Gaming Age's Scores

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For 7,148 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 51% higher than the average critic
  • 7% same as the average critic
  • 42% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 72
Highest review score: 100 Devil May Cry 4
Lowest review score: 0 NBA Unrivaled
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,216 out of 7148
  2. Mixed: 1,918 out of 7148
  3. Negative: 1,014 out of 7148
7161 game reviews
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    • tbd Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    Asdivine Menace
    As I’ve always said, KEMCO RPGs exist within a pretty narrow band — they’re never great, but they’re never terrible. They’re really just the same game repeated dozens of times with minor tweaks, and Asdivine Menace is no different. As far as I’m concerned, however, the microtransactions are a step too far, and you’re probably better off getting one of the other KEMCO games that falls closer to the good-ish side of the spectrum.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Vampyr
    If you’re looking for a game on the go that’ll last you a few dozen hours (if you’re the completionist type), Vampyr delivers that. But that also means spending a few dozen hours with a game that’s not particularly interesting, and I don’t know why you’d want to bother with that.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Sega Ages: Thunder Force AC
    If you haven’t checked out one of these excellent SEGA AGES releases so far, Thunder Force AC is a pretty good place to start. It’s one of those games that rarely gets ported, certainly not to current consoles, and is a neat little bit of video game history in its own right. I would highly recommend picking it up when it hits the Switch eShop today.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Concept Destruction
    Concept Destruction feels more like a really great demo or a proof of concept than a full-fledged must-play game. What’s here is good, but with a few big tweaks and additions this could have been great. As it stands, this is a fun way to spend an hour or so, but if you want more than that, you’ll just have to wait for the developers to flesh this out a little (or rather, a lot) more.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Super Mega Baseball 3
    Where MLB The Show is basically just refining its (admittedly very good) formula while it waits around for the next generation, and RBI Baseball chose this year to take a step backwards, SMB3 feels like a substantial improvement over its predecessors — which I already loved without reservation. It’s fun, it’s simple, it’s got about as much depth as you could want in a baseball game. Just about the only thing missing at this point is a create-a-player feature — which, I hope, is in the cards for my presumptive 2023 GOTY, Super Mega Baseball 4.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 33 Critic Score
    Arc of Alchemist
    It’s a huge misfire from a developer that, at the very least, tends to be pretty competent, and it means you shouldn’t feel any hesitation about skipping this one and going back and playing one of Compile Hearts many better RPGs.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 58 Critic Score
    Balthazar's Dream
    The most annoying part of Balthazar’s Dream is that a lot of care and attention went into it, and with a few tweaks it could have been much better. The way items like hydrants and vacuums play such a key role show a real commitment to the dog theme, and the overarching narrative — about a dog sitting at the hospital bed of his master in a coma — could’ve been heartwarming. Instead, though, you’re left with a game that can’t get out of its own way. In the end, it doesn’t matter how cute Balthazar’s Dream could’ve been; when you have a platformer where the jumping is a pain, no amount of adorable pups will save it.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    Wide Ocean Big Jacket
    It’s all pretty low stakes, and it’s extremely low stress. But that’s the point — it’s designed to be a relaxing game you can finish in a single sitting. It’s not about the change the world, but it should be enough to put a smile on your face…and yes, maybe just make you want to go camping.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Random Heroes: Gold Edition
    Really, if you’ve ever played any run & gun platformer, you’ve experienced what Random Heroes has to offer. Just about the only difference here is that there’s more of it than you’d find than in most places. If you value quantity of a game above all else, then it might do the trick, but otherwise I don’t see why you’d bother with it.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 33 Critic Score
    Ghost Sweeper
    Honestly, I can’t figure out why anyone would want to buy Ghost Sweeper. I mean, it’s a free phone game (with in-app purchases, of course), and, better still, you can also play Solomon’s Key itself in your browser right now. I’m all for supporting indie games, but when they do as little as Ghost Sweeper does to build on their inspirations, there’s really no point to playing them.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Wanderlust Travel Stories
