Adrian Morales's Reviews
Skatebird had potential, and I hate to drag it down, but I simply did not have an enjoyable experience with it.
Tower of Fantasy does very little to stand out from other gacha games and can't find its footing in either gameplay or story, making it quite a mess.
Skull and Bones is a bloated game that does manage to swim instead of sink, but not without many caveats. In an attempt to separate itself from Black Flag and stand out from the likes of Sea of Thieves, Skulland Bones doesn't so much color outside the lines as much as dogmatically stick to a tired formula while burying its strongest attributes under mountains of redundancy and half-realized concepts. For those who crave a game set during the Golden Age of Piracy, there are definitely things here to enjoy, but get ready to do a lot of digging.
In the face of an IP filled with rich themes with something important to say, Frontiers of Pandora ignores the point entirely and goes on to have a gameplay loop where players spend most of their time killing otherwise docile animals to make arbitrary numbers go up so they can be as immortal as possible within the confines of the game. This would be business as usual for any other open-world gameplay loop, but it's embarrassingly ironic and tone-deaf for an Avatar game. Sure, anti-pollution sentiments are there because it's impossible to make an Avatar spin-off without them, but they're there superficially and treated as a checkbox for players to complete - ultimately ringing hollow. A betrayal of Cameron’s themes with the Avatar IP, seemingly stapled together as an attempt to get a slice of the highest-grossing film of all time’s pie, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora isn’t just generic; it is downright cynical.
Atlas Fallen had promise, but nothing that this game strives to accomplish ever lands very well or feels fully realized. Between a lackluster story filled with generic and soulless voice acting and a combat system that loses its momentum well before the credits roll, there is rarely a moment where this game feels memorable or worth the time to finish. There is some good stuff on the surface of Deck13’s new IP, with its beautiful vistas and interesting world-building and aesthetic, but digging past the surface of Atlas Fallen shows that it is mostly hollow underneath.
Soundfall is a treat for musically inclined gamers, but its weak mechanics hold it back.
I name-dropped and compared quite a few games to Biomutant in this review and it is because Experiment 101 has clearly taken influences from so many games and attempted to incorporate it all into Biomutant. However, in the pursuit of taking so many concepts and creating something unique, Biomutant winds up feeling derivative and dated. It never does anything exceedingly well but also never does anything terribly bad, it simply exists in the middle and its biggest success is being an average game with a good combat system.
If you can stick through some wooden voice acting and awkward animation, there is a decent B-movie thriller here that is easy to digest if you’re looking for some video game pulp horror this Halloween season.
In its current state, however, Lords of the Fallen proves that Hexworks still has a bit to go before it learns the same lessons that many souls-like developers have in terms of quality-of-life adjustments and making sure that it strikes the right balance between challenge and frustration. Right now, it seems like Lords of the Fallen is taking the worst elements of every souls-like game and making those elements its main catalyst for difficulty, which is a bummer because everything else is so good. For the souls-like hardcore, Lords of the Fallen will be a fine conquest, but for the souls-like beginner, there are better entry points to the genre that offer a more well-rounded exploration into what souls-likes are capable of.
Ultimately, Rainbow Six Extraction is a forgettable experience with a solid foundation that will hopefully be built upon in the months and years to come.
One recurring thought I had throughout my time with Trek to Yomi was how much a game’s art style truly influences the experience, and that is where Trek to Yomi thrives. When looking at the game as a playable homage to classic samurai films and less of a gameplay experience but more of a visual experience, fans will find that Trek to Yomi is a great time.
At its best, Shadow Warrior 3 is a competent Doom clone, serviceable enough for anyone that is really looking to kill some demons and kill some time, but perhaps best at a discount. Otherwise, Shadow Warrior 3 is uninspired and underdeveloped.
Overall, if you know what you’re getting into with Insurgency Sandstorm, I am confident it will be an enjoyable game. It is a competent and decently fleshed-out mil-sim shooter that is rarely found outside of the PC space. Otherwise, you might just end up playing in silence, get sniped a few times from an unseen enemy, and decide to spend your time elsewhere as the game doesn’t do much in terms of catering to solo players thanks to its hardcore nature.
MotoGP 21 is a great choice for newcomers to the series as it introduces a rigorous tutorial mode that will get you playing and having fun in no time. However, returning fans might be disappointed to see that this year’s MotoGP game is mostly the same as last year’s with an included bike retrieval mechanic. Overall MotoGP 21 is still the premier motorcycle racing simulator on the market with the best feeling racing experience for both newcomers and veterans.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is in the spirit of high-quality AA games that should not go unnoticed.
Lucid Dreams Studio's Biomorph is a solid Metroidvania that should definitely scratch the itch for any fan craving more from the genre, and with a neat Kirby gimmick to boot. Its strong platforming and level design elevate Biomorph's otherwise straightforward approach to the genre, while its main issues mostly come from a desire to see the game do more with its concepts. Despite some lacking elements that do take away from the overall experience, there is nothing here that stops Biomorph from being an easy recommendation in a genre already filled with great releases.
But even with a few technical hiccups, checkpoint woes, and a sense that maybe going this big with such an intimate game wasn’t the best choice, The Invincible is an enjoyable experience. The Invincible is a '60s sci-fi novel brought to life that is best suited for those who love to get nerdy about hard science and love that retro sci-fi aesthetic. More casual fans will likely find plenty to enjoy with the game, but they should know that this a game about getting immersed in a world that wants to tell a story instead of the usual space-faring adventure shtick. When The Invincible gets its hooks in players, it can be a narrative experience that is thrilling, thought-provoking, and worth the ride.
There is plenty to praise when considering that this is Ascendant's debut game and how it ended up being an incredibly competent and entertaining experience that manages to pull off a solid combat system and a fun story. However, there really isn’t much that feels new or particularly interesting otherwise. It is clear that a lot of thought and care has been put into all systems of Immortals of Aveum, from its shooting to its puzzles, but none of it is compelling enough for another playthrough. Immortals of Aveum is well-executed, easy to digest, and remarkably solid, but overall incredibly familiar. Still, it may pleasantly surprise more than one shooter fan, and has enough going for it to likely attract a dedicated audience.
Ultimately, Remnant 2 still hits more than it misses. This mish-mashing of two wildly different styles of games still largely succeeds despite not being an entirely clean fusion, and best of all, Gunfire Games has expanded the foundation laid by the first game into something that is truly unique and interesting. Remnant 2 is still rough around the edges, but its interesting worlds, incredible procedural generation system, and variety of playstyles do enough to hold up a game that might not always feel as refined or intuitive as the inspirations it draws from.
The best way to describe Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is “safe.” Much like with Jedi: Fallen Order, it is clear that Respawn has a lot of good ideas for this franchise and wants to draw from a variety of influences to make something special, but it ultimately ends up making a pastiche of AAA game mechanics and fixings that are serviceable but not very refined. Jedi: Survivor doesn't have the same novelty and luster that Fallen Order had behind it, so when it rests on its laurels like this, the whole package feels underwhelming. When coupled with a clunky story and a laundry list of technical issues, it's clear that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor still has a long way to go before it reaches its full potential.