ZTGD

The core premise behind Songbringer had my attention, and the gameplay does a decent enough job of making me enjoy that…most of the time. Getting lost happened to me often, aimlessly wandering around occurring and frustrated me. Yet I’d persist and eventually find my way to a new location, story element, or ability and then continue on my way.

Despite my many grievances, once I actually learned how to play the game, I did have fun. However, getting to that level of competence was certainly not helped by the game in any way, shape or form and as it becomes more and more difficult to find matches online as the weeks go by, I can’t help but wonder if it’s even worth it to take a risk boarding what may very well be a sinking ship.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is easily the most ambitious entry in series to date, with an expansive world map and a greater emphasis on storytelling. It carries the proud tradition of a skillfully satisfying and lightning fast combat engine, paired with a soundtrack that could only have been composed by the legends at Team JDK. It makes a strong case, not only as one of the best Ys games ever made, but also as a contender for game of the year.

Coming into this without the nostalgia glasses is always an interesting perspective. Will a game that people have loved and wanted to see again resonate with a completely new player? In this case I believe due to the ease of play and how much simple fun the game can be, along with how intense the matches can ultimately get, this is a no brainer.

The art style is a big stand out for me. The smooth textures mixed with the almost muted color scheme really give off an almost claymation feel that looks great and really kick up the atmosphere a good amount.

Uncharted: Lost Legacy is another Uncharted game, for better or worse. I loved its length and characters. I would love to see more spin-offs now that Nathan Drake’s journey has come to an end. I feel like we don’t get enough of these action adventure style titles and am always up for another one. I might say we don’t need another Uncharted game once again, but if the series returns, you know I will be first in line to eat my words.

On the outside, Thumper looks bizarre with its strange design and nightmarish visuals. But don’t let that fool you, Thumper has it where it counts. Behind the game lies an incredibly deep rhythm game that invigorates the genre and will push and punish you in equal measure. Pair that with extremely quick load times and a game that flawlessly runs at a smooth 60fps, and Thumper will be music to your ears.

Clearly the developers have a great love of Mario and an even greater understanding as to what makes a Mario game special. All of the nods to the Mario universe, how many staples of said universe feature in how the gameplay works with this unique title and the attention to every little detail makes this not only a fresh take on a classic character, but possibly my favorite Mario game ever.

Blaster Master Zero is just one more feather in the Switch’s cap and one that sits nicely on the eShop at a very welcoming price point. It shows that there is more to the console than just Zelda and Mario, and that Nintendo are serious about filling their digital storefront with quality titles that would otherwise get looked over if they appeared on Steam or PSN.

The worst case offender as far as the PS4 version is the performance. It stutters constantly, it’s annoying, and a hindrance. Some moments in gameplay definitely feel like an intentional stutter or glitch, but this framerate is really a big blemish on an otherwise excellent experience. The devs are working on it from what I’m told, but it’s still a shame currently as is. I never knew sci-fi could be this scary, Observer proved me wrong.