Attack of the Fanboy

Taking one of the most genre defining and well loved games of all time and rebuilding it from the ground up was a tall order, but Square Enix pulled it off with modernized gameplay and a fleshing out of the world and many characters compared to the original. While only featuring a portion of the story fans know and love, Final Fantasy VII Remake still manages to feels like a complete game, yet still part of a larger narrative to come, and will have fans waiting anxiously for the next entry as soon as they finish.

Now with much more precise controls than its original release on iOS, Exit the Gungeon is a solid spin-off to Dodge Roll’s indie darling that can often be a little too frustrating for its own good.

Fans will certainly be happy that the RE3 remake exists, and will be excited for a potential Code Veronica followup, but unfortunately this adventure just wasn’t as worthy of a revisit.

Doom Eternal is not afraid to be itself, and that’s an impressive feat in a world of watered-down AAA games. Doom Eternal doesn’t care what type of game you want to play. It’s in charge from the beginning, never relinquishing its grip until the credits roll. It’s incredibly demanding, laser-focused, and unapologetically brutal, and it’s all the better for it.

All in all, The Foundation is just more Control. If you weren’t drawn in by the game’s distinct visuals and unique style when it launched last year, then there’s nothing particularly new or refreshing here that will entice you. That being said, The Foundation provides a decent amount of great content and expands upon the base game’s fantastic foundation in interesting, albeit safe, ways. If you loved Control, then you should absolutely play this expansion. Just don’t expect it to blow your mind.

Fans of whimsical, artful indie titles will find much to love about Shinsekai Into the Depths, and ardent Metroidvania purists will get a kick out of its aquatic take on the genre. It’s not going to be everyone’s favorite game for the Nintendo Switch, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t top at least one person’s list.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is yet another action heavy entry in the spinoff series that will provide fans of the series with a fun experience for awhile before starting to feel very monotonous as a result of the lack of anything special to set itself apart from other games in the genre.

The attention to detail, great soundtrack, and largely well-designed characters belie a game that is clearly loved by those that worked on it, but the crippling lack of depth in every area of Bleeding Edge has made what should have been an excellent game a mediocre one instead. A game that can be played once and never touched again. I hope Ninja Theory is given the opportunity to expand on the game, but right now Bleeding Edge is fun but forgettable filler.

All future VR games will look to Half Life: Alyx as the gold standard hereon, and thanks to its absolute excellence in design and presentation we are all the better for it. Virtual reality will never be the same, nor will Half Life after Alyx’s jaw-dropping conclusion. Half Life: Alyx proves once and for all that Valve never lost their spark, and if it’s any indication of what’s to come then the future looks brighter than ever.

Yes, you can do better, but you wouldn’t be interested in a Switch port of Saints Row IV: Re-Elected if that were the case. Whether a Nintendo Switch purist or someone who uses it as their dedicated mobile device, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected for Nintendo Switch remains a stellar game worth playing if you can endure some minor performance quibbles. Just…maybe play Saints Row: The Third elsewhere.

By most accounts Persona 5 didn’t do much wrong.  While most games that achieve the critical success of P5 would rest at that job well done, Atlus has continued to further refine their masterpiece into something even better.  Persona 5 Royal is proof that even the best games can be made better by acknowledging shortcomings and addressing them, however small they are.

Late generation sports releases are usually at the top of their game when nearing the end of the current console generation and MLB The Show 20 continues that trend with a walk off home run in the final PlayStation only entry in the series.

All in all, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is an excellent remake of a dated game. The game lacks some of the appreciated changes that the series received in later entries, but it still holds all of the charm that the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon franchise is known for. If you don’t have any nostalgia for the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, then Rescue Team DX doesn’t have much to offer you, but if you have fond memories of the original games, then there’s a lot to look forward to.

Moon Studios doesn’t necessarily break new ground with Ori and the Will of the Wisps and that’s OK. The additions that have been made improve on the experience, eventhough it’s hard to be as impressed as we were the first time around.

Now is the best time to jump into Half Life if you haven’t before, and if you’ve formally walked in Gordan Freeman’s boots then Black Mesa will set your heart a-thrumming in anticipation for Half Life: Alyx and whatever is to follow. Black Mesa may show its age in some areas, but that doesn’t detract from what is an otherwise stunning achievement. It’s not only Half Life at its best – it’s one of the finest shooters available today.

All in all, The Division 2: Warlords of New York is just more Division. Rather than a game-changing expansion, Warlords of New York merely feels like an extension of The Division 2’s main campaign. The storyline is weak and the missions are samey, but the gameplay changes brought along with the expansion are sure to satisfy veteran players.

Wolcen could have been a contender in the ARPG arena, but it can’t get out of it’s own way for more than two seconds. Perhaps in time WOLCEN Studio will patch everything up and allow the game to shine as brightly as it deserves, but right now the game fights you at every turn. Wolcen is a game that is as fun as it is frustrating. I like Wolcen; I simply wish I could love it.

It may have taken a long hiatus, but the return of Samurai Shodown was every bit as good as fans remembered the series to be when it released last year. Even without any new content or the inclusion of the season one characters in this latest port, this release of Samurai Shodown is still worth your attention thanks to the superb gameplay and the added portability that comes with the Nintendo Switch.

Just like with the previous Mega Man Legacy Collections, Capcom brings together a group of standout games in their most accessible and affordable form to date with the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection.

Whether you’re looking to add a couple of classics that you’ve already had the pleasure of playing to your library, or if you’ve missed out on either one of these titles, they’re definitely still worth playing. My personal opinion is that Bayonetta holds up a little better than Vanquish, but both are pretty much still timeless modern classics. With the whole package you’ll get a diverse gameplay offering with the unique combination of style and substance that Platinum Games has become known for.

Dreams is not just some experimental follow up to a side-scrolling series with user-created levels. It’s a platform that allows for complete and nearly limitless creative expression, and it’s already jam-packed with games, music, and art that more than justify the asking price. It can only get better from here, and this is a phenomenal starting point.

The Dark Crystal fans will certainly be happy to leap back into the world originally created by Jim Henson once again with The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics, but those just looking for a new tactical RPG to play would be better suited looking elsewhere.

Journey to the Savage Planet is absolutely dripping with charm and personality, but the repetitive nature of the exploration and the stiff combat hold it back from being truly great. Playing with a friend dramatically improves the experience, but at the end of the day, you’ll likely have no desire to return to AR-Y 26 after the credits roll.

While Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore may not have quite as much Fire Emblem influence as some fans may want, the two series go very well together with a unique premise and Mirage system that is overlaid upon a pretty traditional turn-based system at its core that will satisfy both fan bases.

While the popular Xenoverse series utilized the RPG genre to try something different, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot offers a more traditional retelling of the series in a single player only experience that should at least get the hardcore fans of the series excited to experience this adventure yet again.