ThumbsMckenzie
BACKER
2022
Wildly fun, creative, funny, weird. Dave the Diver is all the darts just thrown at the board. What sticks will differ for the player but the ability to be a bit picky with what you focus on is nice and makes it easier to avoid some of the gameplay mechanics if you're not a fan (to some degree at least). Overall though, Dave the Diver is a charming, funny and enjoyable experience.
2023
Great look with some solid music. Unfortunately, the absolutely brutal gameplay is just not worth it.
They've managed to make a bite-sized Like a Dragon/Yakuza experience (relatively speaking). Still lots to do for those that want to experience all the extra that this franchise has to offer but with a shorter story and less side quests.
The one real negative to this game is the side quests. Usually a very incredible dynamic to this series, the ones featured in Gaiden feel pretty paint by number.
The main component to this game is doing things for Akame and her network. The main story runs through this for the most part and the side stories do as well. Because of the structure of this, many of the side stories are pretty small tasks lacking a lot of the depth usually found in these stories.
There are still some fun side stories to do in this but with the amount scaled back and not a ton of memorable ones, a lot of these just feel like time killers so you're not completely blitzing through the main story.
With a smaller amount of story in this game it does feel like it freed up room for some fighting improvements. Whether coincidental or not, the groups of enemies you encounter increase across the board.
The general packs found around Sotenbori are larger, with many big sized battles where it feels like you're dealing with 50 guys all at once.
The combos for your fighting styles also feel more in depth. You're able to chain together more attacks within a combo as well. They have scaled down the amount of heat attacks featured in this game (least it certainly feels like that). With these additions, including all the tools added to your Agent fighting style, the general street fights you'll find yourself in constantly still feel good. If this beat em up style isn't for you though, I don't think these new additions will change your opinion.
The story is also pretty great here as well. It definitely gets Like a Dragon weird and over the top still but the ending to this game in general is incredible if you're a fan of the franchise and played the majority of these games. Not sure how well it works for those without the attachment to this franchise though so results may vary.
At the end of the day, Like a Dragon: Gaiden manages to make Kiryu even cooler, a feat I didn't think possible. The tools in battle, the bigger combos, the bigger waves of enemies, even some of the small stuff they've added like a new weapon pickup animation for some weapons just adds so much cooooooolness to a legendary cool dude. That feat alone, mixed with that incredible end makes this one of the better games in this franchise and well worth a play if you're a fan of the franchise.
The one real negative to this game is the side quests. Usually a very incredible dynamic to this series, the ones featured in Gaiden feel pretty paint by number.
The main component to this game is doing things for Akame and her network. The main story runs through this for the most part and the side stories do as well. Because of the structure of this, many of the side stories are pretty small tasks lacking a lot of the depth usually found in these stories.
There are still some fun side stories to do in this but with the amount scaled back and not a ton of memorable ones, a lot of these just feel like time killers so you're not completely blitzing through the main story.
With a smaller amount of story in this game it does feel like it freed up room for some fighting improvements. Whether coincidental or not, the groups of enemies you encounter increase across the board.
The general packs found around Sotenbori are larger, with many big sized battles where it feels like you're dealing with 50 guys all at once.
The combos for your fighting styles also feel more in depth. You're able to chain together more attacks within a combo as well. They have scaled down the amount of heat attacks featured in this game (least it certainly feels like that). With these additions, including all the tools added to your Agent fighting style, the general street fights you'll find yourself in constantly still feel good. If this beat em up style isn't for you though, I don't think these new additions will change your opinion.
The story is also pretty great here as well. It definitely gets Like a Dragon weird and over the top still but the ending to this game in general is incredible if you're a fan of the franchise and played the majority of these games. Not sure how well it works for those without the attachment to this franchise though so results may vary.
At the end of the day, Like a Dragon: Gaiden manages to make Kiryu even cooler, a feat I didn't think possible. The tools in battle, the bigger combos, the bigger waves of enemies, even some of the small stuff they've added like a new weapon pickup animation for some weapons just adds so much cooooooolness to a legendary cool dude. That feat alone, mixed with that incredible end makes this one of the better games in this franchise and well worth a play if you're a fan of the franchise.
Nothing new from a gameplay mechanics standpoint. If you've played a game like Limbo before, you know how this game will play. But Bramble: The Mountain's Nordic inspiration is so wild and uniquely dark, I still really enjoyed my time with this game and think its sets itself apart from the other dark puzzle platformers out there.
Boss battles are relatively creative, the music is fantastic, especially the final boss music. It's not great to look at but it's nothing that holds it back too much.
Overall, if you liked games like Inside and Little Nightmares and are looking for a weekend game to play, this is a solid option. It's on Game Pass too (as of this writing at least). It's a little slow to get moving but once it really jumps into its Nordic tales, it gets quite good.
Boss battles are relatively creative, the music is fantastic, especially the final boss music. It's not great to look at but it's nothing that holds it back too much.
Overall, if you liked games like Inside and Little Nightmares and are looking for a weekend game to play, this is a solid option. It's on Game Pass too (as of this writing at least). It's a little slow to get moving but once it really jumps into its Nordic tales, it gets quite good.
2023
Dripping with Max Payne influence, El Paso, Elsewhere does maybe too good of an homage to that style game.
The constant motion abilities with gunplay and movement are good. It gets a bit dragged down by aiming mechanics that just feel slightly off though. Where the reticle is in relation to the camera placement just feels slightly off, so whenever I was aiming, I found it unnatural and like I was going to miss.
The game is a bit rough around the edges in a few places. Some of this is charming and really works for the style of game its going for. It's not able to overcome all of those rough spots, especially in regards to hit detection and clipping.
I found myself a few times getting stuck on something or getting stuck inside something. These of course would always happen in a wave of enemies, so I'd end up dying or in pretty rough shape when this would occur, making the whole experience a bit frustrating at times. Especially with the more common hit detection issues.
