This game felt like Breath of the Wild. Now I know that's the kind of hyperbole that gets thrown around all the time, but what I mean is this: I entered a new world ill-equipped to handle most of its challenges. Without clear direction, I explored in whatever direction I chose. I found incredible and exciting upgrades that opened the game up in new ways. I kept exploring and exploring and never got tired of it. Sometimes I got my butt kicked and had to try boss fights up to 10 times before finally winning. But it always felt amazing. Hollow Knight is the best game I've played so far in 2018. Recommend to anyone who's up for a challenge.
Serial Cleaner is a game in which you receive calls from a mysterious client who directs you to fresh crime scenes. Your job is to dispose of all bodies, retrieve evidence and weapons, and often to clean up blood that's been left behind. And it's fantastic. I love it so much. My wife and I play it together, passing off the controller when one of us gets caught. It's so fantastically intense. You know how it feels when you're running from those giant robots at the end of SteamWorld Dig 2? Or doing the Green Demon challenge in Super Mario 64? Or even just hiding from plain ol' Slenderman or FNAF robots? That delicious adrenaline as you plead with the game "PLEASE DON'T FIND ME PLEASE DON'T FIND ME PLEASE DON'T FIND ME"? That's this entire game. I've honestly never screamed so much at a game. Not in anger, more like: don't look at me don't look at me don't look at me don't look at me OH CRAP HE SAW ME NOOOOO RUN RUN RUN RUN It's easily one of my favorite games on the Switch right now. Though, YMMV because (for me, at least) a lot of the enjoyment comes from playing with someone. Not wanting to get caught so you don't have to give up the controller, screaming together, etc. I don't know if it's for everyone because it can be a little frustrating at times. But it's 100% fair. I've never felt like the game screwed me over or was unfair. If you're calm and analyze the movement patterns of the guards/cops that you need to avoid in each stage, you can make it through. Until you screw up and you scramble for cover like a panicked maniac. 9/10, would recommend to anyone who's interested after a cursory glance. Also, the main character's mom is such a sweetheart.
A brilliant story with fantastic graphics and acting. Unfortunately, the gameplay comes last. Uncharted 2 was incredible, but I feel like there was an aspect of novelty to it. Now that we've been around the block (or world) a few times with Drake, each shooting or climbing section feels overly familiar, almost like you've already played that exact part before. Also, this game initially feels like you're wearing someone else's way-too-strong glasses. Everything looks incredible when you're not moving at all. Then you turn your head and the whole world becomes a blurry mess. Do yourself a favor and immediately turn the Motion Blur all the way off. I have no idea why anyone thought that was a good thing to implement. If you've never played an Uncharted game before, I'd recommend you play 2 instead. However, coming into this without previous Uncharted experience is probably the best way to enjoy it.
This is one of those games that makes you feel smart more frequently than it makes you feel frustrated. Kind of like Portal or Snipperclips. The solutions are so intuitive (and sometimes deceptively simple) that you feel like you've outsmarted the game when you clear a stage.
A brilliant puzzle game! Oddly similarly to Breath of the Wild, there are multiple physics-based approaches to the same puzzle, and it's hilarious finding weird, convoluted ways to clear stages with a friend.
A couple of patches in, this runs really nicely. A great challenge and a great co-op experience. The different worlds and recipes provide just enough variety to keep it interesting, but it doesn't get so complex that you can't bring friends in for 4-player.
What I normally don't enjoy about tactical games is how they make you take a defensive approach. I feel like cover-based shooters have had an overall negative effect on this game. But this plays like the tactical equivalent of DOOM. Aggressive is best, and it's a blast to utilize everyone's different abilities to find the best way to destroy your opponent fast, before they have a chance to get to you.
