If you're looking for a brief distraction, Turbo Golf Racing delivers a sizeable amount of fun in an admittedly slim package.
Aspyr has done a serviceable, even admirable job with its porting of Star Wars titles up to this point, but the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection represents a monumental misstep and a much-deserved blemish on its reputation. These are two beloved games representing some of the very best experiences the Star Wars IP has ever offered. To release these remasters in this state is deeply concerning. Our only solace is the fact that, eventually, most of the problems should be fixable.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is a solid retread that occasionally gets in its own way. The graphical and musical overhauls are spectacular, and the emotional heft of the story is intact, but the industry has left the title behind in a lot of ways. The control scheme is still pretty unique, and a rousing success in single-player, but the co-op mode comes with an asterisk. While it's a welcome accessibility inclusion, it fundamentally alters the experience, and not really for the better. Throw in some technical woes and you're left with a remake that doesn't quite feel up to snuff in a modern setting. However, the core game was incredible for its time, and ultimately remains a moving tale in this refreshed version.
The writing is fun too, though the sound design can often undercut things by blaring over the top of dialogue on default settings. We missed some jokes early on before making corrections. It's great that the title is so fun though, because it also happens to be quite a bit longer than we’ve grown accustomed to with VR titles. Clocking in at nearly 10 hours, Vertigo 2 is a PSVR2 must-play. This is achieved through a combination of great gameplay, fun, often insane boss fights, a playful tone, and oh so much more.
That describes the game on the whole, really. A give and take where one element of the game is great fun, but another is broken or unpolished. What you're left with is a game with a super fun core that's unfortunately too broken to put any meaningful amount of time into.
Sports games are pretty predictable. From one year to the next, you'll see one or two sweeping changes and then a number of smaller tweaks, but beyond that, you'll by and large be playing the same title. By that logic, it's actually impressive how much EA Vancouver has managed to change this year given how quick its turnaround is from game to game. Less impressive is the implementation of said changes. Selecting your pass targets is a wholly welcome inclusion and a rousing success. The majority of the other changes, particularly the new checking system, leave much to be desired. Why do so many things feel like they took steps backward? Isn't this kind of problem usually reserved for the dawn of a new generation? What happened?
What you get out of the game is what feels like a really great artistic idea, which the team committed to fully. And after the art was done, they tried to place their gameplay ideas anywhere they happened to fit. The end result is a visually arresting, but haphazardly designed experience.
What everything adds up to is a game that’s half good. If the more unique and compelling idea of the war was expanded upon, the title could have been much better.
Goodbye Volcano High is an absolute delight. While the rhythm gameplay segments are a bit of a nuisance by way of their design, the only other real issue is the sorry state of the Trophy list, something that should be easily remedied. If you can look past those fairly minor hitches, then what you'll experience is an exceptionally written game filled out by a cast of characters without so much as a weak link. Combine the incredibly impressive roster of characters with the high caliber of writing capable of delivering an emotional gut-punch just as easily as raucous laughter, this is not one worth sleeping on.
It’s a stunning package, filled to the brim with content both new and old, and barring the handful of small issues, it's a brilliant way to revisit one of the most iconic shooters in video games.
Generally, the game is packed to the absolute brim with content, and it's a blast to play, even if it never sees fit to reinvent the wheel.
Each level being self-contained allows the team to dabble with different tones, too. An early level dealing with an ancient Sarcophagus is particularly adept at splicing horror into the experience, while a level taking place in a church uses an organ to incorporate musical elements into the game. It’s all handled flawlessly, and greatly enhances the value of the product, by offering varied, distinctive experiences level-to-level.
Tequila Works has definitely offered better experiences in the past, but Gylt is still a decent enough time.
Mechanically, Synapse is incredible, but the breadth of content is another story. This feels like a proof of concept for a full experience, once the amount of content can match the level of gameplay.
The updated version of Layers of Fear is incredibly impressive. In addition to offering high-quality remakes of the entire series, this version goes a step forward and creates new material with the explicit purpose of bringing all pre-existing content of the series under one umbrella. The exceptional visual overhaul, fascinating transforming environments, and great sound design ensure this horror series has done a phenomenal job of making sure it continues to be an experience worth having.
While the gameplay doesn’t evolve nearly enough given the game’s runtime, you still wind up with a fun experience. And for anyone invested in the history of the medium, there’s a lot to love.
Ultimately, the issues that arise aren’t enough to quash the immense level of fun or the mastery of design on display. Red Matter 2 is a PSVR2 must-play.
Even with these setbacks, you still get a brutally exhausting, immensely fulfilling gameplay loop with masterfully charted songs. However, until those issues are fixed, what you have is merely an adequate port.
With lofty ambitions and some great elements, After Us lets itself down in as many ways as it triumphs. Gorgeous art direction and an admirable anti-pollution message aren't enough to make up for tedious combat, performance issues, and open-ended level design that plays things a little too loose. If you're itching for an experience like this, there are better options out there, at the very least until After Us' performance issues are addressed. There's the core of an incredible experience here, but it's just not ready yet.
Another Fisherman’s Tale is every bit as worthy of your time as the first.