Qualbert.com's Reviews
Despite The Crush House’s flaws with characterization and storytelling, I can’t deny that I was strongly compelled by its narrative. While parts of the core gameplay feel dissonant from the premise of the game, it rarely spoiled the fun I was having whilst playing. If you’re looking for something a little different this year, you could certainly do a lot worse.
Returning to this one of kind RPG world created by the talented team of 8 at The Gentlebros has been an absolute delight albeit a very short one. This can be forgiven by how much attention to detail they have placed in the pirate themed designs, sounds and of course puns. Cat Quest 3 lives up to its promise of being a seafaring adventure for all to enjoy whilst containing snippets of an overall story that fans will enjoy. Come for the booty looting pirate travels but stay for the puns and catitude!
SCHiM is a great concept that was drawn too thin. The beautiful art direction and an understated soundtrack make the game worth playing through at least once. However, the game can get repetitive quickly except for some standout stages, suffering further with a lackluster and simple narrative. This may be worth it for some players but definitely wait for a sale.
What does go bump in the night? Lots of things really, but in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD it’s a variety of fun to fight ghosts, a moderately challenging adventure and a fun comical story. It’s a delight to return to the world of Luigi’s Mansion in his second outing! Though longer play sessions might get a little repetitive with the entrance and exit cutscenes for each mission, the game more than makes up for this with unique dialogue and fantastical level designs. It succeeds in expanding the scope of Luigi’s Mansion without losing the charm. An excellent entry to any Switch library regardless of age, just don’t bother going for the 100% unless you adore it.
I’m torn on this title. From the original announcement, I was excited to get my hands on something where I could test my skills online with the games I grew up with. But the majority of Nintendo World Championships’ missions are just abysmal wastes of time that are barely fun to play once, let alone repeatedly. This title does have some promise, but unfortunately in its current state I would much prefer to play any of those three games rather than this.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is the sequel that fans have been begging for. While the lackluster Multiplayer and occasional dip in performance drag the game down slightly, if this game is even a taste of what future games in the franchise may be then we will all be having a Monkey Ball!
To close the case, this is a perfect example of “less is more” as Nobody Wants To Die provides an enthralling story that you can’t tear yourself away from. Like almost every good thriller or murder mystery, you need a good twist or ending to make sure it imprints on the viewer/player. Whilst the set up, audio and graphics is incredible, the slightly confusing ending might go over some people’s heads, especially if you weren’t paying attention. It also wrapped up everything very quickly and had me wondering if that was all there was.
Of the three collections in the Integrum Masterpiece, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix has all the essentials and the ones that the majority of fans grew up with. With an MSRP of $49.99 US for hundreds of hours of gameplay, it’s a no-brainer for anyone seeking the nostalgia, as these ports are of magnificent quality and polish – a rarity in the modern PC gaming landscape.
Anger Foot turned a brilliant and engaging game demo into an ok full release. It feels like Free Lives took their winning formula and tacked on mediocre features to pad content. Its level design may stumble a bit early on but the game catches its footing by the latter half of the campaign. Anger Foot has a solid core, making sure to prioritize the key details in both visuals and audio — essential for the type of game this is. It’s just unfortunate how much the lower moments in the game tragically drag the greater parts down.
Made it to the end of the review and made it out alive? Then surely you’re intrigued enough to venture into the mysterious metro tunnels. Despite its minimalist nature, The Exit 8 VR is a surreal experience only enhanced thanks to the immersion provided through virtual reality. At just over an hour long, it’s a bite-sized experience that feels less like a videogame, and more like an interactive piece of art. If you’re a VR enthusiast and have a fascination for the disturbing, you’d be mad not to enter the Exit 8 VR.
Sometimes more of the same isn’t generally a good thing, but here it’s what everyone has wanted plus more. This is the perfect example of an expansion done right, by adding a tonne of new enemies, new mandatory and optional areas to explore, challenging bosses all whilst fitting into the existing game seamlessly. From Software continues its winning streak of difficult but rewarding games as Shadow of the Erdree is officially the best rated DLC of all time. After completing it, I can definitely see why it earned that well deserved title.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a game that exceeds the previous game in the series in every conceivable way. It looks better, it sounds better, there are more minigames (WAY more), the entire adventure is significantly longer and, most importantly, it hits many of the emotional highs and lows of the (almost) unbeatable Final Fantasy VII story. We meet more of the main characters of the original game in this outing, and they are more fleshed out than ever before.
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door on Nintendo Switch is a fantastic game. It breathes new life into what is widely considered the best entry in the series with a very tasteful graphical overhaul. While the main mechanics of the game remain unchanged, they were not broken or in need of any particular tweaking to begin with so it’s really a win-win for those purests out there with their 5HP Mario runs. This is also the first time TTYD has been available as a portable title so no matter what, this is a must have game for fans of Paper Mario or even just RPG fans. They really hit the right notes for this reviewer!
A true 90s classic has been brought back to life by Nightdive Studios in amazingly difficult precision. Although released last year on PC, console players now have access to this intricate revival. Whilst definitely not a game for everyone, System Shock fully deserves this remake treatment despite its 30 year old flaws. The satisfaction of figuring out the demanding puzzles and punishing boss battles are reminiscent of a Soulsborne game, making the trek through this hazardous space station more than worthwhile.
A really strong title for those who have a love of Endless Ocean’s many trappings. The sealife on show is fantastic and researching them by scanning and cataloguing feels quite satisfying. Storymode presents a fairly expected and oddly structured set of missions that are not too shabby but do feel impacted by the interim menus and grinding to progress. It’s a serviceable game with lofty goals that it doesn’t quite meet meaning it lacks the long lifespan that was being aimed for.
Despite its very frustrating minor game design decisions, the rest of Hauntii is a genuine marvel. Despite the game’s shortcomings – its artistic direction, dynamic score, and strong but simple narrative create a truly immersive journey that deserves to be experienced by everyone.
As a stealth game, Ereban: Shadow Legacy rarely satisfied me, never pushing me to use anything but bare minimum effort to complete a level. The game holds stronger as a platformer with interesting and engaging environmental puzzles, however that isn’t quite enough to save it.
A great first appearance for No Rest for the Wicked, especially on strong enough PCs. A beautiful, intriguing and mesmerising game that revels in supreme artistic vision while offering a gameplay style that mixes and merges the best of the genre into something quite unique. It’ll be really interesting to follow the future development of the game and to see where the stories will go over time. We can’t wait to experience further beautiful graphics and fun combat!
As with all games, especially those aimed at young kids, there’s going to be some shortcomings. You can’t expect there to be the same amount of spit and polish as a AAA game. That being said, Bluey: The Videogame really isn’t all that bad. The biggest complaints I have are all visual in nature. And I guess, the biggest problem is it’s really short, like too short. After paying $60AUD for the game, it was over in a couple of hours. But really, these aren’t problems for the intended audience.
Tomb Raider I – III Remastered is a tour de force for the franchise. Revitalising the original games and thrusting Lara back into the limelight. These games not only stand the test of time but highlight some of the best of their original era as well with tight level design, cool stories that showcase a badass heroine and sound design that is iconic. Nintendo Switch is a great platform to revisit these three titles as the games run excellently and play quite easily into the pick-up and put-down nature of portable gaming. Pick this collection up!