To just finish the bad stuff and get it all out of the way, the game is also way too long. The environments, the gunplay, the weapon and enemy variety, these are all pretty good in El Paso, Elsewhere, but because the game feels like it drags, some of these good factors get less impressive as the game goes on. Especially once the game stop introducing new enemies, new weapons and new environments.
There are good to great things with this game too. The music is fantastic, the weapon variety is nice, the enemy variety is as well, and the story is pretty good on top of it. The voiceover of our main character is also done very well.
El Paso, Elsewhere does a great job standing apart from its inspiration while feeling so similar to that Max Payne style gunplay and vibe. Some of the design choices from those games probably should've been left to that era. Minor frustrations and bigger ones drag the overall creative and interesting experience down which is a shame but this is a game worth trying if Max Payne style mechanics is something you enjoy. The story, the music, and overall experience should be enough to push through some of the issues.
The constant motion abilities with gunplay and movement are good. It gets a bit dragged down by aiming mechanics that just feel slightly off though. Where the reticle is in relation to the camera placement just feels slightly off, so whenever I was aiming, I found it unnatural and like I was going to miss.
The game is a bit rough around the edges in a few places. Some of this is charming and really works for the style of game its going for. It's not able to overcome all of those rough spots, especially in regards to hit detection and clipping.
I found myself a few times getting stuck on something or getting stuck inside something. These of course would always happen in a wave of enemies, so I'd end up dying or in pretty rough shape when this would occur, making the whole experience a bit frustrating at times. Especially with the more common hit detection issues.
To just finish the bad stuff and get it all out of the way, the game is also way too long. The environments, the gunplay, the weapon and enemy variety, these are all pretty good in El Paso, Elsewhere, but because the game feels like it drags, some of these good factors get less impressive as the game goes on. Especially once the game stop introducing new enemies, new weapons and new environments.
There are good to great things with this game too. The music is fantastic, the weapon variety is nice, the enemy variety is as well, and the story is pretty good on top of it. The voiceover of our main character is also done very well.
El Paso, Elsewhere does a great job standing apart from its inspiration while feeling so similar to that Max Payne style gunplay and vibe. Some of the design choices from those games probably should've been left to that era. Minor frustrations and bigger ones drag the overall creative and interesting experience down which is a shame but this is a game worth trying if Max Payne style mechanics is something you enjoy. The story, the music, and overall experience should be enough to push through some of the issues.
Rough around the edges but an interesting and creative game. Hard to describe but worth a try if you've got Game Pass (Currently on GP as of this review).
This review contains spoilers
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes almost every flaw from the original game and improves on it. Easily the most impressive improvement is the platforming/exploring aspects of this game. Fallen Order had a lot of issues with its platforming. Jedi: Survivor features almost no issues in this department now. I would like to see more improvements to how this game determines fall damage and how it restarts you if you fall too far but once you get used to some of those restrictions, its not too bad to deal with. Minor frustration at times but mostly from when I'm trying to cheat the system a bit and the game won't let me.
The game also feels a bit more open and freer. I didn't feel as 'on the rails' so to speak with the story and the mechanics thanks in large part to the base planet hub setup.
Instead of being cramped up on the Mantis seemingly for most of the game like Fallen Order felt, the game has a whole base planet designed heavily with the idea in mind of doing side quests and exploring. Like any good rebellion alliance, your base is mostly setup in a dive bar with other seedy characters that you can meet along the way. The side quests that you can do will even unlock additional characters/regulars that will help add to the overall growth and popularity of your planet and bar. That type of natural progression and visual enhancement was effective in motivating me to keep exploring and take breaks from the main story.
Much like the previous entry in this series, as you progress and you unlock new abilities, you'll find more and more areas open to exploration on the various planets that you visit. The fact that the platforming is so improved is also a big motivator in me wanting to actually explore and find these additional items and side quests.
The unlockables are very similar to what was involved in Fallen Order. You can unlock lightsaber parts, new attires, BD-1 improvements, Stim pack upgrades, etc. etc. On top of that though, the game has really improved in the customization aspects of the game. Many more paint options can be unlocked for your weapons and for BD-1, the lightsaber design options are much more diverse and expanded. Hair and beard options for Cal are included this time as well. The only thing missing is paint changes for the Mantis.
A new inclusion and improvement to the combat this time around is the introduction of many more lightsaber stances. The standard single saber style and dual bladed forms return, but the game includes an additional three this time around. All have clear pros and cons to them as well. A Kylo Ren style saber stance exists for example that deals much more damage but because of its slower attack output, dealing with large groups of faster enemies can make it difficult to use. Want something with a little bit of range? There's now a saber/blaster combo style as well.
You can only select two styles at a time so there are restrictions but it never felt too restrictive, since you are able to swap them out at any mediation point.
This makes enemy strategy a bit more important than Fallen Order as well. My only real complaints with the combat mechanics in this game are minor. I don't think combat overall is all that exciting and your healing stim packs can be interrupted from taking damage, so if you're low on health and dealing with a group of enemies, it can get annoying trying to heal and not take damage.
The scale of this game is also improved over the first. This in tandem with the platforming/traversal mechanics improving makes for some incredible sections where you're having to bounce off one wall to wall run off another to grab a railing and shimmy over to the next section of the stage. Some of the things you are climbing on/around/through are huge and feel impressive to scale.
The set pieces that include some of this traversing are also wildly impressive. In particular, there is a desert battle where you and Merrin are having to take down a giant robot. You'll be dashing and wall riding, get boosted by Merrin's abilities as well as you avoid the laser blasts of the giant robot, using your lightsaber as you progress to help take it down to a smaller size.
It's a blast. There are definitely still some improvements that could be made to some of it but the fluidity of motion and how the game forces you to use it all to progress is a delight.
