Uh… Hm. This might be a damning way to open a review, but not every games needs to set your loins alight. I think a game industry where every title is tripping over each other in an attempt to be the most meaningful experience you have had would be pretty miserable. Developers should have fun with the creative process. It should be fulfilling to them. Otherwise, we’d just be getting our entertainment from workers on an assembly line. That’s not how art works.

This might be obvious, but I say that because Orbo’s Odyssey did not combust my crotch. I played it because I like the cut of the developer’s jib. Feverdream Johnny is probably best known for their work on Nowhere, MI. They’ve partnered with Ben Drury for this sort of spin-off or sequel to Peeb Adventures. So, I guess I’m here to spectate the creative process rather than have my genitals gelatinized. With that said, it’s still a fun time.

[caption id="attachment_398697" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Orbo's Odyssey (PC)
Developer: Feverdream Softworks
Publisher: Feverdream Softworks
Released: August 21, 2023
MSRP: $6.99

Orbo’s Odyssey opens with the eponymous meeple getting locked in their boss’s office along with Peeb. The door isn’t locked, but neither of them has arms, so they can’t work the doorknob. I can think of a few ways around this issue, but they decide the only two options are to either wait for the boss to come to the office (which he never does, typical manager) or use a device to craft a prosthetic arm capable of manipulating a door. I guess they don’t have buttcheeks, either.

They need to collect little Gear Parts that are conveniently located in product portals found in the boss’s office. So, you’ve got a little problem, a little hubworld, and Orbo’s Odyssey is a little platformer. It’s a micro-collect-a-thon. There are five gears in each world, and it takes a little over an hour to complete.

Or maybe I’m just amazing. I was told the controls are easy to learn and hard to master, but I had it down from the word "go." Actually, maybe I was just told that so I’d feel good about myself. In that case, it worked.

https://youtu.be/Ty8SJzoRNo0?feature=shared

Adventure vs. Odyssey

Beyond running and jumping, you can launch yourself through the air like a rocket. This is the big concept to wrap your head around, as while there’s more to Orbo’s Odyssey than just going ballistic, it’s all centered around your jet speed. There are time trials, puzzles, and battles, but they’re mostly all solved by ramming your head into them.

The real appeal is in the dreamlike visuals. Well, I say “dreamlike,” but my dreams usually involve a lot more noodles. Feverdream Softworks seems to dream about Draculas and businessmen. Their dreamworld is an awful little place where an unconvincing façade and awful corporate culture mix into something inhuman and alienating. Especially when you factor in all the house music that plays overtop.

There’s a lot of screwing around to be had. Scouring environments reveals a lot of strange displays, making it feel almost like a wax museum or an I Spy book.

If you look hard enough, you can see some of Feverdream Johnny’s trademark nightmarish existentialism. This possibly ties into the greeted Feverdream universe, but I can’t claim to be intimately familiar enough to know for sure. Standing apart, it’s mostly just confirmation that your discomfort is warranted. It reminds you that it might not be raining, but you're standing thigh-deep in a leech-filled swamp. It’s the good stuff.

[caption id="attachment_398698" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Box quote

Because of its brevity and whimsical apathy, it’s hard to really give a lot of feedback on Orbo’s Odyssey. It neither disappointed nor exceeded expectations. I doubt I’ll be doing an annual playthrough, but I’ll still be there for Feverdream Softworks’ next game. It’s not that expensive, and it’s maybe healthier for you than eating an entire bucket of ice cream by yourself. Hold on, I can do better. Here’s a good box quote:

“Orbo’s Odyssey is an adequate reason to put your fingers all over your mouse and keyboard.”

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Orbo’s Odyssey appeared first on Destructoid.

I’m not above being lured in by aesthetic. Draft of Darkness hooked me in with its grainy, pixelated photo manipulation. It looks like a tacky game that followed in the wake of Mortal Kombat. In fact, it would fit right in alongside titles that pushed the limits of tastefulness back in the ‘90s. It’s hypnotic.

In my experience, a well-executed aesthetic can be indicative not necessarily of a game’s quality, but of its inventiveness. Not always, but sometimes. My favorite type of game is one where the developers fucked around and found out. However, that methodology doesn’t always result in an appealing game.

Draft of Darkness is so well-executed in its mechanics that it makes them seem accidental. Aesthetics aside, everything I’ve seen surrounding the game makes it out to be this quiet little project by a solo developer. But when you get into it, you find a well-tuned machine. Yet, while I find myself captivated by it, there is one unavoidable flaw that I think is going to be very divisive for a lot of people: its roguelite backbone.

[caption id="attachment_398531" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Draft of Darkness (PC)
Developer: Crawly Games
Publisher: Crawly Games
Released: August 23, 2023
MSRP: $14.99

Dungeons and daggers

In Draft of Darkness, you pick a survivor from an ever-growing list of them. Each one is proficient with their own type of combat, from the knife-wielding Cara to the Chainsaw-swinging Rene. Each one plays extremely differently.

Draft of Darkness is a deckbuilder roguelite, but it plays a lot like a tabletop RPG. Or rather, it plays like a TTRPG if the GM had lost the will to live and was holding you hostage in a ‘90s metal music video. While your abilities in combat are controlled by the hand of cards you’re dealt, it’s backed by an abilities stat system and heavily reliant on resources you gather. If you’re carrying a chainsaw, you need fuel. If you’re carrying a shotgun, you need shotgun food.

Beyond that, the exploration system feels like something a dungeon master would draw out on grid paper. Each one is randomly generated upon entry and filled with a variety of encounters. They take place in an apartment building, in a factory, or on the streets, but they’re all very much dungeons. Your goal in each on is to try and gather power and resources for your party, then find the boss and escape to the next dungeon.

https://youtu.be/9sZE1xr7wvI

Smack the deck

Despite relying on the luck of the draw to give you a good hand, the combat is extremely deep and nuanced. While characters rely on sparse resources to use their strongest attacks, they always have a weaker alternative. The chainsaw maniac, for example, can deal an incredible amount of damage very quickly but is reliant on gasoline. She can still pull off some powerful attacks without starting her engine, which is best to do on weaker opponents.

Usually, you just want to start eating into your resources when the cards start looking stacked against you, like on bosses. However, there are characters who don’t require resources, like the knife wielders. For them, they can focus on critical hits and combos, but with Cara I liked to rely heavily on the bleeding status effect.

There are a lot of nuanced status effects, and playing certain cards in sequence can give you a huge advantage. There is a tonne of strategy from building your deck carefully so you can exploit even the most unfavorable of hand.

[caption id="attachment_398532" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Feed the TV

To progress through the actual story, however, you need to trigger various encounters. It can take multiple playthroughs and attempts before you gain any ground in the narrative. This is where I think Draft of Darkness is going to miss the connection with a lot of people. It is, at heart, a very slow and methodical game, and that doesn’t really click with the roguelite mentality.

It’s a game that asks you to be very careful about your strategy and resources, and then even when you do so, it’s possible to hit the jagged rocks of a difficult encounter. Since so much of the game is random and there’s very little wiggle room, it’s very easy to get your bones crushed between a rock and a hard place. And that can mean losing hours of progress with very little to show for it.

Specifically, a “complete” run can take three hours. If I wasn’t dying at the beginning from resource starvation, I was dying at the end from sheer blunt-force boss trauma. You’re always given tokens to spend at a store that allows you to unlock additional perks. Otherwise, you'll make progress through the various encounters that unlock characters. The store can allow you to customize your starter deck, but you’re largely starting from square one each time you start over. There are few advantages to be had.

[caption id="attachment_398533" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

It's time for plan B

To be fair, Draft of Darkness has an easy mode to help reduce the likelihood of sudden death. If it was such a big problem for me, I don’t know why I didn’t use it. Pride, I guess.

I feel like this is a game that doesn’t benefit from its roguelite trappings. I feel like a more round-based dungeon approach would have suited it better. Complete a map, and move on to the next one.

The mysterious narrative does make good use of the repeated playthroughs, however. The story involves the spread of something called “Darkness” which is used rather nebulously. Sometimes it sounds like a technology, other times a disease, and then others it just sounds like an abstract concept. It goes into a lot of detail without ever being clear on what it’s talking about. The Darkness really just seems to be all of the worst qualities of humanity lumped together. Good intentions marred by greed and paranoia. The inescapable need for progress and prestige. The disgusting aesthetics certainly suit the theme.

[caption id="attachment_398534" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Let the fists speak!

Despite the heartbreak from lost progress, I found myself glued each time I picked up Draft of Darkness. To be clear, you can always quit whenever you want and pick up where you left off. Throughout the review period, I preferred to sit down at the start of the evening and let myself get absorbed in the tacky, rusty visuals. Preferably with a nice greasy slice of pizza to really make things feel like living in the ‘90s.

I say that its successes feel almost accidental, but I know that it’s not true. Draft of Darkness is the result of a lot of careful prototyping and development, as well as inspiration from games like Slay the Spire. Crawly is clearly a developer who knows how to use feedback to create a tighter product.

While I think that the roguelite format is a hindrance on Draft of Darkness overall and will probably be the breaking point for a lot of people, I can’t get past my fascination for the game. While writing this review, I made the mistake of starting the game to make sure I had a few facts straight and started a new run. One hour later, I realized I was supposed to be writing, and had to quite painfully tear myself away. Even right now, Draft of Darkness is just minimized onto my taskbar, lurking and waiting for me to finish my job so it can capture my attention again.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Draft of Darkness appeared first on Destructoid.

My history with Armored Core started with the very first game on PlayStation. I was enamored by the cover the enticing giant mech on it; and kept it close while I experienced a whole slate of robot-based oddities like G-Nome, and Heavy Gear. From then on, I sought out every subsequent entry, until I finally put it together that From Software – who had also provided me with hours of entertainment with the King's Field series – was responsible for it all. By the time Demon's Souls came out the studio was a worldwide household name, but they were killing it before Souls changed the industry.

With a pedigree like that, you can see why so many people hold Armored Core in such high regard; so I'm happy to report that Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon keeps that legacy going.

[caption id="attachment_398039" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Released: August 25, 2023
MSRP: $59.99

Just so that you're current, let's take a deep dive into the Fires of Rubicon lore: Coral is a substance that leads to unprecedented technological advancements. Until it doesn't, and there's a massive fire that destroys everything. Following that, there's a recovery period populated with corps and mercs (that's you!), which is where you come in.

You're caught up! No literally, you're caught up.

That's pretty much all the background you need on Armored Core 6, as the crux of the experience lies with earning money, and buying/mixing/matching parts to form your custom-curated machine of destruction. The narrative goes in circles sometimes (especially with some of the listless pre-mission banter), but it's enough to propel you forward into more mech-based combat and keep you guessing. But really, the world of Rubicon 3 is a fascinating character in its own right. All of the biomes you'll adventure through (whether it's a product of artifice or natural beauty) are fascinating to witness, to the point where I'd definitely be interested in seeing more of this specific universe at some point.

Mission variety generally errs on the side of killing, but there are a few forked paths (in-mission) to follow on occasion, and the environments are varied enough to help funnel you into constant action. While some sandboxes are a little too corralled for my tastes, the illusion of freedom is enough, because of how dang good everything looks. On the flip side, the game's invisible barriers do help prevent mission locations from becoming pointlessly big and barren.

It really helps that Armored Core 6 is absolutely gorgeous. From Software's art department has been putting in work worthy of art books for decades, but they really outdid themselves here. One of the very first missions looked like something I haven't seen in any game this year, and helped cement the fact that this is an unforgiving universe that will crush you on a moment's notice, even if you are piloting a huge killing machine that looks like it came straight out of an anime.

[caption id="attachment_398049" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

What I like most about Armored Core 6 is how everything feels like a puzzle: from mech construction in the hangar to moment-to-moment combat in the thick of it, when you're managing your boost meter every so slightly to ensure you have enough to dodge a massive blast coming your way. The quick aerial boost system ties everything together. By pressing a button (Square on PlayStation), you can sacrifice a quick bar of boost to instantly dodge. This can be chained in numerous ways (including weaving it together through a boost dash, even in the air), but all of this finesse is governed by a boost meter.

It really is like a ballet, and you're in control of both the precise movements and the overarching song. If you like tanky builds, you can craft a giant literal tank tread mech that sacrifices maneuverability for staying power. Glass cannon builds are a cinch to create, as are speedsters who zip around and manually dodge everything the game can throw at them. Once you're done tinkering, you need to actually put your creation to the test and figure out the ins and outs of that particular build.

Boss battles are where everything really shines. The variety on offer is frankly overwhelming, from tiny little Kitfox-like creations that zoom about, to foes who can employ active camo, to gigantic monstrosities that can deal a ton of damage in a single shot. I found myself constantly on my toes, having to learn and relearn how I thought my mech worked and push it to the limit. That's exactly the kind of feeling you want in a game like this, where you get to see the fruits of your labor up close and personal.

If you're worried that Armored Core 6 will be insurmountable because you've never played an AC game before (or any mech games, for that matter), don't be. There are a number of levels that From Software has pulled to ensure that you won't be completely locked out, including a full checkpoint system. While you can go for an S-Rank and finesse missions all you want, dying right before a boss, in nearly every instance, will allow you to restart from a closeby checkpoint.

[caption id="attachment_398050" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Going a step further, you can even reconfigure your build from the garage in this checkpoint menu, which feels like a pretty big lifeline for a From Software project. For folks who have limited time to play games, this will be a Godsend, but it's also nice that you're able to repeat missions for cash or have a go at the arena (quick CPU battles). There is a PVP system (co-op is not present at all in any form), but I wasn't able to test it.

From Software also accounted for this with the timed unlock of specific mechanics. You won't be able to fully customize your mech from the start. Rather, you'll need to finish a few basic missions before you can purchase parts, customize them, and spec into specific builds (like kinetic or energy-based damage). You'll also unlock fully-constructed blueprints of mechs that you can use for testing, without fear of "screwing up a build" or overspending.

I was a bit skeptical that From Software would find a way to make Armored Core relevant again after a lengthy hiatus, but they figured it out. The spark of the series is still very much alive without giving up its soul and making it something else entirely, and a new generation will be able to appreciate why these games were so venerated. Just be ready to tinker a bit, and take some Ls.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher, and deals with the single player portion of the game.]}

The post Review: Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon appeared first on Destructoid.

Quantum probably isn’t the first game that comes to mind when you think of the golden years of the arcade. The 1982 vector cabinet, designed by Betty Ryan, has maybe a less exciting concept than Asteroids or Centipede. In fact, the first time I played it was part of the Atari 50 collection.

Atari and Sneakybox’s Recharged line of titles aren’t leaving anything by the side of the road, however, as Quantum: Recharged is the newest release. Surprisingly, it’s low-key one of my favorites. I’ve never been a massive fan of score-chasing arcade titles, and that hasn’t changed with the Recharged games. I prefer games with a bit of progression to them, and there’s more of that in titles like Gravitar: Recharged. However, the simple and fast design of Quantum really sucked me in.

[caption id="attachment_397197" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Quantum: Recharged (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Switch)
Developer: SneakyBox
Publisher: Atari
Released: August 17, 2023
MSRP: $9.99

I need to stress that Quantum: Recharged is a rather small game. There’s no ending screen, there isn’t a tonne of modes, and your only real long-term goal is to climb the leaderboards. It’s at its best in short bursts. Even better, if you already own some of the Recharged games, it can be fun to sort of visit each of them in a row, like you might at an actual arcade. Just don’t expect it to sponge up your entire afternoon unless it really, really clicks hard for you.

Quantum Recharged is a rather simple game. You control a small… thing. Your goal is to create “dead zones” on the playing field to eliminate other… things. You do this by drawing an enclosed loop. Also, don’t touch anything that didn’t come out of you, because you’ll die.

The original Quantum required you to enclose an enemy in your loop, but for Recharged, dead zones stay on screen for a short while, and anything that crosses into one is eliminated. This means that you don’t have to enclose an enemy. You can simply anticipate your foe’s movements and drop a trap.

Your life bar can be filled to withstand up to three hits. There are a variety of enemies that move and attack in different ways. The goal of the game is to survive while building up your score. And that’s all there really is to it.

https://youtu.be/Tm3zhWvCOWk

Retro-pop

There’s a mission mode, but it seems that Sneakybox couldn’t really think of much else in terms of objectives beyond “defeat all the enemies.” However, it’s the closest thing to the progression we really get (beyond achievements), and there’s a separate leaderboard for your accumulated mission score. Even if it isn’t really much of a new way to play Quantum: Recharged, it’s not without its value.

However, there was something about the core gameplay that I really enjoyed. As I said, I don’t typically get too into score-rush games, but the Recharged titles are a decent take on the formula. Between the rippling neon visuals and the synthetic soundtrack (composed by Megan McDuffee of River City Girls fame), there was a lot keeping me glued. I kept learning new strategies and techniques in each run that made me want to try again immediately.

[caption id="attachment_397198" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Climbing the leaderboards

The PR person for Atari figured it would take me 2 hours to get deep enough into Quantum: Recharged to form a review. However, I wound up playing quite a while after it. I ended up chasing the high score on the sparsely populated pre-release leaderboards. Right now, I’m kind of itching to check if anyone has topped my record in the hours since the release day.

Quantum: Recharged didn’t set my world on fire, nor do I think it was really expected to. It’s a revival of an old formula intended to sit alongside the rest of the Recharged series. If you’ve already been following the series, you probably already know you’ll enjoy it. Otherwise, you can skip over it and not really miss much, but it’s definitely worth trying out. You might find yourself getting sucked in, at least for a little while.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Quantum: Recharged appeared first on Destructoid.

