COGconnected's Scores

  • Games
For 4,978 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 62% higher than the average critic
  • 6% same as the average critic
  • 32% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.3 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 75
Highest review score: 100 Final Fantasy XVI
Lowest review score: 10 Wander (2013)
Score distribution:
4983 game reviews
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    All in all, Tormented Souls achieves what it set out to do: recapture the magic of old-school fixed-perspective survival horror games with modern technology. However, this extends to having a lackluster story and underwhelming voice-acting, both of which plagued early survival horror titles. While the game’s tension, atmosphere, and environmental storytelling are top-notch, the controls can be difficult without a controller and some decisions are downright tasteless. In the end, this game will probably appeal most to people who already love classic survival horror rather than bringing in new fans.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    A decent enough game for the price, but once again it leaves me asking why.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Controls are tight, there is some decent replay value, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously which makes for a pretty fun time.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The main complaints about Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind are that it provides no answers to the questions the series left players with, and that it involves playing a lot of content that the player has already experienced. My positive spin is that it’s an extension of what was already a fantastic game ending, that provides multiple characters to use, and extra boss battles. My main complaint is that it came too late, or shouldn’t have been DLC at all. If one accepts Re:Mind for what it is, it should be a real treat for hardcore Kingdom Hearts fans.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    If ever there was a mixed bag, Redout 2 is it. When you’re going slow enough to take in the sights, those sights are gorgeous, if a little cluttered and hard to parse. Most of the time, though, you’ll be speeding through levels absurdly fast. You’ll also be crashing into walls and flying off the track, too, because the controls demand absolute precision. There are a lot of absent features on our wish list, like an actual story, better tutorials and a real learning curve. On a continuum from fun to frustration, Redout 2 sometimes edges uncomfortably close to the latter.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel is a solid effort, bringing together such a great cast of characters from a number of different visual novels and gaming franchises; pitting them up against each other in an enjoyable arcade fighting style game.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Even if you end up missing the absent depth, the laid-back pace is a rewarding compensation. If only one-half of this mashup premise appeals to you, what you’re looking for may lie elsewhere. But if you’re looking to blend hacking, slashing, and smooching, Boyfriend Dungeon will be a perfect match.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    If you love JRPGs, you owe it to yourself to play Tales of Symphonia, and Tales of Symphonia Remastered is an easy way to do that. I’d even recommend this game to fans of retro gaming in general. I really wish I could recommend it to everyone. Unfortunately, the slightly clunky design and aged graphics make it hard for me to do that.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    It doesn’t really bring anything else new to the table in the team deathmatch genre, but what it does bring, it does it well.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Overall, this is a pretty good step into the RTS realm. The game itself runs very smoothly and I didn’t find myself fighting with any major bugs or glaring offenses in the design of the game. I feel the game may be too rudimentary for veterans of the RTS genre, but as a less experienced player, I found myself immersed in the gameplay and pretty entertained.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Beyond Blue is a relaxing, short $20 edutainment game that’ll be a fun time for gamers who are curious about the deep blue sea and its inhabitants. Just don’t go into it expecting gameplay that’s deeper than a puddle.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    While I like just about everything that’s presented in Strikers Edge, prolonged periods of play had me comparing the final product to Pong. That’s not a great comparison in 2018 unless you believe there’s no beating the classics.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is a delightful and cozy point-and-click adventure you can feel good about letting your kids play. The puzzles are creative, the dialogue is a little childish but sweet, and the overall presentation is fairly pleasing. It does take a bit for the narrative to pick up but once it does you won’t want to stop playing, however, extended sessions with a soundtrack that is not memorable at best and a lack of voice acting can feel taxing as you stare silently at the screen. It’s an enjoyable experience that, with a few tweaks, would easily be a must-have for the casual gamer that wants to relax.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Disgaea games are huge. 7 was already enormous, and the Complete edition makes it bigger still. You could drop hundreds of hours into this game in pursuit of total completion, the well is practically bottomless. The extra characters, the raised stat cap, and the new final boss could have you playing forever, more or less. And yet the price point is pretty painful. Between that and the Switch 2 exclusivity (which may be temporary), I’m not quite sure who this is for, beyond the most serious of players and collectors. But for those people, for that exclusive club, Disgaea 7 Complete is a fantastic game. For everyone else, I totally understand if you pass this one up. As a hopeless Disgaea addict, I may never escape the gravity well this game created in my living room. Remember me fondly, my friends.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Anyone hip to the source material is sure to find a lot to love about Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions. And if you’re tired of the same old song and dance that is Fifa and Pro Evo, RoNC might just be exactly what the doctor ordered. But I’d also love to see Tamsoft and Bandai Namco take another crack at this universe because most of what’s here could be made exceedingly better with a solid polishing. Until then, I’ll keep shoulder-checking and falcon-kicking my way to the championship.