The story is great, the cast of characters, some new, some returning, all have quirks and development. This game takes place about five years after the first and the character writing reflects that. Your crew are different. You are different. What these characters are doing though feels like a natural progression.
The story that unfolds is great. I won't go into too much detail to avoid total spoilers but there's a moment that really kicks the game into gear and that extra gear is really the turning point for this game and where this game earns that additional half star.
Overall, potential bugs and nitpicks aside, this game is terrific. The first was a great experience. This is leaps and bounds a better game.
The game also feels a bit more open and freer. I didn't feel as 'on the rails' so to speak with the story and the mechanics thanks in large part to the base planet hub setup.
Instead of being cramped up on the Mantis seemingly for most of the game like Fallen Order felt, the game has a whole base planet designed heavily with the idea in mind of doing side quests and exploring. Like any good rebellion alliance, your base is mostly setup in a dive bar with other seedy characters that you can meet along the way. The side quests that you can do will even unlock additional characters/regulars that will help add to the overall growth and popularity of your planet and bar. That type of natural progression and visual enhancement was effective in motivating me to keep exploring and take breaks from the main story.
Much like the previous entry in this series, as you progress and you unlock new abilities, you'll find more and more areas open to exploration on the various planets that you visit. The fact that the platforming is so improved is also a big motivator in me wanting to actually explore and find these additional items and side quests.
The unlockables are very similar to what was involved in Fallen Order. You can unlock lightsaber parts, new attires, BD-1 improvements, Stim pack upgrades, etc. etc. On top of that though, the game has really improved in the customization aspects of the game. Many more paint options can be unlocked for your weapons and for BD-1, the lightsaber design options are much more diverse and expanded. Hair and beard options for Cal are included this time as well. The only thing missing is paint changes for the Mantis.
A new inclusion and improvement to the combat this time around is the introduction of many more lightsaber stances. The standard single saber style and dual bladed forms return, but the game includes an additional three this time around. All have clear pros and cons to them as well. A Kylo Ren style saber stance exists for example that deals much more damage but because of its slower attack output, dealing with large groups of faster enemies can make it difficult to use. Want something with a little bit of range? There's now a saber/blaster combo style as well.
You can only select two styles at a time so there are restrictions but it never felt too restrictive, since you are able to swap them out at any mediation point.
This makes enemy strategy a bit more important than Fallen Order as well. My only real complaints with the combat mechanics in this game are minor. I don't think combat overall is all that exciting and your healing stim packs can be interrupted from taking damage, so if you're low on health and dealing with a group of enemies, it can get annoying trying to heal and not take damage.
The scale of this game is also improved over the first. This in tandem with the platforming/traversal mechanics improving makes for some incredible sections where you're having to bounce off one wall to wall run off another to grab a railing and shimmy over to the next section of the stage. Some of the things you are climbing on/around/through are huge and feel impressive to scale.
The set pieces that include some of this traversing are also wildly impressive. In particular, there is a desert battle where you and Merrin are having to take down a giant robot. You'll be dashing and wall riding, get boosted by Merrin's abilities as well as you avoid the laser blasts of the giant robot, using your lightsaber as you progress to help take it down to a smaller size.
It's a blast. There are definitely still some improvements that could be made to some of it but the fluidity of motion and how the game forces you to use it all to progress is a delight.
The story is great, the cast of characters, some new, some returning, all have quirks and development. This game takes place about five years after the first and the character writing reflects that. Your crew are different. You are different. What these characters are doing though feels like a natural progression.
The story that unfolds is great. I won't go into too much detail to avoid total spoilers but there's a moment that really kicks the game into gear and that extra gear is really the turning point for this game and where this game earns that additional half star.
Overall, potential bugs and nitpicks aside, this game is terrific. The first was a great experience. This is leaps and bounds a better game.
2023
This game just has no personality. Sure the cars look great, sure the tracks look great. But now that these games are all Game Pass released, Horizon is easily the more entertaining racing game available on Xbox.
Mix in an underwhelming new upgrade system, Forza Motorsport is just not worth it, especially when the competition on both systems is so good.
Because this isn't a Horizon entry, Forza Motorsport features no world "base" of sorts. It's a lot of menus. While Forza may not be alone in going for a more serious sim approach to the racing genre, the menus and UI in this game are incredibly bland and boring. Yep, these are menus. Gran Turismo at least tries to go for a stylish layout and visual presentation. Forza doesn't.
Now look, Forza Motorsport is a good playing game. The cars are gorgeous, the driving is nice, you can get DEEEP into the tuning portion if you are a sim fan. There is a good game here, it's just hard to feel good about this one when it's just so standard.
While the gameplay I can praise, there are issues I have with it and some of the new upgrade systems. First, the game locks certain upgrades. As you level up, the game will unlock upgrade/improvements that you can purchase for your car.
Want to upgrade your flywheel? Gotta level it up. Want to reduce the weight of your car? Gotta grind it out and level up. It's an unnecessary roadblock.
The better you drive, the more experience you receive and of course, the faster you level up. To make matters worse, when you do level up, you are only leveling up that individual car. If you get into a new car, you start back at 1.
On top of this grind, if you want to race (in a racing game?) the game practically forces you to practice before every. single. race.
You cannot on the standard setup menu get around this. You have to pick practice before starting the official race. You can exit out of the practice once you start the practice session but it's once again a completely unnecessary roadblock that just makes this game feel grindy and slow.
I always have high hopes for a Forza game and this one is good but a massive disappointment. If you are a hardcore sim gamer that needs a new sim racing game, go wild with Forza Motorsport 2023. Otherwise, stick to Horizon or Gran Turismo if you are looking for a sim style racing game.
Mix in an underwhelming new upgrade system, Forza Motorsport is just not worth it, especially when the competition on both systems is so good.
