ZTGD

Aside from the small issues I had, one of which made me upset, I still enjoyed my time with the game. So much that I played halfway through it, stopped, convinced my wife to join me since she liked Until Dawn, and then played through it again. Oh, and my wife and I are wanting to play through it again to try out the opposite decisions. I still find Until Dawn an overall better experience, but The Quarry is a fun time especially with some friends arguing what we need to do in a situation.

Sniper Elite 5 is a solid follow-up. It won’t change the formula or anyone’s mind who finds these games boring or shallow. Still being available on Game Pass day one is a huge bonus. It is more than worth playing and I recommend at least checking it out. It is unapologetic violence and the design is high quality. This is the definition of gaming fast food, a treat for all the senses.

AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative is an impressive follow up to an underrated gem and one that should be on the radar of anyone who appreciates compelling stories in their video games.

The storytelling is king in Swansong and players will find a world that is full of complicated politics, a deep lore, relationship juggling that can be overwhelming. Luckily the game does an excellent job of slowly revealing this world to players, but those who are not a fan of slower, adventure games they should look elsewhere. While there isn’t much in the way of the tradiontial vampire violence that some players may be looking for; those that give this a try will find a journey through a world of darkness, intrigue, murder and decisions that can shape the outcome of the narrative leading to multiple endings.

The small issues aside, Shredder’s Revenge was the fan service I needed. The music feels like it came straight out of a 1994 arcade machine, the visuals look like it too, but with some great design choices, and the gameplay is just as smooth and fun as it always was all those years ago. If you’re a fan of TMNT, this is a no-brainer.

Kao the Kangaroo is a lot better than I expected considering it was a revival of a game that was even lesser know when it originally launched. I miss these types of platform games and we truly still don’t get enough of them. While the difficulty is nearly non-existent it is still worth checking out for gamers that grew up with the likes of Ty, Tomba, and the Jersey Devil. A simple time when mascot platform games were a dime a dozen, now they are few and far between.

Dolmen just feels like scraps when a four course meal is literally right there. It was a bad time to release a game of this type when it falls so short of the mark set by the best in the genre and even falls below the current imitators. I am all for expanding on a game idea, but there has to be something there to make it feel special and unique and Dolmen just doesn’t have anything setting it apart on any level.

Salt and Sacrifice is a greatly ambitious title, melding a number of gameplay elements from other popular series but it comes at the cost of overall polish and focus, leaving a frustrating experience that feels like a step back from its predecessor.

Rogue Legacy 2 is a fantastic game. It takes everything I loved about the first game, refines it, adds way more content, and keeps the gameplay just as tight and smooth. It’s a rogue-like that even non-fans of rogue-likes can warm up to.

Trek to Yomi is not an overly long adventure either. Outside of the standard combat there is some light exploration and puzzle solving with a few boss battles tossed in for good measure. The story is what kept me chugging through to the end. It is boilerplate but interesting. I wanted to know how things concluded so I pushed through the repetitive combat. Trek to Yomi is a game that on the surface seems way more interesting than it actually is.

The gameplay loop in Evil Dead: The Game is so satisfying it can scratch two different type of genre itches. On the one hand you have the survivor game play, which plays out like a mix between a battle royale and a horde mode. Then you have the demon gameplay, which is almost like a tower-defense style RTS with its use of needing a resource to place units and traps around the fields. And then because why not; let’s throw an RPG system in here so people can level up skills and tweak their gameplay styles to what works for them.

The lack of a real single player mode is going to hurt the appeal to some people out the gate, but then also this is a very niche game. Unless you are the type of person or surround yourself with the type of people who are quick witted when something ridiculous happens or just enjoys making fun of bad movies in a group; there won’t be much here that players will find interesting.

Loot River is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination; it, like many new IP’s just needs some tweaking to iron out some of its technical issues and I have no doubt that with its truly unique blend of traditional roguelikes with a dash of a block puzzler, that Loot River will quickly carve out a place for it on the ever-growing roguelike mountain.

At least what is here is solid. These games feature the standard options and the emulation is genuinely solid in most cases. I had fun diving into each game, but again only a couple warranted a repeat viewing. This feels more like Taito Obscurities as opposed to Milestones. For the price it ends up cheaper than picking up each game individually, but that is assuming you want all ten games. As a collection this feels more like an afterthought than a solid purchase.

Blast Brigade vs The Evil Legion of Dr. Cread is the mash-up I never knew I wanted. With its rewarding exploration, thoughtful map design and some genuinely funny writing; Blast Brigade manages to shine bright in a field already crowded with stars.

Overall, Forgotten Land is just a great time with a mix of genuine challenge and simple fun. Like most Kirby games, I don’t think Forgotten Land is going to set the world on fire but it’s really good. Like a favorite blanket, Kirby is always a joy to come back to and I’m really glad I played Forgotten Land.

Time Loader was a nice breath of fresh air for me. It was simple, fun in execution, had a nice little story to tell, and was never overly long. It may be a bit too simple for the hardcore puzzle fans out there, but even then, they can find enjoyment out of this one with everything else it has going for it. This is one game that many will find themselves wanting to see all the endings and it is one that is worth it.

Roguebook is essentially a roguelike- deckbuilder game, with the cards, gems and relics being the loot that players will have to blend into a perfect strategy to escape.

It’s not that Serious Sam: Tormental is a bad game, its just one that doesn’t do anything new. In an already increasingly crowded market for indie, rougelite games this one is bound to be missed simply because it doesn’t do anything new to push the genre forward. Of course, the opposite side of that is that it doesn’t really do anything negative either, it is a solidly made top-down shooter.

It’s crazy to believe that I can be down on a game that is really fun to play both offline and online. Somehow, Square-Enix has thrown so many things into the game that either you must pay for, or grind for weeks to unlock. It wouldn’t be that big of an issue if it was just cosmetic items, but characters who have different stats and special moves that could possibly throw the advantage to the player that paid money.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is simply incredible. If you are like me and have grown tired of the series, it is time to jump back in. This is such a fresh take on the series that it feels like an entirely new game. The level of polish visually and care put into this version feels like they truly went back to the drawing board and created the ultimate LEGO game.

Triangle Strategy weaves a mature story full of intrigue and places the player in an unenviable position of having to make some very tough choices with meaningful consequences, all the while challenging them to face encounters that will test their strategic mind. In other words, it’s a compelling good time.

People will come for the flashy and extremely attractive graphics, but I guarantee if players enjoy melee combat games that they will stay for the combat. And something that the game does really tell players is that it is entirely possible to boost your character to level 50 and unlock all the end game fun. It is still possible to play through the story if you do this, but it will be a tad harder since you are level 50 and thus all the tutorial type difficulty will be gone. The game warns against this before committing but unless you really want to experience going from 1 to 50; id advise to take the leap and join us in the endgame.

Glam’s is a game that is hard to recommend. Players and fans of twitch platformers can most certainly find some challenge here but in the precise jumping and puzzle solving of each level. The problem is, I feel like because of the control scheme and the way it feels, it makes it even more difficult to get into.

Well, I liked it quite a bit honestly, the humor was good, the acting was excellent from the main cast and the combat was just different enough to keep me engaged and constantly looking for better spells for my ‘SpellBlade’ class. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the class system, Gearbox did a great job of crafting the classes and making them feel unique enough to fit in this fantasy world.