It’s an admirable attempt with a clear love for the era, but you will likely not spend too much time playing it. Since the achievements are extremely easy, many may buy this just to grab them, however, unless you are a super fan of the nostalgic vibes this game is dropping, you are better off skipping this one. There are a lot of other games that can give you the same nostalgic feeling, while still adding new mechanics and creating a better overall experience.

It’s a game you will want to like and respect because of the retro feeling that it provides. Having goofy characters and themes does help, but everything else seems to fall apart as you realize you’re just not having all that much fun. It’s a short game that allows you to get all but three achievements easily. You likely won’t have the patience to play the more difficult modes. Cooperative couch play is a minor bonus but there is no online to be seen. I commend the approach but don’t feel it harbored any real interest. Void of any replayability or extra content, Coffee Crisis leaves us with a short and unrememberable creative idea.

Whilst I enjoyed the game’s story, soundtrack and unique possession based puzzle system, Wailing Heights does suffer from too many quality issues to be a straight-up recommendation. The game in itself is short but seems to be dragged out by overly repeating conversations and environments. That said, if you can overlook the negatives, Wailing Heights is still a fun and memorable adventure game that should appeal to old school point and click fans and more so with the spooky season just around the corner.

With Polygod, the consistency of having to repeat the first two-three levels over and over, never really making any further progress, easily becomes exhausting. The player really needs to ask themselves if they’re ready for that type of commitment before investing.

The game is simple and allows for you to pace it however you please. The glitches in the game and some poor design choices leave it buried in a heap of rubble without any feeling of real accomplishment after you finish. Because of the negatives, I would have to say this game is just pretty mediocre.

There is a ton of content and the price of the game is easily justified. I would like to stress that at times, this title can feel slow and may be one you won’t have enough time to sink into for enjoyment. If you’ve played the actual board game I would highly suggest giving this a shot. If you haven’t, I still think it’s worth a roll of the dice.

Everything about the game seems to make sense. It also isn’t anything you’ll fall in love with. Without substance, I can’t imagine anyone spending more than a few hours playing. Luckily the game is also on par with its price point. If you like easy achievements then, by all means, you can do it in one small gaming session. On a mobile device, this would be a pretty good time killer, but I can’t really say the same for a console.

Nefarious attempts to show the other side of a classic video game power struggle, but like many evil schemes it just doesn’t pan out as intended. For all its ambitious goals, it buckles under the pressure at every turn. The blueprints are there, but it lacks the workmanship and polish to truly strike fear into the weak-minded masses. It might be good for a few sinister chuckles, but that’s about it.

No, it’s not an amazing new franchise you’ll desire more of. You will, however, enjoy what you experience. There’s a happy medium of enjoyment without becoming something you’ll want to play all the time. If you’re looking for something creative that doesn’t take itself too seriously, then maybe Pizza Titan Ultra is something you can have fun with but not take too seriously.

Even being one of the only party games on the Xbox, it sure didn’t seem to try very hard. There seems to be so much more they could have done and added, but there really isn’t much to do or unlock. Not all of the mini-games are bad. I actually really enjoy roulette. Some of them are completed in under a minute, reducing even more what was already a minimal game. I thought it was almost decent, but lacking online support and giving little effort to expanding a basic concept, Vegas Party may not be one you’d want to attend.

Hollow Knight is an immediate classic. You’ll be rewarded with every second that you spend playing this game, nothing feels wasted or left as an afterthought save for some minor pacing issues. Team Cherry has crafted a tight, responsive 2D side-scroller that deserves your attention & support as it’s truly a modern masterpiece.

Shadow of Loot Box is a game that addresses the concept of loot boxes but doesn’t really drive the nail inward on how hindering they can be when it comes to a game. The added satire towards games like Fallout 4, among others adds a bit of comedy but are so short-lived that you’re immediately thrown back into the emptiness of the world around you. What the game has to offer is great, but if the game decided to add DLC in the future, not only would it add-on perfectly to the joke that was being delivered, but it would help to further expand the concepts the game bases around. In its present state, the game is decent, but some players may find it needs more.

There are clever dialogue moments and lots of humor thrown in showing that it was a fun project that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The music is an absolute pleasure and I was impressed with how many tracks are present, changing as you play. The overall mood for Desert Child is casual. You can play it without stressing about losing. You really cannot lose. Just based on your actions the game might take longer to complete. It’s a somewhat brief experience but is entertaining. Nothing in it will blow your mind but you won’t regret your time while on Mars, chilling and making your dream of success a reality.

While seeming like just another shmup, Final Star excels in being entertaining while still being a challenge. It’s not overly difficult and you can enjoy multiple playthroughs. It’s pretty short, but you can replay missions as well as the entire game while maintaining your precious upgrades. There are a few negatives in certain enemies and useless feeling powers, but the positives outweigh them. Choosing what upgrades and what ship you play as is a delight. Mini-games provide a nice break when some missions are tough. The graphics look fine and the story is easy to follow and satisfactory. If this game ever gets a sequel, I will be looking forward to it.

I was quite surprised by how good of a title this was. While seemingly simple, Hive Jump gives all the tools for you to have a great time doing the repetitive missions. Each idea created was well done, and I found myself wondering what really could have made it better. The one thing I felt truly missing was the online cooperative. I just never got a chance to play it how it was probably meant to be played. Luckily, as a singleplayer experience it still holds its own and doesn’t leave you wondering how you’ve ended up having no real-life gamer friends. Hive Jump won’t astonish you but it will be something you can enjoy spending a lot of time on.