A great follow-up to Steamworld Dig. It expands on the previous game and refines mechanics in ways that really enhance the experience. Some of the hardware upgrades you'll acquire feel like a godsend. My only criticism is that the optional final challenges (which you can access for 100%-ing the rest of the game) are INSANELY difficult. Until then, the game's difficulty level seemed perfect. Even watching people make it through the final challenges on YouTube, I couldn't manage some of them, as the controls must be very exact and precise. But that's not that big of a deal, as they're completely optional. If you ever enjoyed the first game or the old flash game Motherload, you should buy this game.
A lot of games have focused too much on story and too little on gameplay in recent years, and it gets to the point where you're often furiously mashing buttons in an attempt to skip cutscenes and get to the game already. King's Quest is mostly story and dialogue, but it pulls it off so fantastically that I loved every second of it. If you like fantasy settings or point-and-click adventures and are looking for something to play, this should be at the top of your list.
A fantastic ending to a great game. Everything from the previous 4 chapters is tied up nicely, and while it might be too "tidy" of a conclusion for some, I found it to be a genuinely emotional experience.
One of the happiest, simplest gaming experiences I've ever come across. Roll a ball until it's big enough to **** up buildings. Watch people panic and scream while catchy, happy-go-lucky music gets stuck in your head. If you're open to unconventional experiences in gaming, this is absolutely worth your time.
Quite different from other Lego games in terms of structure. The basic gameplay is still there, but you learn spells/abilities and have lots of small levels as opposed to 10-15 big ones. I nice change in pace if you play a lot of these.
The best version of one of the best Lego games. After playing on Wii U, the PS4 version plays like a dream. Not without its share of occasional glitches, but definitely solid.
Fantastic bunch of hilarious games for parties (or anytime there are 4 or more people in a room). Everyone uses a smartphone or tablet as a controller, so it’s easy to get non-gamers to play! If you're a fan of trivia or screwing with your friends, this is a great time.
Fantastic bunch of hilarious games for parties (or anytime there are 4 or more people in a room). Everyone uses a smartphone or tablet as a controller, so it’s easy to get non-gamers to play! All games support 8 players, except for Fakin’ It which caps it at 6. However, anyone else in the room can join in by being part of the “audience”, who gets to participate in most games by voting for their favorite answers. Quiplash 2: This is one is 100% about being funny. No game has made me laugh more. Laughs: 10/10 Competition: 8/10 Fakin’ It: This is the most difficult to grasp in terms of rules. You actually have to point and raise hands and fingers IRL, not just using your phones. However, it’s incredibly clever and a blast to play once everyone catches on. Laughs: 6/10 Competition: 9/10 Guesspionage: For fans of Family Feud. You guess what percentage of people gave a specific answer in a survey. Then everyone else says if you were too high or too low. Fun game, but don’t expect frequent chuckles. Laughs: 2/10 Competition: 7/10 Trivia Murder Party: This is my all-around favorite. A hilarious, sadistic voice is holding you all hostage and killing you off one by one as you fail at trivia, drawing, dice rolls, anything. It’s like a really dark, actually-enjoyable Mario Party for 8 players. Laughs: 9/10 Competition: 10/10 Tee K.O.: This is the weak entry. Everyone draws random drawings and writes random phrases. There are no prompts, so this will test everyone’s improv abilities. Then other people make shirts by combining those. So Person A submits a shirt with Person B’s drawing and Person C’s subtitle. It’s an okay premise. But then you vote on which shirts are best. This is where the game really suffers. You can vote for your own shirt if you want (so you probably will). Two shirts go head-to-head and the loser is replaced with a “New Challenger”. This usually leads to the new shirts being picked each time because of the novelty factor. But there is no point system, and those who drew the winning shirt or wrote the winning quote don’t get credited, it’s just the person who slapped two of them together who wins. It was a pretty unfulfilling game. Laughs: 5/10 Competition: 0/10 TL;DR: Quiplash 2 is a must. Trivia Murder Party is an incredible Mario Party for Adults. Fakin’ It is complex, but worth it. Guesspionage is a thinker’s game. Tee K.O. is very poorly executed.
Short but sweet. You can complete this game in a day easily. But it's a blast for the whole time! I'll never understand why Junichi Masuda is so against making a sequel to this game.
