Zachary Miller
This is a fun, accessible fighter that casuals can jump into that also has depth that more seasoned fighting fans will appreciate. It's definitely worth checking out.
Mercenary Kings is a great time by my lonesome and we'll see how it performs online. If it does well, I think this could be the next big Switch online experience, up there with Mario Kart and Splatoon.
Frankly, I'm not sure how anybody could look at this game and think it was ready for prime time. If the bugs weren't there, it might get by on its "so bad it's good" appeal, but in its current state, it's a disaster. Homie Rollerz, you finally have some competition.
What more can I say? It’s been awhile since I reviewed something so awful. Don’t play this or buy it for your kids. The only outcome will be sadness.
There are better games out there, folks. I appreciate Liberated's attempt to blend comic storytelling with action sequences, but hopefully somebody will take this baton and do it better.
I can't recommend Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition, at least not in its present form. There are too many annoyances, too many unexplained systems, and not nearly enough lighting. If you really must check this out, I suggest leaving a FAQ open on your phone.
Typoman is a gorgeous game with a lot of half-baked ideas (and physics) and, frankly, deserves better. As it exists, the game is not worth recommending.
If the difficulty didn't go up every time I died or I could activate checkpoints without having to fight a clone afterwards, it might be a different story, but I don't appreciate being punished for doing inevitable things (dying, saving). Did you find Hollow Knight and Blasphemous too easy? If so, Moonscars may give you the challenge you crave. For the rest of us? It has limited utility.
Today, however, is not that day. If you're itching for a Metroid-like, I did review an excellent one just recently. Without Outbuddies, I feel like the skeleton is there, but the meat needs some more time in the oven.
Stela feels like a golem, crafted from the bones and sinew of better titles. Sometimes, this can be a successful experiment: Darksiders, for example, may not contain a single unique gameplay concept but manages to forge its own path through its worldbuilding, characters, and art direction. Stela accomplishes no such feat, and so I spent most of my playtime wishing I was playing its inspirations instead.
Blades of Time is bad, and you should not play it.
Reflexions is not great. There's not much content, there aren't enough massage mini-games, there aren't enough dress-up options (at least, not yet), and the voyeuristic tone is creepy. And then there's the fantasy involving Asuka being your "little sister," which almost makes me want to nuke the game from orbit. For the Senran Kagura superfan, it's probably required reading but everyone else can just wait for Peach Beach Pinball.
I also wish the game had used a bigger selection of puzzle pieces to craft more true-to-life prehistoric oddities. One of the blueprints I found was of a sea serpent, but I couldn't help but wish it was a mosasaur or a plesiosaur. It's a little bit sad that a DS game from 2008 is still the best paleontology-based video game on the market—Fossil Hunters does not scratch that itch.
All told, The Long Reach could have used some more time in the oven. It presents issues that seem readily solvable—lighting, object highlighting, proof reading—but in its current form, the game is frustrating and not particularly enjoyable. Maybe some of the problems can be patched out, but until that happens, I can't recommend The Long Reach despite its intriguing storyline.
Lords of Exile is a relatively fun, but not particularly noteworthy, NES-like. If you're itching for some old-school Castlevania gameplay, you'll probably find something to like here, but for the rest of you, there are more robust offerings out there.
The underlying switching mechanic is strong and most of the platforming is solid in theory. It feels like this one needed more time in the oven, but a more refined version–or a sequel left to gestate–would probably provide a great time. As it stands, Chronicles of 2 Heroes is a mildly frustrating experience that I had to convince myself to keep playing for this review.
I just found it difficult to find the motivation to grind out an hour here and there. My wife watched me play Atone for awhile and at one point remarked that all I was doing was talking to people and solving puzzles, and she's not wrong. For some of you dear readers out there, that may be all you need, but I was unsatisfied.
The game's end hints at sequel potential, and while I wasn't overly impressed with Shieldmaiden, I might be interested in a second quest, assuming the developers address the many platforming issues that plague this game.
Fans of RWBY might find something enjoyable here, but it just lacks the sort of care and polish that goes into most of WayForward's catalog, which is a shame.
I desperately want Undying Moon to be a linear, level-based adventure where I can see all the levels and fight all the bosses without enduring the tedious rigmarole that roguelites require. Keep the randomized level layouts! Keep the randomized paths and boss encounters if you have to, but just let me play your beautiful game without all these roadblocks. Eventually, I just got sick of Undying Moon. It was more frustrating than compelling, in part because it does so much right, but its wings are clipped right out the gate by its grind-heavy, roguelite trappings. There are better roguelites out there (Binding of Isaac and Dead Cells, for example), but I'm sorry to say none of them look nearly as amazing as Undying Moon.