Christmas has come early for fans of Dungeons & Dragons. Or rather, much, much later, precisely 20+ years since Baldur’s Gate 2 hit the shelves. That’s right, the long-awaited Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now, and it’s a thousand times better than I expected. But let’s circle back to 2020 when the early access version aired on PC platforms via Steam.

Depending on how much time you spent on combat and exploration, it took an estimated 25-35 hours to finish the game. However, early access only featured Act One of Baldur’s Gate 3, which meant that the full game possibly packed hundreds of hours of content. True to form, developer Larian Studio confirmed the main story takes 75-100 hours to complete. And those hours barely cover all the content there is to explore. 

Essentially, you may pick a different character in your next playthrough and still enjoy a wholesome experience. Because Baldur’s Gate 3’s adventure is curated around a character’s background, motive, class, and even race. Your conversations will differ, thanks to many exciting dialogue branches and outcomes.

You’ll be free to bring a friend or two along on the journey. And high chances are, you’ll spot something new in your surroundings each time you jump into the game. All that is to say that I’ve barely seen all Baldur’s Gate 3 has to offer. So, our Baldur’s Gate 3 review is, more accurately, ‘a review in progress.' Still, in case you wonder whether the game is worth buying or what all the hype is about, here are our first impressions of what we’ve seen so far, which should hopefully be more than enough to decide.

So, the Adventure Begins

Larian Studios has curated a stand-alone story, which in a nutshell, brings back the mind flayers, also known as Illithids. You know, the psychic, squid-faced aliens who wouldn’t look too out of place in one of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu horror games. 

They abduct and infect you with one of their Illithid tadpoles. The mind flayers typically infect as many people as possible to turn them into mind flayers. It’s how their invasion takes root in the Forgotten Realm. And so, the mind flayers don’t hesitate to infect your companions, too, willing you to stick together to find a way to eject the parasites out of your brains.

In the past, RPGs have had issues engaging players from start to finish. Especially when side quests come in, you’d often be distracted by some other totally unrelated, sometimes irrelevant, story. But Larian Studios has found a way around it by making nearly every side quest tied to the main mission. You’ll run into all sorts of creatures offering to help out. From literal devils, goblins, druids, crazy hags, and more. And in the meantime, learn the backstories and take on more side quests, eventually finding your way back to the main story.

Sly Does It

In the long run, you’ll realize that the little snippet I’ve just given here barely covers an inch of what’s to come. Every decision matters. And not just in the sense of what’s right and wrong. No. They actually tie into your personality and your motive as an individual. As aforementioned, they tie into your gender, class, and race, too. The world itself folds (or unfolds) to your will. I played as a druid who can turn into a bear and speak to animals. Each animal has a name and is fully voice-acted. Oh, and every ox, wolf, or other animal seems to always have something to get out of their chest.

As you can imagine, you must remain cautious about what you say to others. Not everyone is out to help you. There’s a healer I thought would cure me of my parasite problem, only to cook up a fatal poison so I don’t become a danger to others. So now, you’re not only on a ticking time bomb of possibly turning into a mind flayer, but also a much rather urgent matter to get the antidote from her that comes down to two choices: persuasion or use of deadly force.

Sweet-talking adversaries work sometimes. Like when I talked an owlbear out of making me his dinner. But the general rule of thumb is the conversations, and by extension, the story runs deeper than surface-level small talk. Not every character has mastered the art of sweet talk. Others rely on other strengths, like the wizard, who can turn into thin air and whisk away through narrow cracks. Meanwhile, your side companions also have unique secrets and backgrounds that also unravel throughout your escapades.

The Forgotten Realm

The RPG genre focuses a ton on exploration, and Baldur’s Gate 3 easily sits atop that pile. Although it’s not a completely open world, it may very well feel like so; thanks to its expansive world, you’re free to roam around however you please. It's a completely immersive space, too, with many ways to interact with the surroundings, particularly with magic spells, which should come easily to you if you’re familiar with the fifth edition rules of Dungeons & Dragons. As well as with skills and actual physical movement. 

If something looks flammable, you can probably use a fire spell to light it up. Or, use an animal spell to have furry creatures do your bidding. You can clash pillars onto enemies with the flick of a wand. Or, pick up and throw stuff at enemies. You can move items to climb over them. Simply, nearly limitless cool options to maneuver, that once you successfully pull them off, makes you feel like Einstein for a minute or two. Ultimately, Baldur’s Gate 3 Forgotten Realm has breadth, depth, and density, far more than any RPG I have seen in recent years.

Roll the Dice

Although Baldur’s Gate 3 is an easy game to sink hours into, it’s certainly not the easiest game to play. Sure, the prologue does a good enough job of showing you the ropes. However, there are quite an immense amount of tools and skills that newbies may have difficulty jumping into. It helps to have prior knowledge of the classic Dungeons & Dragons, the fifth edition rules to be precise, or simply other classic RPGs. If you played early access, the mechanics would also be easier to grasp.

At its core, Baldur’s Gate 3 carries forward the dice system. These often help to perform Persuasion or Intimidation checks, as well as in combat encounters. When you roll a die, the number you land determines your attack and damage. So essentially, your wins or losses ultimately lie on the mercy of a die. It can get tricky because other games usually rely on your skills, which you have control over.

But “Roll the Dice” is at the heart of Dungeons & Dragons and, by extension, the Baldur's Gate series. So it's great to see it optimized for modern platforms. Plus, the uncertainty of the outcome of dice rolls, whether your next hit will be a hit or a miss, causes a cool adrenaline rush that adds to the game's immersion.

On the other hand, combat is much more fluid than the early access version of the game. However, the mechanics come at the cost of a smooth control system, especially on a controller. There simply are too many buttons to master and far too many spells. But since the PS5 and Xbox port is launching a little later, perhaps we can still hold out hope that the control system will come out of the oven fully baked. 

Verdict

Above all, Baldur’s Gate 3 story takes the crown home. It starts with a tantalizing hook that soon grows into multiple branches and outcomes. Act One alone has a myriad of endings. You might chase each of them, but amid all playthroughs, you’ll likely stumble into a rabbit hole that consumes you. Yet even with all the “side quests,” the campaign feels compact, like a well-written, versatile story that adjusts to individual role-playing experiences. And since decisions aren’t the usual right, wrong, and neutral choices, it’s a no-brainer to put in tons of hours in a playthrough because the choices you make actually do matter.

While there are a few minor bugs, they’re hardly the frustrating kind that can break the game. Perhaps all we can stress here is to constantly save your progress to avoid any issues down the road. Though I wouldn’t blame you if saving crosses your mind because, quite honestly, the exquisite detail of the characters and environments, as well as the engaging gameplay and compelling story, totally sneaks up on you as it did me.

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Hello Kitty is a franchise that has branched out into many different mediums. Among these many mediums are games based on the iconic franchise. These games often feature a lovable cast of Sanrio characters and are typically quite solid titles. Released July 28th, 2023, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is no exception to this rule. The lovingly crafted life sim allows players not only to experience life alongside their favorite Hello Kitty characters. But allows for this without sacrificing the integrity of the game. This is an essential aspect to understand with a title that has to balance being accessible and being in-depth enough to hold players' attention.  So, to learn more about this fantastic world, as well as its characters. We bring to you our review of Hello Kitty Island Adventure.

A Wonderful Start

Nailing the opening moments of any game can be difficult. This is due to the fact that games, a lot of the time, can live or die by their opening moments. This makes grabbing the player's attention, with either story beats, or gameplay mechanics vital to a game's success. In this regard, Hello Kitty Island Adventure absolutely nails it. The game takes its time to not only introduce each character, as well as their purpose to the player. But also does so in a way that is fun and intuitive. It is plain to see in simply these opening moments, that the developers behind this title simply didn't rest on their laurels. This is great, as they simply could have allowed the Hello Kitty name to carry the experience.

This is absolutely fantastic, to help illustrate this point, I will briefly summarize the opening moments of the game to highlight what makes it a great opening. Players, after creating their character, are placed into the opening cutscene. Here they will find themselves on an airplane with the adorable Hello Kitty cast. After a malfunction, players will end up on an island and have to piece together what happened to everyone. This serves not only to separate the group, requiring the player to explore more of the island but also serves as a great motivator for players to jump in and help.

Many of the game's early quests manage to feel really rewarding, especially in regards to gaining island resources. Players will be able to unlock new areas and characters, which feels quite exciting at first.

Opening Moments on the Island

After players get acclimated to their environment. Players will meet characters slowly but surely, and many of the game's systems are explained, such as Friendship levels and Gifting. This is a great way to introduce these systems. As it doesn't overwhelm the player with things to do right away. One of the strengths of Hello Kitty Island Adventure is its pacing. Which walks a fine line beautifully between easy-to-understand and in-depth enough to care about the moment-to-moment gameplay.

Once players have completed the first few quests, they not only will have an understanding of the game's core gameplay loop. But they will also understand the daily loop of the game. Players are rewarded daily for giving Gifts to their islanders. This is great, as it easily incentivizes players to hop on and play. This is done in a way that is not very intrusive or too demanding as well, which is nice. This also allows players to simply sink into the rhythm of the game and doesn't demand too much of players early on.

Maintaining this momentum from the early moments of the game really could've helped this game maintain its magical feeling. While later content in the game does essentially follow the same formula. Due to its relation to progress that players can see, it feels somewhat lacking. This certainly won't keep every player from reaching the game's later moments. But it does severely hurt the moment-to-moment gameplay loop the further you get into the game.

Minor Missteps

With so much to praise about the early-game experience in Hello Kitty Island Adventure, the shoe has to drop on the other foot at some point. Where the game does have most of its failings is within systems such as the character customization, and housing design. After playing for a while, players will be able to outfit homes for visitors to their island to stay in. However, the customization of the interiors of these homes is absolutely abysmal. And it manages to feel a bit clunky and stiff in a game that otherwise controls quite smoothly. Players can only rotate items before placing and the base layouts of the homes are quite similar. And while we realize that there are certain limitations, this does take away from the game's core magic.

Up until this point, players are completing tasks for various islanders. All the while making their way around the island, which is exciting. However, once you hit this point, it feels like the creativity and freedom given to the player initially is stripped away a bit. While this doesn't entirely take away from the experience, this coupled with the limited character customization, does detract from what otherwise is a rather magical and comfortable experience. Speaking of the character customization, this could have been an early moment to grab the player with a plethora of options for self-expression. Instead, players are made to choose from paltry pickings and default looks.

While certainly there is only so much content and resources set aside for this opening part of the game. But if players aren't satisfied with your character customization options. It can really dampen what could otherwise be a fantastic experience in its early moments. To close this section of the review, a lackluster character customization experience hurts this game.

Cozy Characters

One of the best aspects of Hello Kitty Island Adventure is its characters. Each of the Sanrio characters depicted in the game is true to their inspirations and origins. This makes the game feel like playing with some of your favorite toys. This is an aspect that really works well for the game. As each character has its own charming identity and feels unique. For example, My Melody, who runs a furniture shop in town. Feels completely different from Hello Kitty, who owns a bakery, and so on and so forth. This individuality makes each character feel like they have their own distinct role in the game, and have their own niche they cover. And while these characters do stay true to their roots and shine whenever they are on screen, there as gameplay elements around them that certainly could have used more fleshing out.

Here is where we will discuss Story Quests in the game. For those unaware, Story Quests in Hello Kitty Island Adventure, sees players unlocking certain game mechanics such as Fishing, Baking. While there is a surface-level appeal to these quests, beyond this, they fail to do much for the characters themselves. This makes it so that even if you are excited about spending time with a particular character. Much of your time together will boil down to giving Gifts and completing quests to receive a limited number of items. This is a section of the game that really could have been fleshed out more to include deeper stories about the game's characters. This, in turn, would've brought us close to them. And while the game does offer this on a surface level that is certainly serviceable, there is a lot of untapped potential.

A Cheery Conclusion

For the ending section of this review, we hope to highlight many aspects of Hello Kitty Island Adventure that absolutely shine. The core gameplay loop is one that players can easily play day in and day out if they so choose. However, it feels that the rewards for doing so are somewhat lacking. That said, this game certainly provides a great experience for perhaps younger children. Or simply adults who really love the Hello Kitty franchise. This is due to the fact that each character in the game is true to their source material. And the activities in the game are your standard cozy game fare, which is typically soothing to play.

So, if you are someone who is looking to get into Hello Kitty Island Adventure, it is an adventure well worth it, given you are invested in the characters. While the daily gameplay loop does have its missteps. and character customization does lack severely compared to other titles on the market, you can tell there was a lot of love poured into this game. This is evident from the gameplay systems, as well as the attention given to the game's characters.

