The core game’s design is showing its age at this point. Many missions are fun activities sandwiched between needlessly lengthy driving sessions. Seriously, the number of times if makes you drive between Sandy Shores and the main city of Los Santos is ridiculous, or having to follow a plane for a full ten minutes for no real reason before getting to board it. It would feel like padding if this wasn’t already a long game without them. In spite of this, the story and characters can carry you through the rougher parts so you can enjoy the heists and the witty arguments along the way.
Pagan: Control is… pretty good. It’s just a bit underwhelming as it retreads the formula from the first DLC, albeit with a different villain to play as that might be more or less to your liking. The roguelite idea seemed to make sense in Vaas’ insane mind, but just doing it again here diminishes some of that novelty. It’s like one good idea is being stretched across more than one DLC.
Turf Wars is ultimately a significant improvement on its DLC predecessor, but still missing the depth and subtlety that made the main game so good.
Perhaps all three acts together will be a complete package worth a purchase, but this just feels like more of the same, except rushed out to meet an audience and lacking the unerring attention to detail that made the main campaign so special. Whilst Black Cat herself is pretty excellent, the story around her isn't one that is gripping, at least, not yet.
Far Cry 5: Hours of Darkness Is Not The Bombastic DLC We Were Hoping For
Overall, Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered can still hold up pretty well today, but whether or not you should it pick up depends on a few factors.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was conceptually a game with some promise, but from what I've seen so far, it's a mediocre and messy experience that doesn't really come together into a cohesive whole. That is, of course, before coming to the bugs, the crashes and the game-breaking progression issues that make it impossible to complete at this time. Considering that I was actually looking forward to this, this one really stings.
Whether having to stare at the ground for extended periods of time, shoot what should've been a hit but inexplicably doesn't leave any blood behind, or even just getting around with an unsteady frame rate and graphical glitches, there's something here to disappoint everybody. Perhaps if you are hardcore into trophy hunting you could extract a droplet of enjoyment out of Way of the Hunter, but doing so will be an uphill battle against the game itself.
In the end, Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? fails to deliver satisfying combat, falls short of being a rewarding dungeon crawler, and tells the story in a fatally cumbersome way that just isn't engaging. You'll be better off just watching the anime again.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is difficult to recommend. Perhaps when it first released for PC five years ago it would get a little more leeway, but as there are better options for an action RPG available, some brand new to PS4 and some that have been out so long they're dirt cheap. It has a few bright moments, but I'd avoid this unless you desperately want to finish the trilogy.
Vigor had a decent idea, but it bungled the delivery in multiple ways. Base building is unforgivably dull and drawn out, while the player count is too low or the maps are too big so you can go multiple matches without encountering anyone. There is more fun to be found with the squad-based deathmatch mode, but not as much fun as you could have in countless other games in 2021.
Torchlight III is a disappointment. It has good production values and gives a good first impression, but it just lacks depth in so many areas. The loot and skill systems are boring, and there's not enough variety as you're pushed into crowds of enemies with shallow explanations for why you have to go through. There's very little really to recommend here when its biggest competitor is now so old and cheap.
Throw Anything has got some bright and colourful ideas, but there's not enough substance to carry a full game. It outstays its welcome before it runs out of levels thanks to repetitive, shallow gameplay, and it's hurt by a few polish issues. It's fun for a short while, but it's ultimately a pretty throwaway experience.
Neverwinter Nights remains a fantastic RPG, but the Enhanced Edition on PlayStation 4 fails to recapture that magic. If you can look past the incredibly dated graphics, there's tons of classic role playing to get stuck into, but playing it with a controller and clunky UI is not particularly pleasant. Considering that this is playable on pretty much any computer you can lay your hands on, or even on your phone, I'd steer clear of this particular version unless you desperately want to sit on your couch with a controller to play.
Last Labyrinth might tickle your morbid curiosity through its mysterious atmosphere and deadly puzzles, but with Katia's slow speed and hit and miss puzzles, the game quickly loses steam.
VR Ping Pong VR's inconsistent physics are a constant issue that stops you from ever feeling comfortable whilst playing, as at any moment something might behave oddly. Add a few bugs, missing or poorly implemented arcade modes, and multiplayer that's already lifeless and it's difficult to recommend the game. Once it's been updated, if all you want is a very pretty ping pong game, this might do the job.
The lack of depth in RBI 19's basic mechanics has a crippling effect on the whole experience, first as frustration when trying to get used to timing-based batting, then with boredom after you're familiar. On top of that, it's an arcade baseball game that's presented like a sim, but without the depth to back that up or a hook to set it apart from actual sim games, it just feels barren and empty.
RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures is a pretty big disappointment for me. As a fan of the series for most of my life, a portable, fully fledged, modern version of the game on a portable console is a dream, but that isn't what this is. This casual approach is too dumbed down for it to be fun for more than a few hours. With the rollercoaster building being so awful, it's difficult to recommend even for casual users, but it might work as something to distract from the drudgery of a bus ride.
Constructor HD was actually delayed multiple times, so System 3 presumably encountered some difficulties in development. Whether that is the explanation for the result, which just barely toes the line of average but gets pulled back down by its price and its launch day DLC, or if it was a bit of a cash grab is anyone's guess. As it is, this is not worth purchasing.
You are never at risk of encountering anything unexpected when playing Zenith, but cutscenes are unpredictable and quite intelligently written (and even well directed at times), so they are genuinely entertaining. But the game is an action RPG by the numbers, and it gives the distinct impression that it is a vehicle for delivering the comedy. This would be fine, but that vehicle would need to be enjoyable and on this one, the wheels have fallen off.