    Even if the deeper meaning of Wanderlust’s politics are somewhere between pablum and deeply problematic, there’s no denying that the game fulfills its goal of making you stop and read and think about what you want to do next. It’s a visual novel that takes the “novel” part very seriously, and even if it accompanies its copious text with some gorgeous visuals, if you’re going to play/experience it, you’ll better have your reading glasses handy.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Blacksad: Under the Skin
    Despite its flaws — both performance and otherwise — Blacksad: Under The Skin still makes for an interesting game. It’s clunky (in more ways than one), but it’s also got a gripping story at its core, and it’s oozing style. I’ve certainly played better adventure games than this one, but there’s enough interesting stuff going on here that fans of the genre could do worse than checking it out.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Overland
    Controls aren’t immediately obvious, and with such limited movements within each turn, you’re a) mostly figuring it out as you go along, and b) dying a lot. For many people, of course, the difficulty is the point, especially when we’re talking about survival horror — which, its isometric puzzle trappings notwithstanding, Overland definitely is. It doesn’t hold your hand (which, for some — i.e. me — may be a drawback), so if you’re tired of the current apocalypse and in the mood for one that’s a little different, it might just do the trick.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 91 Critic Score
    SNK Gals' Fighters
    As it stands, this is a great port of a unique, obscure fighting game that I’m happy gets to see the light of day again. Hopefully, this will pave the way for more Neo Geo Pocket content on the Switch, which seems to be a perfect fit. Definitely check it out when you have a chance, you won’t be disappointed.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    Illusion of L'Phalcia
    Illusion of L’Phalcia also makes tentative steps into the world of 3D animation. It’s not the first time KEMCO games have tried 3D, but they don’t do it often, and it looks absolutely awful here. Some excuses could be made for the fact this is actually a port of one of their older games…but still, we’re talking about a game that was originally released in 2014, not 1994. There’s no reason why the few scenes with 3D characters should look as bad as they do. To be fair, if it weren’t for those shoddy 3D animations, there wouldn’t be a single thing in Illusion of L’Phalcia that’s even remotely memorable. It’s near the bottom of the barrel as far as KEMCO JRPGs go, and you’d be better off playing pretty much anything else they’ve brought over to consoles.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Predator: Hunting Grounds
    I’ve found myself enjoying my time spent with the game, and I think it has the potential to improve even more. I think if you’re in the market for something akin to Friday the 13th or Evolve, or just looking for a new competitive asymmetrical multiplayer experience, you could do a lot worse than Predator: Hunting Grounds. Just keep in mind that there are elements that feel a little rough at the moment, but barring that, it’s a pretty enjoyable shooter.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Fin and the Ancient Mystery
    Basically, if you’ve ever played any 2D platformer at any point in your life, you’ll know exactly what to expect from Fin and the Ancient Mystery. As I said, you could do a lot worse than this one, but given the sheer number of alternatives on the Switch alone, there’s really no reason why you’d want to pick this one specifically.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Sega Ages: G-LOC Air Battle
    While not as packed or well known as some of the previous SEGA AGES releases, G-LOC Air Battle is still a great addition to the lineup. If you like After Burner and Out Run, then you will feel right at home here. New players can also pick this one up and get the hang of it right away. It’s not a must own, but more of a quick pick up and play game. If you are looking for dogfight action found in games like Ace Combat, you aren’t going to find it here. Just a simple Arcade quarter-muncher designed to challenge and sometimes frustrate you. I say try it out, you may like it.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 42 Critic Score
    Rush Rover
    Basically, Rush Rover is a nondescript game that’s only worth playing for the trophies or achievements, if those appeal to you. It offers a few minutes of fun, but pretty much nothing else beyond that.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 33 Critic Score
    Breeder Homegrown: Director's Cut
    The weirdest thing about Breeder Homegrown is that it could’ve easily turned into a semi-decent horror game if there’d been even a little bit of attention paid to developing a cohesive story. It has a somewhat creepy atmosphere that, in better hands, could have been used to great effect. As it stands, though, there’s nothing really here to make the game worth recommending — unless, of course, you have $5 bucks to spend and a half hour to kill, and you want one of the easiest Platinums you’ll ever find.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    Kitty Powers' Matchmaker