In my eyes, Blasphemous 2 is a story of redemption.

Throughout the blighted lands in this sequel, you will find no shortage of denizens hoping to be redeemed. Condemned to often dark, grisly fates by the entity called the Miracle, these people graciously accept their punishments, hoping that their pain will absolve them of sin. Similarly, Blasphemous 2 strikes me as a game that wants to absolve itself from its predecessor’s shortcomings. I briefly played Blasphemous before taking on this review, but I honestly couldn’t get into it. I felt the combat was stiff, the platforming was aggravating, and the story absolutely did not grab me with its ornate, often vague prose.

On two of those counts, Blasphemous 2 marks an inspired improvement. In a world where even Mickey Mouse needs a Metroidvania, games of this genre require absolute excellence to stand out. I didn’t expect Blasphemous 2 to give me the same highs as all-time genre greats like Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, but that’s exactly how I felt playing much of this one. Blasphemous 2 truly shines with the love of its creators.

It's unfortunate, then, that this otherwise immaculate sequel didn’t completely cleanse itself of the first game’s sins. But I must admit that where I see imperfections, Blasphemous fans may find profound beauty instead.

Blasphemous 2 (PC [Reviewed], PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: The Game Kitchen
Publisher: Team17
Released: August 24, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

[caption id="attachment_397051" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Free will

Our story kicks off after the original Blasphemous’ Wounds of Evertide update. Set against the backdrop of dark religious imagery, our hero, the Penitent One, must battle through enemies both fierce and grotesque as they unravel a new mystery surrounding the Miracle. That said, I found the tone of Blasphemous 2 was established more by the first major choice players make.

Blasphemous 2 presents one of three weapons to bring into battle. You have the balanced option in the sword Ruego Al Alba, which should feel familiar to fans of Blasphemous. But players who prefer a nimbler option can instead opt for the Sarmiento & Centella rapiers, which rewards evasive dashing and consistent attacks. And then there’s my mainstay throughout the adventure, the Veredicto. As a Claimh Solais wielder in Dawn of Sorrow, I felt right at home with this huge ball-and-chain. Its wide attack arc makes it great for aerial enemies, but the longer animations and lack of a block button makes your positioning especially important during boss battles.

I love how Blasphemous 2 lets players tackle combat with their own playstyle. While you do eventually collect each weapon to switch between later on, I never felt like I had to use one specific weapon to win. Even in fast, fierce boss battles which looked impossible without a dedicated block button, I still found ways to dodge and deal damage with the Veredicto. I will say I didn’t find much use for the Sarmiento & Centella rapiers, as they play a bit too similarly to the Ruego Al Alba. But I’m willing to bet some players will absolutely tear the game apart using them.

[caption id="attachment_397052" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The valley of the shadow of death

The weapons don’t just add nice variety to the combat; they expand the level design too. As you make your way through the game, you’ll encounter gimmicks that use each weapon in unique ways. For example, you can hit large bells with the Veredicto that send out shockwaves that make platforms appear for a limited amount of time. Or you can stab mirrors with the Sarmiento & Centella to instantly launch a short distance in a specific direction.

This doesn’t sound like a lot on paper, but Blasephemous 2 uses these concepts to create some great platforming sections between battles. More than a few sequences actually require flipping through your weapons in rapid succession to interact with their gimmicks. I never got bored of these moments, and they’re a remarkable improvement over the platforming sections I saw in Blasphemous.

Exploration also feels great in general due to the infusion of new progression systems. Like before, you can find rosary beads and similar equipment that can grant certain passives. However, Blasphemous 2 adds Marks of Martyrdom, which functionally work like skill points. Whenever you earn one, you can invest them into your weapons to strengthen them, or expand your carrying capacity for Altarpieces that can help you specialize your playstyle. You’ll find Marks both from exploration and an EXP bar that fills while fighting enemies, which gives combat more meaning without overwriting the impact of exploration.

Blasphemous 2 does a fantastic job of dishing out meaningful upgrades without undermining its own difficulty. I always felt like the battles in front of me required skill over grinding, no matter how strong my character was at any moment. Which is good, because the challenge in Blasphemous 2 is well worth savoring.

[caption id="attachment_397053" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Gnashing of teeth

Virtually every enemy in Blasphemous 2 is a delight to take down. Most foes have distinct attacks and movement patterns, so you can’t steamroll the game with one surefire tactic. At the same time, I never felt bogged down by tanky, annoying enemies. This is a delicate balance that many Metroidvanias stumble on, so it’s refreshing to see Blasphemous 2 handle it so well.

Similarly, almost all the boss fights were an absolute joy to play. For most encounters, I often found myself getting slapped hard at first. However, incoming attacks always have clear telegraphs you can watch out for, so repeated attempts felt like opportunities to learn from my mistakes. I typically took down bosses within three attempts, usually stomping them hard once I mastered their quirks.

Blasphemous 2 consistently gave me that hard game rush without ever really feeling like a hard game. It’s a challenge, especially if you aren’t well-versed in this genre, but I never felt particularly frustrated. At the same time, victory always gave me that “heck yes!” feeling. I will say the game does weirdly dip in challenge shortly after the midpoint. It gates a few upgrade systems despite letting you find their applicable items throughout the adventure, so bosses right after this big stat jump for me didn’t have quite the bite that prior bosses did. Fortunately, the game does come back around near the end, with some especially great encounters near the final act.

[caption id="attachment_397054" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Walking by faith

The only piece of Blasphemous 2 that I never quite fully got on board with is its storytelling. Before I go any further, I will acknowledge that anyone who enjoyed piecing together Blasphemous’ lore will almost certainly enjoy Blasphemous 2. Vague, minimalist stories like this are often divisive, and I'm just not a fan of them. If my thoughts don’t resonate with you in this regard, take these words with a grain of salt. The story is still framed as a key part of Blasphemous 2 though, so it did impact my overall experience.

Blasphemous 2 makes no effort to catch anyone up if they didn’t finish Blasphemous and its Wounds of Eventide update. If you don’t know what the Miracle is going into this one, good luck. And even if you do, Blasphemous 2 strikes me as a game that expects you to only know what’s going on after its intended community solves it. All the dialogue is incredibly wordy, often saying in 15 words what could have been said in five. I followed the broad strokes just fine, but so much between the big story beats just felt meaningless.

That said, I eventually wondered if that feeling of meaningless was the point of Blasphemous 2. I don’t need to tell you that this game leans heavily on its religious imagery, and against that backdrop, it does make sense that everyone talks like they’re reading scripture. Yet in a world in which so many of its denizens attribute their meaning to the Miracle, my protagonist succeeded in spite of it. I charted my course through these lands, I acquired power through my own actions, and I decided how to use the prayers and rosary beads I found along the way. My play experience was at direct odds with the other characters, which made their dark fates all the more pitiable.

In short, my take away from Blasphemous 2 wasn’t necessarily a religious commentary. Instead, I interpreted it as a story of agency versus submission. That’s not the deepest theme to focus on, but it did kind of work for me on that level.

[caption id="attachment_397055" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The ends didn’t justify the means

Though I felt happy with this interpretation, I still think the story's execution is a bit at odds with itself. For reference, when FromSoftware does vague, minimalist storytelling, I generally think it works because it mostly stays in the background. It’s there for the lore folks to unpack, but it otherwise kind of blends in with the atmosphere.

Blasphemous 2, meanwhile, gives its story a bit more prominence. The plot is presented like you’re already invested without ever making an effort to draw players in. For example, one secret I found late in the game hit me with a horror stinger sound effect, like I just discovered something that should blow my mind. Yet while I grasped the implications, I just didn’t really care. It made the moment feel weirdly comical for me, even though that clearly wasn't the intention.

Honestly, I could forgive that on its own. But for as consistently fun and engaging as Blasphemous 2 was for me, I felt really underwhelmed by the end. I won't say more than that for spoilers sake, though the final act did have one standout moment for me. I wanted to compensate for this by doubling back and exploring to get that sweet 100% completion. But after chasing down clues and wondering how the heck to uncover secrets in rooms that apparently hid them, I realized I could be doing literally anything else with my time. So my time with Blasphemous 2 kind of ended on a whimper, but that fortunately didn't ruin the experience.

[caption id="attachment_397056" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

A book of revelation

I want to reiterate that these hang-ups for me will likely be selling points for other players. If you fall into this camp, then I’m happy to tell you you’re going to absolutely love Blasphemous 2. Even with these loose ends left on my save file, I hope I can return to get that 100% completion after the community properly solves the game. Not as a critic, but just as a fan.

Even with a few grievances, I still came out really enjoying Blasphemous 2. The challenge was consistently on point, the variety of areas in the map felt consistently fresh, and I had a great time powering up and uncovering secrets. Not counting my postgame wandering, Blasphemous 2 took me roughly 15 hours to clear. I'd have been happy if it continued for another 10, which I mean entirely as a compliment. I forgot at times that I was even reviewing the game, I just looked forward to laying back with my Steam Deck and seeing what I could uncover next.

Anyone who likes Metroidvanias should absolutely make time for Blasphemous 2. Aside from an underwhelming final act, I had nearly consistent fun with this one from start to finish. From the gorgeous visuals to the customizable combat, your journey as the Penitent One will be filled with steady highs and only occasional lows. It’s a great sequel, a great game, and just a great time in general. If you were a fan of Blasphemous, you’re in for a treat with Blasphemous 2.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Blasphemous 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

With its full release on PC happening back in October 2022, Vampire Survivors has quickly become a runaway success. Already, there are imitators popping up trying to duplicate the game’s special sauce. As with many games that have spurred a sudden explosion of similar titles, it tantalizes developers with its simple but malleable gameplay.

I did play the PC version a few months back and was lucky enough to eventually claw my way from its grips. But with the Switch version dropping, I felt it was time to fall back into its embrace for the sake of the review. Hopefully, I can one day escape again.

[caption id="attachment_396801" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Vampire Survivors (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch [Reviewed])
Developer: Poncle
Publisher: Poncle
Released: October 20, 2022 (PC), August 17, 2023 (Switch)
MSRP: $4.99

Vampire Survivors looks like a bootleg. It has an appearance like someone took one game, then changed all the characters to look like another game to capitalize on people’s affection for the property. In this case, it looks like a bootleg with Castlevania sprites.

The character movements also feel like they’re unchanged from that game developer milestone of putting a sprite on the screen and having it react to input. They just glide across a sparse, repetitive background. It’s minimalistic. Extremely so. Your character attacks automatically based on a growing number of cooldown timers, and you’re just left in charge of navigating the enemy-infested environments.

You don’t even have to press a button unless you want to skip the chest-opening animation. You just slide your character around the background, having them pick up items and slipping through the cracks that open between groups of enemies. It’s dead simple, but weirdly, there’s a learning curve and strategizing to be done.

https://youtu.be/ZZZArNBLrsA

Holy water, Batman

For the main levels, you pick your hero and get dropped into a big open area. Enemies start streaming in from all sides. As you defeat them, they drop XP crystals that you pick up. Each time you gain a level, you get to choose an upgrade between a number of passive and offensive abilities.

As the level progresses, larger groups of more powerful enemies start piling in. The goal is to power yourself up faster than the enemies can grow in strength. Ultimately, you need to last 30 minutes before the Grim Reaper takes things into their own hands.

While this is an incredibly simple formula, a lot of strategy develops in a lot of areas. You need to experiment and discover what sets of weapons work best for you. Since the upgrades are somewhat randomized, you then need to figure out what to prioritize. Then there’s a bit of risk and reward. Do you take a new weapon now or spend the upgrade on boosting the level of an existing one? If you decide to skip on a specific upgrade now, is it going to reappear later on when you need it? Do you need more attack power now, or can you spend some points on boosting stats like luck or attack strength?

And that’s before you incorporate the rather clever combination mechanic, where if you’re carrying two particular items and improve them to their maximum level, you can evolve the weapon into something more powerful.

[caption id="attachment_396802" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Cerebral bore

Then, after each run, you can spend money that you collected on permanent upgrades and new characters. There are also achievements you can aim for that unlock additional weapons and characters for each run. Both during a run and in the gaps between, you’re always improving.

It’s quite a well-executed mess of progression that creates an addicting experience. I don’t use that word lightly, and I don’t necessarily mean it as a positive. Vampire Survivors employs some pretty devious tactics to dig into your brain matter and make it difficult to stop playing. You’re constantly making progress, and you’re perpetually on the cusp of bigger and better things. Every upgrade promises some advantage for your next run, and every run provides a learning experience to employ.

And then luck is a factor, which means that after a bad run, you’re not necessarily going to want to take a break. Sure, maybe things didn’t go your way last time, but this time is statistically more likely to go better. It comes as no surprise to me that developer Luca Gallante has a history of working in the gambling industry, as Vampire Survivors incorporates a lot of the same tactics to keep people glued in place.

That would be awful, but Vampire Survivors doesn’t seem to have that much interest in your money. The price for the base game is relatively low, and the only microtransactions are DLC expansions. Even then, the DLC is very cheap and not essential. If Vampire Survivors had the clear goal of getting you hooked and sucking you dry, I’d be disgusted, but that’s obviously not the intent here. Instead, it just cracks open a can of dopamine and pours it over your brain. The only thing you’ve got to lose here is your time.

[caption id="attachment_396803" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Lots of math

The Switch port is exactly as it says on the tin. I played the PC version previously, and this isn’t really an upgrade. It’s just the same game on a new platform, which is fine. There is some slowdown when the enemies envelop every pixel of screenspace, but I didn’t find it to interfere with the gameplay. Cut the Switch some slack. There’s a lot of math going on in any one moment.

There’s also the new co-op mode for up to four players. It works better than you may think, as XP is pooled between players, and upgrades cycle between them. It’s a surprisingly laid-back multiplayer experience, and I’m actually tempted to break it out next time I’m visiting my parents. Although, I’m afraid everyone would just delegate upgrade choices to me since I’m the experienced one.

As an added challenge, you could just play co-op by yourself. Since you only use the left stick, that’s one for each thumb. Quite a brain tickler.

[caption id="attachment_396804" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Brain tickler

Vampire Survivors is also not content to just accomplish the bare minimum either. A lot of love has gone into crafting it, even if it’s not immediately reflected through the bootleg aesthetics and simple presentation. There are lore entries for each character and enemy, and there are plenty of bonus levels and secrets to tackle. There’s some depth an meat here.

I think it would be very difficult to dislike Vampire Survivors. Typically, I hate when a game just drills into my brain and starts pressing all the feel-good buttons. I usually feel manipulated. However, the fact that it doesn’t ask for money beyond the admission fee, and the fact that there’s something of a clear endpoint to the entire game, makes it feel benign. It wants to entertain you for a while but will eventually let you get back to your life.

Vampire Survivors is well worth checking out, whether you’re playing it on Switch or any other platform. Its simple gameplay hides an irresistible depth. Just keep in mind that once you’re in its clutches, it can be a struggle to get free.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Vampire Survivors appeared first on Destructoid.

I’ve never really gotten elbow-deep into the Quake series. Before the 2021 Quake remaster by Nightdive Studios, I was actually most familiar with Quake 4, and I really don’t remember that much about it. In 1996, I was into Duke Nukem 3D. And then after that, it was Goldeneye 007. I at least played Quake 2… The N64 version.

But after the first Quake was remastered and introduced me to the series, I held off on any more series exploration, anticipating the second one would eventually get the same treatment. My patience paid off, and the Quake II remaster has arrived. Once again, it’s a terrific introduction.

[caption id="attachment_396573" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Quake 2 (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: id Software, NightDive Studios, MachineGames
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Released: August 10, 2023
MSRP: $9.99

After the development of the first game in the Quake series was beset by creative differences, many members of id Software departed, including Sandy Peterson and John Romero. This is considered by many to be the end of classic id Software, as it seemed like the heart had left the brain with an empty bed.

You can sort of feel that in Quake II. There was something of an anarchic directionlessness in Quake that is replaced with something a lot more cohesive. Quake still felt like a first-generation shooter like Doom. Quake 2 is a lot closer to Half-Life.

You can see this clearly in the narrative. Earth has been under attack by the Strogg and hasn’t been faring well. So, the meaty humans launch a counter-attack, taking the fight to the meat substitute Strogg’s homeworld of Stroggos. Quake II and all the expansions are set around this counter-attack as you take control of different space marines attempting to hinder the enemy’s ability to wage war on humanity.

The first Quake really didn’t have much of a narrative, and this is definitely not a continuation. This comes with its pros and cons. The biggest positive is that a more defined narrative gives you purpose that helps drive you through the game. The downside is that the Strogg don’t care much for interior design, and there’s little visual diversity throughout the campaigns.

https://youtu.be/cyxBE163n20

Out of item

Nightdive’s remaster is similar to their approaches to the original Quake and the recent Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition. They have gathered all the expansions into one package, added a newly created campaign, and transported everything to their more modern KEX Engine, bringing with it a number of extra visual and gameplay options. And then, after already doing more than most would expect, they continue on to polish up the graphics and gameplay without tampering with the overall feeling and aesthetic of the title.

It’s extensive. They even upscaled the cinematics. Then, somehow, they ported all of the N64 version of Quake II’s levels. For whatever reason, when Raster Productions handled the N64 port, they wound up remaking almost all of the levels. It’s just as much its own campaign as the other expansions. It seems like it would be quite an effort to re-port the N64 version back to PC, but it was very worth it. It contains visual flourishes that make it, at the very least, aesthetically worth exploring.