While I felt the beginning of the game struggled to keep my attention, I really enjoyed the rest of it. However, there are several things I think could really help improve the experience. I didn’t particularly like the character design but did have a great time surviving. The excellent fast travel and saving system made death not so crushing. At times the pacing was a little awkward and I cared little about any of the characters, however, I believe overall it was a better-than-average survival game.

If you don’t mind grinding through to unlock everything, then it’s a pretty enjoyable experience. If you’re an achievement hunter you will probably like how you must obtain everything in order to get all of them. This is especially true with beating the game while only using a specific type of weapon. It encourages you to do everything possible in the game. However, if you don’t like replaying things numerous times, then it will be a short experience with a “that wasn’t worth it” feeling. The biggest sting here is the price tag which, unless you fall in love with the combat system, may lead you to feel dissatisfied with your purchase.

Where The Bees Make Honey just didn’t quite hit home. It tried too many different things and forgot about the core puzzle stages it should have instead put all focus into.

The flaws outweigh all positives. I enjoyed the world and the idea behind the story, but it’s nearly unplayable. I just don’t think it was ready to launch when it did, needing vast improvements in the most important areas. There were several occasions I force quit the game to take a break from the mess. I couldn’t even start to name every annoyance I had while playing. Even the starting screen makes no sense. You’re always on “New Game” and must scroll down to “load game”. Why would I want to start new? It should not be my first option. I’m really disappointed. I think there was a total miss on what could have been an exceptional adventure.

While you won’t be “wowed” by Legend of the Tetrarchs, you won’t be disappointed. It does enough to be unique but still feels like a classic. There are great systems in place to make it a new experience. The downfalls are with the map and quest descriptions not giving you enough information. What really stings is the character development. There isn’t any. It causes an odd and offset balance to traditional RPGs. There are great ideas for leveling up and equipment, but poor execution with the story and basic principles of the task at hand. I think it’s a very decent RPG, but nothing you’re going to want to play a second time.

The appearance of DragonFangZ is pretty, but the concept feels like it deserts you from the beginning. You like what you see, thinking you’re going to have a blast in some dungeons. Then you die. No problem, let’s attempt it again. The cycle continues and unless you fall in love with the game, you’re going to despise it. It might not be fair for me to come to such quick judgment, only having played for a couple of hours. However, I do think it’s fair to say that I’ve played enough to know I never want to load it on my Xbox ever again. I guess if you’re playing on a portable console such as the Nintendo Switch you may find a little more value inside. On the Xbox, it just doesn’t deserve the attention.

The presentation was nice, but it had very limited gameplay. Awkward physics worked very well for duels though they were almost depressing during the mini-games. Watching the clock tick as your character makes no progress because you can’t move deters your desire for more. It’s going to have a niche group of gamers that love it but most people can look elsewhere to have a duel.

After the final scene, I wanted to experience more of the world with Ted. It was short but very pleasant. I laughed at a lot of scenes and I think the characters are great. Flint made a nice counter personality to Ted, being extremely nice but also sarcastic and could keep up with the banter. While not being overly challenging, you’re allowed to enjoy the story. The pacing is near perfect, allowing you to easily backtrack to areas that are still relevant. I don’t have anything negative to say about the game. It’s well worth playing through until the end. I was never bored and loved clicking on everything to see what outrageous dialogue would be spoken next.

Game nights are a remarkably popular way to engage with friends, which has led to the resurgence of tabletop board and card games of late. Pandemic has had quite a following, and this digital version does have its plus points – easier logistics, lower cost – and it will be familiar to those who already play the board game. For those who haven’t played before, the lack of a meaningful tutorial will be an obstacle to getting into it. However, its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass will greatly lower the risk of trying out the game. Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t feel so good… hope it’s nothing serious.

Starting over never felt like an issue. It was pure fun growing in skill and developing your knowledge of the monsters. The combat system worked near flawlessly, and even though you were doing the same thing every dungeon it didn’t feel tedious. It was a challenge you wanted to complete. There could be some added bosses and traps, or even some kind of challenge mode. The lack of story didn’t prove an issue, as it didn’t even feel needed. If you’re into roguelite games or hate them, I suggest giving this a try.

Xbox really isn’t the place you should be playing Trover Saves the Universe, though it is preferable to dropping dough on an expensive VR setup. Even when played on a TV it’s still a solid puzzle-platforming experience, and none of the humor gets lost in translation. It’s a game every bit as funny and nonsensical as you’d expect from the mind behind Rick & Morty, which alone would be enough to give it a glowing recommendation.

This isn’t the worst physics game by any means, but there isn’t much to it. With nothing fun to unlock and no sense of accomplishment in gaining three stars, you find yourself bored very quickly. Reload times are fast and the instant retry is great for when you want to test out the level first and mess around before you make an actual attempt. This is probably better on a mobile platform where you can use touch controls to determine the force at which the little square guy flies. With an analog stick, it’s like being in a constant sand trap. I can’t say I hated Midnight Deluxe, but I can say I didn’t really like it either.

Knights of Pen and Paper beckons to the days of old, and in this way is extremely charming. It gives the feeling of control in a way that most RPGs just don’t. It made me want to go dust off my old D&D manual and call up a couple of friends to get the old campaign running strong – but still misses the mark with some of the more grind-heavy areas. Overall, I think this game has quite a bit going for it and is worth a play. If you love old school tabletop games or maybe just are curious what some of the buzz is about, then definitely check this one out.