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Neverness to Everness is a promising, high-quality entry into the RPG space. Its unique business-management mechanics and stylish urban setting provide a strong foundation. While it currently suffers from a lack of endgame content and a brief story, it remains a compelling recommendation for those seeking a fresh take on the gacha formula.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    I prefer my life sims with a greater degree of freedom than this, I’m learning. A blank canvas is more alluring than a perfectly crafted setting, at least to me. But I also recognize the value in a place like this. Everything is built around the hobbit ideal that is food. The writing and the aesthetics are all extremely hobbit-coded. Rather than a life sim, Tales of the Shire is a hobbit sim. If that sounds like a good time, you should definitely check out this game.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    If you are a Skyrim fan who has already invested countless number of hours into the main game, then Dawnguard is for you, but if you have moved on to other games, I am not so certain Dawnguard is reason alone to come back as frankly it is more of the same.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Empire City shares the same fate that a lot of ambitious VR games do. They try to mimic the scope of big-budget AAA flat games, but cannot do so because of their much more limited budget. So the game ends up being spread thin with little depth over its six-hour game length. TMNT: Empire City VR is a fun, if thin, game. Just be aware that its chief charms come from playing with friends and moving around the city with the parkour system. If you are a Turtle fan, that may be enough for you.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The game offers a great mix of dread laced with unknowable horror. Because there are different choices you can make, the game has many very different endings. Can you successfully complete your job? Can you make the right choices, even if they go against your morals? There’s only one way to find out.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    If you’ve got a history with BMX games, extreme sports titles, and trick-based sports sims, you’ve come to the right place. You can whittle away the hours mastering every trick in the book, while steadily improving your overall skills. That same patience and persistence causes the whole game to open up before you. All the different challenges, the various stages, and the potential secrets are yours to discover. But for someone like me, this game is basically untenable. I dug deep, searching for every ounce of grit and determination I could scrounge up. The assembled supplies were meager indeed. While I mostly struggled through this game, you might find yourself enthralled with Streetdog BMX.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Forspoken feels like a test that was turned in with answers missing, returned with a big red "Finish Your Work" inked at the top. So much of the game feels like unrealized potential, a big, messy first draft. There are too many mechanics, there's too much story, too much empty world, and too little chance for surprise or discovery. However, I can't say I didn't enjoy a lot of my time with Forspoken. When the combat clicks, it can be a lot of fun. Forspoken is ambitious, and there are hints of a winning formula. I hope the developers keep chipping away at what doesn't work. It would be a shame if Forspoken is forsaken.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    I have to admit though, if you own these tables on your home console,you may want to question whether or not these are indeed worth the investment.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    A strong debut featuring a fun concept and great visuals so I look forward to what else Yanim has on the horizon.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Bottom line, if you love old school point and clickers with humour like Monkey Island, then Deponia Doomsday is a decent enough port for your PS4 that won’t give you any control headaches. As for fans of the series, well, I can’t exactly give any insight into that front. So I do highly recommend you play the previous Deponia games before you jump into Doomsday.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Although my ultimate verdict is weeks of multiplayer away, the first slice of this cake is a tasty one. Even casual Marvel fans would do well to keep Marvel’s Avengers on their radar.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Super Mutant Alien Assault has a long name and a lot of heart. The challenging gameplay mixed with sharp looking graphics and fairly good sound, all work to create an entertaining but short-lasting game. In the end it is an enjoyable little distraction when you just want to jump into a game and have only a small amount of time to do so.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    A transcendentally beautiful or superlatively fun game can overcome storytelling weaknesses. But that is not Dark Devotion. It gets high marks for style, and decent marks for gameplay, but the raison d’être (to borrow a phrase from the French developers) is lacking. The game makes it clear why you do what you do, but that reason ultimately feels less than entirely compelling.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Atlus RPGs are not for everyone by any means. This one, in particular, is even less for everyone than most of them. And yet…! If you are a Persona fan who hasn’t played one of these games in a while, who also missed out on Golden, then this game will be perfect for you. If even one of these conditions isn’t met, I can’t promise you’ll enjoy this ride. If you’ve somehow never played a Persona game, then welcome! This is a prime place to start. Golden is the superlative version of this entry in the series. There’s nowhere else you’ll find such an expert mix of ruthless battles, lovely social interactions, and awesome music. First-time players of all varieties would do well to snag Persona 4 Golden on the PC.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business offers a tighter, more compact take on the original. While the story remains fairly shallow, this puts the focus on gameplay, with new weapons, enemies, and executions that help elevate the experience. Returning players will know what to expect and likely enjoy what’s on offer, but if the base game didn’t win you over, there’s nothing here that will change your mind. While it doesn’t reinvent anything, Unfinished Business is a satisfying extension for those eager to jump back into RoboCop’s boots.

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