The two expansions by Xatrix Entertainment and Rogue Entertainment are necessary inclusions, even if they mostly just feel like added content. Which, to be fair, is essentially what they were when they first released.

Meanwhile, the new campaign, Call of the Machine, by MachineGames is a great way of showing off the many successes of Quake 2 while minimizing its deficiencies. Visual variety is a lot better here, depicting a lot of different and interesting locales based on the Strogg War story but in places not shown in the games. It’s an effective way to demonstrate the outstanding gunplay, fast action, and interesting enemies without eliminating the unique flavor of the base game.

[caption id="attachment_396572" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Someone hang a poster

Which to be fair, as much as I hassle Quake 2 for its repetitive brown corridors, I do enjoy it. The main campaign is maybe a 6-8 hour romp. It kept my attention through to the end, even when similar games with shinier corridors failed to. Games like Dusk have demonstrated the lasting appeal of the clunkier and more straightforward games of yesteryear, and Quake 2 is an essential example of that.

But beyond that, Nightdive's remaster makes things a little more pleasant. One great feature is the compass, which draws a path to your next objective. It’s not that Quake 2 was obtuse beyond reason. Each of the “units” of the game is composed of a handful of small levels, so you’re destined to trip over what you’re looking for. It’s just a matter of how much backtracking you’ll have to endure.

For example, you might finish a secondary objective and see the message “turbine disabled.” Perhaps you won’t realize it’s talking about the fan that you just passed and can now bypass. So, you continue on your merry way, and then when you finally circle back, you say, “Ooooh. It was talking about this turbine.”

So, I mostly used the compass whenever I came back to a familiar-looking room and wanted to make sure I wasn’t just going in circles.

[caption id="attachment_396574" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

That's a lot of screens

As usual for Nightdive remasters, their all-encompassing approach to Quake II makes it the definitive way to play the game. Beyond just compiling all the expansions, certain features, such as AI, were buffed up, and cut content was restored. And then there’s also the multiplayer, which in some versions supports 8-player split-screen local. Or you can play online, if you don’t like sharing your screen.

But if, for whatever reason, none of that sounds good to you, the original versions are still available.

For me, it was a great introduction to Quake II. The PC version, I mean. It’s an oppressively brown shooter, but it still carries the speedy, lightweight combat that makes older FPS games still pop today. The changes that Nightdive brought in for the remaster make it even more enjoyable and accessible. It may not have the same experimental charm as Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, but it more than makes up for it with its tight and gory gunfights.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Quake II (2023 Remaster) appeared first on Destructoid.

My brain absolutely struggles to remember the name Turbo Overkill. It’s a combination of two words that are usually just appended to a game’s title to differentiate itself from previous games in the series, such as Street Fighter II Turbo and House of the Dead: Overkill. And then, with all the other retro-inspired shooters currently mixing things up, I can’t tell it apart from similarly titled games like Ultrakill.

In terms of standing apart with gameplay, the story’s a bit different. While many retro-inspired shooters attempt to gain success from excess, few are as successful at climbing over the top as Turbo Overkill, for better or worse.

[caption id="attachment_396189" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Turbo Overkill (PC)
Developer: Trigger Happy Interactive
Publisher: Apogee Entertainment
Released: August 11, 2023 (PC)
MSRP: $24.99

You play as Johnny Turbo, retired Turbografx-16 mascot, or maybe not. He’s sent by a shadowy corporate figure to the world of Paradise to take down a rogue AI that has infected most of the population with a meaty virus. It’s a simple enough premise, but over the course of three episodes, it builds and builds to a painful climax.

I’ve heard a lot of comparisons between Turbo Overkill and Doom Eternal, and sure, the similarities are there. Both games are fast-paced shooters where mobility is not just beneficial, but essential. However, I feel like Turbo Overkill fits more as a cross between Quake and Serious Sam. Doom Eternal has a great deal of combat emphasis on target prioritization, and Turbo Overkill subscribes more to the philosophy of “If it moves, kill it.”

You’re frequently swarmed with enemies who explode with gibs and particles when killed, and they die en masse. One of the most touted features of Turbo Overkill is Johnny’s chainsaw leg (or chegg) which turns you into a deadly projectile. Through upgrades, you can make the chegg useful against all enemies, but it’s at its best when you’re carving through all the low-level baddies. I got a lot of mileage out of the chegg, I’ll tell you.

https://youtu.be/Ry1TTG0xm48

Johnny Motherf*cking Turbo

Turbo Overkill’s combat is fun at the best of times, but it’s not very nuanced. A lot of the time, the screen gets filled with gore and neon. There isn’t often a tonne of difference between the heavier baddies, especially when it comes to visuals, so there’s not much incentive to pick out priorities and take them down quickly. Largely, you’re immersed in a cloud of foes, and you just choose the best way to disperse it in an expedient manner.

For that matter, once my chegg was in prime form, I didn’t really make much use of Johnny’s vast arsenal. Beyond just a buffet of different weapons, you’re gradually given upgrades, and it’s extremely difficult to keep track of them all. I got near the end of the game and realized that I had forgotten all about Johnny’s mini-rocket firing arm and the slow-motion Turbo Time. I was only cycling between a small assortment of weapons, with some of the leftovers being extremely situational.

There’s a great deal of bloat here. What’s the purpose of a chaingun when you have dual submachine guns that don’t need to be reloaded? How does the plasma rifle differ from a single-wielded sub-machine gun? Do I really need a telefrag sniper rifle when there’s already a grappling hook?

In a way, this might imply that Turbo Overkill has a high skill ceiling similar to Doom Eternal. But I rarely needed to play it smart. Doom Eternal heaped tonnes of abilities on you and rewarded you for being able to juggle them all effectively. Turbo Overkill seems to heap things on you just because it thinks they’re cool. I guess it’s better to have them and not need them.

[caption id="attachment_396186" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The floor is lava

It was only once I stopped trying to approach Turbo Overkill as a critic and instead met it as a gamer that it finally clicked for me. I had to stop looking for a purpose in its design. It was only when I finally switched my brain off from wondering about the environments, about flow, about its legibility that I became able to immerse myself into it. I had to stop comparing it to its predecessors and its contemporaries.

Turbo Overkill is in an arms race only with itself.

There’s a constant, ceaseless feeling of escalation through Turbo Overkill. It doesn’t matter if a gun is useful, if it supersedes a similar weapon, or if it’s merely only useful as a mode of transportation. Stick it in there. If it doesn’t fit, force it. The philosophy here is to impress through excess.

The story reflects this, where things start off screwed and then keep getting more screwed. The main driving force holding things together is Johnny’s unstoppable badassery. I actually found myself growing a bit attached to the character. A mute protagonist, you can still see the turmoil within him between enjoying his rampage while trying to hold onto some semblance of humanity. You’re left to fill in the blanks of his personality, but what’s there speaks volumes.

[caption id="attachment_396188" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Tiring to kick this much ass

Unfortunately, Turbo Overkill irks me almost as often as it excites me. Even after it finally clicked at the beginning of the second episode, it lost me again in the latter half of the third. It kicks the climax off way too early and ends it far too late. The last few levels are the longest and most boring, all played under a driven and intense soundtrack. I’m realizing now that an overlong climax is a pet peeve of mine. It’s edging. Stop edging us, Turbo Overkill.

I was very exhausted by the time Turbo Overkill wrapped up. My dreams of immediately launching into another playthrough had dissipated.

I really don’t want to imply that Turbo Overkill is bad or even just average. There’s a lot of power in its variety, and the narrative punches above its weight class. The soundtrack is often outstanding and is a great compliment to the carnage. Likewise, when you are able to lose yourself in the red fog of its combat, it can make hours disappear. For that matter, there are lots of extra modifiers and secret levels to unlock to extend its running time beyond the 15-or-so that it already packs across its three episodes.

However, Turbo Overkill loses itself in its constant push for escalation. It’s often not as clever as it thinks it is, and there’s a real sense of quantity over quality. Packing in more mechanics is certainly a type of progress, but a better focus on fewer concepts probably would have elevated the game as a whole. As it is, it’s still a perfectly fun time, and I’d be completely willing to revisit it in a sequel, but it just doesn’t quite climb to the lofty top of the retro-inspired scrap heap.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Turbo Overkill appeared first on Destructoid.

Atlas Fallen is a very ambitious title from developer Deck13. While overall it shares some similarities to their previous title, including Lords of the Fallen and The Surge 2, it's also their first step away from the Soulslike genre. At its core Atlas Fallen is a third-person action RPG that focuses on speed and fast-paced encounters. While you sometimes encounter groups of smaller enemies, the bulk of your enemies is giant hulking beasts, which quickly becomes a staple of the gameplay.

[caption id="attachment_395703" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Atlas Fallen (PC, PS5[reviewed], Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: Deck13
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Release: August 10, 2023
MSRP: PC: $49.99, PS5 & Xbox Series X|S: $59.99

In Atlas Fallen, the world lies in ruin due to the savage sun god Thelos. Most of the once lush landscape is now entirely sand dunes with the occasional dead tree or patch of dried-out grass. The inhabitants are forced to serve Thelos by extracting a powerful resource called Essence from the world and delivering it to him. Some people have pledged loyalty to the sun god in exchange for an elevated status or a more desirable job in the harsh desert. Others are tasked with performing slave-like labor, extracting Essence, and transporting it across the dunes.

The protagonist discovers a powerful ancient Gauntlet that is able to manipulate Essence to shape the sand, granting its wielder powerful weapons and powers. With this newfound strength, the player sets out to lead a rebellion and put a stop to the savage rule of Thelos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGQfhGubWns

All hope relies on the Gauntlet

The Gauntlet allows you to equip two of three potential weapons at all times. The Dunecleaver is a powerful heavy weapon axe and hammer hybrid. The Sandwhip is a fast attacking whip that also allows you to close distances quickly. Finally, the Knuckledust is a hard-hitting fist weapon that also allows you to grow additional arms as you pound your foe. Each weapon has its own specific attacks and combos that synergize differently with the other weapons. Honestly, the three weapons are unique enough, but once I found the combo of weapons that worked for me—Sandwhip and Knuckledust—I never really found the need to ever us the third weapon.

While beating up on majestic beasts in the desert, you'll also learn how to master Atlas Fallen's Momentum system. Momentum is a bit of a risk-reward system. As you successfully land attacks, you will fill up your Momentum bar. As its filled, you will be able to carry out more hard-hitting special attacks. However, the fuller the bar is, the more damage you take when you are hit.

It's a great premise, but it honestly feels like it misses the mark a little bit. There's not truly any risk to be had, because at the end of the day you're just going to be focusing on beating down your enemy. I never really stopped building momentum to consider the risk of doing so. Instead, I'd just try to land as many attacks as I could while also prioritizing not getting hit so I didn't risk taking additional damage.

Throughout the world you will find deposits of Essence, as well as from dropped enemies. With this Essence you can unlock new abilities and upgrade your Gauntlet, increasing its capabilities.

[caption id="attachment_395700" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

A truly beautiful world

Visually, the world of Atlas Fallen is simply beautiful. I literally found myself stopping to look around the vast open landscapes, and admiring the beauty of the ruins scattered amongst the sands. The detail in some of the areas such as the Knights of Bastengard Stronghold is second to none.

As you progress through the world you will visit three different areas in total. Each one has a main hub that you will pickup the bulk of your quests from. Additional optional quests and collectables are peppered all throughout the area as well, in no short supply. Your Gauntlet also has the ability to raise buried objects up out of the sand, which can include chests and even structures that allow you to reach higher elevation areas.

Some of the colossal beasts that you encounter are pretty incredible as well, both in size and appearance. Fans of Monster Hunter will find familiarities here, as some of the bigger monsters have various body parts that you can focus on. If you deal enough damage to them, they will break, causing massive damage to the enemy and also dropping special loot. Unfortunately, I found loot to be mostly irrelevant throughout Atlas Fallen. I still tried to break as many monster parts as I could, but never found the materials I obtained for doing so to really matter.

In fact, this is perhaps one of the bigger issues with Atlas Fallen. A lot of the systems in place are great in premise, and even have their own intricacies to them. However, in most cases they fall short in terms of relevancy. In a vast open world action RPG like Atlas Fallen, equipment and itemization should be important. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. In fact, I think it would be quite possible to play through all of Atlas Fallen without bothering to equip anything you've obtained throughout the entire experience.

[caption id="attachment_395704" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

But, not everything is beautiful

Unfortunately there are some pretty sizeable problems with Atlas Fallen as well. The biggest issue without a doubt is the voice acting. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect every title to have Baldur's Gate 3 level of voiceovers. But the voice acting in Atlas Fallen isn't even average, it's downright terrible. Some of the non-important side NPC's were alright, but the playable character as well as your main companion, Nyaal, were not great. It really took from the overall experience.

From a lore perspective, the weight of the world is on these two character's shoulders. But you wouldn't have known that based on their monotone line delivery. I know I'm emphasizing this a lot here, but can't stress how bad it is. We're talking worse than Peter Dinkelage as Ghost in Destiny 2 before they replaced him.

Overall the story of Atlas Fallen had a lot of potential, but it falls short and overall I think the voiceover was a big part of it. Furthermore, the story felt a bit rushed at times. In total it took me just over 14 hours to complete Atlas Fallen, but I did a good bit of the optional content it had to offer. If someone was beelining through the main story quests only, I would not be surprised to see a sub 10 hour completion. However, if you do choose to take your time and really explore every nook and cranny to obtain every collectible and complete every side quest, I could see it taking 20 hours.

Also, a lot of the potentially fantastic features in Atlas Fallen end up feeling tacked on. There's a feature called Watcher's Fury where once you've done enough to draw the attention of the eye of Thelos, he will create a massive sandstorm on your location. Inside the storm an onslaught of enemies will attack you, all while you have limited visibility. When I first encountered Watcher's Fury I was excited to see the outcome of it. You have the choice of running and escaping the storm, or fighting all the enemies to the end. At the end you get some rather basic loot...and that's about it.

All in all, the Watcher's Fury felt pretty lackluster in every way. Furthermore, I only experienced the Watcher's Fury a few times throughout Atlas Fallen, making me wonder why it existed in the first place.

[caption id="attachment_395708" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

A flawed but good experience

Overall, I like Atlas Fallen. It's great to see Deck13 step outside its comfort zone and show us their take on an open world. It's a good time, but it could have been a great time.

This was honestly a tough title to review for me. In some ways, Atlas Fallen shows glimpses of a truly remarkable AAA title. The world is vast and beautiful and lively. But in other ways, it just makes me wish it had been more. The combat system had the potential to leave a memorable mark on the genre. But, in reality, it will instead probably end up being forgettable instead. It felt like perhaps Deck13 played things way too safe with their first non-Soulslike endeavor.

I do think there is reason enough to experience Atlas Fallen. Especially if you are a fan of the action RPG genre. It may not leave a lasting impression once you've completed the adventure. But it will be enjoyable enough along the way to hold your interest. Also, I didn't get the opportunity to try it out but you can play the entirety of Atlas Fallen co-operatively. Honestly, while I don't think that would fix any of the bigger flaws. However, I do think it could enhance the experience overall.

Perhaps the best words to summarize Atlas Fallen is this: I can't wait to see what Deck13 does next.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Atlas Fallen appeared first on Destructoid.

Growing up, musicals were a huge part of my life, from performing Charlie & the Chocolate Factory as an elementary student to co-writing a rendition of Romeo & Juliet as a modern-style musical for the local area. As a huge musical theatre fan, the idea of a musical game in Stray Gods is an exciting idea.

Add on the fact that David Gaider, one of the lead writers for two of my favorite games in Star Wars: Knights of the Republic and Dragon Age: Origins, is working on the project as part of his co-founded rookie indie studio Summerfall Studios, and it's promising.

Stray Gods' cinematic indie visual novel-style is unique, complementing gorgeous 2D character designs with solid voice acting, and a sometimes skippable but still noteworthy soundtrack. The result is an incredibly unique adventure game where your choices matter, the storytelling clicks, and the colorful characters carry the game, even if the musical element is a letdown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coQQ-K8Iwi8

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (PC [reviewed], Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox)
Developer: Summerfall Studios
Publisher: Humble Games
Released: August 10, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

Stray Gods moves at a brisk pace during its opening moments, quickly introducing the protagonist of Grace, played brilliantly by the wonderful Laura Bailey. These opening scenes are arguably a bit too fast, introducing several characters and then showing Grace as the prime suspect in the murder of a modern-day Olympic god.

The crux of this story centers around Grace trying to solve a murder mystery, to save herself from being convicted by gods like Athena and Persephone before it’s too late.

It just so happens, though, that Grace now has the power of a muse and can basically turn any scene into a musical. And that is exactly what this story does over the course of the seven days Grace has to clear her name.

[caption id="attachment_395492" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Break a leg

To get it out of the way, while I was excited at playing my first musical video game, the songs and performances don’t offer much to write home about.

To Stray Gods’ credit, there are a lot of songs. Unfortunately, this also means there’s a lot of filler and throwaway songs, especially at the beginning. You can’t skip forward, either, unlike the dialogue, which made the awkward transitions, lack of intriguing music, and often arrhythmic lines all the more noticeable.

A huge part of this comes from the intriguing idea of letting you control the songs. Much like interacting with the characters, you can make choices during musical moments. You could opt to go for the “cool” line in a scene, or be a bit more heartfelt.

