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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is an excellent sequel. It has the smooth skateboard gameplay we all know and love, with tons of features and modes.
In a landscape littered with lazy, poorly optimized or outright broken PC ports, Stellar Blade stands out for its attention to detail, wealth of options and strong performance. It’s a great way to experience one of the best action-adventure RPGs from 2024.
Front Mission 3 Remake is a fantastic strategy JRPG. It has excellent combat, and deep mech customization, led by an engrossing story. It’s easy to get sucked into the conflict of the Front Mission world. And that early choice leading to different narratives truly shocked me. I had no idea! The game does have some visual oddities and too much framerate stutter in its cutscenes, but I would still say Front Mission 3 Remake is a must-play for fans of strategy JRPGs.
Playing Dune: Awakening is an uneven experience. The survival and building loops start strong, then eventually bog down, but experiencing the Dune universe and Arrakis is always engaging. If the game’s combat could reach the heights of its stellar world-building, Dune: Awakening would be very hard to put down. As it is, the game’s crafting/survival loops are just strong enough to keep me playing when its combat tempts me to stop.
On the Switch 2, performance is great both in handheld and docked, allowing Sonic X Shadow Generations to be a solid launch offering. For those interested in purchasing a physical copy of this game, be advised that it is in a Game-Key Card format.
I loved Chronicles of the Wolf. It’s rare to find a game inspired by proto-Metroidvania NES adventure games. It’s also rare to find a game that looks like a Sega Genesis action platformer.
It’s drop-dead gorgeous and introduces enough new mechanics to feel fresh while never alienating what makes the franchise so special. Death Stranding 2 is undoubtedly one of the best games of the year, and well worth the agonizing six-year wait.
Firebreak is emblematic of the old saying – “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The early missions are not reflective of the true depth and replayability the game offers. If you invest a bit of time and upgrade your kit, there is a lot of fun to be had here.
I wish the visuals felt more worthy of the Nintendo Switch 2, but they still look better than ever before. If you’ve played the original, I’m not sure if you want the remaster. But if you haven’t, you simply can’t miss Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster.
All games build on or look back at what’s come before. The Alters makes a delicious stew out of familiar ingredients, both from other 11 bit studios games and popular genres. Taking survival and building mechanics and adding a complex layer of social simulation isn’t entirely foreign to this developer, but The Alters feels genuinely original, and that’s a bit miraculous in an industry full of sequels and remakes. Ironically, while the game might be about clones, The Alters is anything but a copy of something else.
Star Overdrive is a gorgeous and ambitious indie third-person adventure game. It has lofty dreams of being Breath of the Wild with SSX-style hoverboard traversal. The exploration and board riding feel great. I loved the gameplay loop of travelling to new areas and gaining powers from dungeons. But the combat is way too simple, and obviously masked by a way too forgiving difficulty. A lot of the RPG mechanics are light and work well, but the hoverboard crafting system is an unexpected, overly complicated mess. There are a lot of interesting ideas in Star Overdrive. Even though they’re not all well-executed, I urge anyone curious to give it a try.
All in all, RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is an enjoyable update to an already compelling game. Some of the bells and whistles are irritating and the fusion system could be better. But I heartily recommend it to fans of stylish action RPGs and occult mystery titles.
Still, these elements come together to deliver a narrative-driven experience that remains true to Tron’s identity, even if the gameplay doesn’t always live up to the ambition of its story.
I would recommend Gex Trilogy to fans of retro platformers, who’ve played all the classics. These games aren’t must-play, but are a great option for someone wanting more platforming titles in their library.
Overture might not be a proper sequel, but it is a great reminder about what makes Lies of P such a fantastic Soulslike.
Badminton Time! VR struggles to capture the addictive rhythm of the sport, with flawed mechanics undermining the experience from the ground up.
As far as launch titles go, Mario Kart World is a real banger. The races are more chaotic and intense, the world feels huge, and there’s a ton of racers to choose from. Also, the skill ceiling feels higher.
While Welcome Tour did offer me a few hours of enjoyment and I learned a bunch about the new console, I doubt I’ll ever find the need to come back to it. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, as a paid title, is difficult to recommend, even to the most hardcore of Nintendo fans.
The Nintendo Switch seemed to handle the game quite well, aside from a minor issue with the main characters’ hair.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die isn’t literally a sequel, of course. It’s an interesting switch to a new genre, and a gamble that pays off. With its fast, challenging, colorful action and a unique setting, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die puts a compelling spin on familiar roguelike mechanics. Both fans of the genre and the first Lost in Random game should find plenty to enjoy.