Leonardo Faria's Reviews
The fact Resident Evil 3 is considered to be the weakest of the recent Resident Evil remakes showcases how high Capcom set the bar for their titles. This is still, by and large, a pretty fantastic survival horror action hybrid, just marred by an annoying recurring boss and a short runtime. It looks and runs well enough on Switch 2, and its reduced pricetag basically makes up for the aforementioned reduced amount of content when compared to other Resident Evil titles. In short, it’s still a damn good title. If you haven’t played it yet, playing it for the first time on the Switch 2 is an easy recommendation.
I like the idea behind Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World. It is a creative title, mixing two specific arcade gameplay loops in a blender, adding in some occasionally funny dialogue and a self-aware sarcastic tone. It does, however, suffer from some serious performance issues, and its novelty wears off quickly. I feel like this would have been a lot more interesting if it had been better optimized, and with slightly longer play sessions, but at this point in time, I have no idea if it will be patched in the near future.
Tenebris Somnia manages to stand out in a sea of samey, repetitive indie horror games thanks to its intriguing premise, solid writing, and genuinely unique presentation. While its gameplay isn’t particularly groundbreaking, it’s far from bad, and I loved the contrast between its 8-bit, Amiga-era visuals and its shockingly well-shot, if occasionally off-putting, live-action cutscenes.
I think Konami and its development team hit the right notes with Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, especially when it comes to reintroducing a long dormant franchise to a wider audience. It’s a game of three distinct acts: a somewhat generic opening third, a middle portion that gradually picks up the pace, and a truly mesmerizing final stretch that finally feels like good old Castlevania at its finest.
I feel that I may have sounded overly harsh when talking about Order of the Sinking Star, but I want to clarify, once more, that as a puzzle game, this is outstanding. It’s a compilation of a seemingly neverending amount of finely crafted gauntlets that will test your skill, attention, and patience. I really have no qualms about its design and concept; I laud Jonathan Blow and his team in this regard. My massive gripes lie with how poorly optimized and buggy the game is, at least at launch, and most notably when testing on Switch 2. The combination of poor framerates, crashes, and bizarre aspect ratio glitches frustrated me to no end.
I don’t have a lot to complain about with Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed. It took the creative but unpolished ideas from the original Wii version, adapted them to modern console standards, and wrapped everything up with prettier visuals and better performance. This Switch 2 port, in particular, delivers what the previous Switch version couldn’t: smoother framerates, better textures, faster loading times, and one or two inventive, albeit gimmicky, uses of the joycons’ new features.
If I had to summarize Ace Combat 8 in a single word, I’d initially struggle to do so, as the game deserves pretty much every praiseworthy adjective I could throw at it. But if I had to pick just one, I’d go with “epic.” It completely immerses you in its world thanks to a thrilling story, great visuals, intuitive controls, lovable characters, and a series of missions that almost always manages to one up whatever came before.
I honestly have little to complain about. This is exactly the kind of racing game I’ve been salivating for the past decade or two. Star Wars: Galactic Racer manages to convey the feel of the classic Episode I: Racer game, as well as Burnout, with improved physics, a somewhat engaging story, a ludicrous amount of content, brutal but rewarding difficulty curve, and a roguelite campaign which won me over in an instant. More than just a game for fans, or an admittedly nostaglic trip down memory lane, this is a must-have for racing enthusiasts, and one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.
This is actually a testament to just how good Shadow of Mordor is, and how well it has stood the test of time. Even with a half-baked port that did virtually nothing to improve its visuals or performance, the fantastic gameplay and intriguing premise were more than enough to make me briefly overlook the lazy porting job and enjoy this masterpiece all over again. I expected a lot more from this release, and I’m certainly disappointed by how little effort seems to have gone into it. But Shadow of Mordor is simply too good for these shortcomings to ruin the experience.
