than just a golf game with RPG mechanics, but it's not quite a full RPG with golf mechanics either. It lies in a sweet spot in the middle, where people who care about one but not the other can still get into it.
Overall, Gundam Versus is great gameplay hampered by the content, or lack thereof, meant to support it. A solid roster is brought down by questionable absences, while the offline content lacks the kind of replayability that an arcade mode would have. Meanwhile the unstable online means those with poor connections can't get the most out of the game, and the lack of teaching tools will not properly prepare people for it regardless. The end result is a package that's only alright in the end, and hard to recommend to even Gundam fans.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a well-put-together and challenging old-school RPG. There's something here even if you have no love or knowledge of the comic series. While there are whispers that this game might mean Battle Chasers will return to print, I'd honestly prefer another game for this cast of characters. Now I'll just wait for the Switch version so I can play it all over again.
Axiom Verge works great as a portable game, and while it's been available before on the Vita, I feel like the Switch is the best possible platform since it looks spectacular in handheld mode and works beautifully as a sit-down, console experience. Even if you've played another version, this is still a fun, fast-paced exploration game that holds up quite well and is certainly worth your time.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War has a lot of fluff that attempts to sabotage it, but the game succeeds in its effort to make its world worth roaming around and killing things in. Although I wasn't enthralled by the silly story beats that try to dance around telling an actual epic and somber tale, the ability to create my own stories with an expanded level of gameplay was more than sufficient to call this a step up.
As someone who grew up adoring the Dizzy series, I definitely got a kick out of Mystik Belle's whimsical trip down memory lane. Props should also been given for some lovely colourful sprites, cute characters and nostalgic tunes from yesteryear. But it is certainly a short trip down said lane, and one which will present the majority of gamers with very little resistance.
Unfortunately, though, despite the quality of the episode, one complaint does remain, and it's one that Guardians hasn't shaken the whole season so far. Mainly it comes down to tone, in which, unlike other Telltale games, there really does feel like a "right" way for things to end up at the end of Who Needs You.
I loved my time spent in this goofy, sci-fi world. It wasn't perfect, but it was a wonderful way to waste a few hours. If Miwashiba ever decides to grace us with any more of these delightfully odd little experiences in the future, you can bet your ass that I intend to play them.
This game feels like a home run after almost two decades. The look may be a bit dated, but the gameplay still holds up, and the story still resonates. Final Fantasy IX is certainly worth the time of a first-timer or a nostalgic fan like myself. It's always a pleasant surprise to see how well a complex RPG can hold up almost 20 years later and a joy to have one of my favorite games easily accessible on a modern console.
The concept is simultaneously inventive and archaic, doling out moments of pure delight and agonizing frustration in equal doses. Culdcept Revolt is such a niche title – perhaps the most niche game in my gaming history – I can't tell you if you'll like it. What I can tell you is as someone who is a bit of a masochist for these types of games, I enjoy it very much.
For many, tacking playable goons onto Superstar Saga won't be enough to revisit the world of Beanbean Kingdom mostly because the campaign is still the same uneven adventure it was before. But even though many will see the minion angle as a throwaway, I loved creating and molding my own little army bit by bit, and found it to be a worthwhile distraction.
For as much as I loved Road Rash, it would be hard to go back to after playing Road Redemption. This feels like the worthy successor Road Rash has always deserved. It was a little gem of a series lost in time; the only thing missing is the corny FMV cutscenes.
The selfless girl of A Hat in Time is not only a great role model, but she forges her own identity as a true mascot, with subtle notes of likable heroes like Dr. Who (complete with her own time-manipulating Tarvis). Any game that makes me smile while I'm glued to it is a great one.