And while the game's Story Quests certainly won't blow anyone away, they are serviceable and fun, to say the least, which is all they really have to be at a core level. no matter your reasons for wanting to get into this game, whether it is a sense of escapism or the pure fun of it, this game is great. In conclusion, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is well worth your time.

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Choices over time shape who we are. They shape our character, for better or worse. Gaming understands this concept and, as a result, continues to impress with choice-driven narratives that make you think twice. It’s no secret that Telltale Games is the cream of the crop when it comes to choice-driven narratives. The studio is responsible for some of the most thought-provoking story-driven games, including The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Batman, and Guardians of the Galaxy video game adaptations. Unfortunately, Telltale Games had to close its doors and sell its assets in 2018. But, thankfully, LCG Entertainment stepped in and saved the day in 2019, acquiring many of its assets while keeping its previous licenses.

Since Telltale Games opened its doors, The Expanse: A Telltale Series is the first video game they are putting out there. In true Telltale Games fashion, The Expanse will be a five-episode entry set to release between July and September. The first episode, Archer’s Paradox, already launched on July 27, 2023. The second, Hunting Grounds, will launch on August 10, 2023, and so forth until the last one airs in September. It’s easy to assume the game won’t completely suck. After all, Telltale Games has had a pretty good track record developing hit episodic adventure video game adaptations. But you can never be quite sure whether the game is worth buying. So, from the gameplay to the story and everything in between, here’s our The Expanse review for your reading pleasure.

The Hook

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with games that start with a compelling scene only to cut it short and take us back in time. “8 HOURS EARLIER.” Those words come up on the screen after the crew aboard The Artemis haul their captain into an airlock. He must have done something distasteful to inspire a coup. But before we can find out, The Expanse flashes us back – eight hours earlier.

Fans of the TV show, or the novel series, may know Camina Drummer. She didn’t play a pivotal role in the novels, always in the background. She doesn’t take center stage either in the TV series. However, The Expanse: A Telltale Series chooses to focus on Camina Drummer, specifically several years before the TV series events.

Camina Drummer is an executive officer of a scavenging crew. Their captain, Captain Cox, isn’t the most friendly toward Drummer. In fact, not everyone on the crew is an ally. There are some people you can trust. Others, though, are sheep in wolf clothing. You’ll need to push forward into the story to discern who is who. 

The hook is mesmerizing and all. And its cinematic quality makes it all the more like an episode of The Expanse TV show itself. However, it didn’t take as long as I would have liked to acclimate and put the pieces together. Once I discerned that the crew isn’t generally Drummer’s biggest fans, the hook just kind of loses its touch.

Time for a Little Chat

The Expanse’s three main gameplay elements are the story, exploration, and some light puzzles. Stories unravel via conversations with the crew. And to engage in those, you’ll need to explore Artemis’ various floors and find your shipmates. 

Often, conversations will have two alternate choices to pick from. Some may pose immediate consequences. Others take a little bit of time to unfold. While some literally warn you that the person you’re talking to will take note of what you’ve said. Either way, your decision will affect how the crew thinks of you and, in turn, influence the plot's trajectory. 

I must admit, despite the hook losing its touch, the story quickly grabbed my attention, and surprisingly, too. I found myself curious to know more. It’s easy to dislike most of the crew, but as the story unfolds, it digs deeper into each character’s mood and personality. I was hooked, for real.

Once you’ve made a few rounds on The Artemis, it’s time to explore the outside world. 

The Belters

For context, the crew aboard The Artemis are scavengers in the Belt. So, they make the rounds around The Belt's dangerous, uncharted edges, searching for useful items they can loot. Most of the crew are Belters themselves, who are a splinter civilization growing up in colonies within the confines of an asteroid belt. 

Meanwhile, with the human race having colonized Mars, the powers on Earth and Mars go to war over control of the Solar System, which includes the “outer-systems” where the Belters live. As higher powers, both Earth and Mars exploit and abuse the Belters, leaving them to scavenge for supplies for survival.

Zero Gravity

While scavenging, you spot ship debris and draw closer to investigate. Thanks to The Expanse’s new “spacewalking in zero gravity,” you can explore the depths of space as you like. It’s not the most groundbreaking traversal mechanic, with a slow, clunky control system that can get frustrating pretty fast.

It would have been awesome to have a “speed” feature that allows you to speed through bleak areas. After all, there are only so many starry nights you can gaze into before getting bored. Thankfully, The Expanse adds additional cool features that spice up zero-gravity exploration.

Gamers can use thrusters to lift off the ground. Plus, they can use “mag boots” to walk on walls and the roof. However, while exciting, the overall zero gravity mechanic doesn’t catch on as fast as I’d have liked. It can get awkward and, in small, cramped spaces, feel alienating to explore. 

Zero gravity just isn’t natural. But even so, a little patience renders the experience much better. And with practice, too. At times, I would tumble around a cramped space before finding my way again. Yet even after taking the time to get used to zero gravity, it still never quite reached the level of “groundbreaking” I was hoping for.

Free Form

Previous Telltale Games may have posed restrictions in exploration. And instead, focused solely on the story. But The Expanse opens up the universe some more, with no limitations on the way forward. Essentially, you can decide to follow the beaten path or wander about exploring random areas; it’s up to you.

When you steer away from the main path, you can find areas that open up more conversations. Or items that open up more paths. It’s a great way to incentivize exploration and multiple playthroughs.

Most of all, the decisions you make are the centerpiece of The Expanse, just like in the previous Telltale Games. The studio has mastered the art of pushing the right impulses at the perfect moments. It gets even worse – but in a good way – when you could have avoided certain “bad” outcomes had you chosen a different path. 

Additionally, quick-time events and decision-making moments are in full swing. Also, plot twists aren’t just from the developer’s influence but yours too. And the cherry on top is it’s only the first episode, with four more interconnected ones to come.

Look and Feel

Visually, The Expanse represents Telltale Games at its finest. Frame rates are stable for most of the game. And only during immersion do some segments occasionally drop in quality. But these are minuscule and barely game-breaking on the whole.

Verdict

Above all, The Expanse is a well-defined narrative that piques your interest from start to finish. It’s a difficult thing to do. However, Telltale Games has proven to have experience tugging at the heartstrings. So, it comes as no surprise that The Expanse is gunning for the same effect.

The Expanse sticks its landing way more than other story-driven adventures, thanks to believable and genuine interactions between the characters. Right off the bat, I was glued to the screen with an enticing hook. And when the hook started to wear off its charm, the story snuck up on me and clutch its straws through to the end.

What’s more? You’ll need to make at least two massive decisions in the first episode that’ll seep through to the remaining four episodes. Besides questioning your morals and state of mind, they’ll change how the characters think of you and pose huge implications that you’ll have to face over the coming weeks.

Visually, character animations and environments have never looked or sounded better than any Telltale game before it. Cutscenes are mistakeable for a blockbuster film, while the environs feel like immersive areas for space walkthrough. 

The most anticipated feature, zero gravity, does its job, though not as well as I had hoped. When you're upside down and get stuck in broken gates, it's clumsy and awkward to “unstuck” yourself. Or when you can't move quickly through desolate areas of space. On that front, I feel Telltale Games could have done a better job breaking new ground.

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The Double Dragon series once captured lightning in a bottle, back when it catapulted to success in 1987. Since then, twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, have struggled to steal the show with an inconsistent release schedule and regurgitated old-school formula. What’s more? The beat 'em up genre has exploded to include way better releases. Most recently, games like Streets of Rage 4, River City Girls 2, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge have had much better success scooping positive reviews. All the while, Double Dragon Advance (2003), Double Dragon Neon (2012), and Double Dragon IV (2017) remained faithful to the original’s glory days in the ‘80s and early ‘90s and, in the process, failed to resonate with fans.

According to Secret Base Pte Ltd’s developer Raymond Teo, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon is ready to try a new recipe. The game will add rogue-lite elements you’ll want to return to constantly and, in the process, create an innovative way to overhaul the repetitiveness of beat ‘em up games of today. Can Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon truly be the game that ushers the Double Dragon series to a new era? Will both old and newcomers have the time of their lives playing the new game? Just how worthwhile is Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon? Tag along on our Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon deep-dive review to find out.

Double Trouble

A nuclear war has broken out in New York City. Chaos ensues. Gangs take charge. It’s up to brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee to take the bad guys down. As always, the brothers are skilled in flashy martial arts. However, the new game has Marian and newcomer Uncle Martin join them on their quest.

At first, you can only select two of the four characters. It’s the new tag system that lets you switch between characters mid-game. Each character has a different skill set. Uncle Martin is more of a close-quarters kind of guy with the brute strength “hulk” effect. Marian, no longer the helpless girlfriend the Lee brothers have to save, is a firearms expert, hence a long-range kind of girl.

Surprisingly, though highly welcome, Billy and Jimmy are different, too. Billy is slower, but he can throw devastating sucker punches. On the other hand, Jimmy is quick on his feet. And to counteract, his punches are weaker. It’s all up to you to decide how to tag team your crew. Perhaps you’d like a close and long-range duo. Or want to compensate for an ineffective skill in your first choice. You’ll be free to swap characters mid-game, thus taking advantage of a pair.

There’s More

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is much simpler. Previously, it wasn’t as fun, with a slow, clunky, punishing gameplay system. Now, any player can jump into the game and quickly get caught up to speed. For starters, all it takes is mastering one-button or direction-plus-button combos. You’ll navigate linear levels, which have a decent amount of room to show off your best moves, and either evade enemy attacks or unleash your own.

Most enticing are the special attacks, which you can use for crowd control. And when you take down three or more enemies simultaneously, you receive healing items and bonus cash in return. The game has a special attacks meter, which fills up based on your performance. Since each character has unique special moves, you can tag in your partner when their special meter fills up to double the trouble.

Feel like the first four characters don’t suffice? You can unlock more, precisely up to 13 unique playable characters and nine more when you earn more tokens. It’s not as much the number as it is the diversity of their playstyle and strengths. Each character is distinct from the other, even as far as a select few inheriting a boss’s powers or picking dropped enemy weapons, thus making tag teaming all the more interesting.

Uphill Climb

With four nuclear war-ridden stages, you’ll have to clean up the gangs in all of them to complete the game. There’s a twist, though, that you’re free to choose either one of the stages to start. Each one is color-coded and themed after a gang boss. When you conquer it, the next one you choose will have stronger enemies, more locations, and a longer time frame to complete.

It’s easy to think there’s probably a strategy here. Which stage should you take first? Which one should remain last? Well, save for how interesting or annoying you find the gang boss to be, there really isn’t much that goes into the tactical front of the mission structures. On the bright side, though, it’s a great replayability factor, where restarting the game and choosing a different order reveals fuller stage versions you hadn’t seen before.

Look and Feel

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons looks and feels great. The vibrant and diverse stages include neon-lit cityscapes, casino floors, desert wastelands, urban towns, dimly lit pyramids, and more. Character designs, too, jump off the screen. They do share a resemblance to the old days but also have a fresh, modern flair. And the soundtracks have been remastered to maintain upbeat, toe-tapping tunes.

Perhaps the game’s fluid animation may have gotten in the game’s way since attacks do tend to lose their snappiness. They have a delayed feeling that can be frustrating when avoiding lightning strikes and falling rocks. Not every area supports gameplay, too, like the dimly lit pyramid that has you relying on a little spotlight to spot hordes of enemies. Some platform obstacles were hardly fun, especially when enemies would spawn in areas you’d already passed, forcing you to retrace your steps.

Rogue-lite

It’s pretty grand that you can carry over your progression to the next level. So when you reach the end of a stage, you can spend some cash to gain buffs like health, stronger special move attacks, damage retention, or grant buffs to your partner if you’re KO’d. It’s a better alternative to just stockpiling cash, which, if you die, you’ll lose all of it and start afresh. Although technically, you can trade in cash for tokens to unlock things like characters and art. Tokens can carry over to the next stage too.

Generally, the new rogue-lite element didn’t exactly change my gameplay strategy a tad bit much. It didn’t feel as impactful to the gameplay or change the core experience. For the most part, beat ‘em ups feel like they have always been roguelike in nature. Die, you lose all your credits, and it’s game over, so you start again. Some buffs and unlockables are immediately beneficial, though. But if you decide to pay them no mind, I doubt it’d affect your playthrough that much.

Verdict

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is reminiscent of the past for the present. It’s a classic beat ‘em up that clings on to its origins like a child would to her mother. But rather than simply copy and paste mother’s recipe, the game takes a step further to add enticing specials that will get both old and new players hooked.

Starting with the tag system, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons makes it so players can enjoy a wider range of skills and abilities. With over 20 playable characters, each with a distinct flair and move sets, you can shuffle around a pair of them to find the ones that work best for you. It’s a system that works perfectly, especially with the special meter indicator that fills up regularly, giving you more than enough swaps throughout the playthrough.