Another time, you might choose between a solo or doing a group number. This flexible nature could be the cause of some of the inconsistency in the soundtrack, as the best musical numbers came later in the story when the they were fewer and farther between.

That isn’t to say that the soundtrack is awful, as there are a couple of standout numbers. Two that come to mind are basically any time that Khary Payton’s Pan sings, and a memorable duel between Grace and Persephone that is almost the sole example of the choice-driven songs working out rather well.

[caption id="attachment_395491" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

An ovation-worthy cast

But the musical elements are only a portion of the gameplay in Stray Gods. The rest of the game focuses on the core mystery and the mythical characters you meet along the way. This is where you can truly see Gaider’s work, as these are the best characters I’ve seen in a long time.

The player has the option to romance one of four people, each of which is outstanding in their own right. Freddie is the classic casual best friend who has a sweet relationship with Grace. Alternatively, you could opt for Troy Baker’s troubled and depressing Apollo.

Each of these fascinating characters grew on me over time, giving some solid romance options worthy of competing with some of Gaider’s past works. Even outside of the romance partners, the other characters you meet have terrific and detailed writing.

Everyone has their secrets you uncover slowly over time, and it is hard to know who’s telling you the truth or what their agenda is. At its core, this is a character-driven tale, and it constantly gives its cast memorable moments to work with.

[caption id="attachment_395490" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Choices that matter

This is helped by the frequent choices you get to make in the dialogue. They seem to matter just enough, such as picking who to side with in arguments or what order to investigate leads in. There are even characters who live and die in surprising ways, depending on the choices you make.

Stray Gods has enough material to garner at least one replay, to see how things could have gone differently. There are even some emotional sequences worth experiencing again, including basically everything surrounding Aphrodite’s disturbing, unforgettable storyline.

The core mystery isn’t a throwaway, either, with layers of twists and conflicting agendas. While it was a bit predictable in some areas, there was enough to keep me engaged from start to finish.

[caption id="attachment_395489" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

There is nothing like Stray Gods at all. The daunting task of creating an entire interactive musical is an admirable one. Even if the songs were mostly a miss for me, I’d like to see it tried again.

After all, you’ll find some of the most engaging characters around since Gaider’s previous stint at BioWare, and a worthwhile story in this sleeper hit. I know I have my eyes on Summerfall Studios moving forward.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical appeared first on Destructoid.

Something I’ve come to appreciate more than ever is entertainment’s ability to introduce us to cultures other than our own. It probably has something to do with the fact that I live in a small, redneck part of California where white people loudly complain about the number of Mexican restaurants in town. Listening to that crap day in and day out, it’s no wonder I’m always jumping at the chance to discover something beyond my powder-white existence.

That’s why I was excited to play Venba, a narrative-driven cooking game that takes the idea of Cooking Mama and transports it to an immigrant family’s house in the 1980s. It’s a darling game, but it might be hard to justify the price, given how fleeting it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mV7d1Z5KxM

Venba (PC [reviewed], PS4, Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One)
Developer: Visai Games
Publisher: Visai Games
Released: July 31, 2023
MSRP: $14.99

Venba is a story-driven experience where you witness brief events throughout the lives of an immigrant family. Venba and her husband Paavalan moved from India to Canada in the 1980s to start a new life for themselves. As is the experience for many immigrants, it’s not easy for them, even with all that “free” healthcare lying around. Across seven chapters, you’ll witness snapshots of their lives and struggles, and watch as a couple becomes a family that tries to keep hold of their heritage. Heritage is a central thread throughout Venba, whether it’s the mother asking her son Kavin to speak Tamil or the delightful-looking dishes you’ll assemble.

While the trailers for Venba make it look like there is a great deal of cooking to do here, there are only a few meals to create. Venba relies on her mother’s cookbook to make traditional South Indian dishes to keep her family tied to their roots. But the book is old, faded, and ripped. You’ll need to rely on what is still in the cookbook or any other hints to properly make each meal.

This approach turns the cooking segments into something of a puzzle game, and I enjoyed deducing how to solve them. I don’t imagine anyone will struggle too hard figuring each recipe out. That said, if you make a mistake, the game is quick to give you another shot.

The food is lovely to look at, as is the rest of the game, but it’s all so brief. Venba took me about 90 minutes to finish. I felt there was more of this family I was meant to see, more dishes I was meant to make. I admire the creativity on display here, such as how the speech bubbles become muddled when Kavin speaks English words Venba doesn't understand.

Alas, Venba is an exercise in brevity. I greatly enjoyed my peek into the lives of strangers who exposed me to a culture different than mine. I just wish I could have got a longer look at it.

The post Review: Venba appeared first on Destructoid.

Rise of the Triad is a bit of a tough sell in today’s market. It was built on the same engine as Wolfenstein 3D, starting its life as a sequel to that. As such, it has many of the same strict drawbacks of that engine. Most notably, walls have to be at 90-degree angles, and the floors can’t change height.

I’m personally more of a Blake Stone girl, myself.

However, despite the way its development started and the shortcomings of its engine, the powerful collection of developers who crafted it has ensured that Rise of the Triad still carried with it a unique personality. It was never ported to console, but with Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, Nightdive Studios and New Blood are looking to fix that with one big celebration.

Later. The console ports were delayed, but I’ve been playing the PC version.

[caption id="attachment_393728" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition (PC [Reviewed], PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
Developer: Nightdive Studios, Apogee Software
Publisher: Apogee Software, New Blood Interactive
Released: July 31, 2023 (PC), TBA (Console)
MSRP: $19.99

Rise of the Triad tells the stories of an elite group of special operatives as they infiltrate an island monastery currently resided by a group of cultists who are definitely not Nazis. Okay, they’re definitely Nazis, but since this is not Wolfenstein 3D 2, they’re a cult now.

That’s basically all you need to know. Actually, you’d probably be fine not knowing that, but there’s a cutscene that lays it all out anyway. The important thing is the Monastery is a sprawling maze full of traps and Nazis. You have a hand with fingers that can wrap around a gun, and that’s what you point at the Nazis.

I mentioned that Rise of the Triad has all the trappings of Wolfenstein 3D with its level floor and 90-degree corners, but the developers went pretty far out of their way to get around it. There is a degree of verticality through the use of walls and floating discs. There’s also a bizarre number of power-ups, including a couple that allow you to fly. Meanwhile, there are traps everywhere, like spikes and fire-spewing cannons. It’s a lot. It gives Rise of the Triad this really abstract quality to it. It’s rather bizarre.

Unfortunately, there’s a limited number of weapons. There are pistols and an MP40, and then you can also carry a limited-use rocket launcher. The rocket launchers come in a few different flavors, from plain ol’ bazooka to a big wall of fire that engulfs wide areas. They have finite ammo, but a good Rise of the Triad level will have you tripping over them every few steps. It’s a game that really wants you to blow up Nazis.

https://youtu.be/vRdZEY6EL5I

Henceforth known as 'ROTTLE'

A lot of work went into making Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition the definitive version of the game. While its transition to Nightdive’s proprietary KEX Engine doesn’t really come with much in the way of new visual changes aside from lighting and a few other flourishes that you can turn off, they made sure to pack in as much content as possible. Then they just continued to pack more things in.

Beyond just the 33 levels of Rise of the Triad: Dark War, you also have access to The Hunt Begins, the 8-level shareware episode. There are also another 33 levels in Extreme ROTT, which is a more difficult expansion. They’ve packed in Return of the Triad, an excellent fan-made Doom mod. That’s added separately, still running in the GZDoom engine. Finally, there’s The HUNT Continues, which is an all-new set of 21 missions created by various developers. To give you an example of what you’re in for, the first mission in that campaign is by David Szymanski, the creator of Dusk.

This is made possible by a really simple level editor that is available for use. So, beyond just the dizzying amount of included content, you can make your own campaigns or share with others via Steam workshop. I think the only thing missing is the 2013 Rise of the Triad remake, but I feel that it doesn’t quite fit into this package.

Finally, a lot of cut content was re-added to the game. This includes the different visuals for Nazi types, so the female guards have been re-implemented.

[caption id="attachment_393731" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

God Mode

If you’re already a fan of Rise of the Triad, then you basically just need to know that this is a faithful port that features a decent amount of bells and whistles. If you haven’t played it before, then there’s more to consider.

Rise of the Traid isn’t Doom. It hasn’t aged as well. This is largely down to the limited level design. Each map has a different feel and demonstrates its creator’s design eccentricities, but they all look the same. This limited aesthetic has an impact on the gameplay, as even while the power-ups and weapons can be over-the-top, the drab backdrop sucks out some of the excitement. It’s a lot of people painting with a very limited palette.

That said, the limitations I just outlined do help highlight how much fun the developers had with this game. There are things like getting baked out of your mind on mushrooms or turning into a massively overpowered little pooch that makes the experience extremely memorable. For that matter, there’s a variety of cheats that can make things more ridiculous.

[caption id="attachment_393732" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Dog Mode

I’m definitely not saying that Rise of the Triad is a bad game. It’s very enjoyable, it’s just harder to recommend to modern eyes. It’s fast and carries a lot of small details that make it unforgettable, but at the same time, its levels are rather suffocating. It has definitely aged a lot better than Wolfenstein 3D, but not nearly as well as Doom.

It bears repeating that if you are already a fan, Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is a fantastic way to play it again. It’s not too much different than the old DOS version but includes cut features and all the content you could want. The new episode is a quality continuation that feels right at home with the rest of the game while still providing something new. It’s a great package all around.

Now, can I have a Blake Stone remaster?

The post Review: Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition appeared first on Destructoid.

When a game like Disney Illusion Island puts "Illusion" in its name, it immediately evokes a rich legacy of Disney platformers.

Growing up, I wasn’t exactly a Disney kid. I had nothing against the mouse’s house, I was just more interested in mascot platformers with tragic backstories. Regardless, I loved the heck out of so many 16-bit Disney platformers. Games like Sega’s Castle of Illusion didn’t engage me because of the license, but because they offered their own unique spin on the world of Mickey Mouse. I still remember how Castle of Illusion could effortlessly transition from feeling whimsical, to mysterious, to kind of ominous when it wanted. Heck, it did all of that in the first world!

To its credit, Disney Illusion Island does not wear the “Illusion” brand lightly. Though it bares little similarity to Sega’s seminal title, I could tell how much the developers at DLALA Studios wanted to create a game that could sit alongside the greats in Disney's video game canon. In some respects, Illusion Island accomplishes this goal. I just don't think I’ll reminisce about it 30 years from now.

[caption id="attachment_393537" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Disney Illusion Island (Switch)
Developer: DLALA Studios, Disney Games
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Released: July 28, 2023
MSRP: $39.99

Everybody's busy bringing you a Disney Afternoon

Illusion Island starts on an unexpected high note. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy meet up for a picnic on the titular island, each believing the event was planned by someone else in their crew. But just as many afternoon outings go, the picnic was not planned by friends, but by a race of hamster people who are in desperate need of help. It turns out that calamity is imminent for said hamsters if they don’t collect some magic books, and they need help from heroes who can do the job for them.

Naturally they turn to Mickey and friends to handle that adventuring. And I mean, as someone who grew up playing The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, I must admit the mouse does have some heroic chops.

As basic as this plot sounds, it’s told in a fully voiced, fully animated scene that I found charming. It has a Disney XD vibe, but I genuinely laughed at some lines here. Unfortunately, outside of the final act of the game, most story bits don’t employ this level of production. You’ll mostly stare at unvoiced dialogue boxes that lean heavier on fourth-wall breaking jokes that just don’t land quite as well, whether you’re a Disney fan or not.

This is a small, arguably inessential disappointment. The story obviously isn’t the focus here, I just liked the fully animated stuff so much that most everything after it felt disappointing. It’s a bummer for younger audiences, but I get the vibe that Illusion Island caters more to Disney adults. Especially when you realize what type of game it is.

https://youtu.be/QiUG1YWiMIY

Mouse-troidvania

Disney Illusion Island is technically a Metroidvania. If you told me 15 years ago that the exploratory platformer genre would become so popular that Mickey Mouse would throw his hat into the ring, I would have called you crazy. Regardless, here we are. Mickey and friends will traverse interconnected biomes across the island to recover the missing tomes, earning valuable movement upgrades along the way. At the start, the mouse's party can do little more than run and jump. By the end of the game, they can double jump, wall jump, and even ground pound to access new areas.

Control and movement lay the foundation for any good platformer, and luckily Disney Illusion Island nails this. It doesn’t lock off your best movement options for long, and everything from jump arcs to movement speed feel great. The game lacks any combat mechanics, so a surprisingly nimble move set keeps the experience feeling fresh. I really enjoyed the game when it simply focuses on testing your platforming prowess.

At its best, the level design throws you at challenge rooms that utilize all your abilities. While the game’s hardest is maybe 1/10^th of what something like Celeste throws at you, the difficulty can ramp up nicely in the second half. Platforming newbies may choose to play with infinite health, so no one should expect to get stuck necessarily. But as someone who once spent a summer playing Ninja Gaiden to see if I could beat it without any continues, I was shocked that I died in certain sections of the game. Granted, this was mostly due to my own impatience, but more on that in a bit.

While swimming in the latter part of the game can feel a little loose, I felt surprised by how tight Illusion Island controlled. Movement just feels good, with a level of polish typically reserved for top-shelf platformers. This is fortunate, since this counteracts several small stumbles that Illusion Island makes along the way.

[caption id="attachment_393538" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Bouncing here and there and everywhere

The biggest, most substantial question that could not leave my head during the entirety of Illusion Island’s runtime was one I’d never thought I’d ask: why is this a Metroidvania?

Look, I grew up on enough Metroid and Castlevania to absolutely love this genre. I’ve also enjoyed non-violent exploratory platformers too. The thing is, these games only work if they give you incentive to explore, and Illusion Island just… doesn’t have that. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of stuff to collect here. I’d go so far as to call Illusion Island a collect-athon. It’s just that the things you hunt for don’t really matter.

You have Tokuns, a basic compendium of characters and enemies in the game with some banal flavor text. There’s Mickey Memorabilia, which is literally just Disney references drawn by the art team. Hidden Mickeys are, again, just small pieces of art you can find by spotting Mickey Mouse icons in the wild. And finally we have Glimts, the game’s equivalent of coins which unlock health upgrades. While I’m glad something impacts the play experience, these feel relatively insignificant since the game’s difficulty settings already determine how much health you start with.

I don’t think Illusion Island needs a robust RPG system to encourage exploration. But in a game that has precious few fast travel options until criminally late into the game, why would I want to backtrack just to unlock a picture of the wheel from Steamboat Willie? Honestly, that’s all this format really adds to the game: backtracking. Considering you can't even collect one category of unlockables until you've already explored the first few areas, I did occasionally feel that the game was just trying to pad its runtime.

To be clear, I didn't think the backtracking was necessarily egregious. But I did wish the game would have gone with a simple level-to-level progression instead.

[caption id="attachment_393539" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

D-d-d-danger! Watch behind you!

I also have to discuss the enemy design, which became more and more of a sticking point as I progressed.

As mentioned above, Illusion Island is a nonviolent platformer. I’m cool with this decision, but you'll still find plenty of enemies determined to smack you. And without combat, the game’s only way to escalate challenge from enemies involves making you wait. In the late game, I felt an alarming amount of enemies simply existed to interrupt a player’s natural forward trajectory. You can use acrobatics to dodge some foes, but many just want you to wait until they move or finish attacking. No platforming, no strategy, just waiting.

Like the level design, this isn’t game breaking. However, I eventually reached a point where I racked up deaths just because I was tired of waiting for enemies to move and tried to cheese my way past them. Sure, dying over and over to restart at the frequent checkpoints isn’t an efficient way to progress. But I'd rather die on my own terms than let Walt Disney's grunts control how I live.

After a certain point, I felt Illusion Island wasn’t necessarily getting harder as much as it was making it easier to get hit. I’m sure if I didn’t play on the hardest difficulty setting, I probably could brute force through all these obstacles. I just would have liked to have seen more exploration of the core controls over abrasive enemy placement. The developers put all this work into making movement fun, so why would they want players to not move?

[caption id="attachment_393544" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Side by side wherever we go

I do want to touch on the multiplayer in Illusion Island. While major platforming series like Rayman and Super Mario have embraced local multiplayer, I was still excited to test out how it handles here.

I had my girlfriend join my nearly complete playthrough for a session, and the results surprised me. Though she's generally unfamiliar with 2D platformers, she was able to wall jump and rope swing at my pace within minutes. This really is a testament to how natural Illusion Island feels to play, and we had a lot of fun running around together.

The problem, again, is that I don’t know why this is an exploratory platformer. While I don’t think anything of frequently opening and closing my map to track where I’m going, that constant pausing really disrupts multiplayer. Illusion Island doesn’t have a mini-map either, so even small forks in the road feel more troublesome than necessary. I mean, at several points in the game, you’ll find several branching paths. But three paths will lead to keys, all of which you’ll need to unlock a door blocking the critical path. Our takeaway joke while we played was "in Illusion Island, the only illusion is that we have any freedom."

I did like that each player could specify their own difficulty level via the health they start with. It makes Illusion Island easy to play with less experienced players when they can just turn on infinite health for themselves. But beyond that, I don’t think Illusion Island stands out as a multiplayer experience unless you specifically want to get someone into platformers. My partner and I enjoyed our session, but we didn't talk about it after we put our controllers down. And that kind of sums up the game in general.

