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Wonder Boy in Monster Land's nascent fusion of platforming and role-playing mechanics creates viable candidacy for M2's meticulous talents. If the SEGA AGES line continues to explore the breadth of Sega's catalog, games that inspired creators are just as valuable as games that empowered players. Wonder Boy in Monster Land is proud to be part of the former.
Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 4 isn't a bad game at all, rather it's just an incredibly difficult one that leaves no room for novices to enter the dirt track arena. If you are a pro, then you're going to find a lot to love about this game. The multiple modes work well, the track creation is solid, and the customization in the game is on point.
There's no reason not to complete Episode Aigis with how much ATLUS has made this post-game episode easier to complete than ever before. Getting to the end of Episode Aigis and seeing Persona 3 Reload's characters' ending in a somber, yet bittersweet, fashion is a perfect way to step away from the glory that is Persona 3 Reload that has made 2024 a fantastic year for Persona fans. It bears repeating: Episode Aigis is a JRPG post-game done right; it's so right that it's worth returning to Persona 3 Reload if only to see the ending.
The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] prevails through its devotion to the garish glitz and grime of its early 90's apocalyptic techno/retro-future. It's a complete aesthetic that romanticizes graphical antiquity and idealizes a parallel with the maximum of its era's volatile culture. The artifact of The Eternal Castle may be invented and artificial, but it's no less effective in proving its power.
Dark Souls serves Ashen's premise but does not define its conclusion. By instilling senses of community and devotion inside its narrative, Ashen proves Souls' discourse expands beyond punishment and brutality. Once separated from its inspiration, Ashen has plenty to show off inside of its common space.
Outer Wilds' compact clockwork universe does more with twenty-two minutes than its spacefaring peers can imagine in a lifetime. It treats curiosity as a Möbius strip and trusts its network of divine secrets will drive the player toward a reasoned conclusion. By turning away from the zeitgeist, Outer Wilds' sublime presence can only be defined as otherworldly.
Overall, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions is not your typical card game. It adds some simple rotation changes that end up adding a thick layer of strategy to the entire gameplay design. All of this sits on top of neat and well thought through card designs and is driven by a solid difficulty arc that forces you to learn the ins/outs of the gameplay.
Below's maddening edge is an open rebellion to its quiet sophistication. It's loaded with intrigue but resistant to modern methods of approach, creating a Rorschach test where losing patience with its internal contradiction is as credible of a reaction as relishing its idiosyncratic isolation and adversity. Ultimately, Below is a curiosity in which gratification is dependent on personal resolve.
Gris is watercolor wonderland fashioned to explore and confront elements of despair and anguish. Its communication through sound and motion paints visually arresting moments and creates intimately powerful movements. Concealed inside all of this is clever and versatile platformer, an asset Gris is confident to hold as collateral for the sake of its delicate heart.
For Super Monkey Ball fans out there, this game is going to be fun because of the variety of creative mazes SEGA has in store for you. The modes beyond the main will be hit or miss depending on expectations. Nonetheless, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is mostly entertaining.
Just Cause 4 lives in the mystique of a simulation that is concurrently shattering apart and performing as designed. Agency and Chaos are rival gods condensed into a single protagonist who uses the world's most outrageous toolbox to violently and preposterously address its most rote objectives. Limitations are explosive fuel for superpowers, somehow balancing the equation that allows Just Cause 4 to make sense.
Clearly, the future for Spider-Man videogames has never been brighter.
Sifu gets a lot more right than not, and though I typically can’t stand to play games that force heavy-handed repetitive loops, I found myself enjoying Sifu too much to put it away for long. Playing Sifu is a cycle of emotions; it’s tough, fun, frustrating, and rewarding, not always in that order. I think Sloclap did a solid job overall and I would also point out that the game is priced very reasonably at about $50, too. If you enjoy detailed, authentic martial arts action, Sifu is not only one of the only choices out there, but it’s a great one.
Gearbox's release of Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition brings the missing piece of the franchise to current generation consoles. Mechanical and visual improvements solidify Borderlands has always been a fun, beautiful game that was quite forward-thinking despite some things not aging well.
On November 11, 1995, the Super Famicom system saw the release of an epic turn-based RPG. 24 years later, to the day, Romancing SaGa 3, makes its debut to the West for the first time. The remaster brings improved graphics as well as some other functions to the current generation of consoles. The JRPG brings a wonderful world back to life for all to enjoy.
Triangle Strategy is a fantastic tactical RPG, and I'm so very glad to see it ported over to the PC. It offers a near perfect balance of strategy gameplay, active worldbuilding, and passive worldbuilding to get players committed to Norzelia and her inhabitants. While the gameplay may be too handholdy for tactical veterans, its accessible enough to encourage you to spend more time playing the game rather than trying to customize characters to the best they can be. This port doesn't really offer much of an incentive for those who own the Switch version, but...the game is near perfect as is. Why bother trying to improve on a stellar tactical RPG?
The Pathless is a wonderful balance between puzzles and boss battles contained in a giant landscape. The gameplay design, specifically the boss level design, demonstrates the possibilities this new generation of consoles might offer.
Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight is the latest emphatic return to beloved characters and themes from Persona 3. While its energy is relentless and its rhythm mechanics are capable, it's hard to deny Dancing in Moonlight is a product picked, borrowed, and assembled from existing Persona games. It's a performance that moves but a show that doesn't go anywhere.
Keeping in mind the target audience and the price point, the Lego Movie 2 Videogame presents a game worth considering for fans of the movie, Lego, or casual, family-friendly play.
The stellar pace and production of Persona 5 did not require adjustments and additions to its one hundred hour run time. And yet here is Persona 5 Royal, presenting that package with integral new characters as it remodels the structure, combat, and whimsical ephemera that binds them all together. Persona 5 Royal is the most articulate and realized expression of Persona's ethos, provided one has the time (and patience) to see it through.