TJ Denzer's Reviews
Riven is another beautifully assembled upgrade of a classic for Cyan Worlds, and it seems to play more wonderfully than ever. The puzzles and exploration feel immersive, even if it gets a bit unwieldy with a lot of back and forth between the islands as you come back to solve certain puzzles later. Even then, the returning Notebook system does a great job of aiding in the easy access of clues and information if you use it effectively. With that said, this is also just a beautiful game to explore and whether you’re a returning player or discovering Riven for the first time, it's likely to be a peaceful and intriguing experience.
Hellblade 2 still does incredibly well. The new story is weighty, the audio is exceptional, the scenery is ridiculously dense and rich, and the combat feels intense and impactful in new and interesting ways.
When the dust settles, there are several multiplayer options to explore and War Games is a solid gold winner that looks like it will continue to grow over time. I had only a few gripes, but Homeworld 3 plays incredible from top to bottom, and I think whether you’re a fan of the series that’s been waiting for this or a newcomer that just likes good strategy, everyone who takes control of the Khar Kushan is in for an absolute feast of stellar strategy gameplay.
Animal Well is one of the strangest metroidvanias I’ve played in a lot of very good ways. It’s pretty, funny, and scary in its atmospheric visuals and audio. Its platforming is also very satisfying and makes you feel good when you figure out how to use your tools properly to solve a puzzle. There are also secrets a plenty and a post-game to explore, as well. It's also just interesting to me that you don't directly fight with enemies and instead use your tools to work around them. The main double-edged sword here is the complete lack of context and hand-holding, which makes Animal Well charming and mysterious, but can make it difficult to keep track of what you were doing or where you should be going next. Nonetheless, if you want a solid and quirky adventure that will put your reflexes and puzzle-solving to the test, Animal Well is an absolutely fascinating journey.
Another Crab’s Treasure is a shocker of a good time. The combat is mostly fair and interesting with all of the stuff you can do involving shells, level-ups, Stowaways, and other options. The world is also fun to explore, beautiful, if a little bittersweet, and full of secrets.
Wrath of the Mutants is a functional beat 'em up. I'll give it that. If you liked the 2012 show and want more TMNT beat 'em up goodness to play, it's fine if your co-op friends are nearby. Otherwise, there are far better options at similar or cheaper prices, even within this IP.
Children of the Sun excels where it counts. It’s a cerebral puzzle in which you weave a bullet between targets, and solving the puzzle is dangerously satisfying.
Rise of the Ronin is an incredible open-world action-RPG. Its version of Bakumatsu era Japan is beautiful and delightful to explore, with plenty of activities that don’t fall deep into the open-world genre’s trap of being tedious. Its combat and customization are also incredibly well-refined, allowing you to become the martial artist you want to be, whether it’s an assassin, brigand, gunslinger, or more. The characters were fun to get to know and help a lot in reducing what would otherwise be some ridiculously difficult fights in the game. Don’t get me wrong though, this game has moments where it’s Team Ninja hard. Nonetheless, it’s still an incredible journey of cultural revolution and familial salvation. Between its solid combat, varied open world, and enjoyable characters, Rise of the Ronin sets a new tier of excellence in Team Ninja’s game design.
Unicorn Overlord might be my favorite game so far this year. I loved Ogre Battle back in the day. March of the Black Queen is one of my favorite old-school games. I never would have expected Vanillaware to capture that feeling so thoroughly and even add its own twists to make it all the better, but here we are. You get from this game what you give, and it constantly rewards you handsomely for overcoming its challenges. Between great tactical gameplay, a massive and robust cast of voiced characters, a beautiful soundtrack and art style, and a great story, this is a game no fan of tactics RPGs should skip.
I never would have expected that a roguelike could work so well in a card game before I played Balatro. It’s simple and guides you in so well, but escalates quickly and is happy to crush your run at any moment with the smallest strokes of misfortune. That’s what makes the variety of jokers and bonus cards so fun to explore. Every new option provides an opportunity to buck the house advantage. It leads to an appealing gameplay loop that kept me wanting to try all sorts of new angles and strategies. Balatro is something far out of the ordinary, and heaven forbid it ever makes its way to mobile because my casual time will powerless against it (please?).
Penny’s Big Breakaway is a delightful breath of fresh air for the 3D platforming genre. It doesn’t just feel like a love letter to Sonic, but rather a number of mascot platformers from back in the day that captured our hearts. There are a few issues here and there, but for a first official release in 3D platforming from Evening Star, it’s a great start, featuring a massive collection of beautiful levels, solid mechanics and gimmicks, and a soundtrack that keeps the vibes charming throughout. There’s a lot to enjoy here, and I hope it’s just the start of things to come for Evening Star, Penny, and the world of Macaroon.
