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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.
Fusing the rich game world of Persona with real-time combat, Omega Force and P-Studio have created a new Persona of their own and it is a worthy addition to a classic franchise.
Being almost double the length of its predecessor, Little Nightmares II is a larger, more disgusting beast that is essential to gamers that are intrigued by the morbid. Whether you enjoy art, cinema, or games that explore themes of the grotesque, there are not many examples of it being done this well.
Overall, TOHU’s lovely aesthetic, challenging puzzles, and do-it-yourself style of direction make this a real winner in my eyes. While so much good hits a real stumbling block with controls not designed for a controller, it didn’t stop me from really enjoying this unique and wacky world. And I appreciate the complicated puzzles that are enjoyably difficult instead of ‘smash your head against a wall’ hard. I would recommend TOHU, especially if you’ve somehow managed to figure out quicker reaction times with your controller than I have.
It took me around three hours to complete Silver Chains, and if you’re looking for a distraction for an evening you could do worse – but you could also do so, so much better.There are a couple of interesting moments scattered around, apart from the aforementioned maze there’s quite a nice moment in the opening minutes involving a record player and a door slamming and an interesting dream sequence later on, but these moments are rare.
The gameplay is fun for a time, but once you see what Curious Expedition 2 has to offer, you will start to look beneath the surface. If you do that and you still like what you see, maybe you’ll have a new indie favorite. Or maybe you’ll find that your curiosity is quickly sated, and you’ll move on to the next thing.
Overall, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is both a solid addition to the Ys franchise, as well as a good starting point for newcomers. While the combat can get a little repetitive, the overall gameplay loop does enough to keep players coming back for more. Monstrum Nox can feel a bit generic in various aspects at times, but beneath the surface is a deeper RPG than expected. The overall narrative combined with interesting characters, solid gameplay, and strong side content make Ys IX: Monstrum Nox a fun experience.
Although the game is on the short side, it undeniably offers a fun experience for a small group of family and friends.
Tough, beautiful retro games might seem like they’re everywhere these days. You might be losing track of them all in the midst of this recent deluge. I promise Cyber Shadow is one of the good ones. A delicate balance is struck between challenge and accessibility, leaving you bloodied and eager for more. The art and the music is among the best you’ll see all year long. Finally, the mechanical guts of this game are perfectly tuned. While some players will be rebuked by certain NES-era sensibilities (like the knockback effect), the overall experience is practically sublime. If you’re looking for a Ninja Gaiden send-up that’s been dragged into the 21st century, look no further than Cyber Shadow.