Just the right balance between simplicity and complexity. A lean, fantastic 3D platformer. While Tooie is better, you need to start here. And the soundtrack is one of the greatest of all time! Grant Kirkhope is incredible!
This game is weird. I loved the characters, the world and the dialogue. But nothing in the single-player game was... fun. Playing this game was like doing chores to get to the next cutscene. Watching someone else play through this game on YouTube ended up being more enjoyable than playing it myself.
You already know this is a great game. SO CALL IT THE RIGHT NAME! Too many people call this "Rouge Squadron" and not "Rogue". It's "ROAG" and not "ROOZH". They're rebels, not the French word for Red!
I really wanted to love this game. It's a perfect example of a love-it-or-hate-it title. There was simply nothing about the gameplay that I ended up enjoying. Watch some gameplay videos for a while and figure out if it appeals to you!
Great game at the time, but THPS3 and THAW improved so much on the formula that it's hard to come back to a time before Reverts. Playing this game now is like going back to Pop-Tarts after you've had a Toaster Strudel.
I grew up with Banjo-Kazooie. For some reason, I had a problem with Tooie because I thought it would be too different. I called BK my favorite game from 1999 to 2014. Then I finally decided to play Tooie, and I 100%-ed it. It was incredible. Everything BK can do, Tooie can do better. Then only issue is the framerate, as (like other Rare games) Tooie pushed the 64 to its limits. But don't let that worry you, it will never make the game seize up or anything. Play this game!
Nothing was more amazing than Goldeneye multiplayer back in the day. Now you should play Goldeneye Source if you get the chance, but if you can get used to the control scheme, this game still holds up, especially in terms of the campaign, which is plenty difficult.
I'm not an RPG guy. I really only get into Pokémon, and that doesn't really count as a traditional RPG. Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and The Elder Scrolls all bored me. But I decided to give Paper Mario a shot. What this game has that 99% of games don't have is CHARM. The character designs, the levels, the dialogue, the music, even the combat. It's all so freaking charming! Everything is so lovable!
I had never actually beaten this game until 2016, despite having played it briefly a few times since its release 20 years earlier. So even without copious amounts of nostalgia, this game grabbed hold of me and didn't let me go until I had 120 stars. The level of challenge is great. The analog stick makes this the only way to play this game. On Virtual Console the stick has a huge dead zone. On DS you have a D-pad and a touch screen. If you want to experience one of the greatest 3D platformers of all time, you have to do so on the 64.
When sports games are realistic, they're boring. Sports games are best when they're ridiculous. And there's nothing more ridiculous and amazing than having your lineman catch fire because he's consistently sacking the QB, then recover a turnover and sprint away dragging 3 or 4 opposing teammates behind him. Blitz is awesome. Blitz 2000 is the best in the franchise. Madden expects you to have 3 functions memorized for each button. Blitz is arcade style madness that only uses A, B and Z. AND YOU CAN TACKLE ANYONE. ANYTIME. Because screw pass interference.
This game gets compared to Mario Kart 64 a lot, but there are things that each game does better (and differently) than each other. While MK64 has better Battle Mode and the multiplayer racing is pretty equally good between them, the Adventure Mode in DKR is phenomenal. Alone or with a friend, you navigate the overworld and complete races and challenges and even fight bosses. MK64 is for multiplayer. DKR is for adventure.
Kirby games are often quite easy, as they are meant for all ages to enjoy. But this one is REALLY easy. It's hard to enjoy a game like this without a decent amount of challenge. This makes Lego games feel like Dark Souls.
This game improves on Pokémon Stadium in every way except one: You can't use the GB Tower speed boost on Gold, Silver or Crystal until AFTER clearing the Elite Four in that cartridge's save file. And you cannot transfer Pokémon from other games to a Gen II game until that game's save file has at least 150 mons in the Pokédex. It's a blast to plow through a Gen I game at 4x speed and beat everything in an afternoon, especially when you can transfer a team over from a different game and have a custom team from early on. But this capability was taken away from Gen II games, probably in an attempt to keep things fair in the competitive scene back in the day. It's kind of a crappy limitation, so you should be aware of it before putting dozens of hours into unlocking Dodrio mode like I did.