The other new feature, rogue-lite, may need some more polishing. It still doesn’t bring much impact to one’s strategy. Although to be fair, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons isn’t meant to be a strategic game at all. Simply mashing buttons mindlessly and stringing combos along until the enemy KO’s brings such exhilarating satisfaction. With time, that’s bound to get repetitive and boring, but Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons has taken a step further to add randomness to the mission structure.

And to sum it up, the game’s eye-popping, pixel-perfect visual style wraps the entire experience and ties it with a bow. Its stages are detailed and fun to maneuver, albeit with a few touch-ups that post-launch updates should iron out easily.

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More often than not, sequels tend to turn the tables on their predecessors. Take Assassin’s Creed 2 and Borderlands 2, for example. The former remains the most fantastic game in the series to date, while the latter took everything that worked in the predecessor and made it a thousand times better.

And now we have Remnant 2, which has had the privilege of learning from its predecessor, Remnant from the Ashes. Meanwhile, developer Gunfire Games has been receiving valuable feedback from the Remnant community. So, now, it’s time to see whether they actually listened and whether they went above and beyond to introduce novelty we haven’t seen before.

Join me for a deep dive Remnant 2 review, will you?

The Root of Evil is Upon Us, Yet Again

Just like Remnant from the Ashes, Remnant 2 takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth. A nuisance destroyer of all words, called “the Root,” has run wild. In the case of Remnant 2, it’s been a couple of decades later. Nearly all lifeforms have been wiped out, except for you, a nameless survivor, and a few others surviving in these harsh lands. Your job is to save interdimensional worlds from succumbing to the mysterious invader, Root of Evil.

Into the Multiverse

There are five worlds in Remnant 2. Much deeper, bigger, and better than ever before. Each world is distinct from the other, so much so that you’d think they were five different games. We have The Labyrinth, Root Earth, Losomn, Yaesha, and N'Erud. While the first two are tied to story progression, the last three are randomized.

Ward 13, the place where players spend roughly 15 to 20 minutes on a quick rundown tutorial, is the central hub connecting the various worlds. It’s the base of operations, and the last sanctuary hosting the last remaining humans left on Earth after other wards and the universe were overrun by the root.

Multiplayer mode will let you team up with two other players. However, cross-play is not yet available. Once you complete the tutorial, the journey can begin, often starting with the lush forest, Yaesha.

Dice Roll

I say often because you don’t always land in Yaesha as the first world to explore. Remnant 2 has a new randomized system where one of two players will likely land in a different world. Each world has unique landscapes, dungeons, events, enemies, bosses, NPCs, merchants, items, and overall lore. It really does feel like stepping into a new game, only that the gameplay remains the same.

Furthermore, Remnant 2 is a procedurally generated game. I couldn’t tell you how often I returned to a spot and spent nearly half a day exploring different versions of the same lore. These worlds are so incredibly detailed. They inspire a different feel, too, As aforementioned, Yaesha is a lush green serene place. But because of the root, the once lush green jungles have succumbed to death and decay.

Losomn is a merger between the Fae and the Dran that spans chaos and confusion. The Dran, once human-like, has become a hive mind easily spooked into frenzies. N'Erud, on the other hand, is a behemoth of science and exploration. It’s a humongous construct, with its people obsessed with searching for sentient life in the galaxy.

It took asking a friend how their progress was in the game to realize that our adventures were completely different. Sure, there’s an overarching story, but at the core of it all, you never truly know what to expect. I can tell you that finishing the campaign adds up to a weak 20% completion rate. Hence, returning to the beginning is a no-brainer because it takes hundreds of hours for even a hardcore player to see everything, and I have a feeling even those ludicrous hours still wouldn’t be enough.

What’s the Fuss About?

A 400+ plus hours game? What’s so special about it? Well, firstly, Remnant 2 nails the basics perfectly. A speedy, fast-paced combat system. A fantastic, deeply satisfying weapons build. And the sheer variety and randomness of enemy encounters keep you on your toes throughout the playthrough.

Remnant 2’s combat system is best described as chaos. The good chaotic type. There are roguelike elements, some Bloodborne-Soulslike feels, and Remnant’s own kind of flair, too. While there’s lesser focus on melee than ranged combat, the game is, after all, described as a looter shooter, melee doesn’t totally suck, either.

However, I did have a hell of a time with the shooter side of combat, with a ludicrous amount of weapons to choose from. Over 70, to be exact. Machine guns, pistols, crossbows, you name it. From start to finish, players explore the realms and pick up plenty of mods, rings, and amulets along the way that further buffs the weapons to adrenaline-infused levels.

Adventure Mode

You may want to gun for the mods, in particular. As some will allow you to modify weapons to do extra fun stuff, like launch missiles that branch into smaller rockets on impact. Or eggs that hatch ferocious space crabs.

Don’t worry, too, if you don’t find all the mods in the first playthrough. Remnant 2 has been prudent enough to add a shorter version of the campaign called “Adventure” that lets you replay individual realms without starting afresh.

Enemy Variety

Enemies, on the other hand, particularly bosses, are more treacherous. It seems Gunfire Games listened on this front a whole lot more because, my oh my, are they full of personality? It demands learning a boss's patterns to defeat them, which isn’t always easy.

If there’s one thing Gunfire Games got right, it’s the fantastic surprises bosses throw at you, forcing you to fight through the chill and take them down. Oftentimes, a boss’s patterns are like puzzles. And they may have multiple ways to kill them.

They’re an interesting bunch, too. Like the cubes circumnavigating around you and wanting to crush you at every chance. Others throw poisonous spit at you, crawl in and out of a horrifying asylum, punch through the floor beneath you, or have eyes that make you go mad and die.

Archetypes

Oh, it gets better when you factor in archetypes, also known as classes. Remnant 2 didn’t leave anything to chance when designing the classes, such that each one is a unique experience from the other.

Of course, you have the usual “medic” healer,  “hunter” ranged shooter, or “challenger” closer-ranged shooter archetypes. But there are also unique ones, like the “handler” with his own loyal canine partner. A quadrupedal pet who can give you buffs with its howl and fight enemies alongside you.

Each archetype has unique starting weapons and armor. However, they also have newly introduced skills and perks as well. Meanwhile, onward into the game, you’ll unlock more specialized archetypes like alchemist, summoner, and engineer.

You’re free to swap between them as you like. All along, you can upgrade your character’s skills. And once you hit level 10, you can start to mix and match them to create whole new archetypes drawing double the perks, skills, and strengths of their base build.

Bedtime Stories

I’ve placed little focus on the story itself for two reasons. I wouldn’t want to give spoilers, and it wasn’t exactly a killer feature for me. Perhaps it’s the game’s branding as a looter shooter. Or that there are but a dozen people either playing static roles from the predecessor or one-note scripts that you’re likely to forget in the long run.

Generally, there were quite long breaks between story progression. Looking back, much of the dialogue feels abstract. When placed against the over-achieving, ambitious procedural generation, the plot seems minuscule. On the bright side, though, the randomness and dynamic adventure of Remnant 2 more than makeup for its flaws.

Verdict

No first playthrough is enough to scratch the surface of all Remnant 2 has to offer. And when you jump on the second run, it continues to push you to the limits, all while providing a fantastic, brutal experience. To some extent, Remnant 2 is an addictive venture. I feel I’ll keep playing for the better part of the coming months. The worlds are compelling. They draw you into their lore, and because of their procedurally generated system, they never take you through the same journey twice. The combat system, particularly the boss fights, is a complete overhaul from Remnant from the Ashes. Each boss has a unique personality that makes taking them down a fresh experience worth the effort.

While most games will have one, perhaps two killer features, Remnant 2 has nearly every gameplay element working in its favor. This is the kind of game that simply watching walkthroughs won’t do. Unless you personally take it out for a spin, the fantastic surprises it has in store for you just won’t land the same way. It’s definitely a must-play for anyone looking to have a fantastic time.

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Just when I thought I had finally managed to sow the seeds in the idyllic realm of Dreamlight Valley and wipe away those blasted Night Thorns, Disney only went and called out to me, extending its arms to pull me into a whole other journey; something traditional and leaps and bounds apart from its life simulation counterpart. With a glimmer and a sparkle, Illusion Island crept up over on the Switch, once again offering me the chance to delve into the magically bombastic mind of the ever-prominent Walt Disney. Naturally, I accepted the invitation, and with a final farewell to the friends I had acquired in Dreamlight, I whisked myself away to begin anew, towards a realm of great beauty with an underlying issue that only the beloved quartet could solve.

Having spent a great deal of time rustling through the latest side-scrolling venture, it’s fair to say that Illusion Island has become something of a home away from home for me as of late. Question is, how did its sacred grounds that were purposely built for my inner child to let loose come to flourish? Well, here’s how the journey went, and how the three great Tomes of Monoth managed to channel their magics into my nine-to-five routine. For a week straight, might I add?

Trouble Is Brewing

Before we go into further detail about the actual experience of plowing through the nooks and crannies of Illusion Island, let’s go ahead and unravel the plot. Just what is Illusion Island, and why on earth are Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goody once again at the epicentre of worldwide catastrophe? Acting as if the four-piece getting into sticky situations isn’t commonplace at this point — as you do.

Illusion Island casts its focus on the magically entwined world of Monoth—a full-fat network of fluorescent chambers, cybernetic tunnels, and ever-changing environments. As the four lifelong buds (that’s Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy, in case you haven’t put two and two together yet) who’ve accidentally stumbled onto the island in search of a perfect picnic spot, you find yourself faced with a new task: to retrieve three ancient Tomes—books of power, if you like, that maintain the balance in all of Monoth. Turns out, they’ve been stolen by three unruly thieves, and have inconveniently dispersed to—surprise surprise—three completely different sections of the map. Three ancient Tomes? Three unique biomes? Three pending boss fights? You get the idea.

Illusion Island starts off like any other four-player co-op game — with a character selection screen. However, seeing as there are only four characters to choose from, all of whom possess and learn the same abilities, player choice doesn’t really matter a great deal here. If anything, it’s mostly for cosmetical purposes; if you have an undying love for Goofy, then hey — be Goofy. Fact is, it won’t make a lick of difference to the controls or general flow of the narrative. The only difference, really, is the items they use; their functionalities otherwise remain identical.

As Wholesome As They Come

There’s something awfully bittersweet about Illusion Island—indescribably nostalgic, even, in the way that, visually, it’s remarkably reminiscent of traditional side-scrolling favourites. It’s also laden with all the tropes you’d expect to find in a platforming game, right down to the spring-activated chomping plants and electrifying creatures that patrol the same paths like clockwork. It’s also rife with the usual obstacles; there’s plenty of jumping, wall-to-wall bouncing, and of course, hopping on items that often posses some form of health boost to help you along your way.

It goes without saying that, mechanically, Illusion Island isn’t in receipt of anything particularly revolutionary. Having said that, it does adhere to the saying of, ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.’ And that’s exactly what Disney Games has gone above and beyond to formulate — a classic blueprint that’s been squeezed dry countless times before, but with an enormous amount of Disney-infused energy and familiar camaraderie between old friends.

In spite of its mechanics being somewhat predictable, it’s the wholesomeness of the setting itself that really makes that dated formula pop. Gifted with a series of enchantingly elegant biomes that are equally as bright as they are compelling, Illusion Island delivers something truly magical to fans of the century-old franchise. And as far as side-scrolling games go, it’s certainly one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of working through. And no, that isn’t an exaggeration.

The Many, Many Doors of Monoth

Just to reiterate, gameplay in Illusion Island is mostly platform-based, and consists of having you prance around areas while collecting various items to help nudge you closer to the next objective. This is all elementary stuff, meaning the only real challenge that you’ll find at any point in your journey is learning how to time a few awkward jumps. Other than that, there isn’t a whole lot else to deal with; a bunch of malicious cacti, perhaps?

Like a lot of side-scrolling games that feature a whole bunch of different areas, Monoth is home to numerous locked doors, all of which hide behind obstacles that only specific abilities can overcome. For example, to be able to reach some cordoned off areas and progress the story, it could be that you need to locate an acquaintance and master an ability beforehand. More often than not, this means having to retrace your steps in order to delve deeper into the biomes. Not that this is much of an issue, mind you, what with the map always expanding and introducing alternate routes to transport you to your next quest marker.

