Never has the world needed Jackbox Games’ library more than it has in 2020. Sure, it’s been fun to play in the same room and through streaming for the past six years! But with so many needing more social interaction with friends and family and only being able to do that remotely, now is a great time for a fresh Jackbox Party Pack.
Much like Kasuga’s dragonfish tattoo feels like a quirky but faithful successor to Kiryu’s dragon, Yakuza: Like a Dragon rebuilds the franchise by leaving a lot of it in place. The new protagonist doesn’t feel like he has seven games of story in him, but his eagerness to join the fray could carry the next few entries.
Indie games generally hang their hats on one great idea. Is it a compelling, original narrative? Or an aesthetic that you haven’t seen anywhere else? How about a unique game mechanic around which the rest of the game builds? Any of these can work. Just one of these can lift a small-team title above the indie pack. Chicory: A Colorful Tale has all three.
Dodgeball Academia borrows smartly from a lot of old-school greats, but it’s also more than the sum of its parts.
We haven’t had this much fun with a card battle RPG since the Pokemon TCG games on the Game Boy Color. If you at all have an affinity for the concept, it’s unlikely that you’re burned out on the idea these days. Give Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle a shot, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be disappointed.
Lost Judgment, a follow-up to 2018’s Judgment, returns to detective Takayuki Yagami and his investigations in the shadier sides of Japanese society. And as Judgment becomes something of a franchise of its own separate from Yakuza, it’s increasingly finding its footing and learning its specialties.
Guerrilla Games’ Horizon: Forbidden West is the sort of game that is easy to anticipate. It’s big! It’s full of interesting stuff to do! Many were sold on the promise of the PlayStation 5 at launch by the prospect of sinking days and weeks into a new Horizon. Thankfully, Forbidden West delivers on that promise in many ways.
Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness refines a gameplay system that was already great, and offers a ton of challenges to keep you busy! And hey, maybe this time, more players will be fortunate enough to discover it.
While it's unlikely to transcend genre preferences, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a gift for those who love JRPG trappings. There are lands to explore, combat systems to optimize, and lore implications for longtime franchise fans. And at the very least? You certainly get your money's worth.
As overstuffed as it is, we didn't want Infinite Wealth to end. It's such a high-effort package with tons of heart, and it's hard not to let that endearing feel sand down some of the game's rough mechanical edges.
However it got here, it’s a distilled, slightly faster game that focuses on ironing out its rough spots rather than introducing anything that could cause new ones.
...Nexomon: Extinction puts its best foot forward, delivering the most polished version of itself it can offer.
The Switch is a great platform for games to dip into for a bit when you have a few minutes, but Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia isn’t one of them. It’s a commitment.
So rather than looking at what this collection could have been, it’s easier and simpler to see what’s here and decide if that’s enough for you. If one of these games is an all-time favorite, that even these marginal adjustments make them the best and most convenient versions could make a sale for you. There’s nothing here to “fix” them if you didn’t like them the first time.
It’s hard to imagine someone who would play Carto and have a bad time. It’s that committed to low-stress, just-engaging-enough fun and a world you’ll like traipsing about for a couple of hours.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 had a leg up from the start of the project. It’s simple: Puyo Puyo Tetris was already very fun. What do you add? What do you change? There are things that can go wrong along the way, but ultimately there’s still Puyo Puyo Tetris in there.
If you missed the DLC in the original release, it’s a nice thing to check out on a return trip. Knives Chau and Wallace Wells both feel like they’re not for newbies, which makes sense. And hey, maybe a new platform will let you coax friends and family into playing your fun game with you?
Dark Deity is a small game that understands its limitations. It delivers thought-provoking battles, if not necessarily the most balanced ones. It gives players a lot of tactical choice, if not in the most informed way.
New games have moved from the obvious to the truly weird. And, perhaps most importantly for this installment, the world has become much more about video calls than house parties. The Jackbox Party Pack 8 is the first one fully developed in these conditions, and its collection of games feels like it wanted to be deeper and more involved to fit in a little better.
That’s what makes Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX so fascinating. You see, Monster Rancher makes more sense now than it did then.