[caption id="attachment_393541" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

I’m Timothy Monbleau from Destructoid, and you’re reading a Disney review

As much as I’ve focused on nitpicks, I could overlook them all if Illusion Island offered a charming, unique experience like the 16-bit Disney classics. But outside those fun animated scenes, I never saw anything in the game that really stuck with me. All the biomes in the game just kind of blur together, with somewhat differentiated but ultimately unremarkable visuals separating them. Outside of a water zone, the whole thing just feels like one long level.

Yet despite everything, I still played Illusion Island to 100% completion (which took me just under ten hours). And even after I was left with one small incentive to replay the game, I started a second save file. Illusion Island is undoubtedly a fun game. It plays very well at its core, which is hard for me to wax poetic about. But the game does deliver on that, especially when its level design lets those core mechanics shine.

I’d compare my experience to getting a burger from a nice fast casual restaurant. It’s not the best you’ve had, but it’s good in a pinch and you’re glad you had it. And sometimes you need a diversion to entertain you and possibly a family member for a weekend.

Disney Illusion Island won’t go down in history like the best Disney platformer classics have. But it’s still a fun, if not forgettable, romp starring Mickey and friends. Those who are newer to platformers or want to get someone in on the genre will be primed to enjoy this title. Also, while I don’t think the exploratory angle does the game any favors, it may appeal to collect-athon fans. Otherwise, Illusion Island is just a reliable game for a rainy day. A perfect seven if there ever was one.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Disney Illusion Island appeared first on Destructoid.

Initially released in 1987, Double Dragon is one of the most important belt-scrolling brawlers in the history of the genre. While it wasn’t the first, and most of its mechanics were accomplished previously by Technos’ own Renegade in 1986, Double Dragon’s popularity both in arcades and through its home ports established the success of the formula. It has been cemented in the annals of game history (or however that saying is supposed to go).

Because of this, the series has never really died, even after the original developers, Technos, went bust. However, since 1995, it’s largely been remakes...or worse. In 2012, there was WayForward’s excellent Double Dragon Neon, but that kind of stands apart from lesser attempts to revive the series.

Now, we have Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, which is a fresh attempt by Secret Base, the creators of Streets of Red. Is it time for this duo of dragons to actually rise?

[caption id="attachment_393653" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: Secret Base
Publisher: Modus Games, Joystick
Released: July 27, 2023
MSRP: $24.99

Our heroes, "Bimmy" and Jimmy, are training in their post-apocalyptic dojo in the rotting remains of New York City when they get a visit from the mayor. He’s got Marian, who may or may not still be Bimmy’s boyfriend and who might or might not have died previously. I’m not sure if Double Dragon Gaiden is a prequel or a new continuity. I’m not sure that’s important.

What is important is where it takes its influence from, and it's a similarly confusing situation. I’m tempted to say that Double Dragon Gaiden is a one-button brawler, but it’s a little more nuanced than that. You technically have your default attack button, the “action” button, and the special button, which all do attacks. However, the special button requires you to build up a gauge (which generally happens quickly), and the action button is about as useful as a can opener on a jar.

With every character I’d try, they would invariably dash or roll past the enemies in front of them and then swipe at the air. The air was never impressed. To make use of the action button, you must have a really solid feel of where your character is going to land after their dash. Even if you do manage to get this technique down, the action button is far less useful than just landing a combo or special attack.

https://youtu.be/_c0ff_uZQrY

Sousetsuken

The combat system in general irks me. There is no real grapple mechanic, and jump attacks aren’t particularly useful, either. You’re mostly whittled down to spamming your combo and special attacks. To be fair, the enemies are brilliantly animated, and the combat at least has a sense of impact behind it, but that only goes so far. That luster is important to the genre, but it wears off quickly.

That’s not to say there’s no strategy present here, but a lot of it boils down to making good use of special attacks. As I said previously, your special gauge refills quickly, and there are things you can do to expedite it further. A lot of your success is to know how to make the best use of your characters’ three special attacks and pull them off constantly.

It technically works. Double Dragon Gaiden escapes the threshold of being a bare minimum brawler, but it also pales in comparison to some of the games that have been pushing the beat-’em-up towards a new standard. Compared to games like Fight’N Rage, Streets of Rage 4, and even the comparatively mundane Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge, Double Dragon Gaiden doesn’t stack up.

To make matters worse, it feels terrible on an arcade stick. It’s all that action button’s fault. That and the fact that the run is bound to a button and can’t be executed by double-pressing a direction. At least you can rebind buttons, which wasn’t an option on an earlier build I played.

[caption id="attachment_393654" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Dragon scales

I feel like most of the effort in Double Dragon Gaiden was spent on the art. It's funny, because when the game was announced, the gripe I heard people echo the most was that they didn’t like the art style. I love it! It’s colorful, clean, and well-animated. But whether you think it’s appealing or not, it’s the place where the love of the property is most evident.

The aesthetic is supported by the sound design. The music is decent, but the way that Double Dragon Gaiden screams at you in support of what a good job you’re doing is key. It feels very arcade-y, and adds to the impactfulness of the combat. On that note, I do think it’s kind of strange that there is no CRT filter option, but I might be one of the few people who care about that sort of thing.

And for as lacking as the combat is, you at least get some variety from all the characters. Beyond Jimmy, Bimmy, Marian, and Uncle Matin, you can also unlock all the bosses and sub-bosses. This means that, yes, you can play as Abobo. The single-player portion of the game also utilizes a tag system, which means that you’ll always have double dragons that you can swap between. You can only trade out when your special gauge is full, and there aren’t really any tag combo opportunities, but, at the very least, it works as a decent life system. When your main fight-person goes down, you have your second choice to back you up.

[caption id="attachment_393655" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Thanks, tips

One of the more unique mechanics that Double Dragon Gaiden implements is its progression system. There are four stages to select from at the beginning, and they change in length depending on the order you complete them. Your first choice is always going to be the shortest and easiest, with each one following growing harder and longer as you proceed (there’s an obvious dick joke there, but I’m not reaching for it). Beyond adding some much-needed replay value, it’s a great way of allowing you to personalize your journey. Got a boss you hate? Take them on first to make sure they’re out of your way.

On the other hand, there’s a lot of focus on gaining money that you exchange at the end of each run for tokens. These tokens can be used in a store to buy various things. You might think this would add a roguelite element where you buff your favorite characters between runs, but it totally isn’t. You have four types of things you can buy: characters, hints, art, and music. I only found value in one of those things. I’m not the type to listen to music or view art within a game, and the hints are things you probably already know or could figure out in a single playthrough. It’s things like “prioritize this dude first” or “try to group enemies together so you don’t get overwhelmed.” C’mon, guy. This isn’t my first rodeo.

I think that sort of outlines what a small production Double Dragon Gaiden is. It doesn’t really feel like it’s trying to be revolutionary in any way, nor does it seem like it wants to present you with a glut of content. It serves more as a tribute to the Double Dragon series but more in an aesthetic sense, as the combat system is unlike any of the previous games. You can tell that a lot of love went into making the game, but that doesn’t necessarily result in something indisposable or memorable.

It’s less a rise and more of a bow.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons appeared first on Destructoid.

I have never encountered a game that has made me feel as stupid as The Banished Vault does. There have certainly been titles with mechanics of abyssal depth or vast nuance that I don’t have the dedication to wrap my head around, but this is an absolutely new level. It’s layers of things that just make me feel mentally deficient.

And I actually had to stop playing far earlier than I intended, because there was this ever-present shame that kept clawing at my spine. I was hoping that if I kept scratching at the game’s layers, something would click and suddenly it wouldn’t seem like such a monumental task. Yet, the more I played it, the more uncomfortable I was. Enough is enough. I just need to unpack right now.

[caption id="attachment_393440" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The Banished Vault (PC)
Developer: Lunar Division
Publisher: Bithell Games
Released: 25 Jul, 2023
MSRP: TBA

The Banished Vault drew me in with its beautiful but highly unusual concept. It’s a strange marriage of religious imagery and hard science fiction. It’s monks in space, but the absolute literal sense. There’s nothing fanciful about its depiction of science fiction, it’s the most literal interpretation of both subjects.

The eponymous “Vault” is actually a space monastery where survivors of a strange phenomenon called “The Gloom” are taking shelter. The survivors spend their time traveling between star systems in suspended animation thanks to “stasis.” Every so often, they must stop at a star system in order to manufacture more stasis to allow them to continue their flight from The Gloom.

The goal of The Banished Vault is actually to find time during your escape to pen the Four Chronicles that can only be written in special buildings on hallowed planets. So, you collect resources, create stasis, and pen your diary. It’s not a particularly difficult concept. That’s not what makes me feel stupid.

https://youtu.be/l3NifGK7HfM

Getting closer to God

I think what poked at my insecurities most is the fact that there’s no real automation or delegation in The Banished Vault. Gathering resources isn’t a simple matter of plopping down a building and having it churn up the ground. Nor can you just assign an exile to a specific task and have them do it themselves. No.

Each of your exiles is given a certain number of action points a turn. Aside from when they’re in transit from planet to planet, you need to actually take these actions each time. So, if you need 4 units of CO2 from a harvester, you need to click for each one.

That’s not so bad on a microscopic level, but The Banished Vault will give you multiple exiles to keep track of. To optimize, you’ll probably be sending groups of them to different planets. You then have to perform a task on one planet, zoom back to the planetary map, zoom in on another planet, pick the factory that you need a resource from, and extract that resource. Over and over again. With 30 turns per star system.

And then you also have to keep track of how difficult it is for your ships to perform actions in certain parts of the solar system. The Banished Vault requires your ships to expend a certain amount of energy and have a certain amount of thrust available for each maneuver. You’ll expend more energy doing certain things or visiting planets with high gravity. You want to make sure you have enough fuel to perform the action, and then return once it’s complete.

[caption id="attachment_393441" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The merciless cosmos

Therefore, the overall goal of The Banished Vault in terms of design is forcing you to plan ahead. It wants you to know how many turns it’s going to take to perform a certain task. Wants you to have calculated how many action points you’ll need and how many turns it will take. This is something that I don’t do well.

Or do I? My bumbling did achieve success through a few star systems. I didn't stop playing because I was losing but merely because it made me feel insecure.

This is the problem here. It makes me feel stupid because I don't enjoy the complexities of its systems. I don’t want to play around with the energy calculator and take notes on how I’m going to perform certain action. I sure as hell don’t want to keep on swapping out exiles manually from the ship to the surface so I can get certain resources.

If some of this could be automated so that I could program multiple steps in advance, that would have been appreciated. Instead, I have to keep track of so much information in my head or write it down. Beyond that being something that I find very stressful, I also consider it uninteresting and unsatisfying. I’m sure that there is a type of person out there who finds this sort of thing to be the ultimate gratification. There’s also something to be said about a game that makes you get your hands dirty and takes away all those comforting little toys. For me, however, it just hurts to play.

[caption id="attachment_393442" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The unfeeling expanse

This is all played underneath an equally uncomfortable soundtrack. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it consists of a lot of deep, droning tones that I find difficult to listen to for extended periods of time. I even had the game alt+tabbed for a short while and found I couldn’t leave it running in the background, as it still provoked anxiety.

On the other hand, The Banished Vault has some lovely art design. It has ornate backdrops, wooden character pieces, and lovely hand-drawn cards. It can sometimes be difficult to discern the different ship varieties and building types, but it’s otherwise both beautiful and functional.

But that’s pretty small comfort when I don’t like the game. I was hoping that, at some point, the whole concept would click with me, but instead, I just found more complaints. I just became more and more uncomfortable and insecure.

Was that the goal of the developers? Probably not. It could, after all, be a problem with my brain worms and not with The Banished Vault at all. On the other hand, it’s such a deeply unfriendly title that marries simple concepts with a demand for particular skills. Putting myself aside, I don’t really see it connecting with a wide audience. I absolutely respect The Banished Vault for its unique approach and its wonderful choice of aesthetic. I just wish it wasn’t so aloof.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: The Banished Vault appeared first on Destructoid.

A step forward in almost every way

The souls-like genre has become extremely prevalent in recent years. Despite the increased popularity, few games have been able to pull off the formula and stand toe-to-toe with Demon Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Remnant: From the Ashes had a rather modest launch back in 2019, but in the years following acquired somewhat of a cult following. I loved the original, but definitely felt it had room for improvement. Thankfully, Remnant 2 improves on what made Remnant so much fun, while also fixing some of the more glaring flaws.

Oh yeah, and also like the original, Remnant 2 is hard.

[caption id="attachment_392524" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Remnant 2 (PC [reviewed], PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: Gunfire Games
Publisher: Gearbox Publishing
Release: July 25, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

After creating a character and going through a brief tutorial, Remnant 2 introduces you to a hub called Ward 13. You'll be spending a lot of time here crafting mods, upgrading weapons, and stocking up on consumables. Here you will also encounter the first Red Crystal. These act as your checkpoints to heal, replenish ammo, and teleport between worlds. If you've played Dark Souls, this is essentially your bonfire. After exploring Ward 13 it's time to visit your first world.

[caption id="attachment_392520" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Welcome to The Labyrinth

Almost everything in Remnant 2 is randomized. I made the mistake of choosing Hunter as the archetype for my first character. Don't get me wrong, Hunter isn't bad, but as a first-choice solo option, there are definitely better picks.

I'll admit, I struggled a bit. I created a new character with the much more solo-friendly Challenger archetype and chose to skip the tutorial since I had already done it. To my surprise, the first and only world I could access from the Red Crystal was different than where I went with my Hunter.  Each world is host to several intricate zones laden with checkpoints and mini-bosses, a familiarity to this genre. At the end of each world is also a final boss that you must defeat in order to complete the world, get some coveted loot, and move on to the next.

After completing your first world you will unlock the labyrinth, an intricate maze of enemies and loot that may hold some answers as to what is going on in the world of Remnant 2. Ironically, despite the name, the Labyrinth is a non-randomized area that connects all of the worlds. As you defeat the final boss of each world you will go back to the Labyrinth and progress the main story and access other worlds.

[caption id="attachment_392521" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Many ways to customize your build

Like the original, Remnant 2 doesn't want you to just complete a world one time and be done with it. You'll want to run them again to farm better loot, while also continuing to level your character. Leveling up unlocks skills and perks specific to your archetype. You'll also receive trait points which can be used to further progress your character.

At the start, you only have a handful of traits to put your points into such as Vigor to increase your health, Endurance to increase your stamina, and Expertise to reduce your skill cooldown. But as you progress you will also unlock new traits that allow you to further specialize your build. A brand new character will look similar to those of the same archetype; with the same skill, starting weapons, and traits. However, once you're hours in, two characters of the same build will look drastically different.

Alongside the traits, you also have equipment slots to help create the build you want. This includes four different armor types, a primary, secondary, and melee weapon, an amulet, and four rings. Obviously weapons are important, but your amulet and rings can really change up your playstyle based on what you find. You can also find and customize new relics which act as your healing potion with some added effects.

Of course, what you acquire to build around will be random. This can be both a pro and a con in my opinion. It's an added difficulty to adapt to what the game gives you. But on the downside, it can really cause some tedium when you're trying to build your character a certain way but simply aren't getting the drops that resonate accordingly.

[caption id="attachment_392523" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Still better with a friend

If you played Remnant: From the Ashes you'll probably agree that as fun as the game is solo, it's infinitely better co-op. Remnant 2 makes the solo experience a lot more interesting—and possible, for that matter—but the multiplayer is still where the game shines. Any time you are at a Red Crystal you can join a multiplayer session. There's even a quick match option to get you right into the action.

Even though the gunplay in Remnant 2 is fair for the most part, there are definitely encounters and even areas that feel tuned for a co-op setting. The game certainly doesn't require you to play with others, but it definitely makes it easier and usually even more fun! I can't tell you how many times I just got surrounded due to a horde of enemies beelining me before I could thin their numbers a bit.

Some archetypes even specialize in co-op gameplay. For example, the Hunter can be a powerhouse in terms of damage if given the ability to sit at a range and lineup shots. As you can imagine, this is much easier to do when playing with others. But if you're all alone like I was with my first character, it's almost a guarantee you're going to find yourself overwhelmed and unable to take advantage of your strengths.

[caption id="attachment_392526" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Incredible world(s) design and score

As much as I enjoyed the cinematography and scope of the world design in Remnant: From the Ashes, the team really knocked it out of the park with Remnant 2. There are multiple worlds you'll find yourself progressing through, each with a unique setting and story that really immersed me.

My personal favorite is probably N'Erud. A technologically advanced species called the Drzyr mastered time and space and constructed N'Erud as part home and part spacefaring craft. However, before finding other sentient life they encountered the center of the universe. Here they found a supermassive black hole. Determined that the secrets to the universe lie on the other side, the Drzyr entered the black hole only to find their civilization destroyed immediately. Only Tal'Ratha the Astropath survived the event and helps guide you through the now derelict N'Erud as you try to salvage what's left.

Throughout Remnant 2 you will also encounter a few familiar worlds including Yaesha, home of the Root invasion. While the Root definitely plays a role in Remnant 2, it isn't the only sinister force at play. The storytelling in Remnant 2 shines brightest when focusing on the individual happenings in each world. The overarching main storyline, unfortunately, does not hold up as well. It moves along at a snail's pace and due to the systematic structure of replaying worlds to progress, the main story quickly feels like it's not going anywhere.

Also, I just want to point out how awesome the music is in Remnant 2. Each world has its own sort of underlying musical theme, and the intense battle music often got me pumped for battle. Even the main menu music is top-notch. I accidentally left the game open while working on this review and kept it that way just to enjoy the epic track.

