Edmond Tran's Reviews
Surfing through the beautiful world of Atlas Fallen is nice, but unsatisfying combat struggles to keep you invested.
If you find yourself in the right frame of mind, the unhinged nature of Saints Row can be cathartic, particularly if you find yourself in a good series of missions where the writing and humour aren’t too manic, and the action isn't too humdrum. In the end, Saints Row succeeds in recalling and refreshing the affable personality of the dormant series, but this reboot is simply a return, not an evolution.
Essentially, Midnight Fight Express’s approach to enemy behaviour echoes the approach of challenging retro arcade brawlers, but its more grounded fighting mechanics don’t feel suitable for the pace. And it’s this off-kilter balance between your character’s own ability, the effectiveness of environmental weapons, and the aggressiveness of the enemies that is ultimately to the detriment of its longer-term gratification.
Fallout's mutation into an online multiplayer hybrid leaves it weak and soulless.
Even if tell you that I think Bluey: The Videogame deserved a bigger budget, more development time, and bigger emphasis on the narrative, if the target market keeps pestering me to hang out in it every day, can I really ignore that intrinsic enjoyment?
Viewfinder is a short and sharp exploration of a strong concept that builds an unimposing space to play with those ideas, and fosters a mild, continual hum of gratification as you go on that journey. A pleasant exercise in gently massaging your brain synapses, it’s like a brisk refreshment that leaves you feeling slightly more satisfied when you’re done.
Taken as a leisurely journey where the goal isn’t the be-all and end-all, Tchia can be a very pleasant getaway into a playground of delightful sights, sounds, and toys to play with. As a series of quests, it can feel ordinary. But as an escape to another place, it can be wondrous.
Despite being an undeniably beautiful piece of work, its identity as a weapon combat game lacks edge. I’m glad I stuck with it until the end – some of the late-game setpieces are certainly a sight to behold – but I left Trek to Yomi in a hungry search for something else that would give me the inherent satisfaction that comes from feeling the impact and hearing the sound of crossing blades.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition represents two examples of game preservation with varying results. The sharper, more accessible, but poorer-performing Chrono Cross is both a blessing and a curse. But the debut of an official English translation of Radical Dreamers is a moment to celebrate as a Chrono and video game history fan.
Ghostwire: Tokyo’s open world city is beautiful, and its world-building, environment and creature designs are also excellent. But even with a sensible runtime and a brisk plot, the game spends too much time engaging you in repeating, unchanging, and unexciting activities. It’s the terrible and taxing curse of open world monotony, plaguing a piece of work that otherwise has so many unique and original ideas.
The King of Fighters XV continues the fast-paced and exciting nature of the series, but the art direction still leaves a lot to be desired.
A demanding combat system makes Sifu incredibly satisfying to play, but the game’s haphazard homage to Asian culture is filled with flaws.
It’s a great compilation to play and replay to remind you of the series’ merits, but once you get some distance from it, Village’s design and narrative feel like mere footnotes.
Far Cry is clearly not ready for the meaningful identity shift it’s inching towards. I hope it gets there soon. It’s long overdue.
Once you leave the world of Extraction, it’s very hard to muster up the enthusiasm to go back in. Sure, there’s an endless cycle of parasitic aliens invading, but I know that no matter how much time I put in, the reward for doing a good job is just going to be more work to do.
Fight Crab gives dangerous weapons to crabs, and it's a wonderful, hilarious mess of a fighting game.
Mage's Initiation blends adventure game and RPG influences to mimic the best of '90s adventure games, but it doesn't quite manage to perfect every aspect.
Ubisoft's post-apocalyptic continuation of Far Cry 5 doesn't feel as different as it looks, but it does have a worthwhile twist.
Raiding ancient tombs and exploring dense environments is still outstanding in Lara's latest, but the mechanics of the reboot series are getting as rough and unpredictable as the terrain.
Crossing Souls is a serviceable action-adventure fueled by 1980s nostalgia, but its dependence on classic tropes isn't enough to make it remarkable.