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Despite its age, simplicity, and lack of embellishments, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town proves the Bokujō Monogatari franchise has been on the money since the very beginning. Its content may feel a little sparse compared to its successors and competitors, but I can see myself returning to these lands long after the next harvest moon.
It's a weird game to review because so many people are going to expect drastically different things. How many games force you to shave and send your clothes up for dry cleaning? How many times can you say that you hexed an old widow so that you could go bowling in the past...oh say decade or so? Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is another trip. You've been warned.
Right now, however, it has not reached that point of player exploitation where I'd recommend deleting it off your phone entirely. Pokémon Café Mix is currently in that sweet spot where it's mostly harmless with only a few bits of frustration. The puzzle formula is entertaining enough to bring me back two or three times a day to try and get past those roadblocks, but really, I'm firing the app up far more often than that just to get a look at those delectable Pokémon dishes.
For every few moments in Iron Man VR that gave me an absolute rush, there were several that felt comfortably sterile. That's not the best ratio, but I'd definitely play more and I hope that Camouflaj gets their hands on Iron Man again: if only to see how they can top themselves and mend their mistakes.
Like many recent indie games, The Almost Gone isn't afraid to tackle difficult subject matter. And like a lot of its fellow developers, Happy Volcano opts not to get too far into the weeds of the topics it covers. Certainly, there will be players who take the narrative to heart more passionately than I did, but I do find it a curious enough of an experience to recommend to mobile gamers looking for something more melancholy than the newest match-3 puzzler.
But it's not enough. Borderlands 3: Bounty of Blood just tries to do so many things that it ends up becoming a cacophony of concepts. It's still Borderlands 3 though; which is always a plus.
If you're thinking of playing Among Trees and you know you need extrinsic motivators to hold your interest, you'll want to wait until the Early Access schedule is further along. If you're down for a laid-back forest hiking game and you enjoy charting your own course just for the heck of it, give it a chance.
With a remake, all of this, along with the often questionable level design, could have been corrected. But with SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated aiming to be as faithful to the original as possible, these issues only serve as a reminder of how much better the industry has become at making 3D platformers.
I can just imagine some kid saving up their allowance to buy this pricey meatball and crying afterward: if you're reading this, don't do it, Timmy! If you want your Goosebumps game fix, stick with the slick, lovingly-crafted 2015 adventure game that's $10 or less on more platforms.
If you pumped hours upon hours into Enter the Gungeon then chances are you'll find a similar grab in West of Dead, but be fair warned that there isn't as much polish here. If it helps, it is launching day one on Xbox Game Pass so if you have that you can try it as soon as it launches.
Surprise: Isle of Armor does not completely shake up the Pokemon formula. You're getting a very small narrative and another big interconnected Wild Area: that's pretty much the gist of it. With those expectations in check, you'll have a blast if you've been looking for an excuse to get back into the swing of chilling out with Sword and Shield.
Like the original Last of Us, some people are going to come away underwhelmed, but the story beats and the characters driving them are the main draw. Part II doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it gives us a lasting glimpse of a unique broken world full of broken people that's worth visiting time and time again.
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is a masterclass in how to re-energise a classic title. There's no denying that the 25-year-old gameplay doesn't quite hold up to its modern contemporaries, but with over 100 missions, progressive options, revamped multiplayer, and full mod support, C&C Remastered is both a solid package and a proud testament to Westwood Studios' genre-defining work. Now, about Red Alert 2...
There are a few small ways the developers could make great strides – full fast-travel, please! – and many more improvements that aren't quick fixes. I hope it gets there, though. As a farming simulation, Summer in Mara falls short, but dang if its sunny world and characters aren't pleasant to be around.
I appreciate that the story gave me plenty of reasons to care about Mirai and enough quiet space to shake off some stress among the waves. It's a contemplative journey, one I can't help but recommend.
Disintegration is highly ambitious, and I think that over time a combination of free and paid DLC could shore up some of its weaknesses. Either way, I'm already looking forward to a potential Disintegration 2: this world is worth lingering in.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a compact, attractive, and agreeable adventure, but its muddled design lacks variety, innovation, and vital story engagement. As such, Seven Sirens feels like a sequel on auto-pilot, one that doesn't seize the opportunities offered by its exciting world and lively new cast, ultimately resulting in an entry that's good enough, but had the capacity to be truly magical.
As a hardcore shooter fan since the '90s, Valorant feels very well designed, and provides me with a rush I haven't gotten out of so many other big genre games in the past five years. But Valorant feels like it was meticulously designed in a laboratory to fault. It's fitting given that Riot has over a decade of data and esports experience, but the sterile feel of it does impact my decision to play it more regularly.
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics might sound generic at first blush, but it's secretly one of the best Nintendo Switch games of 2020. It's the right game at the right time with the right temperament.
Even if it didn't have an extra chapter to conquer, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition deserves a third release. The Switch version has united this modern classic with the TV mode of the Wii original and the fully portable nature of the New 3DS edition. It's truly definitive.