Digital Chumps
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Enhanced as it may be, Risen 3: Titan Lords is still a very rough experience with too many problems that outweigh its merits.
Puzzlers exist in an interesting genre. From Tetris to Bookworm to Angry Birds to The Talos Principle, they all add unique dashes of panache to the classic game type. Portal made a seismic impact onto the puzzle platformer subgroup, proving that teasing the mind's critical thinking quality could be just as commercially viable as the usual "action" release. Magnetic stands as one of the more blatant attempts at recapturing that magic, even down to story lines. I don't necessarily dislike the basic idea here, nor do I think it's exponentially inferior to Portal's gimmick. Electromagnetism is one of the four forces of nature, and the magnetic field could play host to a great number of interesting gameplay possibilities. The problem is that the puzzles don't consistently deliver the complexity needed for them to be considered challenging. After completing the first several events and learning all the tools of the trade, identifying the test elements and stringing together the solution in one's head takes just a minute or two. Primarily, the challenge comes from simply executing the steps, being careful not to fall and get burned, hacked, or gassed to death. Magnetic works best as a platformer, which may be disappointing for those who wanted intermediate to advanced puzzling.
Though surely there's plenty of room for additional features and improvement, Super Mario Maker is a user-generated content experience assembled with the wisdom and mature philosophy of gaming's finest.
Surrounded by a weapons-grade aura of jubilation, Tearaway Unfolded rejects traditional applications of skepticism. Criticism just evaporates under tidal waves of color and personality, positive themes and excessive joy, and the heart-melting sentiment of its ending.
A welcomed release on the PS4 that is a blast with friends for satisfying, short player sessions.
Back to Bed is a visual upgrade from its mobile brethren, but it still maintains the quick, casual fun that the mobile side sported. If you like a decent puzzle game, this might be worth looking at on the PlayStation 4.
Only Final Fantasy could get away with the paradox of a clean slate that simultaneously references countless tropes endemic to its name. Type-0 HD can feel like the tortuous result of hasty assembly, but if allowed the time and energy to piece itself together, it stands as clear and original as others bearing its exalted title.
The joy of I Am Bread is the frustration that you have to go through to get to its goals . The wacky control scheme and the uncooperativeness of it all is a planned design, as well as the driving point for the game. Much like Bossa Studios' Surgeon Simulator, which is more about the complication of trying to perform surgery with individually assigned buttons for fingers, I Am Bread is lighter version of that same concept where it's not quite as frustrating, but still nonetheless a chore to play through.
Overall, the gameplay for Madden NFL 16 has been refined, simplified and improved. It feels like it's going back to a time where playing a football game was less of a chore and more fun. I think EA Tiburon hit the right notes with this year's Madden and has opened the door for everyone wanting to play a good game of football on their current generation system. Kudos to them for logical and entertaining gameplay improvements.
An indie gem that shouldn't be missed regardless of your platform of choice. It would have been ideal to see this re-release separate itself more from previous versions, but it's still a very good and memorable experience.
If anyone reading this has a One but hasn't experienced Gears first hand, this is a must buy right before the rush of the holiday releases really gets going in a month or so. For long time Gear heads, I still think this is a worthy hard drive partition, and makes retiring the 360 from your HDMI ports that much easier.
Until Dawn doesn't hide what it's trying to do. It's a game that focuses on story and QTE heavy gameplay. It has linear design driving it, while only deviating from the course with player choices, which affect the direction of the story. If you can accept these things, and realize it's not perfect, then you're going to probably enjoy Supermassive Games' horror show.
The premise of Hacknet and my preexisting interest in the idea of a UNIX-based hacking sim had me going into this excited and hopeful. The quality gameplay and sense of reward from figuring things out kept me playing hours on end, and excited to tell others how cool of a game this was. Check it out.
The Descent is a good addition to the Dragon Age: Inquisition family. It has great atmosphere, wonderful level design and motivates the player to explore the Deep Roads a bit. It does get repetitive in the enemy department, and brutal at times in terms of difficulty, though the rewards help to ease the pain a bit.
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture's take on interactive fiction is admirable, even in its struggle to manage personal discovery alongside narrative composition. I love its calamitous tranquility, I identify with the plights of its characters, and I'm enamored with its confident storytelling, but its reluctance to disclose its disposition adversely affects its capability. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is at the front of the line, although I can't help but wonder if it could have started its own path.
Galak-Z pushes the freewheeling buoyancy of 80's anime against a hostile ecosystem of evil empires, insane pirates, and skeevy space bugs. Beneath this veneer of chaos is a shifting alliance of applied skill and honest luck, and muscling toward the former forces the player to fight every fight like it's their last. As roguelikes go, Galak-Z's tireless air of optimism makes a case for its own dimension.
The Swindle is frustrating at first glance, but smooths out to spread its steampunk wings thanks to some good depth, variety and quick gameplay style.
Rare Replay is loaded with gems and classics that by and large have stood the test of time. Modern tweaks and goodies make it all the more worthwhile. It's the best value in gaming, and sets the bar for any compilation going forward.
Legend of Kay Anniversary is a worthy nod to a 2005 game. Despite its flaws, such as the irritating camera movement, it contains some fun moments, improved graphics and a few other little things to remind you how good it was back in the day.
It's easy to get lost inside Submerged's desolate seascapes. Its desire for pacifism and drive for hope are worthy talents, but it's the call to adventure—to indulge and explore marine tranquility and conquering vegetation—that you'll keep with you, if only for a little while.