Because this isn't a Horizon entry, Forza Motorsport features no world "base" of sorts. It's a lot of menus. While Forza may not be alone in going for a more serious sim approach to the racing genre, the menus and UI in this game are incredibly bland and boring. Yep, these are menus. Gran Turismo at least tries to go for a stylish layout and visual presentation. Forza doesn't.
Now look, Forza Motorsport is a good playing game. The cars are gorgeous, the driving is nice, you can get DEEEP into the tuning portion if you are a sim fan. There is a good game here, it's just hard to feel good about this one when it's just so standard.
While the gameplay I can praise, there are issues I have with it and some of the new upgrade systems. First, the game locks certain upgrades. As you level up, the game will unlock upgrade/improvements that you can purchase for your car.
Want to upgrade your flywheel? Gotta level it up. Want to reduce the weight of your car? Gotta grind it out and level up. It's an unnecessary roadblock.
The better you drive, the more experience you receive and of course, the faster you level up. To make matters worse, when you do level up, you are only leveling up that individual car. If you get into a new car, you start back at 1.
On top of this grind, if you want to race (in a racing game?) the game practically forces you to practice before every. single. race.
You cannot on the standard setup menu get around this. You have to pick practice before starting the official race. You can exit out of the practice once you start the practice session but it's once again a completely unnecessary roadblock that just makes this game feel grindy and slow.
I always have high hopes for a Forza game and this one is good but a massive disappointment. If you are a hardcore sim gamer that needs a new sim racing game, go wild with Forza Motorsport 2023. Otherwise, stick to Horizon or Gran Turismo if you are looking for a sim style racing game.
A decent beat-em-up that attempts to add rogue-like elements to mixed results.
The game definitely features a lot of Double Dragon feelings. It's definitely got similar attacks, bad guys, pick ups, and frustrations that you'd find in the original games.
Most of the negative frustrations only start to pop up as the game progresses and the difficulty scaling begins.
You have four bosses to take on in this game and as you defeat them, the other gangs/bosses will grow stronger as they hear about the demise of their counterparts.
The levels get longer, featuring more stages in order to get to the final boss. So if you play one level the first time verses the fourth time, the levels will be longer, with new sub locations and mid bosses added.
Enemies will get stronger, they will take more damage to kill, there will be more things that can hurt you scattered throughout the stages as well. Even the bosses will be joined by more and more additional enemies as you defeat others.
It's a pretty interesting concept and it does help make the game harder and make you take advantage of the skills and strategies found within the gameplay.
Unfortunately, the gameplay isn't all that interesting. It's standard beat em up mechanics and all of it never feels all that satisfying.
The game does feature multiple characters to choose from to start, all with their own pros and cons. All differences are pretty standard, you've got an all around, you've got a character that can only use a gun, you've got bigger, stronger (but slower) characters, etc. etc.
There are additional characters you can unlock as well that also feature pros and cons.
It helps a bit with strategy, especially since you can swap your characters out if both of your selected characters die.
The difficulty scaling though is a bit frustrating. Since a lot of the levels get longer with new areas needing to be cleared in order to get to the actual end boss, these newer areas are usually chock full of easy traps and ways to get knocked off the stage and die and take damage.
A lot of the issues found in the older designed beat em ups are here in this modern version in order to make the game feel retro. These mechanics though are all pretty frustrating. Floor traps can juggle you, as can enemies if they are nearby, you can fly off the ends of stages by simply using a special attack that carries you too far. These things can easily take you down a good amount of health out of nowhere.
While there are ways to earn health items (you have to combo kill multiple enemies and depending on how many you KO, the bigger the health increase will be on the item you earn). Actually trying to pick and use (they don't get automatically added to your health bar upon earning it) these up can be difficult if you're in the heat of an enemy wave.
If you do have both of your characters die, you can revive so long as you have the money to do it. You earn money by picking it up and defeating enemies throughout the levels so you'll usually have some but that money is also used at the end of stages to upgrade your characters so you have to plan accordingly.
These upgrades are your standard rogue-like affair, you'll have the ability to purchase max health upgrades, certain attacks dealing more damage, perks depending on health, etc. etc.
You have the ability to buy these separately for your character but you also have the ability to pass on one and instead earn additional money, so if you're running low and can't buy anything you will still be rewarded, or if you are worried about not having enough money for a revive, you can hold onto the money strategically.
These upgrades are noticeable to a degree, though the final stage usually features enemies strong enough where you might not notice these as the game progresses.
Overall, Double Dragon Gaiden is a decent beat em up. The gameplay frustrations and bland gameplay though will deter some, which is fine because there are better modern beat em ups out there. It's rather short on top of it unless you want to be a completionist or mess around with the characters you can unlock. If you've played those better games though, this isn't a terrible pickup on a discount.
The game definitely features a lot of Double Dragon feelings. It's definitely got similar attacks, bad guys, pick ups, and frustrations that you'd find in the original games.
Most of the negative frustrations only start to pop up as the game progresses and the difficulty scaling begins.
You have four bosses to take on in this game and as you defeat them, the other gangs/bosses will grow stronger as they hear about the demise of their counterparts.
The levels get longer, featuring more stages in order to get to the final boss. So if you play one level the first time verses the fourth time, the levels will be longer, with new sub locations and mid bosses added.
Enemies will get stronger, they will take more damage to kill, there will be more things that can hurt you scattered throughout the stages as well. Even the bosses will be joined by more and more additional enemies as you defeat others.
It's a pretty interesting concept and it does help make the game harder and make you take advantage of the skills and strategies found within the gameplay.
Unfortunately, the gameplay isn't all that interesting. It's standard beat em up mechanics and all of it never feels all that satisfying.
