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I don't want to seem too down on Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy - Deluxe Edition. LEVEL-5 included all of the original version's DLC while adding a ton of additional content and there's a lot of game here for your money. For the most part, you'll spend your time solving pleasant puzzles, enjoying a pleasant story, and having a pleasant time.
The Edge of Time has all the flavor of a Doctor Who production but more time spent cooking in the TARDIS would have gone a long way to make it more stable.
Shenmue III takes a certain state of mind because it’s unmistakably what Shenmue used to be, and not how it’s supposed to be now. I hope that there will be Shenmue IV to give closure to the story and like this, it will stay true to what it is.
Pokémon Sword is the best Pokémon game in many ways. With a necessary streamlining and major leaps in presentation, Game Freak has developed a title that impresses in all the right ways.
At a near-premium price of $40, Last Labyrinth suggests a polished product, crafted by experienced designers and generous of content. In truth, almost nothing about Last Labyrinth is fun or rewarding.
As much as I struggled with the SekiDarkSoulsBorne gameplay, it offers the best realization of lightsaber combat that I really, really wanted to get good at. I don’t feel it matches the finesse of the From Software titles but at the end of the day, I can appreciate it. What hurts the game overall, though, are its technical problems that cover the product with a notable stain.
The game comfortably speeds along a yellow brick road that goes neatly between calculated appeal of Forza Horizon and the excess abundance of The Crew, and that’s why I liked it better than those two.
Tangle Tower is still worth exploring despite its issues, especially for those with access to Apple Arcade. At it's piecemeal $20 price tag, though, the game's flaws are less forgivable.
It took about 15 tumultuous hours to see Blacksad’s investigation through, including repeated quick-time events. Years’ worth of reading and watching detective stories didn’t go wasted as I figured out early on who must be the mastermind behind the crimes and in the end, I was really pleased that I got it right. I was happy how my story concluded but there’s a lot of variation how individual scenes or even bigger lines can turn out based on choices you have made along the journey.
Crying Sun is stylish, fast-paced and simple to play but its content runs thin and it can also be often unfair because of its high reliance on random factor. It may be true that half of everything is luck but in the long run, it doesn’t always turn into meaningful gameplay.
Disney Tsum Tsum Festival is a conflicting title. It definitely appears to be a low-effort game that borders on shovelware, but there are glimpses of quality spread throughout.
New Super Lucky’s Tale is a potpourri of platforming bliss. It borrows from several related genres, including 3D collectathon and 2D sidescroller, but it never betrays its theme of a cute fox running around colorful worlds.
There’s something to be said for a stripped down to basics game experience, without too many complications or intricacies that get in the way of the fun. Pistol Whip is entertaining and another of the growing list of successful arguments for VR as a near-staple for gamers.
Suda51 is nothing if not subtle. His games always feel outrageous and over-the-top in ways that can be difficult to hold onto some measure of appeal. I love his stuff solely because I can never expect what he’s going to do.
The Bradwell Conspiracy runs terribly, the visuals are nothing special and the narrative is silly at best but that doesn’t stop Amber and the dialogue from standing out. I’d love to see what the developers, A Brave Plan, could do with more focus on the characters rather than plot, and a bigger budget for art and QA
However, even with these technical issues, I enjoyed my time with Children of Morta. The constant narration depicts the bonds of family with a kind-hearted pathos, which is a welcome palate cleanser between the bouts of monster slaying. Even failed runs are rewarded with new tidbits, tying us to the Bergsons’ struggle.
There are plenty of titles that share some common DNA with Manifold Garden but when it really gets into the zone, there's nothing else on the market like it. It brought out feelings in me I've never felt from a video game. I demanded others I know experience it in a way I haven't since the first time I tried VR. At its best, I forgot I was playing a video game, surrendering completely to the audio and visual experience while taking on challenging but not overwhelming puzzles.
All in all these games are truly a blast from the past, and back in their day (1999 / 2000) were some of the best RPG outings you could find on the PC. Today though, I can't say that they are anything more than a nostalgic cash grab. There are no updates here and the amount of bugs I had to get through is just plain unacceptable.
Super Monkey Ball banana Blitz HD is too difficult to play due to the controls. It made me feel sick, and it lacks a lot of the fun extras that were a draw for the series, or at least what should be expected in one for the current generation of consoles.
Ichidant-R is a challenging taste of retro gameplay. If you have good reflexes and a sharp brain, it’s the game for you. Otherwise, grab a buddy and conquer it together.