Destructoid

Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth hits all the right notes: big bosses, harrowing platforming, and cool weapons. The music is fun, energetic, and varied between the six areas. The story, while not particularly deep or unique, progresses at a good clip and resolves in an extremely satisfying way. It’s also a bit on the easy side, but really, I never found any of the explore-’em-up Castlevanias to be difficult in the slightest, so it at least sticks close to its inspiration.

That's not to say Spacebase Startopia is a bad game, it's just something of a disappointment. At best, it feels like a remake that makes a few missteps. It's a forgery at worst. If you really want more Startopia but can't stand to look at its dated graphics, there's definitely something for you here. Otherwise, you're better off docking with a different donut.

Unfortunately it seems like a situation we'll have to wait out, and just hope that ZA/UM is able to fix the issues. This game really is a must-play for anyone who loves storytelling or the RPG genre — that is if you're on PC, or if you can wait for subsequent patches for console versions. In spite of everything though, Disco Elysium's twisting, tumbling adventure is one worth waiting for.

This is a wonderful game with an outstanding battle system that is brought to life with what could be the best art direction of 2021.

Outriders is a flawed looter shooter that can fall into a rut with its core looting loop, but the gunplay is fun, and that’s a decent-sized win. If you can grab two other people to recruit via Game Pass, it’s a great way to spend some time.

Like I said at the top of this review, your enjoyment of Balan Wonderworld is going to depend on your tolerance for primitive 3D level design. Strip away the unnecessary costumes and their poorly implemented management system — and fire those Balan’s Bouts into the sun — and you might have a nice throwback to a more experimental time of platform gaming, one that would be easier to recommend. But sadly, you can’t just strip those elements away. They’re here, and they’re ruining what is otherwise an enjoyable rewind to the golden era of the mascot platformer.

The game is obviously made by people who cared for the property, as it conserves everything that was great about the original title while tightening the screws on the old doomsday device. Even without the multiple campaigns, it’s a ridiculously long game. But the fact that I was rarely annoyed or bored, while continuously finding new elements to love, is a testament to how well-executed the sequel is. If the first game wasn’t diabolical enough for you, this one should scratch that evil itch a bit better.

Like a lot of Monster Hunter games, I slowly started to get more and more acclimated to Rise until I hit a positive tipping point. Once it clicked, it was hard to go back to the old ways, before the wirebug opened up combat and the theme was arguably the most on-point it’s ever been. Rise should delight fans both new and old, as long as the former group is willing to work a little bit for it.

Though some puzzles and controls can get pretty frustrating, the adventure itself is the draw, and with Genesis Noir, it's a beautiful trip through primordial creation worth taking. If you're eager to see what kind of stylish, inventive ways developers are finding to tell stories in games, this hard-boiled trip is worth the ticket.

This is a safe and standard Story of Seasons game. It doesn’t rock the boat, it doesn’t try anything groundbreaking like when Marvelous released Rune Factory to mark the franchise’s tenth anniversary; it’s just more of what we’ve seen before with a few small twists on the formula.