Amnesia: The Bunker is a truly terrifying experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat and your sanity. The overall experience is thrilling amidst all the horror, leaving me (almost) craving more. Almost.
Immortals of Aveum is a bright and ambitious title that lays a solid foundation for Ascendant Studios' future in the industry. The gameplay is solid, the world is beautiful, and I feel compelled to return to continue exploring.
WrestleQuest is a fantastic wrestling RPG adventure with fun and satisfying exploration, combat, and character development. The game does have a few wrinkles to iron out, however, whether you're a life-long wrestling fan or just a casual fan like me, WrestleQuest is a must-have. ¡Oh Si!
Viewfinder is a beautiful and heartfelt journey that challenges the player in different ways. Perspective means everything in this game, and the challenges you face will give you a whole different view on puzzle solving games. Each puzzle is interesting and never feels repetitive or overly complicated. This game is a ton of fun, I can't recommend it enough!
Park Beyond is a theme park simulation game from Bandai Namco that offers players a thrilling journey of creativity, strategy, and park management. The Impossification takes your park to the next level, making this a truly Amazing and Fun theme park building experience. The game does have a few bugs to be addressed, however, there's so much to love here for newcomers and players returning to the genre that they can be easily overlooked once you get hooked.
EA SPORTS F1 23 continues the series' legacy of being the definitive F1 racing experience for gamers. With the updates made to braking, accelerating, and cornering, as well as Precision Drive technology for controller players, the game plays smoother than ever and can easily be enjoyed by players of all skill and interest levels. Braking Point also makes a return with another drama-filled story.
Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp is a wonderful recreation of a long-neglected classic. The games pull you right in with smooth and satisfying gameplay, a catchy art style, and tons of fun features for many added hours of play. Now the question is, when will we get the rest of the Advance Wars reboots?
Diablo IV represents a massive shift for the series, moving to a more inclusive and open world that is somehow as inviting for new players as returning veterans. Complexity is mixed with flexibility to create a game that is sure to consume you for hundreds if not thousands of hours. Diablo IV is the game we've been waiting for, and a return to form for the Blizzard team.
This game is downright adorable, and while I do wish there was more depth to it, there’s still plenty here to enjoy. Each world is randomly generated, so there’s tons of replayability, and you can play on different difficulties. I had a lot of fun running around and exploring, finding the map’s secrets and hanging with the locals. You’re able to team up with friends on any platform to help fight the piglins, or you can go head-to-head in PVP to test out each other’s defenses.
The wait was definitely worth it for this one! Overall, Ghostwire: Tokyo impresses me with fun and satisfying gameplay, an intriguing story, and beautiful visuals. I never had any issues with performance or pop-in, everything ran as smooth as a hot sake. The new mode, The Spider’s Thread, presents a fun challenge for those craving more Thread Weaving action that doesn’t get stale, even after multiple rounds (or deaths).
Batora: Lost Haven is a perfect fit for Nintendo Switch, sitting well alongside games like Immortals Fenyx Rising. The unique duality system makes for some interesting gameplay. There is a decent amount of replayability with the different endings, though you'll still be through with it fairly quickly.
Arenas is more geared towards those who like to challenge hunt and make completionist runs on games.
But, also, what does eating ramen have to do with music? The world may never know.
Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 6 is a highly polished, excellent entry to the Monster Energy Supercross series that has me excited to keep coming back for more races. The updates to the game's physics especially had me feeling like I was more in control of my riding experience than ever before. Unfortunately, the Supercross Academy contributed very little to this improved experience and the new Rhythm Attack mode left something to be desired as well.
Like A Dragon: Ishin! is a great game, but doesn't do much to stand out against other games in the series. The story and setting are novel and interesting, however, the combat lacks any sort of balance. Even so, the excellent melodrama is worth seeing through to the end.
Wild Hearts brings a uniqueness to the monster hunting genre that keeps the experience feeling refreshing. The Karakuri and different weapon options are very fun to experiment with and present interesting combat opportunities. Overall, Wild Hearts capitalizes on what made monster hunting games so much fun in the first place while still giving fans of the genre a new reason to get excited and dive back into the fight.
In terms of gameplay, Rise has been a refreshing reintroduction to the series for me. After Monster Hunter: World I turned away from the series, skipping over Stories 2 entirely as the Stories games hadn’t really piqued my interest. It is a little daunting to restart the grind for gear and to ascend the Hunter Ranks again, which is why I don’t play MMOs anymore. Unlike with World, I don’t have a co-op partner for Rise, which can make some fights a little more difficult if you don’t want to queue up with randoms online. However, after diving back in for this review, and discovering the dual blades are so much better than the bow in Rise, I can see myself sinking a lot of time into this one.
If there’s anything that Mortal Shell has done for me, it’s that I am now slightly more interested in trying Souls-like games again. While much of the experience has been the type of frustration you would expect from a player new(er) to the genre, I’ve become kind of addicted to the vicious cycle of getting stomped for a couple hours, finally emerging victorious, and then getting stomped again. Games like this require patience and one of the biggest tips I’ve heard from Souls fans is that learning attack patterns is key.
From a gameplay perspective, Amnesia Memories and Amnesia Later x Crowd have translated well to the new platform, with this being the first time Later x Crowd is available to fans outside Japan. Unfortunately, as a newcomer to the series, an incredible story about a girl’s journey to recovering her memories and discovering the truth is grossly overshadowed by the love interest side of the story where she is often subjected to very poor and sometimes disturbing treatment.
From a gameplay perspective, Amnesia Memories and Amnesia Later x Crowd have translated well to the new platform, with this being the first time Later x Crowd is available to fans outside Japan. Unfortunately, as a newcomer to the series, an incredible story about a girl's journey to recovering her memories and discovering the truth is grossly overshadowed by the love interest side of the story where she is often subjected to very poor and sometimes disturbing treatment.