The game does feature multiple characters to choose from to start, all with their own pros and cons. All differences are pretty standard, you've got an all around, you've got a character that can only use a gun, you've got bigger, stronger (but slower) characters, etc. etc.
There are additional characters you can unlock as well that also feature pros and cons.
It helps a bit with strategy, especially since you can swap your characters out if both of your selected characters die.
The difficulty scaling though is a bit frustrating. Since a lot of the levels get longer with new areas needing to be cleared in order to get to the actual end boss, these newer areas are usually chock full of easy traps and ways to get knocked off the stage and die and take damage.
A lot of the issues found in the older designed beat em ups are here in this modern version in order to make the game feel retro. These mechanics though are all pretty frustrating. Floor traps can juggle you, as can enemies if they are nearby, you can fly off the ends of stages by simply using a special attack that carries you too far. These things can easily take you down a good amount of health out of nowhere.
While there are ways to earn health items (you have to combo kill multiple enemies and depending on how many you KO, the bigger the health increase will be on the item you earn). Actually trying to pick and use (they don't get automatically added to your health bar upon earning it) these up can be difficult if you're in the heat of an enemy wave.
If you do have both of your characters die, you can revive so long as you have the money to do it. You earn money by picking it up and defeating enemies throughout the levels so you'll usually have some but that money is also used at the end of stages to upgrade your characters so you have to plan accordingly.
These upgrades are your standard rogue-like affair, you'll have the ability to purchase max health upgrades, certain attacks dealing more damage, perks depending on health, etc. etc.
You have the ability to buy these separately for your character but you also have the ability to pass on one and instead earn additional money, so if you're running low and can't buy anything you will still be rewarded, or if you are worried about not having enough money for a revive, you can hold onto the money strategically.
These upgrades are noticeable to a degree, though the final stage usually features enemies strong enough where you might not notice these as the game progresses.
Overall, Double Dragon Gaiden is a decent beat em up. The gameplay frustrations and bland gameplay though will deter some, which is fine because there are better modern beat em ups out there. It's rather short on top of it unless you want to be a completionist or mess around with the characters you can unlock. If you've played those better games though, this isn't a terrible pickup on a discount.
It is incredibly one note but this type of vibe and style is extremely for me. Slayers X is definitely not for everyone though because of those vibes and the style.
If Duke Nukem style FPS is something you really like and miss, this is a very well done homage to that, frustrations and all.
While a good game, the shallow nature of it and very specific style will not be for everyone. It's also just not as interesting as Hypnospace. Worth a shot if 90s edgy FPS is your jam or Hypnospace was something you enjoyed stylistically.
If Duke Nukem style FPS is something you really like and miss, this is a very well done homage to that, frustrations and all.
While a good game, the shallow nature of it and very specific style will not be for everyone. It's also just not as interesting as Hypnospace. Worth a shot if 90s edgy FPS is your jam or Hypnospace was something you enjoyed stylistically.
An improvement over the first for the most part. Certainly not perfect and one of the bigger battle changes tends to be pretty frustrating but overall, a solid sequel. If you liked the first, this one is worth checking out. Doesn't really change a ton though, so if you bounced off the first or just didn't like it, this one won't do much to change that.
This review contains spoilers
AC: Valhalla is an absolute slog. The longest Assassin's Creed game that I've played, it takes some of the worst trends of the most recent AC games and continues down the abyss.
Unlike AC Odyssey, Valhalla is just missing some location charm. I never found the world of Valhalla all that special or interesting. Nothing really about it drew me in or had me wanting to ride my horse instead of fast traveling if given the option.
All of the armor is back, except they've managed to make it rather pointless. Because of the weapon upgrade system in this game I found it a lot harder to actually compare armor I was picking up and whether or not it was better or worse than what I was already using. Is the armor I just picked up better than what I've got on right now? Maybe! I gotta upgrade it a handful of times and then maybe I'll have a better idea.
The armor and weapon I was using was pretty much what I used from hour 60 until the end of the game 60+ hours later. There are so much armor crates to pick up though, it just becomes useless.
The game feels more action focused than the previous counterparts, thanks to the raids this game focuses on thanks to the Viking setting. These raids let you take your Viking army into enemy areas to pillage and kill. These are kinda neat and were helpful in splitting up some of the monotony of the missions and other side quests. Plus, some of the resources you gather in these raids will help you update your village, which is a pretty useful thing.
You'll have a main base of operations in AC Valhalla with a variety of buildings and side quests that can be discovered. Building need to be built though and that costs resources. If you have enough resources, you'll be able to upgrade your weapons in house, find a rare monster hunter, get temporary stat boosts, and even explore a rogue like side quest.
That rogue like (lite maybe? I don't honestly know the difference at this point, anyways) I really didn't do much to explore as I was already 90 hours deep by the time I unlocked this but it seemed like an interesting side quest that can help you obtain a rare currency that can be used for special armor, weapons, and I believe some village upgrades (again, didn't spend a ton of time in this so I might be wrong about this last one).
The game this time around does give you the ability to one hit stealth kill any enemy in this game. It's not turned on to start but this welcomed feature is something I did enjoy over the previous two Creed games.
Overall the combat isn't half bad as well. I found it to be super monotonous near the end or whenever you figure out the timing of every enemy. I eventually started to feel like Neo in the Matrix and that's sort of when my brain shut off.
I found the main character, in my case a female Eivor, to be pretty awesome. Not as cool and awesome as Kassandra from Odyssey, but I still found hanging out with Eivor to be pretty neat in an otherwise bland world.
Eivor's story is also fairly interesting. The side quests are neat, though triggering these world events/side quests are a pain in the ass or not all that clear. They don't always spell out what you need to do or go, no markers get added to your map for easy discovery for instance, so they can be hit or miss and not worth the hoops needed to jump through to solve.
The game features a handful of other reoccurring quests that are all uninteresting but feature experience needed to level up or other additional items.