I have 100%-ed this game on three different occasions (2000, 2008 and 2016). As a kid 17 years ago, I was enamored with everything about this game. Every single music track stuck with me, courtesy of the incredible Grant Kirkhope. The level designs were so unique and thought-out that I could still remember where everything was years later. The characters are endearing and now my toddler is obsessed with Chunky and Tiny Kong. This game mostly holds up, but assigning 100 bananas and tons of coins to specific Kongs does lead to some annoying backtracking. Creepy Castle does the best job with colored bananas by mainly using them as paths to Golden Bananas, instead of scattered randomly through the level. Some of the barrel minigames are pretty brutal (I'm looking at you, Beaver Bother) but all in all, the game is a success.
A fantastic game by all means, but not the greatest Mario Kart game (MK8 says hi). The battle mode is where it's at. We have never had better battle maps than Block Fort or Double Deck.
This is a pretty rough game. The controls are not nearly as precise as other entries in the series, which can ruin a racing game with just that. Visually it's not bad for the GBA, but it's frustrating to play.
BK and BT are two of my favorite games ever. This game was pretty disappointing. It's quite difficult to control or tell where you're going, which is kind of important for a platformer, and the tasks/objectives are pretty simple and boring.
I normally don't enjoy RPGs, but I gave Paper Mario a shot and adored it. I then played TTYD and loved every minute of it. So a friend recommended Superstar Saga. I really wanted to love this game. But it just wasn't enjoyable. The dialogue was FANTASTIC, and I loved the story. But the gameplay was far too tedious to justify playing through the game just to get to the story.
As a die-hard Pokémon fan, I really wanted to love this game. I heard tons of good stuff about it and had never played a PMD game before. But it turned out to just be randomized busywork and LOTS of dialogue. I played for 5 hours waiting for it to get fun. It never got fun.
The definition of a hidden gem. Great controls, story, level design, abilities, etc. All the different psychic abilities are a blast to use, especially when you get to possess people! Play this game!
Play it for the Tank game and the Duck Hunt ripoff. Maybe the table tennis? Everything else is pretty boring. If it's cheap, it's worth trying out with a friend.
This is bad. This is really bad. Riding in cars together takes away some of the direct competition of maneuvering the board independently, racing to get stars. Booooooo. When Mario Party comes to the Switch, it needs to be good again.
The controls are love-em-or-hate-em. If you take an hour or two to really focus on the nuances of the motion controls (small gestures, not giant swinging), you'll fall in love with this game. The puzzles and enemies are unlike any other game because of how precise and fantastic the sword controls are. It's linear, but that aids the story. Also, the characters and side quests make this world a fantastic one to live in!
The worst console Mario Kart game. Whether you're steering with motion controls or with a nunchuk, the controls are floaty and leave a lot to chance. There is NO co-op Grand Prix mode, something MK8 thankfully fixed, which is a huge problem. Mario Kart games are fun for multiplayer, but the most fun for me was always playing through the game with a friend and unlocking everything. The biggest shame is how much there is to unlock. There's a ton of it! It's fantastic! And you have to unlock characters like Funky Kong by doing genuinely difficult things! MK8 and Smash 4 have gone to the opposite end of the unlocking spectrum and practically give you everything, which I really don't like. So it's a shame that there's so much cool stuff to unlock in such a crappy Mario Kart game!!
After all the hype, I really wanted to love this game. The world is inviting, your horse is rad, and your character seems more like a real person (he stumbles!) than the normal invincible superhuman you play as in video games. And giant monsters. But this game just made me depressed. After 3 or 4 Colossuses (Colossi?), I really just didn't want to kill them anymore. I liked these things! Man, this game just made me feel dead inside. Had to stop after #7.