The most common theme in Monoth is its use of locked doors. As you’ll come to find relatively early on, most of your duties will involve having to locate three keys to unlock an enchanted door that leads to the next area. Again, simple stuff, but you know, as they say, simplicity is key…figuratively and literally.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Aside from the frequent treks between regions, Illusion Island also boasts an adequate amount of fully animated scenes to help separate major turning points in the narrative. Like a lot of snippets from Walt Disney’s heyday in the world of VCR television, these scenes in question always manage to depict a sharp and often comical tone that’s both appealing as well as highly reminiscent of a time many of us thought departed. And so, for anyone looking to return to the classical world of Disney, Illusion Island is arguably one of the best modern representations money can currently buy.

There is one downside, though, and that’s the lack of original characters. Given the fact that Disney has a key for just about every modern-day animation on the market, it did come as a slight surprise to see such a bite-sized cast. Then again, it’s likely that the heart of the cast flocked to Dreamlight Valley, and that Illusion Island was built only with the intention of summoning a few familiar faces, and not the whole cash cow, so to speak. It’s swings and roundabouts, really, and something that one person may find disappointing, and another may find irrelevant. Either way, it’s evidently Disney, so the fact that it has Mickey Mouse in it is reason enough to give it some consideration, at least.

Verdict

Given the game’s overall accessibility and quality, it’s easy to recommend Illusion Island to anyone who’s looking to bite into something that’s both mechanically sound and without its own network of underlying technicalities. It’s bread and butter side-scrolling, clear as day, and it shines best when strewn with its signature elements and aesthetics. And so, from a gameplay standpoint, it’s downright impossible to shoot it down as something it’s not — which is a half-baked experience without the tender loving care of a devoted collective.

Of course, as far as storylines travel, Illusion Island certainly isn’t anything to write home about. On the contrary, it’s really something we’ve seen several times before, and across a wide array of franchises, no less. But having said that, it does manage to serve the formula surprisingly well, and even, at least on a few occasions, bring its own spices and flavours to help make it the slightest bit more palatable. And honestly, that’s about as much as we can ask of the side-scrolling world these days: a game that’s respectful of its traditions, but also willing to test new waters to keep it fresh and forever in motion.

When all’s said and done, Disney Games’ Illusion Island is exactly what it set out to be — which is a hearty platforming adventure that belongs to no particular demographic. It’s harmless fun, through and through, and it’s bound to summon a rainbow of smiles and laughter for anyone who makes the plunge into its depths at any point this year. Scratch that — at any point, ever.

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After a decade of anticipation, the long-awaited sequel to Pikmin 3 is finally here, and I couldn't be happier. Now, we can all relax and embark on another fantastic journey with our beloved cute and adorable plant minions. While Pikmin 4's predecessors might not have hit the mark, it's completely understandable if you've been out of the loop. But fear not, for this new installment promises to recapture the magic and deliver an unforgettable experience.

The original Pikmin game was released on the GameCube, a solid invention that unfortunately didn't receive the appreciation it deserved. Its sequel arrived on the Wii U, but sadly, the console didn't enjoy the thriving popularity among gaming enthusiasts. Thankfully, Pikmin 3 had a chance to shine by being released on the Nintendo Switch, a blockbuster console with a much larger audience.  

Yet, the game didn’t reach the kind of worldwide recognition I feel this game is capable of. Enter Pikmin 4, a game I feel has overwhelming potential to turn the tide on the franchise’s success for years to come.

First, stepping into the world might render you speechless from the drastic change to a colorful, vibrant, and intricately designed backyard. Gameplay has slapped onto it a much-needed makeover, with a sore seamless and smooth control system you can relish all day. And, there’s so much to do in Pikmin 4, double the treasure, double the fun, it’s doubtful you’d let on even a wink of sleep during the playthrough. 

It’s a bigger, better, and busier game than ever before. But don’t take my word for it. Come along to our Pikmin 4 review for a deeper dive into what exactly the newest RTS in town entails.

Catching Up to Speed

Pikmin games often thrust you into an expansive, peculiar world. They bestow on you the power to plant small plantlike creatures with distinct skills that you can pluck out of the ground and command to do your bidding. They can break down obstacles, carry heavy stuff for you, and battle enemies you run into. These creatures are the Pikmin, with their cute beady eyes, their tiny elongated bodies, and a leaf sprouting from their heads.

In Pikmin 4, Captain Olimar, a humanoid alien the size of a paper clip, has crash landed into what’s most definitely someone’s backyard. His miniature spaceship has broken down into parts spread out all across the garden. He needs his ship restored to full health to get back home, so you call upon the Pikmin to scout the lands and gather the parts for you. 

It serves as a tutorial, learning how to whistle your troop to do your bidding. There are different types of Pikmin, so learning each of their skills and how to apply them comes in handy to complete the objectives. The ice Pikmin are frosty, so you use them to freeze enemies or water for you to cross through. Red Pikmin are fiery, so they take down enemies with fire-based elemental powers. 

The strong purple Pikmin, the poisonous white Pikmin, the speedy winged Pikmin, or the yellow Pikmin perfect for digging and fighting enemies with electricity-based powers. Some are old, others new. The sooner you can learn their use cases, the better.

Oh Wait, There’s More

Captain Olimar soon realizes he may need the rescue team to whisk him away back home. So, he sends out a stress signal, and the rescue team responds. However, in true Pikmin fashion, they also crash into the backyard, the team’s people scattered across the garden. There’s probably something fishy going on with Earth’s orifice, but moving on.

For the first time ever, the player can customize their character, a rookie rescue astronaut tasked with searching for his team, helping Captain Olimar get home, and collecting the treasure they would need to reboot the ship. First things first, you pick out the name and appearance you prefer, eyebrows, hair style, body type, hair color, suit color…etc. It’s not the most in-depth customization set, but it will do. Then, venture into the world and meet your minions.

At first, it can get confusing. This is clearly a much more vast world than you can possibly imagine. It’s a garden, sure, but in your eyes, a paper clip-sized humanoid whose surroundings towers over him seems way too huge. The camera is above ground, pointing down, letting you look up at the plants, mounds of dirt, and anything you can imagine a garden may have. 

Take a closer look around, and you’ll see some Pikmin memorabilia, including a Cobalt Game Boy Advance SP. You may want to command your Pikmin to pick it up, and it’ll come in handy restoring the ship. There are many more treasures to scout for, like giant fossil remains, unfinished statues, a space spinner, and hundreds of treasures that’ll keep you busy most of the time.

A Puzzle A Day…

You’ll solve puzzles, too. Often, they test your strategic play with mazes. Some returning features, like explorable caves, are brimming with charming puzzles. Remember the diverse Pikmin? Those create satisfying and challenging puzzles, too, when trying to figure out which Pikmin to toss at an enemy or which ones are better off doing something else, like building bridges or carrying treasures back to base.

On the Frontlines

The best part of playing Pikmin 4, in my opinion, is fighting the enemies. Some are new; others are old. While these are indigenous species, they don’t get along with Pikmin. So, if you want to get ahead of ticking off your day’s objectives, then you may have to fight them.

Granted, tossing Pikmin at some enemies will send them to their doom. It actually does take its toll when they continually die, even when you can always plant and pluck new ones to replenish your supply. Or, use the new feature to rewind time to play out a new strategy.

Still, having them die means you actually have to put some thought process into your RTS skills. Or better yet, find ways to take flight before you lose. One strategy that works is to study an enemy’s strengths and weaknesses and use them to your advantage. 

You can also use your canine companion, Oatchi, another new addition to the series, who not only attacks enemies but also gains upgraded skills as you proceed further into the game. His best feature yet is his ability to carry treasure alongside Pikmin and you! This allows you to scale the vast grounds much faster, get across areas you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get through, like wading through water, and generally keep your party troop together.

Dusk ‘Till Dawn

So far, there’s plenty of gameplay to go around. Yet, Pikmin 4 doesn’t stop there. When night falls, a new type of Pikmin comes out to play called “Glow.” They have a bright green bioluminescent floating eerie body and, strictly, only reveal themselves at night or in caves. 

They introduce a new tower defense game mode, where you’ll need to defend “Luminknolls” against nocturnal intruders. It goes on from dusk ‘till dawn, with only the Glow Pikmin to help you.

Nope, Still Not All

If at all you get bored, which I highly doubt you will, there’s another game mode you can access from the Story Mode, although it plays more like an alternative mode. It’s called Dandori, named after the Japanese way of “organizing tasks strategically and working effectively to execute plans.”

There are two types of games within Dandori: Challenges and Battles. They are both special caves that allow you to compete against the CPU or another player. The first task is gathering the most treasures faster than the opponent. While the second asks you to defeat enemies while gathering a set number of treasures. Unlike the normal game mode, Dandori minigames have a time limit, which further adds to their intense spike in difficulty.

A Little Something Extra

As the stranded travelers await your rescue, it’s best to heed their call quicker because they also lend a hand in your playthrough. Take Dr. Yonny, for example. He can unlock new night-time ventures for you. Or, Russ, the scientist. He can cook up technological gadgets and weapons like protective gear or bombs.

So, even though Pikmin exerts no pressure at all on how fast you should complete the objectives on hand. You can choose to chase a butterfly till the night falls, and no one will question your life choices. It’s nice to have special incentives that keep you going. 

Verdict

There are plenty of moving parts in Pikmin 4. But they all have been greased and double-checked to make sure they run smoothly without a fault. Right off the bat, you’re greeted by an incredibly beautiful world whose colors easily pop off the screen. Getting used to the new mechanics doesn’t take long, with the auto-aim feature helping to ease things up some more. 

There are nearly countless things to do that, at no point, ever start to grow on you. In fact, many have called Pikmin 4 a relaxing, stress-free adventure to come home to, and I must say, I totally agree.

Will you be grabbing a copy of Pikmin 4? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.

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Every Saturday morning, the children and homemakers of My Friendly Neighborhood gather around the sofa and watch the puppet show, The Friendly Neighborhood. If you watched Sesame Street, then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Nothing harmless. Just plain, old, fun puppetry. When several years go by, new mascots take over birthday balloons and cakes. The show's budget dwindles a bit more until the Sunrise TV Studio Lot production studio is forced to close its doors for good. 

Life goes on as usual. People have started to forget about The Friendly Neighborhood. As if the show can sense it, they mysteriously interrupt normal programming with one last episode you will never forget. It starts off normal with the same colorful cast of characters making their silly jokes. Before long, though, it becomes apparently clear that this isn’t the same family-friendly holiday special everyone held dear. Something has gone completely amiss, I mean, are those puppets eating each other?!

Steam’s overwhelmingly positive response speaks for itself that My Friendly Neighborhood perhaps holds immense potential for a hell of a good time. It’s a first-person survival horror game that was only recently released for PC platforms via Steam and Itch.io with the console versions launching at a slightly later date. Curious to know what all the fuss is about? Perhaps find out the good, bad, or ugly before jumping head-first into the game? Well, tag along on our My Friendly Neighborhood review down below for everything there is to know about the new game.

What in the World is Going On?

Here you are, enjoying live-action news on the television when it suddenly flickers and starts to show a puppet show. It’s charming at the start, so you pay no mind. However, things quickly take a turn for the worst when the seemingly friendly puppets start to feed on each other’s guts. 

Immediately, Gordon O'Brian, a disgruntled handyman-for-hire (also you, the player), is called on to stop this nonsense. The night is closing in. He’s unhappy with his employer. But he forges on, hoping the job doesn’t take too much of his time. 

Upon arriving at the abandoned puppet show’s Sunrise TV Studio Lot production studio, he’s greeted by Ricky the Sock. Oh, yes, an actual sock who you’re forced to ask repeatedly where you can go to disconnect the show’s antenna while he tirelessly and enthusiastically announces the return of The Friendly Neighborhood show.

A Little More Comedy Than Horror

You should watch the exchange between Gordon and Ricky the Sock. It’s quite hilarious and authentically puppetry. Gordon plays his part exceptionally well, showing just how unbothered he can be. While Ricky the Sock is joyful and just wants to help Gordon out with some much-needed advice. He tries to convince Gordon not to disconnect the antenna, but Gordon acts like he doesn’t care.

Onward into the playthrough, the writing and performance follow the same grid line. They are thoughtful to mimic puppetry as much as possible. And the performance is equally stellar. You’ll meet many interesting puppets after Ricky the Sock, including Norman the Not Ernie, who seems more normal than the rest, albeit erratic and needy. 

Due to their isolation, most of the other puppets you run into have adopted a violent nature. And they aren’t afraid to voice their gory strings of thought out loud. One puppet you meet teaches you how to count by eating your own hands, while another talks of taking your closest friend and separating all their parts into little piles based on color.

It says in the description that this is a survival horror game, but the absurdity of it all would have me burst out in laughter rather than cling to the edge of my seat. More times than not, My Friendly Neighborhood doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s perhaps what’s so grand about this game.

