Hardcore Gamer's Scores

  • Games
For 4,329 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 50% higher than the average critic
  • 9% same as the average critic
  • 41% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.4 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 73
Highest review score: 100 Balatro
Lowest review score: 20 Final Fantasy: All the Bravest
Score distribution:
4332 game reviews
    • 56 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Given the number and diversity of titles in the survival sandbox genre, there is little reason to explore the world of Shattered Skies and plenty reason to give it a miss.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    WWE 2K20 can’t be recommended in its current state and something like this should have never been released. There are less than a handful of bright spots and if they had just launched with 2K Originals and more importantly The Fiend, the most over WWE Superstar right now, it would have helped. What you get is a buggy experience and one glaring issue hampering an enjoyable experience in each of its different modes. MyCareer would be worth progressing through if you can stomach the awful loading times and Showcase would be great if the gameplay didn’t hinder actual advancement through the mode. In the end, it’s still a WWE game and Visual Concepts is promising patches.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    I Am Bread has novelty, but that novelty drains away quickly, leaving nothing but frustration in its wake. It’s YouTube bait and nothing more.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The ideas behind Loading Human: Chapter 1 are exciting, but they don’t get to shine like they should due to a weird control scheme and ineffective acting.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    With frustrating tech, unappealing appearance and a lack of quality of life streamlining, Torment: Tides of Numenera might actually be my biggest gaming-related disappointment since I bought an Atari Jaguar.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    While the mechanics are enticing, it’s far from standing out as an otherwise satisfying experience.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Those truly interested in this should just watch an episode of Falling Skies and then play a mission of XCOM as this mixture works about as well as oil and vinegar and diazepam.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Bad Bots is a great idea for a game brought down by a lack of variety or legitimate innovative challenge.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    A title marred by technical and visual anomalies, perhaps its run-time could be considered an ironic hindsight.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Dawn of Mana is a hodgepodge of ideas that range from nonsensical to decent, all smooshed together in a failure of a game. [June 2007, p.54]
    • Hardcore Gamer
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Eight dollars seems too high, especially since the experience is pretty short, and while smashing things has some entertainment value, the overall feeling coming out is “that was really annoying.”
    • 72 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    There are far better ways to spend even the shorter spells of time on a complete package. The Station, sadly, is light-years away from being one of them.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Randall should be better than this. It’s got all the elements in place to be good but they just don’t work right. There are some clever jumping puzzles that require the player to have pinpoint accuracy and consider jump height and how it relates to distance and not bouncing off the ceiling. The combat moves are well thought out, Randall’s abilities are used constantly in every area and the level art looks great. If Randall had the controls to match then this would be a nice little sleeper, but the pieces never come together to make it fun to play and the bugs drag it down even further. There are a lot of ways Randall could have been good, but without a character who can keep up with the action, it never manages to rise above being just plain bad.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Balan Wonderworld presents itself as having a world filled to the brim with imagination, ambition, whimsy, emotion and more. And while the game’s world has a lot of that, the actual game sadly does not. It lacks a solid narrative, satisfying gameplay and a good amount of variety, instead containing uninspired levels, awkward controls and a progression system that feels more like it rewards grinding. Fans of early 2000s platformers may be tempted to try it out, but there are far better alternatives to pick up instead. If this is supposed to be an ode to musical theater, then this is Balan Company’s Turn Off the Dark, and Balan Wonderworld is going to need a massive revamp in order for the franchise to survive.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Sequels that don’t quite match the lightning-in-a-bottle status of its originator are nothing new. But it’s telling when a game like Sports Story regresses so much that the follow-up to one of 2017’s most charming and delightful little adventures is as miserable and misguided a release as it is. A game far too broad and all-encompassing for its own good, lumped into a progression that lacks cohesion, explanation and even the most basic of design principles. Resulting in an experience, though briefly entertaining by way of some pleasant distractions and spots of similarly-charming writing, technically and mechanically incompetent. How Sidebar Games could put out a game of this quality is puzzling and depressing on top, given how much genuine enjoyment was felt in the 2017 original. But Sports Story is a pale and poorly-constructed excuse of a sequel proving above all else that ambition and scale doesn’t always end well.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Unfortunately, Ju-on can be finished in mere hours, but if the characters could actually run, I’d reckon it could be completed in around twenty minutes. In other words, it’s way too short to warrant the price tag.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    If you absolutely need another platformer for the PS4, which is currently lacking in them, then you could do worse than choosing this game. However, be warned that it is quite the challenge which can make it more frustrating than fun.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The second episode of Blues and Bullets falls short in enough ways to make it easy to recommend staying away from it at this point until all five episodes are out in the wild.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    It's truly disappointing how Death end re;Quest: Code Z turned out. The previous two titles weren't stellar by any means, but they were entertaining and precisely in Compile Heart's wheelhouse. Compliments should be given to the developers for wanting to change things with this spinoff, but care should have been taken to make use of what the roguelike genre can do. Making use of the simultaneous turn-based combat is an inspired choice, but it feels like they slotted the core of the system into the title, but didn't have time to build on it. As the plot doesn't provide much of anything of interest, even fans of the first two games would be safe to give this a skip. This is an anomaly for the developer, as even their worst titles were good for a laugh.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    It works, and it will bring some laughs (especially with friends), but there are better beat ‘em ups out there.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The end result is a cluttered mess that constantly tries to keep you active with something, anything at random, in order to distract you from the poor design.
    • 35 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    At $2.99, RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile isn’t a smart purchase, especially considering it’s an extension of a series as robust as RollerCoaster Tycoon. There are plenty of similar tapping games out there that are absolutely free.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Don’t let these voluptuous young women seduce you: Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is flawed beyond measure with its only redeeming quality being competent combat mechanics.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 35 Critic Score
    There's very little consideration for the platform it's been ported to, and even the small handful of DS-specific tools are liable to be useless or buggy.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 35 Critic Score
    It’s a complete train-wreck of a game, only suitable for those with an appreciation for the amazingly awful.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 35 Critic Score
    All said and done, while Gameloft may have had some good intentions with Texas Hold’em Poker – a family-friendly game of Texas Hold’em with online play to boot – I simply can not recommend this game to anyone outside of those looking strictly for a Wii poker experience.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    What could you really expect from a fast food advertisement in the form of a visual novel? For what it is, you’ll get about an hour of humorous — but not hilarious — story to experience. You may learn a little bit about KFC’s founder as well. But more than anything else, the game’s detailed artwork of KFC menu items may make you want to go to the fast food establishment. By that metric, the game is a success. But as a visual novel, you’d easily be able to play something much better than I Love You, Colonel Sanders for free or just a few dollars.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Play Adventure Capitalist or Clicker Heroes instead.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    It is extremely difficult to recommend Creature Romances: Kokonoe Kokoro to anyone other than the niche of visual novel fans who devour all games with non-human romances. They’ll of course need to read this one too, but no one else needs to worry. There’s little to be missed by not experiencing a story told thousands of times before with better characterization and drama. Here’s hoping that the otome version actually provides a better storyline instead of relying purely on absurd character design as its selling point.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    So much of Armikrog feels neglectful and lazy, lacking anything to make it stand out. Even the claymation look of it doesn’t save it from the carelessness put into it. It’s hard to see where that million dollars went. All of that said, it isn’t terrible, but if you’ve never had the pleasure of playing The Neverhood, do yourself a favor and pick that up instead.

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