The most fantastic online shooter I've ever played. The introductions of loadouts and more customization made this a fantastic game to play online with friends sitting on the couch with you. Such a shame Halo 5 got rid of split-screen online.
Sometimes frustratingly difficult, but it feels SO GOOD when you finally solve those puzzles. A genius and thought-provoking platformer. A memorable creepy vibe with a great ending.
There's a LOT of Tolkien packed into this game. The way it uses movies' dialogue in creative ways is hilarious. And it feels SOOOO GOOOD to play as Sauron.
The worst version of one of the best Lego games. Lego LOTR is incredible, but I didn't know that until I sold my Wii version and tried it on PS3 instead. 360 and PC are also good options, this is a great game, just don't play Lego games on the Wii! The controls make it a chore to play.
This game is all about diminishing returns. It's hilarious and fantastic at first, but the zany, over-the-top zombie slaughter gets old pretty quick. Unless you're a die-hard zombie fan or a hack-n-slash connoisseur, I'd pass on this one. Watching the Game Grumps playthrough is much more entertaining than actually playing.
The best Lego game and the best Marvel game. A great co-op experience with LOTS to do. Bonus Deadpool levels give you a reason to actually find all the gold bricks, which is a nice touch.
This game doesn't hold up. I'm a massive Star Wars fan and I enjoy just about every Lego game. While this was a great start for the franchise, it's pretty simple and kind of boring compared to later entries. Play Lego The Force Awakens or Lego Lord of the Rings or Lego Marvel Super Heroes instead!
Played Rayman 1 as a kid, loved it. Played Rayman 2 as a teenager, loved it. Played Origins and Legends as an adult, loved 'em. Finally got around to playing this, aaaaaaaand... This is the weak link in the main Rayman series. It's fine, but there's nothing remarkable about it.
Fantastic bunch of hilarious games for parties (or anytime there are 4 or more people in a room). Everyone uses a smartphone or tablet as a controller, so it’s easy to get non-gamers to play! All games support 8 players, except for Fakin’ It which caps it at 6. However, anyone else in the room can join in by being part of the “audience”, who gets to participate in most games by voting for their favorite answers. Quiplash 2: This is one is 100% about being funny. No game has made me laugh more. Laughs: 10/10 Competition: 8/10 Fakin’ It: This is the most difficult to grasp in terms of rules. You actually have to point and raise hands and fingers IRL, not just using your phones. However, it’s incredibly clever and a blast to play once everyone catches on. Laughs: 6/10 Competition: 9/10 Guesspionage: For fans of Family Feud. You guess what percentage of people gave a specific answer in a survey. Then everyone else says if you were too high or too low. Fun game, but don’t expect frequent chuckles. Laughs: 2/10 Competition: 7/10 Trivia Murder Party: This is my all-around favorite. A hilarious, sadistic voice is holding you all hostage and killing you off one by one as you fail at trivia, drawing, dice rolls, anything. It’s like a really dark, actually-enjoyable Mario Party for 8 players. Laughs: 9/10 Competition: 10/10 Tee K.O.: This is the weak entry. Everyone draws random drawings and writes random phrases. There are no prompts, so this will test everyone’s improv abilities. Then other people make shirts by combining those. So Person A submits a shirt with Person B’s drawing and Person C’s subtitle. It’s an okay premise. But then you vote on which shirts are best. This is where the game really suffers. You can vote for your own shirt if you want (so you probably will). Two shirts go head-to-head and the loser is replaced with a “New Challenger”. This usually leads to the new shirts being picked each time because of the novelty factor. But there is no point system, and those who drew the winning shirt or wrote the winning quote don’t get credited, it’s just the person who slapped two of them together who wins. It was a pretty unfulfilling game. Laughs: 5/10 Competition: 0/10 TL;DR: Quiplash 2 is a must. Trivia Murder Party is an incredible Mario Party for Adults. Fakin’ It is complex, but worth it. Guesspionage is a thinker’s game. Tee K.O. is very poorly executed.