Into the Unknown

There are three main gameplay elements that take center stage. The first is exploration. From the start, it’s clear that Ricky the Sock isn’t going to be much help finding the antenna, so you set out on your own into the studio’s offices, sound stages, and even sewers with no backup. I’d have loved to see some uniqueness tied to the puppetry theme, but the intricate design of the levels still does a good enough job to keep me engaged.

One thing that oddly kept the exploration journey intriguing was having no compass or directional arrows to show me where to go. Rather, I had to subject my surroundings to memory and backtrack my way to them if I needed to. The map isn’t completely useless. It tells you which room you are currently in. And which rooms you still need to visit to discover “something.” That something can be an item you need to crack a puzzle or a resource to use in combat. You won’t really know unless you head on over there. 

There are also safe rooms, which you search for to find additional storage, heal, or save your progress. And it gets trickier because healing or saving needs precious tokens you must scavenge for across the levels. It can create tense moments of deciding whether to cash out on health or save your progress. But it can also be a nightmare if you’re fed up and want to quit but can’t find the safe rooms any faster.

A Puzzle A Day Keeps the Puppets Away

Next up are puzzles. They are surprisingly moderately challenging. Sure, some will take a millisecond to crack, but others actually need you to pause and think through the solution. Plus, there’s a good enough variety to keep the playthrough interesting. 

Is there a clue you’re missing? Did you maybe spot it somewhere while exploring? You have to find said clue, or you won’t be able to progress further into the story and unlock new areas. It’s a good bargain for a game like this, where the locations you visit intertwine to make the entire level design prudent.

Fight or Flight?

Finally, we have combat. Surprisingly (I feel I keep saying that word a little too much), the combat adopts a Resident Evil playstyle. Sure, it’s not gory. We wouldn’t want actual bullets flying around a kid-friendly studio. Instead, you have toy guns in all shapes and forms, from shotguns to revolvers, that use an alphabet Rolodex to shoot giant metal letters at incoming puppets.

Taking a puppet down may take four or so bullets, and they won’t stay down for long. Not to mention bullets are scarce. So, there you have it, a thought-provoking combat system that won’t settle for mindless shooting. One of the solutions is to scavenge for duct tape to tie down fallen puppets. Another is to run and hide. 

The latter is a little frustrating in boss fights because I managed to run away and wait out the countdown with one of the bosses without facing any repercussions. Apparently, wussing out of boss fights is completely okay. Anyway, the combat is fun, close-quarters fights are nearly useless, which is exactly what I expect from a survival horror game.

A Few Other “Nays”

There are a few voice lines that I was forced to relisten to, some of which do their job the first time. The second is plain annoying. Some of the combat was inconsistent, where it would take three or four bullets to take down a puppet, then take five or six bullets to take the same down in the next room. That kind of thing wouldn’t bother me so much, except that bullets are quite scarce, and using them sparingly pays off.

A few bugs pop up now and then, too, like unlocked doors on the map showing up locked in person. While the map doesn’t give away too much, there are a few moments where you may sincerely have no clue of what to do next or where to go, which leaves you wandering aimlessly, hoping to, by some miracle, run into the solution. All of this is to say that My Friendly Neighborhood is nowhere near perfect. Yet, the imperfections seem negligible compared to the cogs that run smoothly.

Verdict

Each element that makes the My Friendly Neighborhood wheel go around does so almost perfectly. The writing and performance are spectacular and quite funny. It’s the kind of dark humor that fits perfectly with the puppetry theme of this game. There’s also a clever gameplay system to speak of that finds a way to knit together your entire playthrough. 

Each room you explore possibly holds the key to unlocking a new area or has the item you need to survive. My Friendly Neighborhood isn’t at all a scary game, which I believe wasn’t the original intention. Instead, it creates a whimsical, tense adventure that definitely has more than meets the eye.

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As if a giant meteor crushing the dinosaurs to extinction wasn't painful enough, Exoprimal gives you another chance to rain hellfire on the poor prehistoric beasts. It's an obvious sour venture for any dinosaur fan, but before dismissing the game entirely, why not give us a chance to review it for you? While the T. rex and the Velociraptors of Jurassic World break free and chew down humans for dinner, Exporimal’s dinosaurs are a little easier to handle. Even in their hundreds, if not thousands, you can mow down past them in search of safety, with the help of other players, too. 

What’s more? You won’t need to master your wits to get by. Instead, Exoprimal gives you mech technology with special weapons to gain the upper hand and, possibly, come out alive at the end of the ordeal. Sounds like your kind of afternoon? Well, read further into our Exoprimal review to learn the nitty gritty and whether to grab a copy right after or move on swiftly to better tidings.

Dinosaurs Go Rouge, Again

Exoprimal’s premise is very simple. It’s a multiplayer-only hero shooter that pits a group of five players against hordes of dinosaurs and, in the final round, against other players. Okay, maybe not that simple. Let’s start from the beginning. In 2040, hundreds, if not thousands, of dinosaurs, suddenly start pouring out of time portals worldwide. Chaos ensures, as the world’s most ferocious beasts in history, rain carnage on the Earth. 

A sinister AI called Leviathan rises up the food chain three years later. He develops 10 exo-suits, or the usual mech power suits, and entrusts them to humans (you). Perhaps experimenting, Leviathan rewinds time to when the dinosaurs first entered Earth, sending you to an island to destroy them. He restarts the matches repeatedly until he gathers enough data to reign supreme over Earth.

The story. Yes, Exoprimal has a story, albeit a convoluted one, that continues to seep through the campaign. The more missions you complete, the more you unlock “Lost Data.” It’s presumably missing pieces to the game’s mysteries, like how to stop Leviathan, where the dinosaurs came from, and the most crucial one, how to escape the island of doom. There are cutscenes, too, after a certain number of matches. 

Quite frankly, I wasn’t intrigued to learn more about the story. Even the mysteries aren’t as compelling to explore. But the action, though, is where the fun truly lies.

The Heat of Battle

As aforementioned, Exoprimal is a 5v5 multiplayer game. Or, more accurately, a PvPvE one. Let me explain. At first, you can access “Training” mode, which doesn’t take too much of your time. So, if you have a group of friends you’d like to jump into a match with on a dry afternoon, they can learn the ropes quickly and start shooting without a sweat. Then, you can access “Dino Survival,” which, as far as I can tell, is the only mode where the actual game begins. 

Leviathan devises two parallel islands. So, with two groups, each with five players, the AI forces you into his exo-suits and sends you to the islands to complete a list of objectives. Each group will mow down hordes of dinosaurs on separate islands. They’ll also work together to complete relatively simple tasks like securing a control point, protecting an asset, or, the more common one, killing a certain number of dinosaurs.

Remember, each squad has the same objectives they need to clear. It’s a competition to see which group finishes in first place. Those in first place unlock rewards. But the fight isn’t over yet. You have to test your skills now, fighting the other team directly. This is where the fun begins, at least for me. 

The previous PvE matches felt more like a test of teamwork. So, rather than sharpening your accuracy and precision, it felt more like teamwork, which still has plenty of opportunities for a good time in retrospect. You’ll find yourself watching your cooldowns and maximizing the special techniques of each suit to their maximum effect. Leaving no man behind is a no-brainer because supporting one another toward the end goal makes all the difference.

Mindless Fun

The final round, though, is a match against the opposing team. The two islands converge, and you must take down the other players while keeping the dinosaurs at bay. It can be so chaotic at times, with players often engaging in mindless shooting to get to the finish line first. To tilt the scales and up the ante, Leviathan will, at certain points, empower one of your team members to transform into a humongous Triceratops or Carnotaurus for a limited time.

Pray that you have the chance to turn into a dinosaur, because it truly is an exceptional time. It’s like a build-up toward an adrenaline-infused round of chaos and fun. Only when it ends do you realize that you definitely want a second, and plenty more, dose of the same.

Calling All Exo-Suits 

Variety is key for multi-round matches, and Exoprimal does a great job keeping the score high. With 10 suits to choose from, each in the Assault, Tank, or Support category, you can carefully craft your playstyle and customize a suit just for you. 

Assault is the classic attack suit, dealing the maximum damage at different ranges. Zephyr from this class has been most praised for its ultrafast speed and melee-focused power slashes. Tank takes up plenty of damage, shielding the team from incoming attacks, while Support can fly into the sky, healing the team while possessing crowd control AOE damage.

Suits within the same category differ in abilities. So, even if other players choose the same class, you can still bring something different to the table. The more you use a suit, the more you unlock upgrades. 

However, I wouldn’t say the upgrades are to die for. More often than not, you’ll find the upgrades give you a percentage boost to an ability you already possess. Or, it amplifies your special power in some way. 

Looks Great!

Still, the exo-suits have a pretty neat aesthetic. And you can switch them on the fly. Environments, too, stand out upon first stepping foot on the island. And the cutscenes maintain the same in-engine quality. But all that is to be expected from Capcom, which has developed a reputation for high-quality, extra doses of fun in their latest Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and Street Fighter 6 titles. 

What’s worrisome is the redundancy I can already anticipate after playing multiple rounds of Exoprimal. Sure, we have 10 exo-suits, but the upgrades aren’t enticing enough to encourage studiously going after them. Additionally, the map recycles itself too often, such that you’ll find yourself mowing down dinosaurs in familiar places. 

There’s also the issue of dinosaurs succumbing to their deaths too easily. These are the most ferocious beasts in history, so it wouldn’t be far-fetched if they put up a bit of a fight. There’s one pretty tough dinosaur, a “neosaur, ” a mutated creature that may need you to team up with the opposing team for a little while to take it down. But its appearance is usually anticipated, taking away the sudden intensity and panic I feel games like Exoprimal need. 

All this is to say that Exoprimal is nowhere near perfect. It’s a fun game, for sure. And a snappy, responsive playthrough to make up a fun afternoon. Can Exoprimal hoard enough fans to keep the servers running, or will its fanbase look elsewhere to find the longer-lasting effect that’s missing here? Only time will tell.

Verdict

Exoprimal is different. Sure, it’s a summation of familiar gameplay you’ve likely played in games like Left 4 Dead, Overwatch, and Dino Crisis. Remember that one? Still, Exoprimal manages to merge survival, mech, and hero shooter genres to create a unique experience best experienced for oneself. It doesn’t take annoyingly long to master the combat. And there’s enough variety of abilities and skills to go around. The mix between PvE and PvP is also quite enticing, with an intense build-up towards a mindless shooting finale.

But be warned, Exoprimal does have innate issues, some of which we didn’t expect from Capcom. From its announcement, Exoprimal did feel like an odd duck among Capcom’s recent bold hits. So, I went into Exoprimal with no expectations and received a surprisingly silly, fun game for an afternoon well spent. 

I worry, though, that the game’s core gameplay may not sustain constant playthroughs for the weeks and months to come. Environments don’t vary much. And progression doesn’t quite entice me much. I feel time is the best way to assess how great Exoprimal is because, ultimately, it's a strong community that will speak to just how great this game truly is.

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Both Oxenfree and Oxenfree II: Lost Signals are cut from the same cloth. So, the ones who managed to get their hands on the original should definitely check out the sequel. But even if you’re now just joining the party, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is as much the genre-defying supernatural mystery/horror graphic adventure game as its predecessor. That, plus featuring a new standalone story for newcomers to feel at home. 

Developer Night School Studio and Publisher Netflix have finally released Oxenfree II: Lost Signals onto the market. After two delays, it’s heaven-sent to, at long last, experience what the sequel has in store for us. Nearly all platform owners can access the game, except for Xbox users. And Netflix subscribers can play the game for free, albeit on your phone via the Netflix app. 

House-cleaning aside, is it worth playing Oxenfree II: Lost Signals? How’s the gameplay, the story, and the graphics? Is there anything new in the way of refinement and polish compared to the predecessor? Let’s assess these and more in today’s Oxenfree II: Lost Signals Review.

A Stranger Things Reload

Oxenfree was channeling a lot of Stranger Things vibes. Although described as a supernatural thriller, it wasn’t the kind that packs a lot of jump scares at every turn. Rather, the kind that takes you along on a summer vacation story like any other, and then, for things to go awfully wrong the minute you're fully invested in the story. 

On that note, Oxenfree fans will be happy to know that Oxenfree II: Lost Signals maintains the same vibe. There’s a certain chill that courses through your veins throughout the game. Especially when Riley, the main protagonist, returns to the very place that sent the five chatty teens running for the hills five years ago, vowing never to return.

But while the predecessor followed a group of teens, Riley, the new protagonist, is an adult environmental researcher trekking this new adventure solo. She does have a companion, a high-school friend called Jacob, who offers a leaning shoulder. Consequently, the dialogue takes a more mature turn. Often unearthing Riley’s past and expounding on her worst fears. 