The game's main story though is probably the first in a long time to really address its modern timeline. The modern timeline has somehow still been going, but mostly tossed to the background. It pops up from time to time but any storylines or connective tissues are kept fairly light.
That's not the case here and Valhalla gets weird near the end. I won't go into too much detail but I enjoy when Assassin's Creed gets weird with it's modern timeline and Valhalla is no different.
In general, these three last AC entries are just really hard to judge when they all feel so inflated and a drag. I have a decent amount of pros to Valhalla, much like I did with Odyssey, but after a set time the game plateaus and just becomes a brain shut off game that I'm just trying to find the finish line for.
All I know is the highs in Valhalla aren't near the highs of Odyssey. On top of that, this game was exceptionally buggy for me.
Multiple quests, including main line quests and the final The Order (the cult like system featured in Odyssey) were all filled with bugs. I'd do an objective at times, only for the game not to recognize it and not let me complete the task/mission. Multiple times I had to look up ways to troubleshoot a mission and how to get past the bug I and many others seem to have discovered. When your game is already so damn long, having to do this and extend missions because you have to restart it or look up a way to get around something, it gets super old super quick. Especially since sometimes the solution was restarting from a previous save.
I've technically never finished The Order side quest in this either due to a bug that meant not picking up a medallion.
It leaves for a very nasty taste in your mouth. That after 10-20 hour games can suck. That after a game of 130+ hours is super frustrating. Overall, this is the weakest version of these RPG element-style AC games. If the already long run times of AC Games were getting tiresome for you, this is a game that is worth avoiding. If the daunting length isn't an immediate no, there is enough pros in here to recommend. Hopefully you won't have the bug issues I had and it'll be a better experience for you overall.
Unlike AC Odyssey, Valhalla is just missing some location charm. I never found the world of Valhalla all that special or interesting. Nothing really about it drew me in or had me wanting to ride my horse instead of fast traveling if given the option.
All of the armor is back, except they've managed to make it rather pointless. Because of the weapon upgrade system in this game I found it a lot harder to actually compare armor I was picking up and whether or not it was better or worse than what I was already using. Is the armor I just picked up better than what I've got on right now? Maybe! I gotta upgrade it a handful of times and then maybe I'll have a better idea.
The armor and weapon I was using was pretty much what I used from hour 60 until the end of the game 60+ hours later. There are so much armor crates to pick up though, it just becomes useless.
The game feels more action focused than the previous counterparts, thanks to the raids this game focuses on thanks to the Viking setting. These raids let you take your Viking army into enemy areas to pillage and kill. These are kinda neat and were helpful in splitting up some of the monotony of the missions and other side quests. Plus, some of the resources you gather in these raids will help you update your village, which is a pretty useful thing.
You'll have a main base of operations in AC Valhalla with a variety of buildings and side quests that can be discovered. Building need to be built though and that costs resources. If you have enough resources, you'll be able to upgrade your weapons in house, find a rare monster hunter, get temporary stat boosts, and even explore a rogue like side quest.
That rogue like (lite maybe? I don't honestly know the difference at this point, anyways) I really didn't do much to explore as I was already 90 hours deep by the time I unlocked this but it seemed like an interesting side quest that can help you obtain a rare currency that can be used for special armor, weapons, and I believe some village upgrades (again, didn't spend a ton of time in this so I might be wrong about this last one).
The game this time around does give you the ability to one hit stealth kill any enemy in this game. It's not turned on to start but this welcomed feature is something I did enjoy over the previous two Creed games.
Overall the combat isn't half bad as well. I found it to be super monotonous near the end or whenever you figure out the timing of every enemy. I eventually started to feel like Neo in the Matrix and that's sort of when my brain shut off.
I found the main character, in my case a female Eivor, to be pretty awesome. Not as cool and awesome as Kassandra from Odyssey, but I still found hanging out with Eivor to be pretty neat in an otherwise bland world.
Eivor's story is also fairly interesting. The side quests are neat, though triggering these world events/side quests are a pain in the ass or not all that clear. They don't always spell out what you need to do or go, no markers get added to your map for easy discovery for instance, so they can be hit or miss and not worth the hoops needed to jump through to solve.
The game features a handful of other reoccurring quests that are all uninteresting but feature experience needed to level up or other additional items.
The game's main story though is probably the first in a long time to really address its modern timeline. The modern timeline has somehow still been going, but mostly tossed to the background. It pops up from time to time but any storylines or connective tissues are kept fairly light.
That's not the case here and Valhalla gets weird near the end. I won't go into too much detail but I enjoy when Assassin's Creed gets weird with it's modern timeline and Valhalla is no different.
In general, these three last AC entries are just really hard to judge when they all feel so inflated and a drag. I have a decent amount of pros to Valhalla, much like I did with Odyssey, but after a set time the game plateaus and just becomes a brain shut off game that I'm just trying to find the finish line for.
All I know is the highs in Valhalla aren't near the highs of Odyssey. On top of that, this game was exceptionally buggy for me.
Multiple quests, including main line quests and the final The Order (the cult like system featured in Odyssey) were all filled with bugs. I'd do an objective at times, only for the game not to recognize it and not let me complete the task/mission. Multiple times I had to look up ways to troubleshoot a mission and how to get past the bug I and many others seem to have discovered. When your game is already so damn long, having to do this and extend missions because you have to restart it or look up a way to get around something, it gets super old super quick. Especially since sometimes the solution was restarting from a previous save.
I've technically never finished The Order side quest in this either due to a bug that meant not picking up a medallion.
It leaves for a very nasty taste in your mouth. That after 10-20 hour games can suck. That after a game of 130+ hours is super frustrating. Overall, this is the weakest version of these RPG element-style AC games. If the already long run times of AC Games were getting tiresome for you, this is a game that is worth avoiding. If the daunting length isn't an immediate no, there is enough pros in here to recommend. Hopefully you won't have the bug issues I had and it'll be a better experience for you overall.