[caption id="attachment_392528" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Overall, Remnant 2 is a sequel done right

As I said, Remnant 2 does have some flaws. The main story feels very lackluster, and the randomization can very easily lead to a not-so-fun experience. But these are essentially the same flaws that Remnant: From the Ashes had on a lesser scale. Gunfire Games took the highlights from the original game—the gunplay, the boss fights, the build variety—and amplified them.

I can honestly say I can't wait to jump in with friends and work together to try and optimize each other's builds as a coherent team.

If you were a fan of Remnant: From the Ashes, chances are you already planned to pick up Remnant 2. If you haven't played the original but are a fan of souls-like games, or even rogue-likes like Risk of Rain 2 or Returnal, this will be right up your alley. At times it can be an extremely challenging experience, even on the easiest difficulty. But that's also what makes it so rewarding when you finally kill that boss and obtain its loot. Even if, as is likely, it's not something you plan on using.

The post Review: Remnant 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Oatchi is the DOTY (Dog of the Year)

One of my favorite series to talk about with colleagues is Pikmin. Each game impacts everyone in different ways, as evidenced by our multiple reviews of the originals and re-releases throughout the years. Pikmin 1 is short and sweet. Pikmin 2 is interesting and long. Pikmin 3 — up until the release of Pikmin 4 —was my personal favorite given that it was a nice mix of both (with the always-welcome-in-the-Carter-household Bingo Battle mode in tow).

Whelp, I may have spoiled the Pikmin 4 review already!

[caption id="attachment_392250" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Pikmin 4 (Switch)
Developer: Nintendo EPD, Eighting
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: July 21, 2023
MSRP: $59.99

After creating an avatar, it's your job to find out what happened to a crash-landed Olimar and save the day. Pikmin 4 still has the classic "grab treasure to power up your ship so you can explore more" conceit but with some worthwhile twists. You'll have a small team at your disposal for emotional support and mechanical bonuses, but you'll start with a humble small force of Pikmin and...a dog. That dog (Oatchi) is a game-changer. Even though you'll need to progress through the game and rescue research team members to fully upgrade it, it rules out of the gate.

Think of it like a catch-all Pikmin. It can fight, it can grab items (of increasingly larger stature as you upgrade it), and you can ride it like a vehicle. While that sounds overpowered, you do only have one of them. If you're sending Oatchi on an errand, you can't use it in a surprise battle in the moment, nor can you ride it and carry your non-swimming Pikmin across hazards like bodies of water.

Oatchi completely changes the way you approach the game, as you'll be able to casually walk (and jump!) to corners of the map that you wouldn't normally be able to reach in a typical Pikmin game. It adds a whole new layer of exploration to the franchise, and frankly, I bought in immediately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqpbMLVa9EI

It's a rush to be able to zip around medium-to-large-sized sandboxes, look at something far off in the distance, and ponder how to get there through a combination of Oatchi finesse and Pikmin strategy. The micro of Pikmin 4 rules just as much as the macro, as you're asked to practice the art of Dandori ("the art of organizing tasks strategically and working effectively to execute plans") constantly. Dandori comes into play even if you aren't actively noticing it, with piles of objects that have specific material counts alongside gates that require specific Pikmin to knock down, or enemies that require different Pikmin types to avoid mass casualties. Dungeons (underground levels) range from time trials, to CPU battles, to old-fashioned puzzles; all of which employ Dandori to some extent.

The more you play, the more you notice the philosophy sprinkled throughout the game. Some sandboxes require a specific amount of ice Pikmin to cross a lake, but you might need an answer to another puzzle on the other side. Select dungeons may task you with digging out multiple walls to progress while choosing just how many Pikmin to send off to get the job done in time. It's all seamlessly integrated into the game, and when it all comes together and you start making better decisions, the positive feedback loop hits just right.

As for more new stuff, Glow Pikmin make an appearance in night missions, which remix existing levels into a castle-defense-like minigame. Creatures go berzerk at night and attempt to sabotage your home base, and it's up to you, Oatchi, and your new Glow Pikmin friends to strategically take them out. Thankfully these night missions don't overstay their welcome, and only a handful of clears are required for critical path completion.

Nothing about Pikmin 4 is a chore or a bore, in fact. Whenever I found my interest waning a bit, I'd just leave and warp to a new level, uncovering a new path or divine a new concept on the fly that would lead to a new area. Without spoiling anything there is a post-game; and when everything is said and done, the story component will take you around 15-20 hours to complete. If you're going for a 100% rating (which includes all rescued captives, treasures, and so on), you can stretch it out even more.

[caption id="attachment_392253" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The game is relatively stress-free too. While there is a degree of strategic knowledge required to beat some of the game's later challenges, Pikmin 4 also has a handy rewind feature available at all times. Most players will never actually use it, but if you happen to lose, say, 50 Pikmin in one fell swoop because you misjudged an enemy, it's nice to...undo that perilous mistake and move on with your life.

Although the fan-favorite Bingo Battle mode is not present in Pikmin 4, it does have a versus component called "Dandori Battle." I was highly skeptical of this mode at first, as it seems like an innocuous "gather more items than your opponent" slugfest. But as I played through the main story and started to notice the level layouts a bit more (and subsequently unlocked more battlegrounds), I warmed up to it.

Dandori Battle is interesting, in part because it forces you to make sense of its chaos. Various objects will pop up as "BONUS POINTS" every so often, and success hinges on remembering where those items are, and if you can get to them quicker than your opponent. Items are still in (including defensive and offensive weaponry and tech) to add to that chaos, and micromanaging your Pikmin is as important as ever as you're fighting against a time limit. Dandori Battle has concessions for CPU play, as well as 1P+2P versus a CPU in a co-op fashion. It's enough to keep you preoccupied as you attempt to 100% the core story. Even if the game didn't have Dandori Battle at all, I'd be satisfied.

[caption id="attachment_392254" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The one big lamentation I have with Pikmin 4 is the lack of a true narrative co-op feature. In the campaign, "player two" can throw rocks and use items (a staple in many Nintendo games like Mario Galaxy), but they don't control an actual player character, and as a result, lack any real agency. It's a shame, but the general magnificence of Pikmin 4 more than makes up for it.

As I was playing through Pikmin 4 and things really started to click, I thought to myself (with a smile on my face) - "I just want to play this forever." It's a strategically satisfying game if you want it to be, and it's a chill rainy-day adventure if you're going for that vibe. This is one of the releases I'm going to set aside time to 100% this year, and like Pikmin 3's Bingo Battle (which I still play!), I'll be jumping into Dandori Battle from time to time with my family.

The post Review: Pikmin 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Starring Kamek

It's interesting to see how public perception of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass has changed since we've actually gotten our hands on the tracks. Before the first wave hit the Switch, there seemed to be a lot of animosity toward the DLC. People were mad that it wasn't a new game or that the added tracks didn't have the same vivid art direction as those native to Deluxe.

Yet here we are on Wave 5 and all that negativity is gone. I'm not seeing it on the socials as much as I used to. And while that might be because my main social is being driven into the ground by a butter-bodied billionaire who names his kids like they're fan-fiction Star Trek characters, I'd like to think that people are realizing more Mario Kart is always good and just having fun with it.

Which is why it's good Nintendo didn't start this DLC campaign with the tracks of Wave 5. Because overall, this set's pretty mid.

[caption id="attachment_392198" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass Wave 5 (Switch)
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: July 11, 2023
MSRP: $24.99 (or part of Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack)

I know not every Mario Kart track is a masterpiece. With the Booster Course Pass adding 48 tracks to the game, we were bound to get some duds in there. But there is something about this wave that just didn't click with me. Even with a brand-new track in the mix, I'm not sure the Feather Cup and Cherry Cup hit on all cylinders as they should as the penultimate wave of the DLC. Nevertheless, like the other waves in the Booster Course Pass, I am ready to rank and review these eight tracks.

To see our rankings of the previous waves, click one of the following links: Wave 1, Wave 2, Wave 3, Wave 4.

[caption id="attachment_392199" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

8. Moonview Highway (MKWii)

There was very little question in my mind where Moonview Highway would rank on this list once Nintendo revealed it would be part of Wave 5.

Yes, aesthetically it looks nice. Your trip around this traffic track alternates between a serene moonlit highway and a pulsing, neon city. However, I considered the track's layout boring on the Wii and it's no different here. Despite the presence of other cars and bob-omb mobiles on the highway, it's far too simple of a design. The track layout ensures you never have to use the brake, even when you're playing in 200cc.

It still looks nice, but there is a far better late-night city course that could have been added in its place. Or heck, even Toad's Factory as that one has yet to appear as a retro track.

[caption id="attachment_392196" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

7. Los Angeles Laps (MKT)

Of all the tracks added from Mario Kart Tour, this is the first one where I've actually been able to point out the city's landmarks by memory. I spent a couple of years living around Los Angeles, so when I drove through Rodeo Drive, the Santa Monica Pier, Dodger Stadium, the oil fields of Culver City, and Venice Beach, all those memories came rushing back in.

Unfortunately, just because it was a tour of my past doesn't mean it's that great of a track. It suffices in turning Los Angeles and the surrounding area into a Mario Kart track. But as somebody once lived in the city, it's missing the one thing I most associate with LA: traffic. If any city that should become a traffic track, it should be LA.

[caption id="attachment_392194" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

6. Daisy Cruiser (MK:DD)

It feels weird to put Daisy Cruiser this low on the list as I have a lot of great memories of this track back on the GameCube. It's still a great concept, but I don't necessarily agree with all the changes that have been made to it.

The original Daisy Cruiser was a rather restrictive experience. At the starting gate, you could only go right and you had to drift around the pool on the top deck (or master the sliver shortcut on the right-hand side of it). In the dining hall section, the tables in the dining hall were massive and numerous, and the Item Boxes would roll independently of the tables.

Since it appeared in Mario Kart 7, a lot of those designs have changed. You can now drive through the pool, and the tables in the dining hall are smaller. I appreciate the changes made to the lowest deck, transforming it from an empty shipping container compartment into an aquarium. Still, I think Nintendo made too many changes that make the course less interesting than when it first debuted. Even the addition of toobin' Goombas in this iteration of the track can't lift it up. Also, I miss the clouds with smiley faces.

[caption id="attachment_392193" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

5. Sunset Wilds (MK:SC)

If there is one thing that sells me on Sunset Wilds, it's the soundtrack to the course. The music here is absolutely alive with a 90s western-comedy vibe (think City Slickers) that I can't get enough of. The course itself has a nice layout with mud traps to slow you down, but where the heck is the sunset? How do you have a course called Sunset Wilds and not include a sunset? For Pete's sake, there was a sunset in the Game Boy Advance and Mario Kart Tour versions of this track.

I hope this is just an unfortunate oversight on the part of the developers and the sunset gets patched in, because it really does add to the ambiance of this American Southwest-themed track.

[caption id="attachment_392191" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

4. Athens Dash (MKT)

Mario Kart Tour added Athens Dash during the Spring Tour that ran between April and May of this year. The Tour version of the track has two routes tied to it, both of which are combined here with a third route for this intro course to the Feature Cup. There is a lot of verticality here as the track takes racers around the Acropolis, Parthenon, and Hadrian's Arch. Like with Bangkok Rush, the landmarks of Athens Dash aren't condensed. A tremendous number of columns stand in your way, making this one of the trickier tracks of Wave 5.

I don't think there's anything particularly special about this track, but as someone who loves antiquities, I appreciate its inclusion. Once this one hits online, I have to imagine it'll be a tremendous pain as heavier racers can easily knock you into those columns and pillars that'll bring you to a halt.

[caption id="attachment_392197" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

3. Vancouver Velocity (MKT)

Vancouver Velocity almost got me to reinstall Mario Kart Tour before I realized what a bad idea that was.

As a big fan of the Winter Olympics, I felt eager to see its design knowing the city's Olympic anniversary heavily influenced the track. The Olympic Cauldron is one of the first notable objects from the city you'll see, and it looks spectacular with the aurora borealis in winter aesthetics. Flat background forest aside, Vancouver Velocity looks wonderful. The track takes you to enough locations that it feels like a complete trip rather than a brief visit.

I'm not sure if a trip through Massey Tunnel was necessary, or the two trips to the ice rink. I still enjoyed this track, though like most other courses in this wave, it remains okay at best. The addition of an anti-gravity section to the Capilano Bridge is a nice touch and arguably the best use of the feature in all the Tour tracks of this wave.

[caption id="attachment_392200" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

2. Squeaky Clean Sprint (MK8DBCP)

The first time I drove through Squeaky Clean Sprint, I didn't really care for it. I thought it was too basic in design and the concept didn't really wow me. In the first draft of this list, I had it all the way down at #7.

But as I replayed all the tracks throughout the weekend, it really started to grow on me. Aesthetically, Squeaky Clean Sprint has a lot going for it. It presents a world where Nintendo realizes the full potential of merchandising possibilities it has with its Super Mario IP. This giant bathroom (or regular-sized bathroom and all the racers are shrunk down to the size of Hot Wheels) is brimming with so many cute little design choices implementing elements from the Super Mario series that it looks like the type of bathroom I would have wanted when I was 10. And the track really does take the concept and run with it. I particularly like the bath balls in the tub that fizz up to give you extra air but also bounce if you run into them. There are also a few good shortcuts and alternate routes to use.

It's a fine layout. Overall, I'd rank it between Sky-High Sundae from Wave 2 and Yoshi's Island from Wave 4.

[caption id="attachment_392192" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

1. Koopa Cape (MKWii)

Mario Kart Wii is arguably the most maligned entry in the franchise by long-time fans of the series. Yet it has great tracks, several of which have already appeared in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass. Koopa Cape is another solid course from that entry, boasting a running river that tests your handling around corners, a drop that goes straight down like a roller coaster, and an underwater section that's improved here with the addition of anti-gravity.

In truth, I haven't really thought about Koopa Cape all that much (and yes I do spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about Mario Kart tracks) likely because I confuse it with Rock Rock Mountain. But I'll do a better job of remembering this track now thanks to how insane it is at 200cc. I play all the tracks in all the different modes when doing these reviews and I cannot stress enough the bonkers nature of Koopa Cape when going that fast. It is the best test of your braking skills in Wave 5 and I cannot wait to take this online to see how other players adjust to its speed.

Of all eight courses, I only really like Koopa Cape and Squeaky Clean Sprint. Everything else is just okay or mediocre, which is why I'm arguing this is the weakest wave of the Booster Course Pass so far. If there's one element keeping me from scoring it any lower, it's the addition of three new racers: Kamek, Wiggler, and Petey Piranha. Wiggler is a great addition with the way he turns red when an item hits him, but I spent most of my time karting as Kamek. As a medium-weight-class racer, he's right in my wheelhouse.

With this, we have just one wave of tracks to come. That's eight more chances for some of the best tracks in series history to still make an appearance. If they don't, I can always take solace in the fact that Mario Kart 9 is probably on the horizon at this point for whatever the successor to the Switch will be.

_{[This review is based on a retail version of the DLC purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass Wave 5 reviewed and ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

Who hurt you?

Turning beloved children’s characters into horror monsters isn’t something new. I think “nightmarish Alice in Wonderland” has been done roughly a bajillion times. So, My Friendly Neighborhood’s idea of murderous Sesame Street puppets may not seem that novel. Except that’s not what it’s about. I know. It kind of took me by surprise.

I’d also say it’s “My First Resident Evil,” and the argument could be made, but that’s selling the game short. My Friendly Neighborhood wears its inspirations, sure, but it’s more than just a horror game made friendly for a younger audience. Its themes of non-violence, its goofy characters, and its approach to horror all convey much more depth than you — or certainly I — might’ve expected.

[caption id="attachment_391837" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

My Friendly Neighborhood (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
Publisher: DreadXP
Released: July 18, 2023 (PC), TBA (Console)
MSRP: TBA

In My Friendly Neighborhood, you play as maintenance professional, Gordon. For the last job of the night, he travels to a derelict television studio to disconnect the transmission tower on the top floor. It has spontaneously started airing a canceled children’s TV show over the normal TV broadcast.

Upon arriving, Gordon doesn't look too surprised to see that the puppets are alive and hungry for deranged hugs. In fact, rather than feeling horrified at his situation, he seems mostly just annoyed and inconvenienced. He just wants to finish the job, go home, and watch TV. The puppets have other ideas.

Your expectations may be that this is a hide-and-seek kind of horror game where you navigate the studio while avoiding confrontations with murderous puppets. That’s not the case. Instead, as I mentioned earlier, it has more in common with Resident Evil. You have weapons that fire deadly letters, and the puppets mostly just inhabit the halls, waiting for you to alert them. You then have the option to take them down with your alphabet or just avoid them and conserve your ammo.

If you choose combat, however, they won’t stay down. They’ll be back up the next time you enter the room. You can make sure they stay down by duct-taping them, but tape is in short supply. In a way, it’s sort of like the Crimson Head zombies in the Resident Evil remake, except you won’t be spared kerosene with a chance headshot.

https://youtu.be/l7XeUD-0f_o

The Neighborhood is coming to town

It’s largely a non-violent affair. The puppets, when hit by projectile letters, react like puppets and make a cute comment as they fall into a heap of inanimate fabric on the floor. When you’re attacked, there’s no real indication that Gordon is suffering any permanent bodily harm. Sometimes he comments that he’s “going to feel that in the morning,” but otherwise, he just sounds annoyed about the unwanted affection he’s being subjected to.

