Destructoid

Turrican Flashback offers an authentic compilation of games from this classic series, without a single dud among them. Unfortunately, wafer-thin presentation, missing titles, and a complete lack of side-features (in addition to a subjectively high price-tag) let down what could have – should have – been an encapsulating tribute to one of history’s most influential and beloved shooter franchises.

I’m sort of in the same position as I was last time around: I enjoyed the experience, but I’m not exactly in a hurry to go out and pick up the rest of the series. If anything, I’ll wait until the next opportunity I get to slip into Ryza’s incredibly tight shorts. Given the series' typical pace, that will probably be in another year or so.

It’s very subtle; but it’s a welcome change as it ensures that you can explore the sandbox the way you want to each time. I would refrain from using the phrase “guided,” but the first run is definitely angled in such a way to make it feel more cinematic in nature. With shortcuts, branching paths allow you to see the entirety of the design in all its splendor. This is on top of the existing “starting locations” system, mind.

Scott Pilgrim continues to be the happy time sink it once was. My one gripe is that Knives, although advertised as part of the “Complete Edition,” can only be unlocked via creating an account and signing into Ubisoft Connect. So if Ubisoft ever decides to deprecate their service, Knives would basically go along with it.

Calico manages to luck out in that its undeveloped nature and general wonkiness add to its charm rather than subtract from it. The “cute factor” does a lot of heavy lifting, and I could almost argue a lot of the design elements here “think outside the box,” but I worry I’d be giving too much credit to a game that’s just not entirely well-made.

It's the type of experience that can restore one's vigor and effect change in us long after we've watched the credits roll. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure reminds us all of how easy it can be to transform our world for the better, and after the year that was 2020, it's a reminder all of us can use.

Super Meat Boy Forever is a solid auto-runner, offering much more in the way of challenge and depth than many other entries in the mobile-friendly genre.

I really can’t say anything overly negative about Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise because, despite the issues it has, it will produce results if you keep at it. And that’s the ultimate goal when buying an exercise game. But at $50, you really have to ask yourself if it wouldn’t be worth it to spend a little more money to get a vastly superior experience.

I have so much love for this game as a complete package, and I'm excited to keep going with next year's PlayStation 5 remaster, but I can't shake the feeling that The First Samurai could've done more.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is a weird game in that it feels like it should have come out several years before it actually arrived. It's stuck in time. It's easy to appreciate the budget that went into making it look the way it does, and I hope Respawn gives it another go; but it needed so much more than a shiny veneer to survive in this current VR climate.