Read You Loud and Clear

Why is Riley heading back to the haunted remote island, you ask? Well, reports of mysterious radio frequencies have erupted yet again. This is five years after the teens from Oxenfree narrowly escaped the horrors of the island, swearing never to go back. 

Riley feels she has to, though. That in some shape or form, she could help resolve the issue. So, with Jacob alongside her, she sets off to investigate what could be causing the unnatural electromagnetic waves that consequently interfere with radio and electrical appliances in her hometown of Camena. 

Upon arriving, she’s told she can help by planting radio transmitters across the small town. This way, Scientists could gather information emitted from the transmitters and assess the cause of the mysterious radio frequencies. 

Sounds easy enough, right? As a gamer, you can already anticipate things quickly taking a turn for the worst. Ghostly signals burrow their way through the radio frequencies. In the end, you have no choice but to tap into their eerie sounds and listen for clues.

Paranormal + Interpersonal

Soon, the ghostly signals become powerful enough to alter the earth beneath your feet. Houses tilt in strange ways. Shadowy supernatural beings appear and disappear out of the corner of your eye. Planes crash. TVs turn on and off. How do you fight the paranormal? When time portals open in the sky, it’s clear your time here will take much, much longer than anticipated.

Meanwhile, as did Oxenfree, the story juggles the spooky and emotional like a pro. Riley is so relatable; it feels like you’re wearing her skin. She has her own past demons to fight. Yet, seemingly, the world depends on her to overcome her issues so she can be of use to everyone else.

Walk and Talk

One of the things Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is careful to maintain is the spoken artistry of the original. You can listen to Riley and Jacob “walk and talk” for hours. It combines realistic writing and such wonderful performances, so much so that the Oxenfree series could give Disco Elysium and Firewatch a run for their money. 

What’s different about the original, though, that completely elevates Oxenfree II: Lost Signals to a whole new level is the new walkie-talkie mechanic. By tuning into various channels, you may connect and speak to the locals all over Camena. I say “may” because choosing to speak to either contact is entirely up to you. 

From the radio DJ to the sailor, each contact you speak to has a unique story and personality. Which, in retrospect, opens up the game to an expansive world. There’s never a time when you feel bored because there’s always someone on the other end of the line to chat with. 

Perhaps they reveal a deep-seated secret about Camena that answers the burning question you have. Or, they give you a side quest that sends you exploring a newfound area you didn’t know existed. Or simply having someone to chat with about a new discovery.

Chills Down the Spine

There’s something quite creative with the way Oxenfree II: Lost Signals engages the player. Here you are, fumbling with the radio knob, plugged into an enticing story, when suddenly, you’re thrown into a series of rapidly moving, creepy shadows lurking just behind you. 

It’s a fine balance between chill and tension that manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. And when not on bated breath, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals allows you the time to bond with Jacob over ludicrous yet enticing conversations like, “Do you believe in ghosts,” somber pasts, and bleak-looking futures none of us like to dwell on.

Fortunately, you can choose where the story heads. You can make decisions that drastically alter reality. However simple, each choice is pivotal to how your adventure pans out. And so, you continue to draw closer to the minds of the developers, hoping to make the right decision so things turn out exactly how you want them to be. You know, so Jacob continues to help out, and Camena’s mysterious cultists don’t decide to slit your throat in your sleep.

Mystery Solved!

Up till now, you don’t know why the ghostly portals are back. As well as how to stop the mysterious radio signals from interfering with daily life. There’s also the question of Edwards Island and whether the events that happened during that time seeped into Camena. How have people survived since then? 

So many questions that lead to a sheepish smile painting across your face once you uncover them. It’s the joy of Oxenfree, of uncovering the mysteries that justifies the time and effort put into reaching thus far. 

Of course, Oxenfree has never let its guard down as far as the art direction is concerned. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals’ graphics remain true to the original, adopting the same paint style albeit with a new orange palette that syncs well with Riley’s range of emotions.

Verdict

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is, first and foremost, a spooky adventure with constant unnerving static throughout the game. It doesn’t care for gameplay, unapologetically showering every ounce of love and care on the narrative. You don’t have to do much except see and hear. And as the narrative starts to untwirl, a permanent realization hits you that this might just be the best, expertly written, and surprisingly poignant tale ever. 

Throughout the game, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals maintains a strong atmosphere that marries well with chilled gameplay. The graphics are only the icing on the cake, adopting a somewhat simple yet absolutely stunning art style. 

Quite frankly, the only con is the light focus on gameplay. There are no real puzzles to speak of and a few moments in exploration that feel slow-paced. Yet even with the few downsides, the overall game remains a top-notch haunting experience.

What are your thoughts? Will you be grabing a copy of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.

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Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life adds another notch to the belt of farming sims available on consoles.  This is a remake of two older games that have now been combined into one, and slightly updated for the new generation. As a first-time player of the series, I take a look at how this farming staple stacks up against more modern sims like Stardew Valley, which have achieved massive success over the years.

Returning to a Classic in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

The big draw with Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is the fact that it's a remake of a popular PS2 and Gamecube game.  Apparently, there was a strange split back in the day, with the GameCube game featuring a female protagonist with male love interests and the PlayStation 2 game featuring a male protagonist and female love interests. Essentially, they have smushed these two titles together to make the remake and sprinkled in some UI changes to help smooth things along.  The main focus of the game doesn't seem to be all on the farming though, as you work on building a family and helping them grow through the years. Many fans were apparently sold just by the fact that your child can grow up during the game and that the town ages around you. While this is surprisingly pretty unique still in the farm sim genre, we are going to take a look if it's enough to sell the game on its own.

Everyday Flow in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

The game starts out by giving you your own farm, complete with a free cow ready for milking. Some seeds and tools will also be placed in your care, officially getting you started on your farming journey. Like in most games, you have a stamina bar that will deplete as you play the game, only this time working with crops is the only thing that seemed to make it budge. You will immediately notice while on your farm that you already have a barn and coop, however, there are some extremely expensive upgrades you can pay for if you want to expand your farm further. If you can in your house, you will even find that you start out with a kitchen, something that has to be built on in most sims I've played. You can either cook using recipes that you've earned, many of which are seemingly taped to random objects around Forgotten Valley, or combine foods to discover new ones. All in all, the recipes aren't very demanding and can give you a buff to stamina or be used as gifts.

Now that we've established what you have on your farm, let's talk about your day-to-day work. When you wake up at 6 am or 5 am after you hit the second year, your first order of business is to care for any crops you have. This part felt a little strange for me as there are only two smaller plots to plant my crops in,  and compared to everything else in the game it seems that tilling the ground and watering my plants is the only thing that really takes stamina. You will be watering a lot, as there are no sprinklers and upgrades won't come to much much later in the game. This can feel a bit slow at times but isn't that big of a deal thanks to the strangely fast pace your character zooms around at.

Talking about the speed, the UI can feel strange at times, and there are a lot of glitches to be found, like your character only being able to walk sideways like a crab.  Next, you will want to let your animals out to pasture, here they can graze for free as long as you've used fertilizer on your field. Depending on the time, your animals may not be awake yet though. This means that you can milk or snuggle them as they will have a grumpy cloud appear above their head. This feels a bit strange as I have to wait to do things like grab an egg from my chicken in the mornings.

Once you're done with your farm life, which admittedly doesn't take that much time, you can finally head to town. In town, you can do a variety of activities like fish, dig, open a shop, and get to know the townsfolk. Sadly, this is where a few more of my problems come into play.

Getting to Know Forgotten Valley

I'm not sure if Forgotten Valley is too large or too small, but a lot of it feels empty. Most of the time only a few NPCs will be wandering around, and the buildings are pretty spaced out. The people themselves also seem shallow, and the language used in most of the dialogue feels dated. Whether that's a good thing or not seems to mostly depend on if you wanted a faithful remake, but for me it was awkward. The love interests don't bring a lot to the table either, and even when using a guide I couldn't get many of the heart events to trigger until a few suddenly started happening back to back. The music choice when exploring the town also feels odd. Many buildings have their own music, some of which grate on my nerves. When you're just running around though, all you will hear are birds tweeting, and then upon walking into a building like the workout-obsessed family's house you are hit with a large overbearing track.

There are also many animals around the valley that are used for set dressing, I wish that I could at least make friends with them. Looking at the other activities like fishing doesn't add a lot, there's one button press to catch a fish, and there isn't a huge variety in the game. The town “mine” known as the dig site is also boring. Instead of breaking rocks with a pick axe, you are sticking press the button repeatedly to use a tiny shovel to uncover goods. There isn't even a huge variety of items, which is a huge letdown. Additionally, the one mini-game where you play a strange version of triangle tic-tac-toe is ok at best. Even the new festivals feel very lackluster as it's just cutscene. You do have the ability to open your own shop to sell goods, but this is slow and you might as well wait for Van to come into town. Speaking of selling things, I just want to note real quick that most items you forge or dig up can't be shipped, you are forced to carry them around to gift or sell at the market.

Finally, there's the request board. This is where you are automatically forced to accept quests when you check them. The problem is that they seldom have new requests and there's no challenge in getting the items. In fact, I'm not even sure the board helps me increase my affection with the townsfolk.

Building Your Family in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

Let's take a look at the main reason older fans were hyped for this game. The game has a campaign of sorts where you live through your life and watch your child grow. The first year is all about pulling your hair out. All of this while trying to figure out what gifts the bachelor you fancy likes. After the first year, new NPCs move into town. And then you have a child that you can start to influence by making friends with certain characters and giving them toys. The second year is really the only one that felt significant. As the town just ages after that, sure you get to watch your child grow up. But there aren't enough interactions to even make that feel rewarding. It's not like you watch them get married or anything either, as they just pick a career and go with it.

I feel like this could have been more fleshed out for this remake as while it's still something you don't see often, there's not a lot there to make me want to play through the years. Even with hybrid plants, I don't have enough interest to keep playing or trying to befriend every village especially when they aren't being fleshed out. I wanted to see Rock become less lazy or Pui finally not be homeless. At least the name changes and character redesigns they did on these characters actually feel good, but what's the point when not updating the rest of the game?

A Kind of Wonderful Life

The glitchiness of Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, coupled with the outdated feel makes it hard for me to play, regardless of how much my Story of Seasons-obsessed friends speak its glory. In addition, I learned that there were two sequels of Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life that came out for Nintendo DS and added more characters, why wasn't the Witch Princess included in the roster to freshen up the addition? My understanding is there were also even more love interests in these games, so why not put them in to make the valley feel less dead? If you are a fan of the game then you may enjoy this, but for players like me who are new to the series, this is a hard game to recommend.

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With hindsight, I probably should’ve devoted more time to sharpening my lukewarm repertoire of crate-smashing skills back in ‘00, if only to prepare myself for what was to eventually come twenty-three years later. Little did I know at the time, of course, that the ever-faithful Crash Bandicoot would still be going as equally as strong as it was just shy of two decades prior. It blossomed into something bigger, better, and far more inclusive, even, which led me to believe that Toys for Bob had every intention of elevating the series to even greater heights. Or at least, that’s what I thought when I first caught wind of the 2023 iteration of Crash Bash, anyway. Sorry, Crash Team Rumble.

I’ll be the first to admit that, in spite of the bandicoot already having an impenetrable fortress for a reputation and an iron casket of award-winning hits under its belt, the early previews of Crash Team Rumble just didn’t sit right with me. If anything, they reminded me of a watered-down mobile port—a quick cash grab with a litter of microtransactions to boot. And with respect to Toys for Bob, I was pretty on the money, too; Crash Team Rumble does, in fact, have a slew of in-game add-ons that come at a price. But as for all the other premature assumptions I made, well, let’s just say I shouldn’t have ever judged the book by its cover before getting a taste of its sweet, sweet Wumpa Fruits.

Welcome Back to the Party

To put you in the picture, Crash Team Rumble is the third party game to release under the Crash Bandicoot brand since its inception back in 1996. Its concept, much like the one featured in Crash Bash, revolves around a selection of mini-games and the general camaraderie between two teams of four players. Rather than spreading its assets over a wide variety of challenges, though, Crash Team Rumble boasts only the one mode — a 4v4 game that involves collecting and depositing Wumpa Fruits in a timely, albeit chaotic fashion.

On paper, anyone would immediately chalk up the conclusion that a single mode in a self-proclaimed party game is a recipe for disaster and nothing more. With less variety and fewer rules to wrap your head around, anything—even with a poster child as prominent and as universally cherished as Crash Bandicoot—would only be setting itself up to fall short at the first hurdle. However, Toys for Bob stuck by its guns and rolled with it, despite having received mixed feedback during the preliminary phases of its development. Did it pay off for the shortsighted studio, though, or did its lack of breadth result in conceiving nothing more than a twenty-minute throwaway?

