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Open Roads has a strong emotional core and great performances from its leads, but simplistic gameplay and some clumsy writing hold it back.
Freedom Planet 2 is fun chaos at every turn.
Overall, the quality of Death Noodle Delivery is a bit inconsistent. Its use of Paperboy as a fun game structure to then have those more introspective moments is a good idea and executed fairly well. However, some clumsiness with themes and plot, as well as some awkward gameplay choices, mean it never quite achieves the potential that it has.
What's here is a shining example of how a studio can find its niche and iterate on it without playing it safe. Shiny Shoe has really made something special here and with season leaderboards and multiplayer adding even more layers of potential competition and metaprogression, it really feels like Inkbound is a must-play for anyone who enjoys the roguelike genre.
Though short, the time players do get to spend in the world is made immersive and engaging through its diverse map, classical soundtrack, and ambient nature sounds. It's definitely one of 2024's most relaxing puzzle games so far, and I found myself thinking about Arabella and her strange plants even after I'd finished the story. Because of its length, some players may wish to wait for a sale to pick up Botany Manor, but it's an undeniably charming title that's great to explore and unwind with.
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is a focus tool game featuring lofi music to help gamers unwind and complete real-life tasks. Gamers can collect Spirits, customize living spaces, and facilitate real-life tasks.
Honkai: Star Rail is also constantly giving players free pulls through simple login events, so while the magnitude of the rewards in the anniversary event should not come as a surprise, they are still remarkable. Overall, combining the anniversary event’s fun and generosity, alongside the involving depth of the narrative and the superb quality of the new 5-star characters, Honkai: Star Rail 2.1 is possibly the best patch yet. Hopefully, that can be surpassed.
It's hard to determine exactly who Snow Day is meant to be for. The ideal player of South Park: Snow Day has three other friends who are extremely into South Park, to the point of enjoying anything with the character's faces painted on it, and those three friends also enjoy battling waves upon waves of unintelligent NPC fodder with single button mashes while occasionally pressing one of two other buttons to execute an ability. These four friends should also laugh hilariously at the idea of a Taylor Swift album fetching "nearly half a roll" on the toilet paper black market - honestly, if that one joke doesn't snag you, it's all downhill from there.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is never truly challenging and could use a choice of a harder difficulty setting to keep things more interesting. Players will have to replay levels multiple times to get 100% completion, and one drawback is that missing one item will require playing the entire level again rather than being able to backtrack, which can get frustrating. Overall, Princess Peach: Showtime! is an extremely enjoyable game, offers a significant amount of content, and is something that could be enjoyed by anyone.
That's the most egregious example, but it happens quite often on a smaller scale: NPCs popping in randomly, guards attacking for seemingly no reason (especially frustrating after the last lap on their patrol drew no ire), the aforementioned instances of quests apparently not progressing. At times, Dragon's Dogma 2 feels like it came out shortly after its predecessor, an early- to mid-2010s game with a vibrant coat of paint. Sometimes it's endearing, but it really kills the game's incredible momentum when you're ripped from immersion without a clue as to why. Clunkiness aside, Dragon's Dogma 2 still manages to be a wonderful journey, and a true novelty among fantasy RPGs.
Outcast - A New Beginning unfortunately lacks many aspects needed to revitalize this cult classic for the modern day. With an archaic gameplay loop and middling action, it’s not quite the follow-up to a revolutionary experience that fans may way. Although some may enjoy a return to Adelpha, and there’s quality to be found in exploration, this is an open world game that fails to hit the mark.
The plight of the goblins and their allies vacillates between heartwarming and viscerally upsetting, with deft storytelling that's nearly impossible not to be enraptured by. Though some bits drag, the game's strategic depth, beautiful environments, and adorable tiny details like the fact goblins sometimes trip as they run across the landscape greatly help offset this. Goblin Stone as a whole is an incredibly creative undertaking, and has a lot to offer any fantasy, turn-based strategy, or roguelite fan.
In the end, though, the repetitiveness makes it difficult to fully recommend Slave Zero X, especially at its retail asking price of $24.99. Aside from just enjoying the story, replay value is restricted to high-score hunters (who themselves will have to deal with an arguably unpredictable grading system), and anyone not completely smitten with the presentation will find themselves looking for an excuse to persevere, even with its relatively short campaign. For the right player, Slave Zero X will seem like a custom-made surprise, but it’s a little too short to box with the beat ‘em up gods.
Unicorn Overlord is a truly excellent tactical RPG that is great where it matters. Incredible gameplay makes it replayable and fascinating, while its aesthetic and world map keep Fevrith interesting. In spite of some minor stumbles in its cast of heroes, Unicorn Overlord rivals some of the best of Fire Emblem. That comparison will likely stop if Vanillaware pursues Unicorn Overlord as a series in the future; it's very much its own game, and a memorable, great one, at that.
WWE 2K24 is an excellent wrestling game, with the franchise returning to form thanks to a fantastic variety of gameplay modes.
As it stands, though, The Thaumaturge remains quite special overall. Hanging out with Rasputin, shmoozing with turn-of-the-century elites, and exploring some unexpected golem developments with beset Rabbis make for compelling content, even when a few lines in the script fail to land. Anyone taken in by this setting will genuinely want to play The Thaumaturge, and it joins several other recent experimental Slavic fantasy adventures that prove the countless avenues video games have yet to fully explore.
Tekken 8 is jam-packed with modes, story, and customizable options that should allow players of any skill level to have fun. Battling against veteran players in the multiple online modes will likely be a punishing experience for new players. Still, the latest installment offers the best tools in the franchise yet to master each of its 32 playable characters. Despite being more accessible than ever, Tekken 8 is challenging to master, and continues to make a case for itself as one of gaming's most complex and rewarding fighters.
It's everything surrounding those battles and skirmishes that makes Skull and Bones a harder sell. The simulation aspects are limited and under-baked, the questing is almost always tedious, and there are only a few main ship models to work with. Lacking the ability to dock and explore, ocean exploration feels perfunctory and artificially hampered. Better ship customization options open up eventually, and it’s initially interesting to tinker with armaments, but it’s hard not to want even more of the best boat blueprints, more gear, more detailed inclusions that would make these vessels feel authored and unique, something to elevate the vacant core routines. Skull and Bones could have been a welcoming and rare new beacon for pirate game fans but, even with seasons of promised premium content yet to come, this boat is visibly sinking.
What felt like an impossible task in Remake has since been one-upped in FF7 Rebirth. Improving directly upon Final Fantasy 7 always felt like a dangerous proposition, and Remake smartly switched things up to avoid having to do so directl
Ironwood Studios' debut game accomplishes to be an immersive survival driving adventure. Its intense treks through mind-bending obstacles are balanced with humor and relaxing moments provided by crafting and upgrading useful tools and car components, along with Pacific Drive's catchy alternative rock soundtrack. It's an incredibly impressive debut game that should put the new studio on the map: "there's no peace of mind or place you'll see, like riding on Pacific Drive."