Digital Chumps
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The Crew 2 Demolition Derby is an update that makes the game feel more fully realized.
There’s a lot of things about the series, and DoA6 specifically, that aren’t all that endearing to me, but underneath that noise there is an impressive fighting game with some deeper mechanics than it appears at first look.
Jettomero: Hero of the Universe offsets despair with panicky optimism and traps the ensuing fallout inside of a dizzy planet-obliterating robot. It's an alien venue for exploring the range and control of depression, but also one that expresses comfort and warmth along its journey. Resolution, through either perception or reality, casts Jettomero as a sympathetic hero negotiating inescapable desolation.
Omen of Sorrow offers a lot of modes, unlocks, characters, and some decent fighting elements, but it doesn’t quite have the polish or draw to keep me invested. For genre fans, though, it’s worth checking into.
Indygo, while certainly nothing groundbreaking with mechanics, is a frightfully accurate portrayal of what happens in the mind of someone suffering from depression. The narrative is clearly more important than the game's mechanics, and that shows at times, but the combination of mechanics, dialogue choice and acting help to push the message about how devastating depression can be for an individual suffering from it.
In a medium consumed by flash and artificiality, Moss presents a mature and genuine alternative.
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 isn't the best in the series, but it's solid enough to justify it's sequel monicker. Blackout is such an exhilarating take on the Battle Royale genre that it's hard to not recommend it to even casual fans. Zombies is engaging and fun, especially with its story, but I wish it took more liberties with its maps. Multiplayer is great for veteran Call of Duty players, but offers little to no innovation over previous entries in the series.
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is an ok game. The fun characters and story are engaging but the game does feel old. For fans of the original version, this game will be great for you. For new players, this game will test your patience.
If you need a challenge that is less forgiving than the Dark Souls' series, then you want Demon's Souls. Bluepoint Games brings the very essence of the original 2009 title with this remastered version, upgrades the experience with PS5 hardware, and makes the game more terrifying.
In sum, Skunkape has done another excellent job remastering an old point-and-click gem from the Telltale archives of years past. Though I wouldn’t put the Sam & Max episodic adventures in my all time list for the genre, they do rank highly, and are absolutely worth playing if you enjoy the genre or want to experience some zany plots and characters. We’ll look forward to the third and final remaster hopefully next year.
Weird Beluga attempted to merge two distinct genres of game with Clid the Snail: top-down shooter and narrative. Although they succeeded on the worldbuilding and narrative front, the gunplay feels unforgiving, repetitive, and frustrating. I can't sleight them for trying something new, as I generally enjoyed Clid's grimy world, but I really did want more. I can't wait to see where Weird Beluga go, as Clid is a good start for hopefully something better in the future.
It's a moving and relatable narrative that allows you inside our protagonist's life and personal experiences of her subconscious. It's a damn good game.
Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition brings a nice set of content to a two-year old experience, which includes an extended map, a new/awesome action in Armiger Unleashed, new vehicles to work with and a more open world feel to it all. Be forewarned, though, for those experiencing it for the first time you will also get the flaws that still exist from the 2016 release. The new content does help motivate the continuation of the game and does a solid job of engaging the player, far more than the initial release, but it also sprinkles in lingering thoughts of what could have been, if there had been more time and money spent with the game.
My Brother Rabbit is a pleasant surprise, a welcomed departure from the norm (for me), and a game I'm happy to recommend.
Devil May Cry's appearance on Switch should be regarded as an essential installment of modern gaming history. Its genesis in Resident Evil, unconscious evolution of the beat 'em up genre, and conception of stylish-action showcase the fierce innovation demonstrated by the PlayStation 2 in 2001. In 2019, the primordial Devil May Cry may be more frustrating than fun, but what it lacks in comfort it corrects with prestige.
Resident Evil 5 is a product of its time. It is also a product of Resident Evil 4's time. The generation-defining strength of the latter pushed against the contemporary ideas of the former, creating a surplus of vaguely Resident Evil content masquerading around in 2009's milieu of cooperative action games. Depending on your expectations, Resident Evil 5 either remains a blissfully cooperative version of Resident Evil 4 or a harbinger of the monstrosity that became Resident Evil 6.
Solar Ash's sin of less than ideal platforming progression is outweighed by its constantly surprising, intoxicating world that features stunning vistas explored using primal speed, asking the player to be along for its dreamy ride.
Rainbow Six Extraction somehow translates the phenomenal gunplay from Siege into tense PvE incursions but can stumble with Operator diversification and mission variety as teams master their relentless and deadly alien foes.
Dynasty Warriors 9 is extremely repetitive, and it gets to the point of frustration and boredom. The graphics in game are nothing to talk about. It would be different if the game had subpar gameplay and beautiful scenery, but you won't find that here. Unchallenging combat is just salt in the wound. This is not a game I recommend, and its 80 something playable characters cannot save it.
Book of Demons is a dungeon-crawler that contains an addictive card game element as the crux of its gameplay design while making the experience as easy as possible for the player to stay focused on creative elements of the game. While it does request you to think strategically about how you approach each dungeon as you explore them, it doesn't throw an overbearing layer on top of its simplistic gameplay design that muddles up the fun it wants you to have as you progress through the game.