It’s Certainly No Crash Bash

Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room: Crash Team Rumble, no matter how hard it tries to disguise itself as a love letter to Crash Bash, isn’t Crash Bash. On the contrary, it’s a standalone product that brings its own style to the table—a formula that consists of traditional bandicoot-type platforming, witty humor, and on-stage shenanigans with high-octane action and team-based gameplay. A highly sustainable cocktail, if blended correctly, at least.

Just to echo the fact that this is indeed a live-service game, so even with only the one formula in its pot, Toys for Bob is bound to figure out new ways to spice up the concoction in later patches. For the time being, though, the one consumable it does have is surprisingly meaty—stodgy, even, and enough to justify the price of admission. And yeah, collecting Wumpa Fruits in a blind panic certainly isn’t the most innovative idea Toys for Bob could’ve come up with — but it did pour its heart and soul into making do with what it chose to create. Kudos to them for that, at least.

Encumbered by Wumpa Fruits

As far as the Wumpa Fruit-collecting gig goes, the rules are simple. They’re so simple, in fact, that anyone from the age of seven and up could quite easily break into the game without much more than a two-minute taster session and no previous experience in online multiplayer whatsoever. And that’s a good thing, truly, as it broadens the scope to allow for players of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels to dive right into the deep end without any prior knowledge in the field. That is, of course, providing they’re willing to hang around for upwards of ten minutes to get into an actual match.

Anyway, as I was saying, the rules are simple: Wumpa Fruits are scattered around a map, and two teams of four are tasked with scavenging and depositing them into their respective storage areas. To win a match, one of the two teams must accrue a total of 2,000 Wumpa Fruits before their rivals. Simple enough, right? In theory, yes. Rather frustratingly, though, a bad and unfocused team can quite easily transform such a basic setup into something of an unwanted burden. Not good.

While the objective is simple, it doesn’t necessarily mean the teams you play on are destined to be goal-focused or driven to succeed, as I came to learn relatively early on while moving between lobbies. In fact, nine times out of ten I found myself hurled into teams who much preferred wreaking havoc on the map than actually playing through the motions. Was this a coping mechanism to help alleviate the chore of having to tackle the same fetch quest a dozen times over? Possibly. Either way, one thing became abundantly clear after just three rounds deep, and that was that players just couldn’t care less about Wumpa Fruit.

And That’s All

Although the first few matches of running wild and getting used to the mechanics does provide some level of enjoyment, the lack of breadth also becomes annoyingly apparent incredibly early on, too. As for what lies behind the smokescreen of endless fetch quests is another story—a perk that only those who are willing to yield to the temptation of paying extra will ever see in the virtual flesh. If it wasn’t for the monetization, and not to mention the lack of starting characters and features, Crash Team Rumble could’ve been so much more. And it just wasn’t that; it didn’t meet the benchmark like it should’ve done.

Don’t get me wrong, Toys for Bob has certainly built the groundwork for a solid party game, and one that has every right to be bolted to the Crash IP. But in spite of this, Crash Team Rumble still feels, I don’t know, unfinished? And for a $60 game from a studio of such high caliber, it’s only natural that you’d come to expect more content and less caveats.

Who knows, perhaps that’s just 2023 for you? After all, it isn’t unusual to have a live-service game laced with wall-to-wall monetization in this day and age, and Crash Team Rumble, with all due respect, appears to be nothing more than the latest link in the chain. We’ll let you decide on whether or not that’s a gold mine worth pursuing.

Verdict

It’s still early days yet, so even with a dozen or more hours under the hammer, I know for a fact that there’ll be plenty more to experience, and that Crash Team Rumble, even in its current state, is still breaking in its training wheels. For the twelve or so hours I did pour into the party title, though, I couldn’t help but sing its praises, if only in bite-sized bursts.

Of course, when put up against the drawing board and next to the likes of Crash Bash and other noteworthy party-starting favorites, Crash Team Rumble does tend to disintegrate into the background. Sure enough, it isn’t the most memorable game in the world, nor is it one that’ll win any major awards at any mainstream event, either. But for what it’s worth, it is enjoyable; it’s addictive in its own unique way and more than capable of robbing you of a few dozen hours. And when all’s said and done, that’s the exact excuse we strive to discover when scouting out new video games.

The question of whether or not Crash Team Rumble is deserving of the price tag is another story. For $60, you could certainly find something that’ll keep you engaged for a longer period of time. However, given that this is a live-service title, and one that’ll no doubt introduce countless new patches in the foreseeable future, there’s also enough of an incentive to pour your money into it and see where it leads you—even if that does wind up being at rock bottom and with a catalog of extortionate microtransactions to capsize it.

It goes without saying that Crash fans will surely get a kick out of this one, even if, technically, it is a weaker version of Crash Bash. Swings and roundabouts, folks.

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It’s about time! Final Fantasy 16 is finally here. While Final Fantasy 13 and 15 didn’t quite set the bar, Final Fantasy 16 is a completely different story. Nearly every aspect of the game shines through boldly. The soundtrack is world-class. The action is in-depth and deeply satisfying. Even the story, which represents Final Fantasy’s core chore, feels immensely natural and like a rollercoaster best experienced for oneself. 

Final Fantasy 16 isn’t the greatest game ever. Performance and difficulty, for one, could sure use a little more love. But it sure is one of the greatest Final Fantasy titles. I’ll even go as far as to say it’s the most wholesome RPG game I have seen in a long while. There are a whole lot of goodies (and a few lost opportunities) to uncover, so let’s get right to it, shall we? Here’s our deep-dive Final Fantasy 16 review for your reading pleasure.

The Backbone of it All

The story is, arguably, the backbone that makes the wheels of any Final Fantasy game go ‘round. And in Final Fantasy 16, the developers perfected their craft in nearly every aspect of the plotline. Starting with the characters, who are often the beating drum of any story. Whether from up close or far away, character models look as realistic as virtually possible. Even the shadows cast accurately weave in its character’s fine details to perfection. 

Fortunately, animations fit the narrative well. They look fluid and smooth, allowing you to take your mind off of the nitty gritty and truly enjoy everything else. Square Enix really went to town with the cutscenes. From the art direction to the environmental design, everything is beautifully curated. Though it’s not open-world, Final Fantasy 16 creates the illusion of a freely explorable space. Locations vary from medieval cities to scorching deserts and vast open fields. There’s the option to fast travel across the map, too. 

Meat on the Bone

We rock off to an edgy, dark fantasy start. A few f-bombs here and there, some shocking deaths, and you might write it off as a waste of time. However, Final Fantasy 16 quickly sneaks up on you like a thief in the night, gripping you by the heartstrings and never letting go. In no time at all, you become faithfully and emotionally invested in the story. More than a few moments genuinely move you to tears. Others have you clutching onto the edge of your seat. Even side quests have an intriguing dose of their own. 

Surprisingly, Final Fantasy 16 focuses on a one-man journey. Clive Rosfield. Supporting characters do receive considerable love and affection. But, ultimately, the cast stories wound up in service to Clive. Not that I’m complaining. Following Clive on a journey spanning two decades is genius. You grow to understand him, to learn his motives and his dreams. Like sheep, we grow to trust him. So much so that the 70 hours spent with Clive seem too little. I want more.

Want More, Have More

The only other element that matches Final Fantasy 16’s intriguing story is its combat. In fact, it could even be the game’s strongest feature for gamers solely focused on gameplay. The good news is that Final Fantasy 16 completely knocks the combat system out of the park. The bad news is that  the game gives you several downtimes in the form of side quests that the developing team likely felt were much needed. 

Good news first, players start with a simple range of tools and skills that continue to grow in power and sophistication over time. All along, you continue to mix and match the skills at your disposal, gradually curating your individual playstyle. It’s an accessible and flashy system that has a surprising depth to it. To some extent, you could see some resemblance to Devil May Cry, except the application feels right at home here. 

Fundamentally, Final Fantasy 16 feels absolutely fantastic to play. Controls are quickly responsive. Animations are effortless, with Clive dancing around bursts of explosive lighting. Only a few fights are too busy onscreen for their own good. For the most part, though, each fight feels fresh and new. Enemies grow more diverse with each encounter. Plus, they can unleash unexpected special moves at a moment’s notice. 

With the Right Tools, You Are Everything

At Clive’s disposal are some pretty handy tools to fight with. You get the standard swordplay, and, in addition, magic projectiles. Down the road, you unlock Eikon-driven skills that are the traditional “Summons” in Final Fantasy. Except, they have their own kind of play here, where each Eikon gives you an array of skills. 

Some Eikon skills are drastically powerful, albeit with long cooldowns. Others offer a wider range of effects. It all works seamlessly, allowing players to develop their unique signature moves and combos. Plus, the upgraded skills only unlock after you rack up enough points from battle, giving you more incentive to progress.

Forced Downtime 

Learning an enemy’s signature move pays off handsomely. It’s equally rewarding to strategize moment-to-moment gameplay and come out on top. Especially against the more vicious boss battles that literally drain every last ounce of fight in you. Perhaps that’s why Final Fantasy 16 felt the need to incorporate side quests. Something to take your mind off of the linear-ish rollercoaster and spend some time with the locales. 

But see, side quests are mostly ways to stop for a chat with NPCs. There are some that prove useful with respect to learning more about the world. Others provide insight into the lore. But, for the most part, side quests are spent tracking NPCs down and listening to them go on and on about stuff you probably couldn’t care less about. I constantly found myself longing for the story and the combat to kick back in – any minute now. Though, to be fair, side quests are entirely optional.

The Difficulty Issue

Weirdly enough, Final Fantasy 16 only has one difficulty level. It’s not too easy to feel like a breeze. However, skilled veterans may feel like the playthrough is like a walk in the park. Especially, when Clive picks up new specialized skills that make him stronger. To remedy that, Final Fantasy 16 adds a “hard” mode, where veteran players can challenge themselves. 

You unlock “hard” mode when you complete the roughly 70-hour playthrough. From there, you’re free to dive into New Game+, which is essentially starting the game afresh with stronger enemies, remixes of enemy encounters, and new items and equipment. You even unlock the base game’s level cap. While not exactly a harder difficulty, there’s a silver lining to replayability. Even though New Game+ is effectively only accessible post-game.

Performance?

Final Fantasy 16 takes full advantage of the PS5 console. Load times are extremely fast, with mere seconds in between reloads. Technological innovations like haptic feedback transmit seamlessly through the DualSense controller. The only drawback is that frame rates sometimes dip in performance mode. So, you might as well cap the graphics at 30 fps. Still, it’s not a too-bad experience to hamper your overall playthrough.

Verdict

Final Fantasy 16 is the kind of game where you can get lost for words in your first playthrough. It’s incredibly exciting to play. Everything from its fluid animations to the realistic character models syncs well together to create the perfect cinematic masterpiece. The story starts off slow. However, it creeps up on you, clutches at the heartstrings, and never lets go, through to the finish line. 

Further, combat is exhilarating. It’s effortlessly fluid, accessible to all players, flashy (as always), and pretty in-depth. Progressing through the levels feels rewarding, even as you come face-to-face with the most dangerous, jaw-dropping boss battles. Like the gift that keeps on giving, Final Fantasy 16 offers a “hard” mode post-game, where you can challenge yourself to remixes of battles, and stronger enemies, equip new items and equipment, and even unlock the level cap. It’s the kind of game that never ends.

Oh, and you can’t speak of Final Fantasy without mentioning the music score, which, in Final Fantasy 16’s case, absolutely nails its orchestral magic. Save for the frame rate dips here and there in performance mode, and side quests feeling a little lackluster, Final Fantasy 16 is an epic masterpiece every gamer ought to take for a spin.

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Going on a killing spree is almost no fun. Not if the prey drops easily, like flies. But what about when the hunter becomes the hunted? For a long time, humans have dominated other species. So much so that games have almost always replicated each other.

But once in a while, we get a game like Aliens: Dark Descent that pushes you to the limits. It’s a new real-time strategy game that adopts the same recipe as XCOM and retains the dark, sci-fi universe of the Aliens franchise. The result is a game to behold, where every turn brings nightmarish horrors that make your skin crawl. And demands acting swiftly, or else it’s game over. Here’s a deep-dive Aliens: Dark Descent review where we break down the good, bad, and ugly (if any), as well as put to bed whether the RTS is worth your time.

End of Times

Aliens: Dark Descent’s story is pretty neat. It’s an original take on alien invasion, where a terrifying outbreak of the iconic Xenomorph aliens unleashes itself on the moon planet Lethe. Every creature, from Praetorians to Facehuggers to Alien Queens, roams about the colony under the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, searching for prey. Humans barricade themselves in a ship that is gradually collapsing.

