ABCrosby22
2020
Wow. I haven’t remotely felt this kind of magic since first booting up my cousin’s GameFly rental of Super Mario Galaxy, my favorite game of all time, on their Wii. Astro’s Playroom is a purely joyful wonder in the form of a 3D platforming video game that served as my incredible introduction to the PlayStation family of consoles. Everything done to take advantage of the new DualSense controller is so novel while the gameplay is a blast and the visuals as well as music are gorgeous.
Talking about this glorious experience can’t possibly do it justice though, you really have to play it for yourself. If you can get your hands on a PS5 but don’t play this pack-in title downloaded directly to the system, you are missing out on a short but oh so sublime one of a kind rollercoaster ride through the legacy of PlayStation that also provides a staggering glimpse into the future of gaming as we know it. Just about every second of Astrobot’s Playroom filled me with giddy delight!
A+
Talking about this glorious experience can’t possibly do it justice though, you really have to play it for yourself. If you can get your hands on a PS5 but don’t play this pack-in title downloaded directly to the system, you are missing out on a short but oh so sublime one of a kind rollercoaster ride through the legacy of PlayStation that also provides a staggering glimpse into the future of gaming as we know it. Just about every second of Astrobot’s Playroom filled me with giddy delight!
A+
2020
The thing about the Pikmin games, even Pikmin 3 Deluxe here which is arguably the least challenging and therefor at times the least exciting, is that they are fully immersive Nintendo goodness at some of its most satisfyingly fun. The extra content in this Switch port isn’t all that much, but everything the Piklopedia adds is wonderful and the novelty of playing as Olimar and Louie again is surprisingly nostalgic. Yeah, the extra content is way too easy but it’s still made to fit the tried and true Pikmin formula that’s just too much of a blast to put down midway.
The Pikmin gameplay, characters, and world are just so great. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the Wii remote while playing this port, though. The joy con get close but can’t quite replicate the kind of smooth precision Wii remotes were capable of (especially in more open 3D areas like boss arenas that require such finesse). For that reason I’d slightly prefer the Wii U version of Pikmin 3 I think, but this is still a fantastically entertaining game with an adventurous story that serves as a perfect introduction to Pikmin for newcomers while also providing a healthy portion of fan service to veterans of the series.
I love Pikmin 3 Deluxe to Hocotate and back, though boy am I left hungry for even more after waiting years already for another full blown sequel. Pikmin 4 could never come soon enough, but man... Where is it? Didn’t Miyamoto say it was nearing completion like seven years ago?? Yeesh, that makes me feel old. That’s a lotta years.
A+
The Pikmin gameplay, characters, and world are just so great. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the Wii remote while playing this port, though. The joy con get close but can’t quite replicate the kind of smooth precision Wii remotes were capable of (especially in more open 3D areas like boss arenas that require such finesse). For that reason I’d slightly prefer the Wii U version of Pikmin 3 I think, but this is still a fantastically entertaining game with an adventurous story that serves as a perfect introduction to Pikmin for newcomers while also providing a healthy portion of fan service to veterans of the series.
I love Pikmin 3 Deluxe to Hocotate and back, though boy am I left hungry for even more after waiting years already for another full blown sequel. Pikmin 4 could never come soon enough, but man... Where is it? Didn’t Miyamoto say it was nearing completion like seven years ago?? Yeesh, that makes me feel old. That’s a lotta years.
A+
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is fun to play with friends, even if the levels don’t quite feel as if they were built with multiplayer in mind. I definitely prefer more contextual platformers to these New Super Mario Bros. ones where pretty much everything is a floating block too. The level designs just really aren’t unique or particularly inviting to explore. It really feels as if there’s little rhyme or reason to any of the course designs, but Nintendo’s expertise in the smooth handling of the characters makes it feel good to play and the entertainment of whacky multiplayer attempts at teamwork makes it worth getting into. Going so far as to 100% the game isn’t rewarding at all though, so if you pick this one up maybe just play to the final boss and call it good. The Luigi U side of things seems to have some more thematic levels with more varried mechanics to throw at you but after one play-through I was very much ready to move on from this Deluxe package instead.
B
B
Bug Fables is a phenomenal spiritual successor to the first two Paper Mario games that is packed to the brim with content. I spent about 55 hours playing this delightful $24.99 RPG on my Switch and fell head over heels for its expansive lore and quirky characters.
While very similar to early Paper Marios in gameplay style, a tried-and-true formula I already adored, I have to say that I now honestly prefer Bug Fables. I love how you follow one group of three talkative explorers and really get to know each of them deeply along the adventure, Mario himself was never given much of a chance to emote or really develop in his RPG spinoffs.
To cap things off, Bug Fables is super creative and full of so many different things to do that I adored. It’s complete with mini games that are actually a blast, original creature designs that totally rock across the board, a number of surprisingly unsettling segments, fantastic music, charming humor, and heartfelt character dynamics. It’s one of my favorite games of all time now that I’ve played all the way through it, and it’s without a doubt my favorite in the RPG genre. I would happily go on another quest in this world with Kabbu, Vi, and Leif if the developers were to ever make a sequel, but this is such a complete and delightful package that I‘d also be fully content with the story ending here!
A+
While very similar to early Paper Marios in gameplay style, a tried-and-true formula I already adored, I have to say that I now honestly prefer Bug Fables. I love how you follow one group of three talkative explorers and really get to know each of them deeply along the adventure, Mario himself was never given much of a chance to emote or really develop in his RPG spinoffs.
To cap things off, Bug Fables is super creative and full of so many different things to do that I adored. It’s complete with mini games that are actually a blast, original creature designs that totally rock across the board, a number of surprisingly unsettling segments, fantastic music, charming humor, and heartfelt character dynamics. It’s one of my favorite games of all time now that I’ve played all the way through it, and it’s without a doubt my favorite in the RPG genre. I would happily go on another quest in this world with Kabbu, Vi, and Leif if the developers were to ever make a sequel, but this is such a complete and delightful package that I‘d also be fully content with the story ending here!
A+