There is a lot to like about Control Resonant. I genuinely respect how Remedy opted to make this sequel the yang to Control’s yin. It’s more aggressive, bigger in scope, technically astounding, and features some of the best combat I’ve experienced in years. This isn’t a sequel content with simply replicating its successful predecessor, it wants to push the franchise and its lore into entirely new territory. That said, its open world structure, slightly more generic setting, and less interesting protagonist make it feel less intriguing and innovative than Control.
I’m not going to pretend that every game featured in this collection is a must play. In fact, some of them are quite terrible. Still, Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection is an interesting way to experience the entirety of an underrated series, complete with improved controls, performance, and some welcome quality of life enhancements. Old school fans and anyone looking for a gaming history fix should have a blast with this collection. Just stay the hell away from Alien Breed 3D. Stick to its sequel.
I missed outings like this from Devolver. Stick It to the Stickman is an unabashedly absurd beat ’em up with a deceptively charming art style, a hilarious premise, and a genuinely fun gameplay loop to boot. More than just a comedic roguelite brawler, it’s a clear reminder of the kind of game that made both its developer and publisher famous: absurd, over the top, hilarious, but also remarkably polished and entertaining.
Doggy Don’t Care isn’t the most memorable game in recent memory, nor will it attempt to win any awards. It’s a very simple, dumb-as-a-pug mischief simulator that won’t require too much of your attention (or brain cells), but it is quite entertaining in small bursts, as in, say, one level a time. Whilst short and overly simplistic, it manages to perfectly balance the fact it doesn’t take itself seriously with it not feeling like a pointless joke, either. Shut your brain off for a few minutes while you’re playing it, and you’ll have a moderately good time.
I have played countless, much better platformers, but I have also played a crapton of vastly worse platformers. I have also played a lot of much worse Garfield games over the years. Perhaps the single most shocking aspect about Garfield: Escape from Monday is how effortlessly decent and trouble-free it is. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it isn’t a particularly memorable platforming experience, but there isn’t anything inherently wrong with it: you can play it without a care in the world, can complete it without too much trouble, and won’t ever find any big issue you’d call a dealbreaker.
Normal Golf Game manages to make its frustrating gameplay loop feel inviting and approachable, and due to how well it teaches you its mechanics, and how it presents its many optional objectives once you beat its long tutorial. It might look cheap, some of its jokes might not always land, but for the most part, I appreciated its sense of humor. In no moment did I feel like quitting this bizarre little sports game.
The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is an interesting genre-blending experiment tarnished by an occasionally poor performance and button responsiveness. I was really impressed with how seemless the mixture between beat ’em up combat and survival horror elements felt. When you manage to get a groove of the controls, as well as the uneven difficulty curve, this becomes really enjoyable, and incredibly tense at times. With a few patches and fixes in its pacing, this might even become one of the best Walking Dead-themed games out there. Let’s wait and see.
I never thought I’d say this, but Maestro is now one of the mandatory games every Switch 2 owner should pick up. It’s a fantastic example of how to adapt an existing motion-based game to Nintendo’s new hardware, taking full advantage of its capabilities with pristine performance and joycon controllers that track your movements with far greater precision.
I will make my confession: I expected nothing from What Have You Done Father, and I ended up liking its story, despite the confusing ending. It is a really interesting premise and setting, but considering the small runtime, budgetary limitations, and near absence of interactivity, I feel this would have worked better as a movie. It deserves some credit for creativity and care put into it, considering its limitations, but as a game, it’s a tough recommendation. Maybe at a discount…
Sure, it has aged poorly in a few areas, but the core gameplay remains just as entertaining more than three decades later. This charming game absolutely nails that “just one more run” feeling that every roguelike strives for, yet surprisingly few manage to perfect.
It’s impossible to write a review for NBA 2K27, or any of its many predecessors, without sounding like a scratched record. When you’re not tied to a portable, which features some kind of different appeal and a novelty factor, what you have here is the same as bloody always: a competent game, a truly well-put basketball simulator with a sizeable amount of content, but one that hasn’t even dared to innovate for the past decade or so. The same modes, data collecting, product placement, microtransactions, the same bloat that makes you want for the return of a more arcade-focused basketball game,