Their sole savior is a squad of four hardcore Colonial Marines, whom they send out every now and then to stop the terrifying aliens from overstaying their welcome. Meanwhile, they have to bring back resources to the base like food, medical supplies, and tools to repair the ship.

Since the Colonial U.S.S. Otago originally crash-landed on Lethe, I assume the plan is to bring back enough resources to repair the ship so they can lift off to another planet for safety. All of these are detailed in a cinematic prologue that doubles as the tutorial. It’s pretty decent, with engaging writing and delivery. Some moments feel awkward, and voices sound similar. It would be great to have infused some wit, certainly going beyond decent, and delivered an award-winning performance. I can settle for the current script, though.

Stay Strapped or Get Clapped

Onward, the plot continues to develop unforeseen twists. It’s structured in the form of missions that have the player issue commands to the Marines (not as individual soldiers but as a unit). At all times, they must stick together. Otherwise, isolated soldiers are more vulnerable to attacks. Gradually, they investigate different areas, which aren’t massive either. Rather, a small-scale part of the colony. Each new area is an opportunity to acquire new supplies. It could also be a breeding ground for a hive waiting to pounce.

Fortunately, you have a motion tracker you can use to track any movement within a 60-meter radius. Admittedly, it’s easy to want to get into a gun showdown with the xenomorphs. Show off some of your moves. But Alien: Dark Descent encourages stealth, and for good reason. Firstly, each attack drains your squad’s stress level. It doesn’t matter whether you win the round. And when your squad is hyper-stressed, they tend to ignore your commands and fire haphazardly. All the while, they’re firing wildly and consuming more ammo. In the end, they wound up getting themselves killed. 

Then, there’s the matter of an attack on a xenomorph alerting nearby hives to your presence. They call to one another, like the queen in Army of the Dead or The Great Wall. In a matter of seconds, a swarm of xenomorphs descends on you with all their might. And trust me, you’ll get outnumbered regardless of how good a strategist you are. In fact, just to taunt you, there’s a clock that starts ticking. It represents the growing aggression of the aliens, and an incoming horde you can’t outrun. 

Better Safe Than Sorry

So, what do you do when you accidentally stir up a hive? Because it will happen at least once or twice, and you still have to be prepared regardless of whether you think you’ll win. Well, your squad will automatically start shooting at the xenomorphs, trying to keep them at bay. That alone isn’t enough. So, you might want to whip up the skill menu and use suppressive fire for wider AOE damage. You can also use the other weapons at your disposal. For instance, grenades, and shotguns for close-range. By this point, your stress meter will be running low, as will your Command Points.

If your squad has Naproleve pills, they can pop these to reduce stress. Or, rather, you can find a safe room and weld the doors shut for a quick rest. Safe rooms often come in handy.

So, however unnecessary they seem, do use them every now and then to keep your squad in fighting shape. The last option is to forfeit. Even if you’ve completed 90% of the mission, at times, it’s better to return to base to get more supplies and allow your squad to heal. You can always auto-save to potentially return to where you left off.

There’s another factor to contend with, though. The fact that every subsequent encounter with a xenomorph is worse than the last time. It’s honestly a nuisance at some point, and then you remind yourself that therein lies the overly tense nature of playing this game. To avoid all of these debacles, as a rule of thumb, you want to avoid any confrontation with xenomorphs if you can help it. And, instead, use cover spots to hide and maneuver around them.

The Element of Surprise

All of the factors that seem to work against you actually add up to create a truly tense, horrific game. You simply never know what to expect. An encounter with a xenomorph can seem like a fight already won. Until it turns into the most intense battle, your squad will inevitably pay for it. All the while, you have to complete the mission’s objectives. There’s no shortcut for it. Some objectives are multi-layered and can take days to complete. If you choose to take a break, the xenomorphs will keep growing more aggressive, more infestive, and more relentless. It’s the kind of mission you can’t put off for another day. 

This is why progression is so important. Thankfully, you can upgrade your squad over time. Always, starting with healing their physical and mental health. And proceeding to empower them with new skills, gear, weapons, and more. It’s why acquiring supplies while on missions matters so much because the same resources lead to unlocking new skills.

Team Work Makes the Dream Work

Down the line, you can place your squad members into classes. There are Sergeant, Gunner, Medic, Recon, and Tecker classes. Each one has unique skills, strengths, and weaknesses that you must factor into the overall, dynamic gameplay.

For example, while a Gunner is a firearms expert, unrivaled by everyone else, a Recon can uncover safe paths and corridors to help you avoid unnecessary xenomorph encounters. Enemies grow more diverse, too, including human attackers down the road. So, you need to adjust your squad’s repertoire accordingly.

Paying Tribute to Aliens

Few other adaptations do justice to the Aliens franchise, except for 1992’s Alien 3 and Alien: Isolation. Now, Aliens: Dark Descent has joined the ranks with its faithful adaptation of the franchise’s dark, eerie, sci-fi universe.

Particularly, the strategic shift of lighting across its cramped corridors and hallways. It keeps you on your toes, not knowing when and where a xenomorph will jump. Perhaps even a hive nearby you accidentally walk yourself into. If there’s one thing Aliens: Dark Descent nails, it’s the creepy atmosphere that never lets you forget the monstrosity you’re up against.

Verdict

Aliens: Dark Descent is a spectacular RTS that borrows ideas from games like XCOM to create its own creative, unique take on the alien invasion. The gameplay is familiar, yet even the most skilled veteran will have a difficult time learning the ropes on this one. It’s the very feature that makes it so highly desired. To not always feel so powerful all the time.

Sometimes, you can retreat to safety, lick your wounds, power up, and return stronger than before. Each turn challenges you to push yourself. The instantaneous build-up from an easy kill to intense battles against hordes of xenomorphs is something that will remain Aliens: Dark Descent's biggest thrilling element. As you play alone, you'll have access to a variety of tools and resources to help you take down the xenomorphs and fight for survival.

The only downside is a few reported bugs with textures popping in and out. Doors fail to wield shut in the thick of things. And the game’s unplayability on the PC version. Were these issues fixed in the next patch update, Aliens: Dark Descent will no doubt be one of the best RTS games ever made.

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RollerCoaster Tycoon. Planet Coaster. Die-hard theme park designers will know (and have played) these two games. The former, more so than the latter, if the age fits. In theme park building culture, RollerCoaster Tycoon is the OG. Since 1999, it’s dominated the scene. Not that fans haven’t held their breath for another game to take its spot. But it’s that no other game has managed to recreate the same feeling RollerCoaster Tycoon achieved.

Planet Coaster does have its merits, too. It’s overwhelmingly fun for creative minds to dive in. The controls are simple enough for anyone to start. But, still doesn’t quite match RollerCoaster Tycoon. When Park Beyond came out, I crossed my fingers, literally hoping that this was finally it. A game I will remember for years to come as the one that finally toppled over RCT. I’ll say, it’s not too bad to instantly toss aside, yet still not great enough to recommend upfront. 

Let’s see why in today’s Park Beyond Review.

A Little Comsical, A Little Tense

Park Beyond is the newest amusement park building and management simulation in town. It gives you the tools and resources to fetch your inner child and bring them out to play. Except this time, you’re at the forefront of designing the theme park of your dreams from scratch and making sure everything runs smoothly henceforth.

Right off the bat, Park Beyond doesn’t hesitate to show its comical side. I found myself smiling sheepishly at the game’s attempts at humor, which neither felt cringey nor forced. There are two modes to choose from: campaign and sandbox. In the former, you won’t experience a well-crafted RPG campaign. No deep story that will bring you to tears. Or deep-dive into the characters’ lives. Yet, Park Beyond has a way of still instigating irrefutable bonds.

Across its eight missions, players learn to use the tools at their disposal. Hence, it is vital to give the campaign mode a try. Without it, I had a hard time fumbling with the controls. So, I definitely wouldn’t recommend jumping straight into the sandbox. Once the missions progress, it feels more natural to proceed. And you can feel at ease putting learning aside and tapping into your inner creativity full-on.

The Limit Lies Beyond the Sky

It sounds ridiculous. That the sky isn’t the limit. It lies far beyond your wildest imagination. But, it’s true. No exaggeration, whatsoever. See, Park Beyond has a seemingly endless selection of things to do, and stuff to build. It starts slowly, where you can get access to a small-size piece of land. There, you can put up all sorts of structures and scenery. 

Flat rides. Roller coasters. Benches. Queue paths. Radioactive barrels. Helicopters. Shops. Washrooms. Zombie animatronics. Put simply, anything you have seen in an amusement park, you’re free to put up in Park Beyond. Now, while you can select pre-made constructions, and then embellish them how you like, there’s no restriction on going that route. Instead, you can choose to start building from scratch. This gives you the freedom to come up with entirely new concepts that no one has seen before.

What’s more? There’s an abundant scroll list of every item you could possibly need. Specifically, thousands of decorative items and modular building pieces. Not to mention, each structure has variety, too. For example, there are 21 different types of shops you can access that sell several types of food and souvenirs. As you can imagine, these alone seem like an overwhelming bunch. But, no. There’s more.

THE Overlord

Park Beyond felt like you could handle a bit more, so they gave you the power of the amusement park overlord. What it means is that you’re free to do whatever you want. Starting with altering the terraform. It’s wild because rollercoasters can loop and hoop in and over canyons and water bodies. Even caves. So long as, once you test it out, it works, you’re good to go. 

Consequently, there’s the freedom to come up with the wildest, most nauseating, physics-defying roller coasters of all time. You can lift a section of land to create hills or drop it to create valleys. Don’t worry if you mess up. There’s room to “undo” an action, and even demolish a structure. 

Your theme park needs maintenance. So, you have to hire staff to help keep the park’s engines running. You can hire janitors, paramedics, and anyone else you need to help clean the place, maintain it and entertain the masses. In case you notice there are staff members who aren’t pulling their weight, you can fire them, too.

Though, you cannot assign the staff to perform a specific task. For instance, if something breaks. The game manages these for you. You don’t even get a notification to say, “Hey, we have sick people on Roller Coaster One, and we're sending three paramedics right away.” Or, “Would you like to send paramedics to the three sick people on Roller Coaster One?” Just something along those lines.

Impossification

Oh wait, there’s more, still. Park Beyond has an interesting, unique feature called “impossify.” What it does is amplify something or someone so that they can do something they couldn't possibly do in real life. You have to wait for the “impossify” meter to fill up. Then, proceed to “impossify” nearly anything within the confines of your amusement park.

Imagine a cannon shooting a roller coaster through the air. Or a multiple story carousel that completely tosses all laws of Physics aside. Impossification is where Park Beyond truly pushes its limits beyond any other theme park-building game. It’s where you can truly satisfy your customers' thirst for thrills. And, in turn, rack up the profits to expand your territory.

Downsides?

For all the good, there are more than a couple of elements that went awry. Enough that they’re hard to ignore. Starting with the overwhelming amount of glitches reported from all over. In some instances, customers would hurdle over one another and crowd the entrance so that no one could pass through. Others would have the roller coaster stop mid-way for no reason. 

In the campaign mode, some completed missions would fail to register, forcing you to start over. If that happens, you can revert to the latest save file, rather than start afresh. Some queues would glitch out. Giant blocks of texture would appear out of nowhere. The worst is when the game completely crashes, hitting you with that blue screen of death.

In terms of controls, they’re not the easiest to maneuver. It can take a while to master the controls. Even then, you have to go through the campaign mode, which is like the tutorial for the game and can take forever to complete. 

Stunt Progress

Additionally, progressing through the game is a bit flawed. You’ll find that rollercoasters use the most money, which drastically drains your budget. Yet, they don’t bring in comparable income. Instead, putting up a ton of food stalls racks up profits, as do the smaller rides. It tends to discourage you from exploring the depths of your creativity when it comes at the cost of progress.

Not to mention the fact that buying a new piece of land derails your progress, too. Customers will drop all their activities at the already-built amusement park and head over to the new land, where you haven’t even started to properly set things up. Hopefully, these issues get ironed out quickly because, without them, Park Beyond holds an infinite amount of possibilities, especially for die-hard theme park builders.

Verdict

Park Beyond has plenty going for it. However, for all the good, there are also a ton of demerits that bring the whole experience down. By far, it has the most variety and customization options. You can easily sink several hours into the game and still barely scratch the surface of all it has to offer. 

While games like RollerCoaster Tycoon and Planet Coaster have a loyal fan following, Park Beyond brings lots of unique ideas that may very well make it the current go-to theme park builder. Well, that’s only if the developing team can iron out the glitches and bugs that are just too vivid to ignore. 

Would I recommend Park Beyond to anyone? Absolutely. If you crave to hone your creative skills and want to build a theme park of your dreams, this is the game for you.

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