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All in all, I don’t think I can recommend Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. Maybe if you have a dedicated gaming PC and don’t care about lackluster narrative presentation, you’ll enjoy it. As it is, I can only shake my head and go back to Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a great addition to the franchise. Its personal story develops Aloy’s character and gives a glimpse into a different side of her. The new characters drive the narrative further to deliver a memorable tale. It’s easy to comment on the similarities with previous releases, however, the DLC offers more than this. While there are some uneven boss encounters, the jaw-dropping final segment and beautiful setting make this an unforgettable trip to LA.
The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story successfully delves further into the lore of the franchise while offering a new experience that will appeal to newcomers. The high-tempo combat and engaging narrative, make this an enthralling action RPG that will keep you hooked throughout. Although the side missions and some of the hub world extras feel a little unnecessary, the slick gameplay will keep you coming back for more.
It’s a shame when a game is built around a mechanic, only to have that element not live up to its potential. Stray Blade is all about dodges, parries and rolls, but they’re sluggish and imprecise and just don’t work very well. Aside from that frustration, Stray Blade has attractive art and level design, familiar action RPG mechanics, and maybe even some potential, if the combat can be patched into better shape.
Minecraft Legends can be commended for its impressive visuals and unique-to-Minecraft gameplay style. Unfortunately, it’s just too convoluted and too tedious. I simply did not enjoy my time with it. I don’t know how many times I would want to build a structure or mob, and I’d have to spend far too long trying to find resources. Controlling mobs is almost impossible. Gameplay just moves too fast to really utilize any sort of precision. Ultimately it comes down less to strategy and more to attrition; just keep spamming piglin bases with mobs and hope you don’t die too often. Minecraft Legends is a difficult game to recommend, even for the most hardcore of Minecraft fans.
For the old fans, Re-Boot Camp is practically perfect. The games look much better, while the mechanical guts are properly preserved. On the other hand, if you remember these games being frustrating, that feeling will persist. If you’ve never played the Advance Wars games, you’re in for a fascinating experience. The heavy Fire Emblem influences are balanced with a more brutal, more inconsistent pace that will keep you on your toes at all times. I found myself (an old fan) elated and infuriated in equal measure. If you’re looking for a strategy RPG set apart from the rest, good news! Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp isn’t quite like anything you’ve played before. Love it or hate it, you’ll certainly be engaged.
The team at Bithell Games has an obvious love for their subject. This is true for writers of most fanfic. The challenge is creating an engaging narrative experience for those not on the inside, so the casual gamer can sweep away the jargon and lore, and be swept away by the story. This is where TRON: Identity struggles. TRON fans will probably enjoy spending a little bit of stylish time in their favorite fictional world. For everyone else, the claustrophobic story and lack of a high stakes payoff might be disappointing.
Overall, Kill It With Fire VR is a fun time and one that is well suited to VR. Taking the tried and true formula of the 2D original, tinyBuild has upped the ante and added a new layer of immersion. While the experience lacks depth after a while, there’s no doubt that it combines gross-out horror with colorful fun in a way that few games these days can match.
Dead Island 2 is gory and gruesome, with action that is often ridiculously entertaining. It has just enough narrative and social satire to push the game along, and enough depth, systems and mechanics to make killing thousands of zombies engaging for its substantial run time. Dead Island 2 might not be the deepest swimming pool in Bel Air, but playing it was the most creative, scary fun I’ve had with a shooter in quite some time.
The Battle Network games are a curious chapter in the larger Mega Man saga. If you’ve never played them, you’ll be shocked by how different they are. If you did grow up with these games, they probably form a massive chunk of your Mega Man knowledge. Having played them for the first time, I can easily recommend them. They add a curious new twist on the usual reflex-based Mega Man strategy. I wish there was more variety in the games. Fewer mazes couldn’t hurt, either. But if you’ve ever wanted something different from the Blue Bomber, you’re in luck. The Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is exactly what you’re looking for.
Hunt the Night is a love letter to 16-bit era action adventure games. There’s something for fans of almost every genre in this gem of a game. I won’t be surprised if it finds a fairly major audience. It’s a concise synthesis of so many great gameplay and visual ideas. All of my complaints are minor nitpicks. And they’re still just based on my personal preferences. If a physical console version becomes available, I’ll be first in line to buy it.
GORN is a limited gameplaying experience. There is an undeniable visceral thrill in beating your opponents to a pulp, but it’s a thrill that doesn’t last long. There’s also no denying that sometimes you just want to play a game that is mindless fun. GORN certainly fills such a need. It’s just a shame that this port doesn’t elevate the original game in any way.
Obviously, no fan needs every faction and race. But if you love Total War: Warhammer III and the Chaos side of things, Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs is an excellent addition to the game. The Chaos Dwarfs bring a unique style of play and offer an engaging new way to experience the campaigns. The Chaos Dwarfs are also a ton of fun in skirmishes. It’s on the pricey side compared to prior DLC, but absolutely worth it for fans of the game.
Curse of the Sea Rats is disappointing. It’s a pretty bland Metroidvania. It has a unique visual style, but its gameplay completely relies on its multiplayer option to hide its shortcomings. The game also needs a bit more polish. I was immediately very excited when I booted up the game, but I quickly soured. If the visual style wasn’t so interesting, and there wasn’t a multiplayer option the score would be a lot lower. Only play Curse of the Sea rats if you love the idea of a simple 4 player Metroidvania.
Realistically, patches that are coming for the game may continue to make The Last of Us on PC even better. If the patches can improve the playability then the port will become akin to its console predecessors and contemporaries. However, for now, the crashes, visual bugs, texture glitches, and stuttering is not something that can be ignored. Until then, if you’re a first-time The Last of Us player and you’re looking for a seamless and non-buggy experience on PC, it may be better to wait for patches to truly get the best out of this incredible story and game.
Everspace 2 has a substantial story, solid flight and combat mechanics, and incredibly addictive, satisfying action. If looter/shooter and space combat don’t seem compatible, Everspace 2 proves they can work together quite well. The narrative, breathless arcade space battles, and deep customization keep Everspace 2 engaging for its full running time and beyond.
Road 96: Mile 0 is a wonderful snapshot of a world that many fell in love with. While the game steps away from its procedural roots, it does so to offer a fresh experience. The new gameplay aspects are a joy and the storytelling is stellar which makes DigixArt’s latest release a must for fans of narrative-driven games.
Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition is the best boxing VR game to date. The new controllers allow you to freely move around the ring and pick out your shot. This increases the immersion to create some incredible moments. Unfortunately, the new campaign follows the same loop of the original and doesn’t offer anything new. However, the actual in ring action is a knockout combo.
While the game may be overwhelming for some at the start, Out of the Park Baseball 24 does have several tutorials available to help get players started. Learning curve aside, Out of the Park Baseball 24 has been the most in-depth baseball simulation I have ever played in my life. While I enjoy both gameplay-based and simulation-based baseball games, Out of the Park Baseball 24 will be my exclusive simulation baseball experience of the year.
If you’re in the mood for biting social commentary and atmospheric dystopian cyberpunk, play Mato Anomalies. Otherwise, you can safely skip this title. It will make a certain kind of gamer very happy. I certainly had fun in the city of Mato.