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Knockout Home Fitness has a clear objective and target audience: this is a game for people looking to get in shape that replicates a workout routine with a personal trainer. It never really pretends to be much more, like an addictive video game. That will be fine for many people, but if you’re hoping for more, Ring Fit Adventure is still the undisputed champ.
In the end, Colors Live is a great little program for beginners or for those who just want to do some doodling while you’re out and about. It’s got the basics that can help you learn the ins and outs of digital art while not bogging down newbies with a plethora of brushes and features. If you’re seriously considering getting into digital art, there are many programs and hardware you can pick up at the cheap, which will give you all the options to make great art. But for a younger person, picking up a physical copy of this game at $49.99 USD, which comes with the impressive Sonar Pen, is a fantastic way to let out that inner Van Gogh.
The thing is, there’s not a lot of games in the style of King of Dragon Pass. There’s not a lot of games like Vagrus period. Even in the world of indie RPGs, it’s rare to encounter writing so rich, or such an original world. Vagrus is exactly what I hope to get from my indie games, ideas so original that I can’t quite articulate what they could have done better. With immersive music, stylish art, creative combat, and a sometimes baffling interface, Vagrus: The Riven Realms is what you’re looking for if you are tired of versions of the same game, over and over again.
Caveats noted, playing Hell Let Loose with a decent squad of players willing to communicate, a competent commander, and skills sufficient to the moment is a unique, exciting, and extremely rewarding first-person shooter experience, ultimately much more satisfying than the arcade shooters to which most players are accustomed. Getting to the point of real comfort with the game’s mechanics, interface and team systems takes a commitment of time and the willingness to learn from others and the game’s written material, and is definitely not for everyone. Hell Let Loose does a great job of reminding us how important teamwork, communication, and reliance on others can be, not just in war but maybe in the broader context of our lives.
I didn’t know what I wanted out of The Riftbreaker. But the result feels both natural and necessary. Of course, you would blend careful base planning with high-speed swarms of monsters. Why wouldn’t we mix these three ideas into one? The RTS strategy, the survival sim resource management, and the tense action all make for a singular experience. This isn’t for everyone, to be sure. Less of a sprint and more of a marathon, the challenge of The Riftbreaker is both sustained and intense. This means things like pacing hiccups feel a lot more potent. Even if the prospect of an extended campaign like this seems daunting, the game’s lush visuals are a soothing balm. If you want something more out of the RTS genre, The Riftbreaker will have what you’re looking for.
Any Nickelodeon fan could easily name off a dozen or so characters notably absent from the game’s roster – as a TMNT fan, the lack of Raphel, Donatello, and the expansive list of their villains, such as Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, and more, is a big disappointment. I imagine we’ll get some DLC in the future, in fact, there have already been some rumours about who might be included. My only hope is that they’ll provide new stages in addition to new characters. If you’re finally bored of Smash Bros. Ultimate and need a similar alternative, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl might scratch that itch, but just barely.
Games like The Hinokami Chronicles are about feeling fast, powerful, and cool. It’s about piloting people like Tanjiro and Zenitsu, and seeing what their incredible strength can do. These are fighting games where you and a friend are panicking, shouting at one another as explosions and effects fill the entire screen. Within this framework, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles succeeds with flying colors. The exploration sections are somewhat dull, the fighters are interchangeable, and the story is told in a separate menu, but the parts that need to work, do. Combat is crazy, fast, and deeply satisfying. Whether this is your first 3D arena fighter or your fifteenth, The Hinokami Chronicles are a lot of fun.
Back 4 Blood is one that I’ll be playing for a long time to come. Turtle Rock Studios has committed to improving the game, both through new content and patches. And I trust that they’ll right most of the wrongs with their latest zombie-slaying simulator. It may feel light on content, and you’ll need a team of people if you want to make any actual progress, but hop on board now, and you still be pleasantly surprised at just how fun Back 4 Blood can be.
World War Z’s story was, and remains, a background element whose task is to move the player from episode to episode. Aftermath’s two new episodes are set in interesting environments, and the game’s additions and fixes will be welcome to those returning to World War Z as well as to those just starting out. The first person mechanic has potential but remains incomplete, and the new Vanguard likewise might appeal to those wanting to level a new class. Like the base game, Aftermath sans human players might not be a hard pass, but it isn’t the experience the developers intended. With some friends, or at least competent random homo sapiens, World War Z Aftermath provides a unique take on a familiar enemy and does a great job of translating the terror-inducing swarm of zombies mechanic from film to videogame.