2023
It's incredibly basic mechanically and a little too long, even with its already short run time but overall Planet of Lana does just enough to overcome some of those flaws.
The 2.5 puzzle platform inspirations are very obvious throughout Planet of Lana. Inside and Oddworld are definitely felt throughout, especially as the game's story progresses. It's not reinventing the wheel when it comes to what a 2.5 puzzle platformer can do but everything for the most part ranges from serviceable to really good. There is nothing inherently bad about Planet of Lana.
The biggest drawback to this game though is the incredibly basic puzzles and mechanics. I never really found myself struggling to get past the puzzles.
The overall look and sound of the game, for the most part, is fine. Nothing too mind blowing, though there are later parts of the game that do a good job of playing with the scope of your environment.
Some of the set pieces are pretty as well, the end game moments in particular are beautiful in the ramp up.
You won't be traveling alone though as you have an adorable sidekick to help you on your journey and assist you in moving forward.
Miu is very helpful in these levels and often time your friend's safety leads to some of the more interesting puzzles. Your death or the death of Miu will lead to resetting the stage and while there were times I cut it too close and died after Miu getting seen at the last second, it never really felt cheap or punishing. It oftentimes was because I just wasn't patient enough.
Overall, the game is pretty short and has some nice moments. It's charming and runs without any major issues. The controls are a little too tight but that's really it from an overall technical 'feel' standpoint. If you enjoy 2.5 puzzle platformers, this one is pretty good but just be prepared for a game feel you're fairly familiar with.
The 2.5 puzzle platform inspirations are very obvious throughout Planet of Lana. Inside and Oddworld are definitely felt throughout, especially as the game's story progresses. It's not reinventing the wheel when it comes to what a 2.5 puzzle platformer can do but everything for the most part ranges from serviceable to really good. There is nothing inherently bad about Planet of Lana.
The biggest drawback to this game though is the incredibly basic puzzles and mechanics. I never really found myself struggling to get past the puzzles.
The overall look and sound of the game, for the most part, is fine. Nothing too mind blowing, though there are later parts of the game that do a good job of playing with the scope of your environment.
Some of the set pieces are pretty as well, the end game moments in particular are beautiful in the ramp up.
You won't be traveling alone though as you have an adorable sidekick to help you on your journey and assist you in moving forward.
Miu is very helpful in these levels and often time your friend's safety leads to some of the more interesting puzzles. Your death or the death of Miu will lead to resetting the stage and while there were times I cut it too close and died after Miu getting seen at the last second, it never really felt cheap or punishing. It oftentimes was because I just wasn't patient enough.
Overall, the game is pretty short and has some nice moments. It's charming and runs without any major issues. The controls are a little too tight but that's really it from an overall technical 'feel' standpoint. If you enjoy 2.5 puzzle platformers, this one is pretty good but just be prepared for a game feel you're fairly familiar with.
2023
Final Fantasy XVI is a very conflicting game for me. As a massive fan of the Final Fantasy franchise, a lot of the decisions when it comes to the direction of this franchise does not interest me all that much. Final Fantasy XVI features a lot of the extremes of those negatives for me. Especially in the combat department.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake, to me, is this action based combat style at its best. Final Fantasy 16 is this style at its worst.
Combat is so not fun. It's so tedious with battles oftentimes feels way too dragged out. You do get some powers that help make things move a bit quicker, with a lot of these powers having their own pros and cons for enemies.
The biggest problem with these powers though is your limitations in equipping them. You're only able to equip three at a time. Unfortunately, I found myself oftentimes being in a big boss battle or sub boss battle where one of my powers was just not the best for the enemies' patterns. This is a problem because during combat you aren't able to swap these out with others. It just feels like a silly restriction that would free up combat and make experimenting with combos and power up sets a lot easier.
The end result for me was just a ridiculous amount of button mashing and controller stress testing. Even when you're leveling up, this is a constant feeling and issue. Near the end I was having less issues with this but it wasn't enough.
The action heavy focus and negative shift compared to the previous attempts at this just make the game overall feel like an RPG in name only.
The game story wise though is still very much Final Fantasy with a whole bunch of crystal talk and massive summons.
The game is gorgeous which helps with some of the normal Final Fantasy summons. The scale and scope may be the biggest its ever been here in Final Fantasy with action moments consistently being way over the top. The final boss in particular is one of the most insane battles I've maybe ever had given some of the cutscenes and action moments.
The soundtrack does a lot of the heavy lifting in this as well. The music in Final Fantasy 16 is some of the best the series has ever had. It adds so much and fits so perfectly with the world and visual style.
The story is pretty good. It feels convoluted at times and character development is very hit or miss. Thanks to some great VO performances, Starr being one of them, the overall game does enough for me to be pretty pleased and make up for some of the story and character issues.
The world map and setting in general are also not good. The setup and functionality of the world map just aren't very good and the towns and locations aren't all that interesting.
The highs are really high but the lows are also pretty low. It makes for a frustrating at times experience but the end game stuff was enough to get it up to a 3.5. Unfortunately, combat being what it is though, that is enough to hold it back from anything higher than that. It's a head scratching end result.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake, to me, is this action based combat style at its best. Final Fantasy 16 is this style at its worst.
Combat is so not fun. It's so tedious with battles oftentimes feels way too dragged out. You do get some powers that help make things move a bit quicker, with a lot of these powers having their own pros and cons for enemies.
The biggest problem with these powers though is your limitations in equipping them. You're only able to equip three at a time. Unfortunately, I found myself oftentimes being in a big boss battle or sub boss battle where one of my powers was just not the best for the enemies' patterns. This is a problem because during combat you aren't able to swap these out with others. It just feels like a silly restriction that would free up combat and make experimenting with combos and power up sets a lot easier.
