On occasion, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine manages to turn its setting to good use, and Games Workshop fans will certainly relish the chance to grab a chainsword and strike a blow for the Emperor. As it progresses, though, the game loses its brutal, inspired nature and becomes too much of a shooter despite its lack of a cover system.

Theseus provides a stunning, atmospheric world to ogle in virtual reality that ends too soon, all the while mired by clunky controls and instant deaths along the way. Although based on Greek myth, Theseus proves to be far from mythic.

King Kong is short and still manages to be a flawed and redundant gaming experience. This isn't a bad game-just one that manages to underachieve in a lot of ways.

Nanostray's controls may have fixed something that wasn't broken, but even so, it still managed to provide a pleasing, fast-paced jaunt through the cosmos.

When Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is firing on all cylinders, it’s a unique experience that sings the glory of its intricate, slightly-too-complicated combat system. It’s just a shame that the spare nature of its arcade origins and the indifferent effort put into teaching its systems will stymie players who aren’t enthralled enough with the Final Fantasy brand to stick it out.

Xcom: Enemy Within is a decent expansion to a slightly flawed original.

Even with all of the bells, whistles, and new gameplay mechanics, Space Invaders Extreme manages to nail the challenge and thrill associated with its ancestor. Blazing speed, an empowered player, and enemies with varied abilities can’t obscure the fact that it’s the classic foundation underneath that makes this game work so well, and SIE proves that it’s still viable today.

I’d like to see Contra taken to the next level while retaining its identity... Give me something besides a carbon copy of action that has already been done, and done to perfection on older systems.

Red Solstice 2 is a bleak ordeal, but it’s not without its charms. There’s a real sense of frantic desperation created as the player scrambles desperately from one mission to the next, helplessly watching the global infection meter always climbing. Whether it’s zombie biomass, sinister corporations, or environmental catastrophe, for the entirety of Red Solstice 2′s play time I was sure that we were only ever a hair’s breadth away from extermination — which only served to make fighting against it feel all the more satisfying. If the developers could ease the repetitiveness from their random mission generator, this would be one of the best successors to XCOM’s legacy, but in its current state it’s just an extremely solid squad-based RTS.

While I found Salt and Sacrifice worth breaking at least one controller over, it’s not for every Souls fan as it commits bizarre mistakes in design and comes with a few baffling omissions — in some ways, the experience is the total opposite of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s teachings. I’m glad I finished it, but it’s not an easy one to recommend.

Snowflake’s Chance looks incredible, and the work that’s been poured into its conception of hell is some of the best sadistic platforming I’ve ever encountered — I just wish I’d had a fair chance to play it. Games designed to challenge and punish their players can get away with a lot, but they can never skimp on the controls. Sadly, Snowflake’s Chance just isn’t as tight as it needs to be. Hopefully this gets repaired at some point in the future, because other than this one key flaw, it has all the makings of a minor classic in the realm of cruelty.

Despite Last Day of June‘s slightly boring mid-game errands, its breathtaking art style and narrative payoff left a lasting impression on me. If it were streamlined a tiny bit more and had some fat trimmed, it would be a truly remarkable work. Although I do recommend it, there’s some room for improvement here.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes's execution is ordinary, and its flaws elementary.

Anthem#9 looks fantastic in trailers and the gem matching mechanics are satisfying — piecing together a giant combination of attacks feels great. On the other hand, the UI needs work, the difficulty spike going from the basic (AKA tutorial) missions to the extra missions is supremely out of whack, and all the white flashes made me sick and will likely trigger seizures in photosensitive people. I want to like Anthem#9 more than I do, but it really doesn’t like me back.

While there's no getting around the fact that Splatterhouse feels like something that could have significantly benefited from another six months in the oven, it's not hard to see that the developers have solid ideas that are on the right track.

SteamWorld Quest is cute and colorful, I’m a fan of the developer and their IP, and the deckbuilding is a genuine strength deserving of praise – something this polished, restrained and approachable is a joy. On the other hand, the overall experience doesn’t offer enough variety or depth, and I struggled to stay engaged before even reaching the halfway point. I’d love to see an enhanced sequel, but the current iteration just runs out of… Well, you know.

The Last Faith is an experience big enough to keep fans of the material occupied for 15 hours or so — the story is straightforward and the combat is… fine? Unfortunately for it, 2023 has been one of the busiest, richest years for quality game releases, and in light of such competition, The Last Faith doesn’t have much to offer.

Football is the world’s most popular game across borders, cultures, politics, and creeds because it offers fans the same exhilaration throughout the world. FIFA 23, when stripped of bland stories, greedy microtransactions, and mind-numbing team management, is a pure, exciting videogame. It’s the excess that ultimately mires it down.

