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I’ll be front row with my bucket of popcorn for 3 out of 10: Season Two. The art style is fun, the writing is on-point, and the game itself runs almost perfectly on the Switch. The first season of 3 Out of 10 isn’t something you’ll get hours upon hours out of. But you wouldn’t want to overstay your welcome in this world anyways. And that’s the magic of what the developers accomplished here. Terrible Posture Games knew precisely what they were doing in making a terrible game about developing a terrible game. Bravo.
I’m sure the biggest question on Crazy Taxi fan’s minds is how well does Taxi Chaos scratch that very specific itch. I can happily report that it scratches it very, very well. The Arcade and Pro modes will give you the same rush you got out of Crazy Taxi, and the new Free roam mode will have you spending hours scouring the city for hidden collectibles. Of course, if you’re not a fan of hunting down collectibles, Taxi Chaos might lose it’s steam pretty quick. The visuals do the trick, with only a few minor hiccups. There are some occasional glitches here and there – this one time I hit a weird jump and ended up flying in the air as high as the tallest buildings – but they’re few and far between. The voicework gets repetitive real quick, but eventually I just learned to zone it out. I do wish they had some licensed tracks here, but I get music licensing can be pricey. While I’ve easily logged in a dozen or so hours into Taxi Chaos, I’m still itching to get back into Free roam to find every last collectible. I truly hope the team at Team6 Game Studios are hard at work at some DLC, because I would love more content.
Overall, Batbarian: Testament of the Primordials is a simple game, but a very good one. I heartily recommend it to anyone who’s willing to put up with a bit of trial-and-error.
Capcom Arcade Stadium is an essential purchase for fans of retro gaming. Loaded with a ton of content, this game will keep newcomers and returning gamers entertained for hours. Although there are a few titles and features missing, this collection is still a fantastic addition to your Nintendo Switch library.
Overall, Bravely Default 2 is a solid RPG with a unique battle system and a satisfying job system.
I’m often horrible at these types of games, finding that the skill jump from easy to medium to be too much of a challenge but I found Natsuki Chronicles fares as a good starting point for beginners. In saying that, this game isn’t easy either and will require a ton of play-throughs of the same level, especially the later ones and on higher difficulties, to best determine which weapon types work the best and also your strategy. But even so, fans of the bullet hell genre should most definitely add this game to their library.
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is an absolute hit. It’s classic aesthetic and simple gameplay is addictive and brimming with nostalgia. It offers a full RPG experience with rogue-like mechanics, yet never makes you feel like you are taking a step back.
The Turrican franchise features some of the toughest and most punishing run and gun platforming gameplay you will ever come across. Especially the first game. As the series moved out to the consoles, gameplay became more balanced as Factor 5 matured and refined their creative skills. If you are up for a run and gun gameplay challenge, Turrican Flashback fits the bill.
Curse of the Dead Gods is a brutal, dark, and edgy roguelite –one that takes inspiration from others in the genre while offering plenty of unique mechanics and ideas that set it apart from its predecessors. The game is hard, but rewards are frequent and plentiful. Winning a run, or being able to purchase a few of the pricier upgrades offers extreme satisfaction, making you feel like a true adventurer. The game elegantly balances a deep and complex risk/reward mechanic, while confronting you with an intricate and brutally difficult combat system. All things considered, the risks are truly worth the rewards in Curse of the Dead Gods.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is not only a fitting tribute to a much loved classic but it’s also the rebirth of the franchise. With its punishing gameplay and brutal boss fights, even experts will find this quest a challenge. However, even with the range of accessibility options, the difficulty may deter those with a passing interest.
Haven is a noteworthy story that defines what it is like to find your home with your loved one. Yu and Kay have their ups and downs, but Haven shows that love conquers all hardships. The game is about exploring and finding new places, and of course being free to love whoever you want. Like all relationships the game isn’t perfect, but it successfully presents a warm and powerful narrative that demonstrates an adult relationship with characters that we can all relate to.
The glum visuals aren’t a deal-breaker though. The gameplay in Yupitergrad makes up for the shortcomings, as the swinging action will keep you hooked. Thanks to a pretty robust main story and the added bonus of Time Attack challenges, it will hook you in for longer than most VR titles. This is a slick title optimized for VR’s unique movement requirements, and it offers lots of fun Spider Man-style content for not many Rubles. Do your duty for the Motherland and check Yupitergrad out.
Like the visuals and the sound, my recommendation for PUSS! is a complex, chaotic beast. On the one hand, it’s a beautiful, brilliant game. I haven’t heard a game soundtrack this unique in literal years. The visuals will haunt your dreams for days after you’re done with this game. And yet, the challenge is either insurmountable or woefully insufficient. After a moment of weakness, I decided to look up some let’s plays on YouTube. It turns out I’m just not good at maze games? A man hands as shaky as these should have seen this coming, but still. My evaluation of the difficulty is tied to my skills in the genre overall. To that end, if you’re a maze gamer? This will be an absolute blast. Conversely, if you’ve got no patience for high precision movement and constant dodging, PUSS! might be a pretty bad time. Either way, you’re unlikely to see a game quite like this for a very long time.
Overall, Oneiros has proven to be a satisfying and enjoyable puzzle game to unwind with. The worlds are beautifully rendered, the puzzles are complex and challenging. It almost feels like a light-hearted digital escape room. The underlying narrative Liam is trying to unravel about events in the real world is compelling, driving the story forward as we try to understand what happened. We are teased just enough to keep wanting a little more, but Liam himself is the biggest force against immersion. Every other box from the environment, to the backstory, to the puzzles themselves, lean into the notion of something serious on the horizon, but Liam seems like he couldn’t care less. That and those minor graphical hiccups are the only thing that stand in the way of an otherwise delightful first-person puzzle game. It’s perfect for a rainy day or just relaxing after a nice dinner.
If you are looking for a nice, light rogue-like to jump into that doesn’t feel mindless, this is the game for you.
Desctruction AllStars had a chance to deliver some creative car combat and it mostly set it sights on being mediocre and forgettable. Granted it’s free for PS+ users so it’s not a large barrier to get into. But down the road this is not a game worth a price of admission unless they prove they can do something better. It’ll likely be forgotten in the eventual ocean of other PS5 exclusives that release down the road.
Nioh 2 is an excellent game on PC and if you were a fan of the first one, this is a must-buy. If you haven’t played the original, I hope the review gave you a sense of what the game is like. Are myriad of complexities in action games something that gets you excited or do they sound like needless distractions? I personally lean more to the minimalist side, but when a game pulls off its mechanics as well as Nioh 2, I don’t mind diving in once in head-first.
These two titles offer distinct, yet familiar, Mario experiences.
The Unexpected Quest mostly looks good, mostly plays good, and I would mostly recommend it. I don’t know if I’ll remember the game in a couple of months, but I still had a good time with it, even with all its frustrations. It might not be a glowing recommendation, but if you have a fantasy itch to scratch and a little money to blow, hey, why not?
Its focus on challenging platforming sections makes it stand out from other adventure games that rely on tried and tested methods. Wall-running and dashing across complex courses is a thrill and will appeal to those who enjoy challenging platformers. However, its lack of focus and mixture of mechanics may deter fans of those franchises that influenced the game.