Ionia has some appealing concepts and the environmentally-conscious themes show its heart is in the right place. The climbing mechanic and other physical interactions are also well suited to VR. But there just isn’t enough to do, and in Ionia’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it run time I was never challenged physically or mentally. Even the centerpiece musical aspects really just amounted to me plunking a few notes and moving on. Despite a few highlights, this is one adventure that doesn’t live up to the magical premise.
All in all, Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is a tough but rewarding exploration of a grim fantasy world populated by ruthless immortals, mindless constructs, and weary civilians whose lives have been horrifically twisted by forces beyond their control. The revamped movement options made traversing the expanded world a treat, though I would’ve liked a fast travel system that didn’t clash with my hoarding instincts. If you like Metroidvanias and Soulslikes and always wanted to know what it would be like if the two genres fused, then Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is for you.
While it may seem like Insurgency: Sandstorm has built-in anchors, it might be the best type of FPS for how it creatively builds on top of hurdles. There are no shortcuts to the objective, but scores of players would prefer it that way. To survive, you must be adept at the FPS genre. To thrive, you must be studious at the briefing and in the field. There’s nothing quite like a successful mission borne of organization and good teamwork. That’s why triumph on the battlefield alongside your fellow squadmates makes all the challenges seem worth the hassle. Hell, sometimes there’s no fun without it.
In the end, Kerbal Space Program: Enhanced Edition is potentially the type of game I could definitely lose myself in. The amount of options to build your craft, the variety of things you have to do to maintain your space program, the charming Kerbs you blast into a million pieces, and the feeling of accomplishment when you reach a new milestone are the kinds of things I look for in a simulation.
At its core, Far Cry 6 both shines and suffers from many of the same strengths and weaknesses that have characterized the last few entries in the franchise. On one hand, it has incredibly engaging action and an open world begging to be used creatively. On the other, it has repetitive and sometimes rote mission design, with disconcerting tonal shifts that seat inconceivable brutality and violence at the same table with silly, absurd humor that feels at best disrespectful, and at worst, wildly inappropriate. What finally elevates Far Cry 6 is a better-than-average cast, and a more comprehensible and grounded story that is set in one of the most lavish and beautiful environments ever created for a game. It’s fascinating, flawed, and full of contradictions. It’s a Far Cry game.
Metroid Dread takes small, but significant, steps to expand and innovate upon the established series formula. Metroid and Metroidvania fans alike won’t want to miss this entry.
If you’re hungering to take a stab at some new Saints & Sinners content, Aftershocks delivers lots of new gameplay. It doesn’t throw any crazy new ideas or new story elements at you, but it does add some enjoyable extra hours of combat-based fun to be had in post-apocalyptic New Orleans, including the chance to keep upgrading your home base with all that sweet new loot. Plus, without spoiling anything, Skydance seems to hint at more Saints & Sinners DLC to come — until then, as a free update for existing Saints & Sinners players, Aftershocks is a no-brainer.
As a big fan of the original, the announcement of Alan Wake Remastered was a pleasant surprise. And while I enjoyed my time with it, I can’t help but feel like this is merely a tiny taste of what’s to come. Veterans of the franchise won’t find any reason to go back, and if they do, they may even find that the memory of playing Alan Wake is better than the game itself. Newcomers will find a lot to love; however, granted, they can grind through its annoyances.
Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is a lovely, family-friendly adventure. Its non-violent approach means that anyone can jump in and enjoy the 1930s inspired game. Although heavily influenced by those that came before, the game manages to find its own identity with its refreshing take on conventions. Whilst there are odd performance issues and a lack of challenge, it’s still a wonderful experience that deserves your attention.
I really enjoyed my time guiding my flock of Trebhum from danger to salvation. And I hope you will too. Just remember to roll like you didn’t know you could.
But that’s the thing, if all games were judged on their story, many masterpieces wouldn’t be very good, especially in the Metroidvania genre. A good story is a bonus, and Unsighted’s gameplay is fundamentally near-perfect. But I can’t help being disappointed at what this could have been with good writing. If I could have really fallen in love with the characters, it would have been so emotional when they turned mad, or if I was to be forced to choose between them and someone else I may need to beat the game.