Echoes of Wisdom feels like a top-down take on Tears of the Kingdom's core building concept. It's one of the most inventive titles I've played all year and I've had a blast with it so far, despite its rampant technical issues. Creating Echoes and watching them do your bidding as Zelda is just as compelling as slashing away at foes directly as Link. But I can't help but wish the game ran smoother and was locked to 30fps; hopefully Nintendo releases an update at some point.
I’m a firm believer in there being too much of a good thing. So in my first few hours of Astro Bot, I kept thinking, “Can this really be sustained through to the credits without losing its charm?” The answer is a bonafide yes. The reason is nothing ever felt half-baked. Team Asobi brought so much creativity and thoughtfulness to their game, that you can’t help but want to spend more time playing. From the intricate ways, Astro Bot pays its respect to the nearly 30-year-old brand to the music. There wasn’t a minute across my 12-hour playthrough to gain the Platinum Trophy that I wasn’t smiling, humming, or laughing.
As disenchanted as I was with both the source material and general output of publisher Ubisoft, Developer Massive has convinced me that there is still magic to be found in a galaxy far, far away. By unleashing itself from the restrictive canon and need to reference the core trilogy at every turn, Outlaws is afforded the freedom to tell a story at a more relatable scale. Combat pulls its weight thanks to the solid feel of your main blaster, and each additional layer you add on top opens up more ways to turn each encounter into a sandbox. You may just have to suffer through a few early stealth sections before you get there.
If you were hoping for a more approachable and interactive dive into the classic story of Journey to the West, Black Myth: Wukong will make you work for it. The few cutscenes bookending each chapter are fantastic, but too much of the lore and mythology is relegated to long text dumps in the menu. The game is punching far above its weight in visuals and boss variety, so anyone looking for a meaty quest that cuts the fat between visually spectacular boss battles will be more than satisfied. Just be willing to be patient as Black Myth: Wukong finds its pacing.
Cat Quest 3 wastes no time letting you board your ship and set sail on a lighthearted pirate adventure. Despite being mostly water, the world here is packed to the brim with charm and vigor. If it weren't for a forgettable main story and reused dungeon designs, this might've been the perfect answer for the current trend of RPG bloat. Even with those flaws, Cat Quest 3 kept me smiling through my entire playthrough. That's not something many games have done.
If you've played these titles before and think a competitive twist on them might be appealing, there's a lot to like about Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, despite the game's lack of content.
EA brought back Ben Haumiller who worked on the original NCAA series for a decade. To help build the game, they hired a team of guys who helped create NCAA Revamped, a modded-out version of NCAA Football 2014 that helped to keep the aging game alive. They worked with 134 teams to get every important facet of college football programs into the new game, including rebuilding every stadium for the new game. And they nailed every single detail.
Animal Well is a must-play if there has ever been one. The game should offer a great experience for fans of the Metroidvania genre and total newcomers to the genre alike. While it has many of the familiar trappings that have made the genre stick around for so long, it also adds something interesting and new with its setting and game mechanics.
Senua's Saga is a thoughtful and honest portrayal of living with psychosis. It highlights the good and the bad without talking down to the audience or miscasting mental health as something that needs to be "fixed." The narrative is no longer than it needs to be but is broken up by puzzles that don't challenge the player or reveal more about the character. Combat, while initially striking in its brutality, never evolves and cannot remain impactful for the entire duration. This is a game with a message I believe everyone could benefit from experiencing, but the path through it is not as smooth as it could be.