Tweet Share Share By Damiano Gerli on November 11, 2021 in Reviews Bad News For Hedgehogs! HIGH It’s somewhat nice to see Zool back in his original form… LOW …which reminds me it wasn’t that great to start with. WTF The bleeding banana will haunt my dreams for years to come. Back in 1992, the release of the original Sonic The Hedegehog drastically changed the gaming landscape. Suddenly, every software house wanted to work on a fast-paced 2D platformer and create its own mascot — an issue that especially preoccupied developers for home computers like the Commodore Amiga. Following this trend, Gremlin Graphics released the original version of Zool in 1992. The titular ninja from the Nth Dimension crash-lands on an unfamiliar planet and will have to get through various obstacles to escape. While it may be a title that some gamers of a certain age may feel a bit of nostalgia for, the original Zool (along with a conversion for every console imaginable at the time) reveals just how important the level design was in making the Sonic games so memorable and appreciated. Unfortunately, Zool just doesn’t stack up. As it’s now 2021, Zool has received a facelift. This version is the original platformer with a difficulty rebalance, a CRT graphics filter for added fidelity to the original and a zoomed-out view to allow the player see more of the screen. Overall, these changes make Zool a more approachable experience than it used to be, but they do not improve it on a fundamental level. Each level in Zool lasts no more than a couple of minutes, and it’s time usually spent jumping from platform to platform or finding one’s way through the lower sections that require defeating enemies by shooting or jumping/gliding into them. This is a simple flavor of 2D platforming that feels inherently ’90s, and no filter can change that. Also, the end-of-stage bosses are pretty forgettable, some of which I defeated on my first try. Redimensioned comes in two flavors which mainly act as difficulty — the original experience and the Ultimate Ninja mode. I would recommend most ’90s players to try the latter, as I finished the original with 15 lives to spare and never had a problem in most levels. After completing seven stages and thirty-something levels, the Zool Redimensioned experience is basically over and done with. The changes made to ths version were well thought-out, but they do little to hide the fact that the original material was just an okay-at-best ’90s platformer and the intervening years haven’t done it any favors in terms of game design or graphics. Those who have nostalgia for it should check it out — all others should give it a pass.

If Dawnfolk looks cool, give it a try. It is a pared down, chill experience sitting at the crossroads between idle game, puzzle game, and city builder. Going in expecting a full-fat example of any one of these is asking to be disappointed. Expecting it to fully explore the territory it stakes out for itself is also a mistake. But for those who can relax and reign in their expectations, there’s an honest joy to be had.

The fundamentals of Touken Ranbu Warriors are fine. Great controls, a good variety of playable characters, and the bite-sized missions are a nice change of pace. Also, after Samurai Warrriors 5 it’s refreshing to see a game that doesn’t treat Nobunaga Oda like a misunderstood saint. The story doesn’t impress, though, and despite how intriguingly bonkers the premise is, the experience never manages to rise above being a perfectly serviceable musou.

While there are a number of small issues holding it back, they aren’t enough to detract from the overall gameplay and fantastic boss fights. it might not live up to the lofty standards set by its 16-bit influences, but Fox n Forests remains an enjoyable platformer with some neat ideas.

The combat’s solid aside from certain encounters where the lack of defensive tools causes frustration. The variety in boss battles and unique encounters runs the gamut between being thoroughly inspired and soul crushingly insipid, and even the overworld where odd jobs happen is cute in a retro way… while ultimately feeling more pointless and lifeless than it did in the original. In short, No More Heroes 3 often falls short of its true potential, but that’s not to say that it never shines.

In the end, Loretta is a conundrum – its greatest strengths and its most pronounced weaknesses both lie in storytelling. For every moment that worked, I found a moment that didn’t. However, despite its technical issues and occasional lack of coherence, Loretta ends up as a successful experiment in form – even if I’m still unsure of the developer’s ultimate intended message.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is just how easy the game is - winning battles doesn't take much strategy, at least not until the final boss.

Although I'm not satisfied with its economics and it still needs polish, I freely admit that Destiny of Spirits remains strangely compelling, and putting together a roster of fantasy creatures holds appeal.

Like the Patriots in 2007, Axis Football 2019 isn’t perfect, but I enjoy it for what it is. So long as prospective players bring a lot of patience, the on-the-field play and deep franchise mode should keep them coming back for more. Second tier championship, here I come!

When Muse Dash works well, I felt the same sort of accomplishment as I might when nailing a fighting game combo. However, I don’t fall into the target demographic and the grind-heavy progression turned things more tedious than necessary. There’s a solid base of something great here, but it would be an easier recommendation if it offered some content for those outside its niche.