But the base game, Beyond Good & Evil, is still a great time. Parts of its design feel dated today, sure, but considering this game is 21 years old, it holds up remarkably well. I was happy to be reminded of one of my favorite GameCube games and its eclectic cast of characters, and I can only hope that they will live on in some future Ubisoft game.
This was, of course, during a time when degree of difficulty was a positive thing. I don't think they hold up particularly well, but perhaps I should be grateful that they're being preserved somehow, a window into the 16-bit era that I grew up with, but have mostly left behind. I suppose if you've been itching to revisit Sparkster's adventures, this is the best way to do it.
Horizon Chase 2 is a great game, but it's quite the masterpiece that its predecessor was. That said, this is a no brainer if you loved the arcade racing goodness of Horizon Chase Turbo, because that part, at least, has not been modified in this sequel.
Xtreme Sports is an interesting curio, an artistic ancestor of WayForward's heroic half-genie franchise, and a somewhat frustrating Game Boy Color game that may not be all that fun to play in the Year of our Arceus 2024. It also, and this may be a deep cut for many of you, reminds me of the Survivor parody Total Drama Island, which often involved some degree of extreme sports challenges.
I think you get the point. Kudzu is going to be compared with Link's Awakening at every turn, and in fact the publisher's own PR does just that, but it can't hold a candle to that beloved Zelda entry. It all feels very undercooked and I can't recommend it.
Lords of Exile is a relatively fun, but not particularly noteworthy, NES-like. If you're itching for some old-school Castlevania gameplay, you'll probably find something to like here, but for the rest of you, there are more robust offerings out there.
D&DK is a fun time if you're of the right age and in the right mindset. It can be frustrating, but those frustrations are bizarrely part of the charm. And hey, it's kind of fun to play a "lost" NES game that actually feels like it could've come out in 1989.
All of the usual Nightdive options are available to tweak to your heart's content, and they have done a wonderful job porting this oft-forgotten N64 game to modern systems. Shadow of Oblivion is, however, barely a Turok game, and the levels are much shorter and more directed than they were in Dinosaur Hunter or Seeds of Evil. You can probably breeze through the entire campaign–for one of the siblings, anyway–in a couple sessions. An interesting curio, but not a particularly memorable one.
Prison City is a fun game that nails the look and feel of 80's action platformers. For fans of that era, this is a no-brainer. Now, for the sequel, I'm hoping for an Echo the Dolphin parody featuring that cybernetic cetacean.
The underlying switching mechanic is strong and most of the platforming is solid in theory. It feels like this one needed more time in the oven, but a more refined version–or a sequel left to gestate–would probably provide a great time. As it stands, Chronicles of 2 Heroes is a mildly frustrating experience that I had to convince myself to keep playing for this review.
I just found it difficult to find the motivation to grind out an hour here and there. My wife watched me play Atone for awhile and at one point remarked that all I was doing was talking to people and solving puzzles, and she's not wrong. For some of you dear readers out there, that may be all you need, but I was unsatisfied.
The game's end hints at sequel potential, and while I wasn't overly impressed with Shieldmaiden, I might be interested in a second quest, assuming the developers address the many platforming issues that plague this game.
It's mostly the same thing, just way more of it. The new characters are fun, the city is much larger, there are way more quests, and the story has higher stakes. The minigames are a great new addition, boss fights are tough but fun, and oh man, that soundtrack.
I actually would recommend it if you’re a fan of Waifu Hack ‘n’ Slashers, but the Switch’s framerate issues keep me from issuing a full-throated endorsement. If you have access to other modern consoles, maybe check out some gameplay videos. If it’s way smoother during combat situations, maybe go for that version. I’m enjoying the game on Switch, and will be buying some of the DLC, but it suffers a lot on the performance side. That and the terrible platforming segments that, thankfully, are pretty rare.
Overall, there were too many irritations in Soulstorm to win any of my enthusiasm. Every play session left me somewhat frustrated, and I often had to talk myself into booting it up. If you're dying to revisit Abe's Exoddus, this is certainly the best way to accomplish that. I just wish it was a little more fun and a little less janky.
Fans of RWBY might find something enjoyable here, but it just lacks the sort of care and polish that goes into most of WayForward's catalog, which is a shame.
There have been frustrating boss fights, sure, but that was my experience with Hollow Knight too, and it's a similar feeling here. Finally beating these tough-as-nails bosses gives you a great feeling of accomplishment (and relief), although they're probably not for everybody. It's definitely worth a shot if you enjoy Metroid, Hollow Knight, or the Souls series.
Turn the lights down and the sound up. Play this game on your TV, late at night. SIGNALIS is a wonderful, mind-bending experience and the passion of the developers can be seen in every pixel.
If the difficulty didn't go up every time I died or I could activate checkpoints without having to fight a clone afterwards, it might be a different story, but I don't appreciate being punished for doing inevitable things (dying, saving). Did you find Hollow Knight and Blasphemous too easy? If so, Moonscars may give you the challenge you crave. For the rest of us? It has limited utility.
For the Contra diehards among you, Spidersaurs is a great game. The difficulty can be brutal at times, but I'm sure I'll power through the higher tiers eventually.