    It’s highly addictive thanks to how quickly those dates breeze along, and even if it’s all done with a wink, the game never seems like it’s looking down on the genre (which, I’ll admit, I may have been doing going into it). It all makes for a fun way to pass the time, and if you’re looking for something a little different on the Switch, you’ll find it right here.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Battle Rockets
    Really, the only good thing I can say about Battle Rockets is that it must be a labour of love, because it’s only on the Vita. Personally, as someone who has played the Vita for far more hours than most people, I feel like that’s enough to make the game worthwhile, but for anyone who isn’t a diehard Vita completionist, Battle Rockets is more an oddity worth noting than something worth playing.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 25 Critic Score
    Blood Breed
    Just about the only way Blood Breed might appeal to you is if you, too, have nostalgia for the early days of PS1 horror games — but if you do, you’re probably much better served playing the Resident Evil remakes than you are playing junk like this. For that matter, I suspect that if you were to go back and play some of those classics from that games, they’d still be better than Blood Breed. Really, just about anything is better than this.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 25 Critic Score
    Thunder Paw
    A terrible game with generous checkpoints is still a terrible game. Thunder Paw manages to take a formula you wouldn’t think would be easy to screw up, and somehow finds a way to screw it up. It’s an abysmal game, and everything about it is best avoided.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Moons of Madness
    Given how nice it looks, I suspect that if you were to strip out most of Moons of Madness’ gameplay — such as it is — you would’ve been left with a very solid (if somewhat short) horror walking simulator. Instead, all you have here a somewhat scary horror game that manages to drown itself in a whole lot of pointless busywork.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Deep Diving Adventures
    While the game is mostly focused on exploration and education, every so often you have to fight off sharks and other predators. It feels totally out of place with the rest of the game, watching it veer from “Save biodiversity” to “Zap that shark!” and back again. I understand that the developers probably wanted to gamify sea exploration, but that doesn’t make it any less odd. I wouldn’t say any of those flaws ruin Deep Diving Adventures, though. They may detract a little from the overall experience, but, at the same time, that overall experience is different enough from most other games out there that it still feels pretty unique. As long as you don’t go in expecting something flawless, if nothing else you’ll come away with a whole new appreciation for water levels.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 83 Critic Score
    One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
    Needless to say, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is just as fun as the first three games in the series. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it doesn’t have to. If you want a game where you can take over a map by punching your enemies through buildings, you’ll get precisely that right here, and that couldn’t make me happier.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Epic Word Search Collection
    If we’re grading Epic Word Search Collection based on how well it delivers, well, epic word searches, I don’t think there’s any disputing that it does what it sets out to do. It may not be replace the old pen and paper variety, but if you’re looking for a good time-killer — and these days, we all are — it’ll do the trick.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 33 Critic Score
    Explosive Jake
    There’s really no other way to describe this game as anything other than a middling Bomberman clone. There’s no story. The hero is a skeleton who has to escape a series of dungeons for…reasons. The graphics are vaguely retro, with no distinguishing features. The controls are as standard as they come, with the only thing that really stands out being the fact it’s awkward to move the eponymous hero around, which means that you’re going to needlessly die quite a few times. That said, you only die if you play, and there’s really no reason why you need to play Explosive Jake in the first place. As Bomberman clones go, it’s certainly one of them, and you’re better off just seeking out the original instead.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    EQQO
    I give EQQO a lot of credit for keeping things basic and allowing the on-screen action to function without ever having to explain itself too much. Unfortunately, it works that well because there’s really not much of a challenge here. In normal circumstances, that might not be the worst thing in the world: it could allow you to focus on the game’s essentials, and in EQQO’s case, that theoretically means focusing players on its utterly delightful story. Unfortunately, however, the reality is that the most notable thing about EQQO isn’t the story or its characters, it’s the absolutely awful controls. No matter how adorable the game is, or how much love went into it, those controls are really its defining feature, and in this case, they drag everything else down with them.
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