Destructoid

It’s a stunning lack of imagination that hobbles Recipe for Disaster. It offers absolutely nothing that I haven’t seen before in a management game. It doesn’t really succeed at reaching its own vision, and doesn’t offer anything unique in exchange for that. It’s a functional restaurant management game, and that’s it.

There is a lot about GigaBash that speaks to me as a lifelong kaiju fan. The visuals, the Titan designs, the pick-up-and-play ease of the controls, the level variety, the lore, it’s all top-notch and easy to gush about.

Hindsight didn’t really manage to do that, either in its gameplay or its story. At the end of the day, story is what’s supposed to matter the most here, and if the writing were stronger, I’d be able to forgive Hindsight many more of its transgressions.

Frogun isn’t poorly designed. While I ran into some unfortunate bugs, the actual level design is reasonable, even if you can’t easily tell them apart. There’s a lot to be said about its success in delivering on its thesis. It maybe is exactly what it wants to be. I can certainly see it clicking with some people, and those people will find a lot of enjoyment here.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 didn’t need to do a whole lot to keep me invested, as I was all-in very early on. The cast, the weight of the story, and the freedom of party composition are the power trio that won me over.

Time on Frog Island probably isn’t going to set the indie scene on fire, but it is a pretty worthwhile jaunt with charming characters, a beautifully rendered world, and a level of freedom designed to reward the curious among us. Just keep in mind that, despite its approachable appearance, its minimalist design may result in a lot of wasted time spent scouring this island trying to figure out what the heck you’re supposed to do next.

Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium is almost everything I want from a compilation. It not only provides a handsome slew of games, but it pays reverence to the experience, as well. Beyond that, it gives a lot of options that are pretty easy to figure out and configure.

Live A Live is best experienced in spurts anyway. I had a lot of fun playing it on Nintendo Switch in portable mode for a bit, popping out of stories, then popping back in somewhere else. A few of them (Japan particularly) I preferred in TV mode.

Stray‘s expressive art direction, curious music, stop-and-snap-a-pic lighting, and thoughtful level design coalesce into one of my favorite gaming experiences of the year.

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series is an okay way to enjoy two cult classics. Full stop. The end. There’s nothing particularly exciting about it outside the games it contains. I’m definitely happy that these games are now available on modern consoles, so thanks for that Bandai Namco. There are things that could have been done to make it more of an indispensable collection, but they weren’t.