Sonic x Shadow Generations is a love letter to the fans and the definitive Sonic title. It combines an already beloved title and builds upon its foundations to create a fluid, fast, and fun experience that can only be described as the best Sonic game to date. All we need now is a new Chao Garden.
Taito Milestones 2 features a great assortment of games, but presented with absolutely no historical context or any real reason to buy this collection instead of just buying Arcade Archives releases individually. After the criticism the first Milestones faced fit the exact same thing, that’s a disappointing result.
That limited scope, while understandable for an indie team working with a presumably modest budget and not wanting to bite off more than they can chew, nonetheless takes some of the wind out of Flutter Away’s sails. That aside, this is still an enjoyable game that largely succeeds in its goal of creating a relaxing, soothing atmosphere that you can use to unwind, whether that’s by ticking off simple objectives and seeing a cute story unfold through them, or just taking a moment to bask in the serenity.
As I said, each game included here is a lot of fun in its own right—if you just want to jam some good, classic shmups, or maybe revisit an old arcade favourite, you’re in good hands here. But as is often the case with a collection like this, the story that unfolds when you have a whole series presented side-by-side in one package can be a fascinating one. With Ray’z Arcade Chronology, that story is the way Taito took a nifty concept—RayForce’s two-layer combat—and turned it into a particularly creative, experimental approach to the shift to 3D graphics.
While Labyrinth of Zangetsu does a lot with a little, it can suffer from its limited scope at times, too. It’s a relatively brief outing, as dungeon crawlers go, which isn’t inherently a bad thing—as a time-poor parent, I appreciate the brevity—but it also means that the game struggles to push its ideas to their full potential. Even with a variety of classes and the option to multiclass, their rudimentary designs can limit options for creative character and party builds. Labyrinth designs are consistently great, but it still feels like there’s untapped potential in the various gimmicks and traps that the game introduces.
Bricklandia is a wonderful setting to explore, and it’s clear that the level designers in particular have gone all out in dreaming up the most playful LEGO world they could imagine. Decent kart racing and an abundance of the goofy sense of humour that’s become a defining aspect of LEGO media bring said world to life, and the car building tools introduce an unexpected amount of depth for dedicated builders. Monetisation and open-world fatigue hold 2K Drive back from greatness, but for kids of all ages with some time to kill, it’s a lot of fun.
Despite its numerous towering accomplishments, chief amongst them an atmospheric, multilayered open world with staggering environment variety and expertly calculated level design that encourages its many thrills, Tears of the Kingdom’s real strength lies not in what it achieves but in what it reveals itself to be: a reflection of the player’s intuition and creative spirit. As a result, the experience shines not on its lonesome but with the player in tow, their shared Legend destined to be remembered as one of gaming’s very best.
Like I said at the start, I can’t tell you how well (or not) the Resident Evil 4 remake compares to the iconic original—plenty of people far more qualified than me have already done that. But as someone getting their first taste of Leon’s encounter with Los Illuminados in this latest release, Resident Evil 4 hits every mark: a finely-tuned balance between action and survival horror, both tense and exciting, with an intriguing story and a degree of craftsmanship that few other third-person shooters can match.
The Switch version of Super Meat Boy Forever was an underappreciated gem, in part because of people writing it off for “feeling like a mobile game”. That simplicity was always one of its strengths, though, and the jump to mobile makes that clearer than ever.
Comparisons to Vampire Survivors are inevitable, and while Void Scrapper doesn’t quite hit the same highs, it’s an impressive effort that puts its own little twist on the latest genre du jour.
