James Berich's Reviews
ABZÛ is exactly what it appears to be – it's a linear game that encourages players to dive into its deep waters and interact with nature.
Resident Evil 2 takes a masterpiece and twists it until it resembles something completely new without betraying the spirit of the original.
Doom Eternal is a bigger and better sequel in practically every way.
Resident Evil 4 translates a game already revered into an absolute masterpiece. The tension is heightened and the combat is stronger than ever, all while still maintaining the corny dialogue and humour that the original game was known for. While there are a few minor aspects missing, Resident Evil 4 is a strong example of what any remake should be and is well worth your time.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom builds upon Breath of the Wild's robust systems to offer an experience that eclipses the original in practically every way. Not only that, but it works incredibly hard to restore some of the things lapsed players might've missed from the traditional Zelda experience, and it pays off in droves. While the novelty of its design will never be as impactful as Breath of the Wild's debut, Tears of the Kingdom is one of the best Zelda experiences you'll ever have.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is just that. A wonder. It leverages tight and concise platforming with a robust set of power-ups and skills to offer a degree of flexibility to players like never before. While it's still slightly easier than I'd like, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an incredibly engaging Mario game and one of the best platformers available on the Switch, if not ever.
Control is a slick and stylish win for Remedy, their best work yet. With strong combat, an engaging story and striking visuals, Control is a masterclass in both style and substance. It's abstract, it's bold, and it's wicked fun.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition stands tall as one of the best remasters that I've ever played. The amount of care and effort that has gone into restoring the original Mass Effect along with the other two games is unmatched. While there are some underlying minor design issues with the original game, Legendary Edition is the best way to experience the Mass Effect trilogy. Period.
No More Heroes III is the best No More Heroes experience this far. A streamlined structure, some fantastic writing and direction from Goichi Suda and some of the tightest combat the series has ever seen makes No More Heroes III the best in the series. There's some technical issues that we've come to see from the Switch, especially in the open world, but these are otherwise minor blemishes on a remarkable artistic achievement.
Immortality ambitiously succeeds at evolving the formats introduced in Her Story and Telling Lies to offer some of Sam Barlow's best work yet and one of gaming's most well-justified open-world experiences. Bolstered by some fantastic performances and a compelling mystery to uncover, it's engrossing and engaging from beginning to end. While it might assume some prior knowledge in telling it's underlying story, Immortality is an experience that's not to be missed and one that I'll never stop thinking about. It is truly fantastic and well worth your time.
No More Heroes III is one of my favourites in the series so far. A streamlined structure, some fantastic writing, and direction from Goichi Suda and some of the tightest combat the series has ever seen make No More Heroes III one of the best. The latest ports rectify most of the performance problems seen in last year's Switch debut, remedying some minor blemishes on an otherwise remarkable artistic achievement. This is, without a doubt, the best way to experience No More Heroes III.
Metroid Prime Remastered is, without a doubt, the best way to experience Metroid Prime. Its effortful visual overhaul, coupled with new control schemes, brings an already fantastic game into a new era for a new audience. Better still, it plays just as well as it did over two decades ago, offering a tremendous sense of atmosphere and wonder. It's often said it's tough to improve on a masterpiece, but Metroid Prime Remastered successfully meets the brief and then some.
Mortal Kombat 1 is a joyful reinvention of a series that is continually hitting its stride. A strong and varied roster is bolstered by an ingenious Kameo system that offers up a great degree of player flexibility unlike anything else. While it's a bit off an odd choice to not have crossplay at launch and the approach to gear is bound to be divisive, Mortal Kombat 1 feels like the most complete Mortal Kombat experience so far. And perhaps even one of the best fighting games I've ever played.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a tremendous remake. It gives the original game a visual overhaul that is simultaneously modern and nostalgic. But it doesn't stop there. It breaks open the mechanics to offer much more depth without destroying the spirit of the original. It's far and away the best way to experience one of the best Star Ocean games and one of the best RPGs ever made. If you're a fan of the genre, you owe it to yourself to check out The Second Story R. It's an absolute gem of a game that's endlessly playable and effortlessly stylish.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is well beyond anything Don't Nod has ever done. It successfully merges their renowned knack for solid characters and great stories, engaging and enjoyable combat and a unique setting to create an experience like no other. It's a incredible fun and easily the studios most ambitious game so far. It doesn't get much better than this.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door is a masterful remake that improves on the original in practically every way while keeping everything that made it a mainstay in the Nintendo canon. While its timelessness is reflected in the strength of its humour, wit and story, a major visual overhaul and much needed quality of life improvements make The Thousand-Year Door an adventure that can't be skipped.
Given how easy it is for the Mortal Kombat series to fall into the habit of employing over convoluted mechanics to the point where it isn’t fun to play anymore, Mortal Kombat X is a triumph.
The Swapper is a fantastic puzzle game that combines a fantastically realised, isolated atmosphere with a minimalist and yet intriguing narrative. Its combination of subtle horror elements and puzzles gameplay make it a game that can be played by anyone of any predisposition, whether they like scarier games or not.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is a fantastic first person shooter that manages to provide a classical experience without feeling archaic and dated.
Super Mario Maker isn’t something I necessarily thought that I’d want to play but after spending some serious time with it I’m happy to say I’m almost in love with it.