Blending light puzzle solving and survival horror elements with the more modern over-the-shoulder perspective delivers a truly menacing experience. Some unfortunate design decisions, mainly forcing the player to switch between characters, hold it back from being among the pantheon of greats in the series. However an interesting story, horrifyingly beautiful environments, and rock solid gameplay provide more than enough to look past its shortcomings.
In addition to an interesting story, setting, and a truly wonderful score, I can't help but walk away singing its praises. That's not to say it isn't without fault, as a slow start will be enough to scare some off and the map can cause some confusion, but these are things worth toughing out to see all the good.
What resonated with me the most was just how accessible it is to players of all skill levels. For newcomers, tutorials and novice level computers help to ease you into the game. And for veterans, challenge modes and difficulty up to Grandmaster will certainly be a test of your skill. While I found some set pieces to be unusable and wish there was an online option for a continuous game, these were merely minor complaints in an otherwise outstanding offering from developer Ripstone.
The controls feel so good that I know if I die, it's on me and not a fault of the game. Couple that with fun and interesting level design to make a foundation for a great game. Pile on a massive amount of stages littered with extra content and it's hard not to recommend this game to fans of the genre looking for a challenging but fair experience.
When it comes to roguelite shooters, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better offering than GoNNER 2. While certainly challenging and a bit obtuse at times, once things click you’ll find yourself having a hard time resisting the urge for another run.
The humor, dialogue, and characters all add up to a zany adventure that is sure to have you laugh out loud on more than one occasion. The remake stays faithful to the game released nearly a decade ago but gives a facelift to the visuals and music, putting fresh paint on a classic. Bowser Jr's Journey is a nice addition, but might prove to be a bit too passive and at times too uninspired for many to see it the entire way through.
When Guacamelee 2 does so many things right, from the wonderfully tight and responsible gameplay to the downright gorgeous look and feel of the Mexiverse, it's hard to not talk about it without gushing. But it's earned that right, delivering a top-tier experience across the board. It captures the essence of multiple genres and blends them brilliantly within a visually stunning world that's equally as fun to explore as it is to stare at.
Whether it was deforming surfaces or squishing the character to yield completely new physics, I was never disappointed. Some of the later platforming can be a bit frustrating, but with the option to move onto another puzzle it never bogged down the experience. With a unique hook that is constantly building upon, this is an easy recommendation and one you won't want to miss.
Fortunately Nintendo was able to keep the heart and soul of Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga while injecting new life into it. Not only do the visuals look stunning, but with a hearty side mode that adds more context to the story, this is easily the best way to experience the game. It isn't perfect and there are a few things I would have loved to have seen, mainly stereoscopic 3D, but this gives players a great reason to pick up their 3DS' again.
With anticipation comes fear of a letdown, but fortunately Grezzo succeeding in alleviating those fears by delivering a truly superb experience. It's filled with so many things to do, but in a way that feels anything but forced and overwhelmed. Instead, everything works together in harmony to make a truly deep and engaging game that's easy to recommend to anyone.
Each run has its own unique feel that continues to keep the game incredibly fresh, whether it's your tenth or hundredth run. While it's a shame there's no way to submit a score offline, the rest of the game shines so bright it's easy to overlook. If you're looking for a challenging, but insanely satisfying roguelike, look no further.
The combination of visuals, audio and technical prowess makes for an incredibly sound and fun game. The lack of online options at launch is disappointing, but still doesn’t detract from the overall experience. With Fast RMX, Shin'en Multimedia has managed to deliver a triple A experience for a third of the price.
While it'll be easy to overlook this in favor of the sequel, in doing so you'd not only be doing a disservice to the game, but a disservice to yourself.
It runs flawlessly in both handheld and docked modes, the pixel art looks great with interesting character and enemy design, offers co-op play, and the amount of variation between each run keeps it fresh as you slam your head against the wall again and again on the way to the throne. The difficulty is absolutely harsh and is sure to turn some off, but feels completely fair, outside of the rare fake chest which can quickly destroy an otherwise promising run. However, no matter how frustrating a death can be, I constantly found myself right back into it without a second thought.