Likewise, the horror aspect feels somewhat understated. There are some attempts at jump scares, and the atmosphere can be a bit spooky, but there’s no grotesque imagery. In the dark, the puppets natter away to themselves about nonsense that might seem goofy to most but merely unsettling otherwise. It’s a good horror experience for younger people or those who can’t handle the gore and danger of typical horror.

With that said, your expectations might be on a low-calorie “Resident Evil,”  but really, My Friendly Neighbor doesn’t pull any punches. I played on normal difficulty, and it still included concepts like limited saving and sparse supplies. There are also multiple unlockable difficulties above Normal and Survival.

I never found any of the puzzles to be taxing, and there are clear signs of it being a smaller production than any big-budget horror, but I never felt like I was playing a lesser product.

[caption id="attachment_391836" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Unwanted affection

Really, though, the non-violent angle has more to do with the game’s overall message. It takes place in a different world, in a city that once waged war against its Northern Neighbor in a parallel to the Vietnam War. There’s a lot about corporate overreach, humankind’s collective obsession with negative media, and the resultant need to dull our pain.

The whole climax of the game is, unfortunately, a bit of a stumble. The last act of My Friendly Neighborhood is visibly less polished than the first parts of the game. Certain parts of the plot aren’t as fleshed out as they should be. There’s a moment right near the end where you can viscerally feel the message of the game, but rather than knock it out of the park, My Friendly Neighborhood chooses to bunt.

I think it would be less disappointing if My Friendly Neighborhood had fewer ambitions and was merely average throughout. Instead, you can absolutely see where it’s going, it’s exciting, and then when it pops instead of booms, it leaves an empty feeling. Agh, my heart.

[caption id="attachment_391838" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

My First Horror

On the whole, however, My Friendly Neighborhood is a terrific experience. It’s designed with a cohesive vision, and aside from a disappointing last act, it largely succeeds in achieving it. It’s the sort of game that gets me more excited as a critic than as a player. I find it difficult not to appreciate all of its layers. It's also about five hours long, which makes meeting deadlines easier.

Where it succeeds best, however, is in being a terrific introductory horror game. Whether or not you’re a youth whose parents disapprove of gore or if you’re just one to hide beneath a blanket when a zombie appears on screen, My Friendly Neighborhood provides the depth of the Resident Evil experience without any of the violence. Not only does it fill an important niche, it proves that this sort of horror game can stand on its own without any of the blood.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: My Friendly Neighborhood appeared first on Destructoid.

Who says you can't go home?

There are points in life that can feel outside of time. Maybe you're leaving one big era of your life behind and moving to the next, or maybe a big decision is causing you to escape, flee, and reassess. It's time enough for the ghosts of the past to catch up to you. And it's those fears and doubts that Night School Studio plays on again with Oxenfree II: Lost Signals.

Night School's follow-up to the 2016 adventure game Oxenfree will feel very familiar. Though it follows an older lead, it deals with many of the same threats. Even its geography will feel familiar, as rather than exploring Edwards Island, you're running around the mainland town of Camena.

For all its familiarity, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals still pulls off some twists, frights, and touching moments. It might not be as big of a surprise the second time around, but Oxenfree II does feel like a worthwhile return for fans of the first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI_YGza2jt8

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (PC [reviewed], Switch, PS4/PS5, iOS, Android)
Developer: Night School Studio
Publisher: Netflix
Released: July 12, 2023
MSRP: $19.99

Riley Poverly, the lead of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, is a bit different from Oxenfree's Alex. While the latter was dealing with high school, coming-of-age woes, Riley is older. She's returning to her hometown of Camena to deal with her own issues, after spending a good chunk of her life away. Some of this is freeform and left up to the player to dictate, as they choose how much of Riley's backstory they tell other characters. It's an interesting bit of tension, in whether you want to learn more by trusting someone else. Or maybe lying feels more fitting to how you play Riley.

Regardless, there are a lot of opportunities to make these choices. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a dialogue-heavy adventure game, and feels even chattier than its predecessor. For one, Riley has a near-constant companion in Jacob, the well-meaning but talkative coworker. Without saying too much, he's got big Golden Retriever energy. He's an interesting foil to Riley, and frequently felt like a character to role-play your vision of Riley around, questioning or reaffirming different personality traits.

The overall cast is much larger, though. There's the mysterious teens working under the guise of Parentage, a local cult, who seem to be encouraging the destructive events of the night along. But Riley's walkie talkie opens up a lot more conversation. As the player progresses, different channels become the residence of characters who Riley can check in with as the night goes on. For the most part, you don't meet these characters in-person; they exist as voices on the other end of the line, providing little story beats and updates.

Those storylines were some of my favorite bits of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, to be honest. An ongoing dialogue with a grizzled sailor named Nick was a highlight, and other characters like Maria and Shelley really add to the experience. I think I'm a little less keen on the general mechanism, as the need to constantly check and see if there were more dialogue options as I wandered between story beats could start to feel tedious. But overall, I thought the walkie was a solid addition.

You can (not) re-do

You might have noticed that I'm not saying much about the main story itself. Well, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a heavily story-driven game, and a bit on the shorter side, clocking in at about eight hours for my own playthrough. Much like its predecessor, it is bite-sized enough to knock out in a weekend, and I do genuinely enjoy that. It also makes this a hard game to talk about, without talking directly about its narrative twists and turns.

Riley's gig, as someone basically called in to set up radio transmitters to look into the anomalies that have been taking place in and around Camena, predictably goes awry. And as you could guess if you played the first, time starts to blend and meld into a haze, too. Riley isn't coming home just for a temp gig, and over those eight hours, you'll get at least some insight into why she came back. It's not all laid out in plain terms, but you can get a pretty good sense of where her head's at, both in conversations and in the flashbacks to her past.

It's a compelling story, possibly because I'm in a stage of life close to Riley's. A lot of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is about that aching feeling of time encroaching back in on you. Where life once felt like it expanded out ahead with infinite possibilities, time gradually reels that scope back in. And what you have to decide is whether you feel like those margins have truly narrowed or not.

It's effective. I do think it stumbles a bit at times, especially as it starts to tie in a lot of threads. And maybe it's that late pivot into a much broader, less personal story that left me with a few lingering wrinkles after credits rolled. They're minor and don't really detract from the overall experience. Maybe it's a sign of a good story that I wanted to jump back in and answer some questions I had about how my story resolved.

Over the river and through the woods

The more noticeable rough patches were in traversal. A big part of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals isn't just all the different people you can talk to while traversing Camena, but also the ways you get around Camena itself. There are, vaugely, some time portal shenanigans. You can also clamber around the environment a bit, climbing up and down cliffsides. But the big new tool is a climbing anchor and rope, creating avenues for exploring and backtracking.

Some of this felt valuable, as I found some items that opened up areas later or letters from Maggie Adler, which return as a collectible. Areas in Oxenfree II are big though, and especially late-game, as I was trying to retrace steps to find collectibles and finish side stories, there were some frustrations in getting around. It would've been nice to sprint through big, long stretches you'd already been through before. And the rope always felt a bit wonky, jittering down the cliff. That's also where I'd run into weird moments of interaction in general. Nothing bugged out or broke my progression or anything, but it was a bit distracting at times.

I did end up enjoying the overall area of Camena, though only a few spots felt truly memorable. As much as I dug the vibes of the caves, they started to blend together as areas. They don't stick out to me as much as the big moments, like a really wonderful section set in the community center much later in the story. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is gorgeous to look at, and the music and dreary tones—mixed with plenty of radio static, of course—set the mood right.

Is leaving possible?

I've had a decent amount of time now, to wrap my head around Oxenfree II: Lost Signals. In some ways, it does feel very familiar. Riley's adventure has many of the same vibes, a few scattered puzzles mostly centered around turning knobs and dials, and plenty of moments where I made a choice and wondered how it might ripple out. But a few wrinkles and hang-ups left me feeling a bit weird after credits rolled. For those who enjoyed the first game, it's a no-brainer; but I'd also really recommend newcomers play the first game before checking this one out, too.

Oxenfree II feels like Night School returning to its roots in a way, and I think the confidence with which they do so is laudable. There's enough here that keeps true to its creepy, radio-static origins while expanding out the possibilities. The studio's style has clearly evolved in the years since, and seeing that come together back in the coastal town of Camena is exciting. It might not be the out-of-left-field surprise it was then, but Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a solid adventure for those who can't get enough of strange frequencies and existential dread.

The post Review: Oxenfree II: Lost Signals appeared first on Destructoid.

I wish there was a hole I could just crawl into and die

By 2004, the Gamecube was running out of steam. Nintendo had come out swinging with their new console, but their fists had hit very little meat. A number of certifiable classics beloved to this day came out in its first few years, but the console still managed to lose further ground to its competitors. Still, that year we got some memorable titles like Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Pikmin 2, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Of those games I just named, I only love one of them, and it’s not the one we’re talking about.

In preparation for Pikmin 4, Nintendo surprise-dropped HD versions of Pikmin 1 and 2. I’ve already covered their shiny new port of the first game, and now it’s time to delve into Pikmin 2. Delve deep down. Deep into its endless labyrinths that don’t end and drive me completely mad.

[caption id="attachment_390203" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Pikmin 2 (Switch)
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: June 21, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

Okay. Deep breath. Pikmin 2 starts off strong enough. Olimar finally manages to return to his home planet of Hokotate after being stranded on a Gods-forsaken planet for a month (or 18 days). Rather than immediately taking the chance to spend time with his family, his boss turns him right back around. The company he works for was mismanaged and is deeply in debt. It’s Olimar’s job to collect enough treasure from his former prison to pull the company out of the red. Because shit rolls downhill, and it’s never the people in charge that have to take responsibility for their mistakes.

Anyway, while Pikmin was about trying to retrieve all the parts of your ship, Pikmin 2 is about collecting as much treasure as you can get your mitts on. By treasure, I mean garbage, because one person’s garbage is another person’s ticket out of debt. Apparently, all our litter is worth something on Hokotate, so those little spacemen are here to pick it up for us. Wouldn’t that be convenient?

So, really, you’re looking for things like discarded bottle caps and Famicom Disk System games. This is easily my favorite new part of Pikmin 2. However, the Switch port does something blasphemous and removes the game’s product placement.

https://youtu.be/_kKLW7_218s

Executive responsibility

As with the port of Pikmin, Pikmin 2 is largely just a straight port that is now in a higher resolution. It plays largely the same but offers motion controls if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s a pretty nice port, even if it doesn’t really change anything. However, I want the product placement back.

I hate advertising, but I’ve always thought it was a nice touch that all the garbage in the game utilized real-world brands. You weren’t just collecting bottle caps. You were collecting them from drinks like A&W Root Beer. A plastic lid would be from a recognizable yogurt brand. It never really felt like Pikmin 2 was actually trying to sell you things, it was just an extra touch that hammered home that the alien planet you were exploring was Earth all along.

Getting rid of the product placement didn’t kill me inside like I thought it would, but it does make the discovery of treasure a smidge less interesting. If you never played the original version, the change will be entirely lost on you, but for me, it feels like a part of the game’s personality has been excised.

[caption id="attachment_390204" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The value of life

Unfortunately, that’s not Pikmin 2’s biggest issue. Its real problem is going to be one that some people appreciate and others (like me) will absolutely hate: That’s its change in focus to being more about combat. This culminates in the introduction of underground dungeons. As you explore the various areas, you find holes in the ground that lead to isolated labyrinths buried in the ground. In these, you go floor by floor and try to loot each one of its treasures.

The floors are all procedurally pieced together. Rather than giving you the challenge of figuring out how to safely use your Pikmin to grab out-of-reach items, you instead must try and take down enemies while losing as few of your carrot-people as possible.

The most annoying part of this is that it gets really aggressive about killing your Pikmin. Bombs drop from thin air, enemies pop up in precarious spots, and some bosses make it feel that losing Pikmin is an inevitability rather than just the result of mistakes or poor judgment. In the depths of the world, you’re not given the luxury of taking care of your little helpers. They’re reduced to just a number; a health bar that slowly ticks down.

If you’re someone who treated the first Pikmin title more as a survival experience to be played with empathy toward your units, that’s just not allowed here. Pikmin 2 is more of a game than the first title. A series of challenges rather than an immersive experience.

[caption id="attachment_390202" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

One person's trash

The result is at least, a much longer game. Getting all the treasures, as Pikmin 2 encourages you to do, can take 20 hours or longer. However, you will spend most of this run-time in the dungeons. A comparatively small fraction takes place above ground, so if the caves don’t jive with you, then it’s hopeless.

Beyond that, this is the game that introduces white and purple Pikmin. The white ones are immune to poison and are, in turn, poisonous to anything that ingests them. However, the purple Pikmin are absolute beasts that clobber anything you throw them at. Throughout the series to date, the purple Pikmin are my favorite. So, at least Pikmin 2 has that going for it.

[caption id="attachment_390205" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Okay, throw her in the hole

The thing about Pikmin 2 is that there are some who will appreciate or even love the changes it made. To me, the reliance on procedural dungeons just makes the experience feel wrong-headed and heavily padded. Others are going to see them as something that makes the title feel bigger and badder than its predecessor.

I get that, but to me, Pikmin 2 is a misstep in the series. Pikmin 3 would delight me enough that I’ve been anticipating Pikmin 4 since Shigeru Miyamoto hinted at it back in 2015, and it’s the game release I’m most excited about this year. However, the inclusion of dungeons gives me pause. The demo for the game at least hints that they’ll be short obstacles and not just long chores that I slog through just to check them off the list. However, the first few hours of Pikmin 2 also mislead in that very same way. So, I’ll have to wait and see.

The new port of Pikmin 2 is a fine way to experience this game, but whether or not you think it’s trash or treasure is going to depend on your preferences. It’s at least cheap enough that you aren’t going to be too out of pocket to give it a try. It’s probably worth it just for the first few hours when it’s at its prime. But just beware that after introductions are made, it’s going to throw you in a hole.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Pikmin 2 (2023) appeared first on Destructoid.

Trash Can Children

The Garbage Pail Kids are a bit out of my wheelhouse. I don’t particularly like gross-out humor. Even some of the stuff in Ren & Stimpy is too much for me. I respect gross-out humor. I think it’s probably healthy to find amusement in bodily functions that we all experience but, for some reason, choose to demonize. That doesn’t change things, though. It doesn’t tickle the atrophied humor muscle in my brain.

Except for butts. Butts are forever funny.

However, the NES is part of my domain. So when Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum arrived, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to pick up a physical copy of it for NES. To be clear, I bought this myself. When I covered Blazing Rangers back in February, First Press Games had offered me a copy of it. I’m not sure Iam8bit even has my contact information, and I’m too polite and shy to actually ask for anyone for review copies.

[caption id="attachment_390217" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum (NES, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Developer: Retrotainment Games, Digital Eclipse
Publisher: iam8bit
Released: October 25, 2022
MSRP: $9.99 (Digital), $79.99 (NES)

If you’re unfamiliar with the Garbage Pail Kids, it was an attempt to take the Cabbage Patch Kids and turn it into the most unwholesome, disgusting mutation possible. They were chiefly a series of trading cards, but they eventually spun off into a movie that has been described as “the worst ever” and a cartoon series that got canceled before it even hit the air. My husband says the cartoon is “interesting” but that I “definitely wouldn’t like it.”

Garbage Pail Kids went away for the ‘90s but came back in the ‘00s, as you can’t keep a good property down. They’re the perfect storm of parents hating them and kids loving them that made them memorable.

There was never a video game spin-off of the property, but there probably should have been, so Retrotainment Games got the license and went straight to correcting history. They created Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum for the NES hardware. Iam8bit picked it up as publisher, and last year it hit consoles and PC with the help of Digital Eclipse. Now, it’s been pressed to an NES cartridge, which feels absolutely poetic.

https://youtu.be/E4lcgpH6V88

Butts are forever funny

Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is a platformer that feels like a mash-up of a lot of different games while also being its own thing. You can swap between four characters at any time, which feels sort of like Little Samson or Bucky O’Hare. However, the levels, while linear, have some exploration elements to them, which prevents the game from just feeling like a clone. It still feels like a license-focused platformer but in a more favorable sense. Like Duck Tales.

Also, like Duck Tales, you get to select the order of levels. There are six in total that cover a range of locations and time periods. Your team of grotesque children doesn’t earn any new skills as they progress, so the order you tackle them is completely up to you.

The children themselves are diverse. They provide the skills of melee, jumping, projectiles, and also projectiles, but these projectiles arc downward. They each have their own health bar, but the different characters are one of the low-points of Garbage Pail Kids’ design.

Leaky Lindsay is easily the most useful, having a direct projectile attack that keeps you out of the way of enemy attacks. Mike is okay for dealing damage to bosses. Patty Putty is exclusively used for jumping, as Garbage Pail Kids doesn’t make for a good hop-and-bop. However, as each kid has their own health bar, they can also die individually. This means you might have to use Leaky Lindsay sparingly, and being stuck with only Patty Putty left alive is just a drag. As you lose children, the experience just gets worse and worse.

[caption id="attachment_390218" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Top of the trash heap

Otherwise, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is a pretty solid NES title. Some of the levels drag a bit, but on the whole, they’re diverse and interesting. The sprite work is solid, the music pops, and there’s a well-stocked buffet of bosses to take on. It doesn’t really feel like a homebrew game. You could easily mistake it as a title that came out in maybe ‘91 or ‘92 during the twilight days of the NES.

