I'm not a graphics guy. I roll my eyes at the gamers who care about framerate. I stay in my Nintendo lane and do not care to know what an Unreal Engine is. Which is why the whole "they didn't even create new Pokemon models for Sword & Shield" talking point didn't bother me.

But this game initially tested me. The fact that the performance issues was resulting in lag and delayed interface response was admittedly a core flaw.

Just a few hours into it, I went back to not caring. What I cared about was exploring new areas with my Miraidon and sending out my stronger Pokemon in the Let's Go style while keeping my eyes peeled for literally hundreds that I had yet to catch.

I don't think we're going back to linear Pokemon anytime soon. Now to just cross my fingers and hope next time we get some level scaling with the gyms.

Few games carry identity as affirmed as Scorn. It's visually stunning; its H. R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński-inspired biopunk aesthetic and grotesque creations dangle you somewhere between disgust and fascination at all times. Every set piece is carefully animated to feel unique and the whole affair drips in palpable dread.

As a walking simulator, it excels. As a puzzle game, it's not bad. The puzzles are intrinsically linked to the main character (I dare not say protagonist) and its arbitrary mission towards... something. Though the lack of guidance may prove too much for some and confusion can lead to frustration as you wander areas looking for interactable objects.

Where the game really falls down is with this combat. The monsters are cool in their design, but they're painfully monotonous in their combat strategy and the gunplay mechanics are so stiff that there never feels any joy in killing them.

Despite this, there's so much incredible detail to this world, and the mysterious nature of your continuing mission and the incidental horrors that are witnessed by your actions elevate this title beyond some of its lesser components to result in something truly great.

Even more notably, something truly original. And we need more of that.

Kirby's Blowout Blast is testament to the fact that Kirby can be so much more than he already is. But, the story of Blowout Blast is entirely its potential. As a $7 eShop title, this was never going to be an especially substantive experience by its own merits. It is a fun one, but the game is fairly limited. More complex level design or variety in boss encounters would add some texture. As it stands, the core, score-based gameplay here is compelling for an afternoon, but there isn't much to really grab onto.

There are two ways to adapt your mascot platformer in 3D if you're a 90s dev. Either you do what Mario 64 did, retain the spirit of the original while restructuring the gameplay loop to fit 3D, or you do what Crash Bandicoot did, yank the camera down behind your character's shoulder and keep all your fourth gen design philosophies.

Well, actually there's a third way to go, and that's what Kirby 64 does. That third option is to just tell the Z-axis to go fuck itself, and you make a 2D platformer with a kinda dynamic camera. In short Kirby 64 is stiflingly familiar. It's also stiflingly slow - Kirby just doesn't feel right in this game. It's Kirby's typical gameplay laced with a tedious malaise.

But, the game still has a lot of merit, surprisingly. The dynamic camera, when used correctly, adds a lot of depth to the world and toothiness to the gameplay. Some of the boss fights use the game's depth very well. It's a clever core idea that could be incredibly compelling in a modern context. There are some fun level motifs also, and a solid soundtrack behind it all.

Of course, the copy ability mixing is certainly the game's highlight, and it's been praised to no end. It's incredibly clever, and it absolutely should've become a staple element of the franchise, opposed to the lip service it gets paid occasionally in titles like Squeak Squad.

On the whole, Kirby 64 is alright.