The end result for me was just a ridiculous amount of button mashing and controller stress testing. Even when you're leveling up, this is a constant feeling and issue. Near the end I was having less issues with this but it wasn't enough.
The action heavy focus and negative shift compared to the previous attempts at this just make the game overall feel like an RPG in name only.
The game story wise though is still very much Final Fantasy with a whole bunch of crystal talk and massive summons.
The game is gorgeous which helps with some of the normal Final Fantasy summons. The scale and scope may be the biggest its ever been here in Final Fantasy with action moments consistently being way over the top. The final boss in particular is one of the most insane battles I've maybe ever had given some of the cutscenes and action moments.
The soundtrack does a lot of the heavy lifting in this as well. The music in Final Fantasy 16 is some of the best the series has ever had. It adds so much and fits so perfectly with the world and visual style.
The story is pretty good. It feels convoluted at times and character development is very hit or miss. Thanks to some great VO performances, Starr being one of them, the overall game does enough for me to be pretty pleased and make up for some of the story and character issues.
The world map and setting in general are also not good. The setup and functionality of the world map just aren't very good and the towns and locations aren't all that interesting.
The highs are really high but the lows are also pretty low. It makes for a frustrating at times experience but the end game stuff was enough to get it up to a 3.5. Unfortunately, combat being what it is though, that is enough to hold it back from anything higher than that. It's a head scratching end result.
2023
I was a pretty big fan of Echo Generation, a game from the same devs as Ravenlok. I had no clue they were making a new game but one look at this game and it was instantly obvious.
Cococucumber, the devs in question, have a style that I think is gorgeous and Ravenlok is no different. A very pixel heavy look but there's something about this specific look that I really like that's different and hard to describe.
Ravenlok's Alice In Wonderland inspired story and setting lends itself to this style even further. There are some nice looking areas in this world.
Unfortunately, the similarities between Ravenlok and Echo Generation end there, as the differences between these two are not in Ravenlok's favor.
Ravenlok is an action based hack and slash style game. Gone are the RPG elements and the replacement doesn't feel as interesting or original. You have your standard sword attack, shield block, dodge, and a variety of special attacks.
You get many of these special attacks relatively quickly which is nice as it provides a good variety for combat. It's nice mainly because the core mechanics of combat are very dull.
The special attacks don't add much from a visual standpoint unfortunately, but they did help speed up combat sections and help thwart large groups.
You also have potions to heal and I never really found myself running low on these, so the game feels a bit more arcadey at low difficulty. This isn't inherently bad, it just makes the combat feel a bit dull and repetitive, even with the four special attacks thrown your way.
Bombs are another item you'll be able to purchase and find, another item that does nice damage and helps speed the combat process up, especially against bosses.
The camera in these combat situations is easily the worst part of this though. The camera is very limited in what it allows you to do. You can move the camera left or right but can't go 360 degrees. Because of that, and because of how combat stages are laid out, I would constantly find myself in situations where I wasn't able to track the boss because he would be below me or too far to the left or right. Since you could only essentially tilt the camera to the left and right, there are so many blind spots and positions that just make the combat more annoying.
The story is nothing that original either since the game takes most of its inspiration from Alice in Wonderland. Some of the takes on these characters though is pretty interesting.
The game is a pretty short experience though, a full completion run for me taking under 10 hours. So even the negatives aren't all that bad as the game overall is pretty enjoyable. Just feels like a bit of a step down from their previous release, which is a bit of a disappointment. Worth giving a shot if a trailer interests you (it's currently on Game Pass as of this review) but if RPG combat isn't a big turn off, Echo Generation is probably a better choice.
Cococucumber, the devs in question, have a style that I think is gorgeous and Ravenlok is no different. A very pixel heavy look but there's something about this specific look that I really like that's different and hard to describe.
Ravenlok's Alice In Wonderland inspired story and setting lends itself to this style even further. There are some nice looking areas in this world.
Unfortunately, the similarities between Ravenlok and Echo Generation end there, as the differences between these two are not in Ravenlok's favor.
Ravenlok is an action based hack and slash style game. Gone are the RPG elements and the replacement doesn't feel as interesting or original. You have your standard sword attack, shield block, dodge, and a variety of special attacks.
You get many of these special attacks relatively quickly which is nice as it provides a good variety for combat. It's nice mainly because the core mechanics of combat are very dull.
The special attacks don't add much from a visual standpoint unfortunately, but they did help speed up combat sections and help thwart large groups.
You also have potions to heal and I never really found myself running low on these, so the game feels a bit more arcadey at low difficulty. This isn't inherently bad, it just makes the combat feel a bit dull and repetitive, even with the four special attacks thrown your way.
Bombs are another item you'll be able to purchase and find, another item that does nice damage and helps speed the combat process up, especially against bosses.
The camera in these combat situations is easily the worst part of this though. The camera is very limited in what it allows you to do. You can move the camera left or right but can't go 360 degrees. Because of that, and because of how combat stages are laid out, I would constantly find myself in situations where I wasn't able to track the boss because he would be below me or too far to the left or right. Since you could only essentially tilt the camera to the left and right, there are so many blind spots and positions that just make the combat more annoying.
The story is nothing that original either since the game takes most of its inspiration from Alice in Wonderland. Some of the takes on these characters though is pretty interesting.
The game is a pretty short experience though, a full completion run for me taking under 10 hours. So even the negatives aren't all that bad as the game overall is pretty enjoyable. Just feels like a bit of a step down from their previous release, which is a bit of a disappointment. Worth giving a shot if a trailer interests you (it's currently on Game Pass as of this review) but if RPG combat isn't a big turn off, Echo Generation is probably a better choice.