Pacific Drive is a mystery that draws you in little by little and rewards you for staying dedicated with both a better vehicle and more ridiculous threats. Every excursion left me wondering just what I’d discover, both from survival and story standpoints, as well as what kind of crazy threats were going to try to make my life harder. Fun and interesting characters and a pretty great soundtrack help to keep things fun, but maintaining the station wagon is easily the most compelling part. It’s your best friend through thick and thin, even if it’s trying to eat your mind. That can be somewhat forgiven since it makes up the core of an ultimately great rogue-lite survival game.
Under Night In-Birth 2 Sys:Celes is a great addition to what we had that improves upon previous games in pretty much all the right ways. The new characters are fun, the new attacks for existing characters make new gameplans fun to learn, and there is a nice variety of online and offline modes in which to explore them and hone your game. I wish the music, story, and online lobbies gave me more, but UNI2 hits the right notes where it counts and delivers as a fantastic bastion of 2D animated fighting game goodness.
Between the Heat System, Special Style controls, a healthy roster and more, Tekken 8 has set the stage for a glorious new era of the fighting franchise.
How far it feels like the concept of Sniper Elite VR has come. I won’t say this game is perfect, but I will say it’s one of the most visceral and satisfying stealth-action shooters I’ve played in VR. The weapons handle nicely, the missions and locations are hugely varied, and the comfort options are abundant and easily understandable. I wish it catered better to left-handed shooting and that some weapons had better interactivity, and I’m just not crazy about head-on combat here. It’s also not exactly a looker. That said, what a step-up from what I know about Sniper Elite VR. When the dust settles, I’ll have a hard time thinking of a game that made it more satisfying to look down a scope and deliver distant absolution to virtual fascists.
Ultimately, SteamWorld Build was a lot of what I like about the original IP and city simulations. It smartly mixes concepts from throughout the SteamWorld series into your management such as mining and monster control. Between overseeing the mines below and the town above, you’ll have a lot on your plate trying to make sure all the robots are happy and safe as you dig deeper and deeper to find the tech you need to escape the planet. That said, it’s a good blend, fit to please anyone who likes SteamWorld and city builders alike. Make sure your robots are oiled and happy and they’ll gladly venture into the unknown where mysterious discoveries await in this unique city sim.
Alan Wake 2 builds upon a foundation that I felt was effective, but missing something in the original. In narrative, atmosphere, and gameplay, this sequel captures the sense of a self-aware, fictional world that’s always contorting itself in real-time to move forward, and the result is a surreal horror/thriller masterpiece.
I’m not really upset that I went back to Gargoyles to re-explore some fun childhood memories. This game was special to me as a huge fan of the cartoon series, and I really liked how they adapted the old graphics into a new art style that was so much closer to the animation. I also like that the old graphics and sounds are still here and you can switch back and forth between them as much as you wish. I find it hard to credit Gargoyles Remastered for having a rewind button, because I think it’s simply a necessity to alleviate the frustration of a ridiculously difficult game. It also doesn’t fully alleviate that frustration because of its limitations. Gargoyles Remastered is an interesting and pretty walk down memory lane, but you’d better be ready to have any rose-colored glasses shattered by its unforgiving gameplay if you take that walk.
As unfairly challenging as I could find Lords of the Fallen to be, I also appreciated its creativity. The Umbral world and mechanics surrounding it made for an extremely compelling and risky adventure where I often rode the line between safety and death. I feel like the game could have done better at making the threat of Umbral more than escalation of foes up to an unkillable pursuer that could one-shot me, but I can’t deny I was tickled by the possibilities and always curious of what was on the other side. Mix its intertwined-worlds mechanics into good melee, magic, and archery in a beautiful gothic setting and 2023’s Lords of the Fallen feels like something I’ll more than remember for what it did right and how it set itself apart. The duality of this game’s settings is both dastardly and dazzling.
What impressed me the most about Cocoon throughout much of the adventure was the sheer intuitive nature of its puzzle-solving. You might think that with no dialogue or hints, jumping into worlds within worlds and carrying them around would be hard to wrap your head around, but this game does an incredible job in its presentation, making you aware of what you can do and what you want to accomplish. Just as well, it’s a beautiful and ambient game that drew me into its mystery and made me want to unravel more through the sheer joy of cracking each layer and digging into another. The team at Geometric Interactive made something truly compelling, mind-bending, and immersive in Cocoon, and though it can prove difficult to handle all its tools, solving its mysteries is an absolute delight.