They even managed to work in trading and collecting cards. You pick them up from knocked-over trash cans and can swap them with NPCs scattered throughout the levels. Some of them help you out by resurrecting kids or nuking the screen, but others are just to collect. If you have them all at the end, you get a little certificate telling you that you managed to get them all. It’s fun stuff.

Of course, it’s also really gross. You could probably guess that by the fact that one of the children is perpetually caked in slime and shoots boogers as a projectile. It didn’t disgust me beyond my tolerance, but the gross-out humor is definitely still here.

[caption id="attachment_390221" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

The grossest gang of goofs ever

The cartridges were done by NESInfiniteLives. Some early images showed the two colors of cartridge, blue and pink, as being opaque. It seems like the production cartridges are transparent, as that’s what I got, which I’m not as much of a fan of. It’s still a quality product, though. They’re just not going to fool anyone into believing these are authentic. The game also doesn’t come with a dust cover, but the boxes are sealed and have stickers on them that look like price tags but really just denote the size of the production run.

Most importantly, though, it works in my NES. The manual it comes with is also very informative and includes a foreword by one of the developers. Iam8bit doesn’t seem obsessive about nailing the authenticity of the product, but they definitely get the job done. Although, it might be a bit more expensive than it should be.

Buying the physical copy also nets you the Steam version of the game if you don’t have it already. The PC version comes with bonus videos and filters that obviously can’t fit on the NES hardware, so it’s nice that you don’t have to miss out on the special features just because you want it on a cartridge.

[caption id="attachment_390219" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Better than the movie (probably)

Really, though, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is just a decent game. It’s top shelf for the console, but maybe not tippy-top. Like, it’s not a top 10 game, or a top 20. Top 50 is a bit more believable, but at the very least, it’s a top 100. It’s comparable to, say, Vice: Project Doom’s level of quality. Like Shatterhand or S.C.A.T. Not quite great, but better than good, you know?

In a lot of ways, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum demonstrates how far the homebrew market has come. Here we have a licensed game released nearly 30 years after the end of the NES lifespan. It contains all the graphical trickery and polished gameplay of a latter-day title, and you could almost believe that it really is a lost prototype brought back to life. It may be gross, but if you’re a fan of the console or the Garbage Pail Kids, you should definitely find some way to rub it all over yourself.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum appeared first on Destructoid.

Ray'zing the bar

If you’re only a casual or intermediate lover of scrolling shoot-’em-ups, it’s easy to drown in the deep end. The genre has been unfathomably popular in Japanese Game Centres for decades, so just about every publisher of arcade games at the time had multiple series going. So, you’ll have to excuse me if I haven’t played every game featured in the Ray’z Arcade Chronology. I mean, I’ve heard of them. Not that I could tell you when and where because the names RayForce, RayStorm, and RayCrisis are so laughably similar that I can’t keep them straight.

That’s okay. A lifetime of experience with the genre has given me ample framework to appreciate each of these games, and appreciate them I did.

[caption id="attachment_389830" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ray'z Arcade Chronology (Switch [Reviewed], PS4)
Developer: M2, Taito
Publisher: ININ Games
Released: June 30, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

Ray’z Arcade Chronology consists of three games in the “Ray” series. This is 1994’s RayForce, 1996’s RayStorm, and 1998’s RayCrisis. This is why you need to be careful with your nomenclature. We’re left with Ray’z to cover the whole series. Who’s Ray? I don’t know. Some guy who likes arcade shooters.

In any case, each of these titles is fantastic and brings something of their own to the table. RayForce is 2D, using a layer stacking technique to give the whole experience some 3D depth. RayStorm takes the series into actual 3D, which results in quite a ride. RayCrisis has the whole thing take place inside a supercomputer. This might sound lame, but there’s a feature where you’re given a specific route through the game, and your initials keep track of which ones you’ve cleared so you’re presented with a different series of levels each time you pick it back up.

The collection was overseen by M2, which should tell astute readers everything they need to hear. M2 is generally considered the gold standard when it comes to porting games, and scrolling shoot-’em-ups are their specific area of expertise. I probably don’t have to tell you they did an immaculate job with the Ray’z Arcade Chronology, but I will anyway: They did an immaculate job with the Ray’z Arcade Chronology.

Rather than just bare ports, each of the games gets a bunch of bells and whistles. You can play with the DIP switches to customize the experience. The borders are filled with more UI stats than you could even need (including one that tells you the name of the music track currently playing). You also get an HD version of both RayStorm and RayCrisis that literally does just that. It increases the resolution so you don’t get a pixellated look. I love the pixellated look, but maybe you don’t, weirdo.

https://youtu.be/dm1DyVDmkV8

RayCast

Anecdotally, I see RayForce as being the most highly respected of the bunch. It’s not hard to see why, as the sprite work is fantastic. It also has a smooth transition from level to level, making the whole thing seem continuous. It introduces the series staple of having a lock-on, which is necessary for hitting enemies that appear in the distance.

RayStorm is a lot of fun too. It might be my favorite in the bunch, but it’s harder to describe why. On paper, it really just sounds like RayForce in 3D, but while it loses the stylish transitions, it still feels like a great trip. It really knows how to make good use of the backgrounds to heighten the action without getting in the way.

On the other hand, I enjoyed RayCrisis far more than I thought I would. It feels more innovative than the other games, and gives more incentive to replaying and building up your skill. Not only do you get a different set of levels on each playthrough, but you’re also graded based on how well you do. You’re given an incentive to prevent enemies from simply exiting the screen unscathed. Considering most shoot-’em-ups are less than an hour long and replay value is usually just reducing continues used and increasing score, I appreciate something more tangible to help elevate it.

The downside is that, because it takes place in a computer, the levels aren’t quite as cohesive. They just sort of happen. In a way, the progression of RayCrisis is the antithesis of the one-take of RayForce. It’s not a deal breaker. It’s more like a compromise to get the sweet, sweet replay value.

[caption id="attachment_389831" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

RayTracing

Unfortunately, if you want to play the prototype for R-Gear, you need to order through Strictly Limited Games. R-Gear was initially in development as a sequel to RayForce that would have retained the 2D art style, but development instead moved to RayStorm’s full polygonal 3D. It’s just a prototype, and it only includes one level, but it would have been cool to have it as part of the digital version. Maybe I’ll just have to pony up for a physical copy. Goodness knows I enjoyed Ray’z Arcade Chronology more than enough to justify it.

Oh, hey, that leads us to this little summary paragraph. Ray’z Arcade Chronology is really good. It’s a great collection of great ports of great games. That’s it. No notes (aside from the ones already provided). If you haven’t played any of these games, you definitely owe it to yourself to check out the collection. If you have played them, this is just a great way to get all the titles together with some bells and whistles. I could scarcely ask for more.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Ray’z Arcade Chronology appeared first on Destructoid.

This is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about

One of the things I respect about the medium of video games is its ability to tackle difficult situations in a way that other mediums can’t. Even when it comes to non-visual mediums like, say, the written word, we’re only spectators. A video game can make things about us. Some empathy is still required, but we can be the ones trapped in an uncomfortable situation.

Sometimes this is too much. When I played He Fucked the Girl Out of Me last year, it actually dug up memories of (unrelated to the subject matter) trauma that I had repressed. It was for the best, but it was also a lot.

But it doesn’t always have to be a lot, as A Long Journey to an Uncertain End proves. You can approach difficult subjects carefully and with a light heart without minimizing the seriousness of it. If you asked me before playing it how such a thing would be possible, I probably wouldn’t have an answer. And yet, here it is.

[caption id="attachment_389209" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

A Long Journey to an Uncertain End (PC)
Developer: Crispy Creative
Publisher: Crispy Creative, Mooncat Games, Fig Publishing Inc.
Released: June 28, 2023
MSRP: TBA

In A Long Journey to an Uncertain End, you’re on the run from your abusive ex. Also, you’re a spaceship. Actually, you’re the AI pilot of a spaceship, but you’ve been “unshackled,” so you can feel the full spectrum of emotions. Your ex wasn’t treating you well, and after a particularly violent episode, you’re liberated by a crewmember and are off to, well, an uncertain end.

That may sound rather ridiculous, but the presentation is eerily realistic. Someone smashing the control panels of a vehicle may sound more like property damage, but I feel really gross for just writing that sentence. If that’s too outlandish to really latch onto, your ex-partner is also psychologically abusive. And boy howdy, that gets across very clearly without being blatantly said.

As you travel, you meet a colorful cast of new crewmembers to recruit. Their antics do a great job of helping you forget that someone wants to emotionally beat you into submission. The sci-fi elements do a decent job of taking the edge off, the characters make things fun and entertaining, but the whole abuse angle is still there and capable of biting at you whenever a cutscene comes up.

I guess the best way of putting it is that A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is very careful and compassionate about how it handles the subject matter.

https://youtu.be/pbzXNf8TXkw

Dice or die

The game itself is sort of a mash-up of a visual novel and a simple tabletop RPG. There’s no combat, but there are a whole lot of dice rolls. Essentially, you move from planet to planet with the primary task of keeping your ship supplied for the next jump. You do this using simple trades, or by having your crewmembers do side-jobs. Sometimes these side-jobs will net you additional crewmembers or advance the plot in some way. People you help may also assist you in the final part of each sector.

Each member of the crew has expertise in a certain area, like tech or seduction. Then it’s just a matter of odds. You can call in favors to increase these and…

Ugh. Okay, so the gameplay is where everything breaks down with A Long Journey to an Uncertain End. As much as I have admiration for its unique premise and deftness when it comes to telling a difficult story, the gameplay is easy to get through at best and mystifying at worst. And it’s frustrating, because I don’t know where to begin.

I guess the best place is with its biggest issue: There’s very little feedback here. It seems like A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is trying to be an extremely friendly game, but part of the way it does this is by withholding punishment. If you run out of supplies on a jump to a new planet, for example, I’m not sure what the result is. Does this upset your crew members? I’m not sure. Can you fail a job entirely or just not complete it well? Why does calling in a favor sometimes wipe out all the crew mood increase that I get from a job and replace it with something else? What am I missing here? Why won’t you tell me!?

[caption id="attachment_389211" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

I don't like these odds

It’s not as though I had a difficult time getting through 2-3 hours of A Long Journey to an Uncertain End. Largely, the only credible threat I could find was a clock that ticked down to when your ex catches up to you. That’s not nothing, but it’s pretty easy to just make sure you just take off before they get too close.

But midway through, I noticed I was packing bags of favors that I could call in. You typically use these to simply increase the odds of success for jobs. Since I had dozens of these things by the mid-point of the game, I was suddenly able to just scatter my crew across the jobs on a planet, then whiff it through all the decisions. Once at the end of a job, I could just pile on the favors and walk away with the reward. I’m pretty sure that’s not how the game is supposed to be played.

It’s almost prototypical. The framework of the gameplay was laid down, and all the writing was dropped on top of it, but nothing was done to tweak or polish it into an enjoyable experience. It’s not a completely non-functional wreck, but you can see what it was aiming for, and it falls way short.

[caption id="attachment_389215" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

A sloshing bucket

It’s a shame, because the characters are fun and the story is reasonably well-written. I feel that the actual sci-fi elements are a little trite, but its integration of difficult themes makes it a success. The characters are a splash of LGBTQ+ color, to the point where the spaceship is filled to bursting with gender fluid. Their preferred pronouns don’t necessarily play much into the narrative, but their identities help each feel distinct.

A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is just such a well-intentioned game that it’s a shame that it’s so limp where it counts. You rarely see its sensitive approach to difficult topics in video games. Yet, when it’s time to engage with it as a player, it falls into a heap on the floor. The cast of characters and narrative themes help elevate it above simply being average, but it’s hard to get over the nauseating sting of disappointment when you discover that A Long Journey to an Uncertain End isn’t quite where it could or should be.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: A Long Journey to an Uncertain End appeared first on Destructoid.

Please add Sissel to the next Marvel vs. Capcom

When it comes to Nintendo, you never know if its consoles and handhelds will go out with a bang or with a whimper. The GameCube, for instance, went out with an absolute whimper, as new releases had all but dried up by the time the Wii arrived. Yes, it got Twilight Princess in the end, but it was pretty sparse otherwise. The Nintendo DS, on the other hand, went out with one hell of an explosion. In the months leading up to the release of the 3DS, publishers dropped an assortment of gems for the platform, including Okamiden, Radiant Historia, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation, and Pokémon Black & White in North America and Europe. And that was just in the first three months of 2011 before the 3DS hit.

This is also when Shu Takumi’s follow-up to the Phoenix Wright series, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, arrived stateside. I remember picking this up at launch, captivated by its premise, and gorging myself on the game over a cold January weekend. It’s too bad not many other people did at the time, but considering this game is all about second chances, it’s fitting Sissel, Missile, and the rest of this well-animated crew get a second shot at the limelight with this new HD remaster.

[caption id="attachment_388884" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Switch, Xbox One)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released: June 30, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is an adventure whodunnit starring a recently deceased man named Sissel. Found dead in a junkyard, face down/ass up, he has just one night to solve the mystery behind his murder before he moves on to the afterlife. His lifeless body is discovered by go-getter freshman detective Lynne, and the two cross paths throughout the night as Sissel has to keep saving her life from the assassins sent to hunt her down. Keeping her alive will take Sissel to various locations around the city, from a chic apartment to a prison to a chicken restaurant. Each location and the people who dwell there play key roles in keeping Lynne alive to sunrise and Sissel on the hunt for the truth of what happened to him.

Because he is dead, Sissel’s only means of protecting Lynne and anyone else who gets in harm's way is to manipulate objects in the environment. This is just one of his Ghost Powers, and it’s his use of these powers that make up the game’s puzzle-solving side. Each environment is an immaculately hand-drawn 2D setting stuff with objects Sissel can possess and occasionally interact with. Some objects are only there to provide a bridge for Sissel to reach the necessary tools needed to solve the puzzle. Other objects are interactive like an umbrella you can open up or a trash can lid you can pop. Using his Ghost Powers, Sissel can also travel between locations through telephone lines, but only if he isn’t in a flashback.

As I said, there are assassins out and about in the game, hunting down Lynne and whoever has the misfortune to get in their way. Most of the time, when Sissel arrives to save one of the victims, they’re already dead. With his final Ghost Power, Sissel can travel back in time to watch the last four minutes of the character’s life. Every time you travel back in time, you’ll be able to see everything that happens to the victim and decide how to protect them using the various objects in each setting. There is a time limit for getting this all done, but it’s rarely an issue. Even if you do fail, you can just rewind the clock and start again. Don’t be surprised if you have to watch the victim die more than once to fully figure out how to save them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiesBTPVc-c

The premise of these puzzles is sound enough, but seeing it in action can be riveting. You’re basically playing the role of an invisible stagehand trying to manipulate how a scene plays out while the actors are in the middle of it. It’s a clever concept with brilliant execution, though it doesn’t provide any sort of lightbulb-over-the-head aha moments. This isn’t the type of puzzle game where you’ll have a constant stream of epiphanies that make you feel elated. It’s more just being satisfied with figuring out how to get everything into place for the desired set piece.

Outside of the people-saving and puzzle-solving, there is a great deal of lore to lap up in Ghost Trick. Shu Takumi really outdid himself with solid writing and an engaging, eccentric cast. I’m sure the ending will be just as hotly debated as it was back in 2011, but know the journey to that end is brimming with great character moments and charming writing. There are so many memorable faces here, all brought to life with outstanding animation.

The original Ghost Trick was notable for its incredibly fluid character animation, best exhibited by the flamboyant Detective Cabanela. The look was achieved by creating the characters as 3D models before rendering them as 2D sprites. On the DS, it was smooth and crisp even if it was a bit pixelated (which was fine given the size of the Nintendo DS screens). On the PlayStation 4, it’s just as smooth and crisp, but with the power of the RE Engine, the entire look of this game has been cleaned up from top to bottom. This HD remaster gives the world of Ghost Trick a slick glow-up. It’s very polished, to the point where some might argue it’s too polished, but I could never seriously make that argument. I did notice a few very minor visual blemishes when some characters would walk, but outside of those moments, this is a gorgeous game. At least when you’re not in the UI.

[caption id="attachment_388885" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective’s origins as a Nintendo DS game are impossible to miss. For starters, only some elements, like a few of its new menus, are in widescreen. The game itself is full-screen with borders. I have to imagine this decision was made for the same reason classic fighting games are always presented in 4:3 with borders on the side. Giving players a widescreen video of a full-screen game may break whatever challenge there is. I’m fine with the 4:3 ratio for the gameplay, but there are moments where what originally looked good on the DS is a bit too much on a regular television screen. Some character portraits and speech bubbles are unnecessarily huge.

I understand that, in an age where developers keep releasing games with text sizes that would feel at home at the bottom of a pharmaceutical commercial, I probably shouldn’t be complaining about having an easy-to-read text size. But it doesn’t look great, and neither do some of the menus and other parts of the UI that feel unnecessarily big. It’s a minor complaint on my part, but I can’t help but notice when I see elements of the remaster that lack the slickness of the rest of the package. The game also lacks voice acting, if you’re wondering, but I prefer it that way. I don’t need some professional voice actor coming in here and messing up what Cabanela sounds like in my head.

As for how it plays—which I probably should have discussed earlier in this review—the conversion from touch controls to a traditional controller works well. I do think the control scheme, in terms of what buttons you use, could have been simplified (no reason to stipulate circle will exit the Ghost World when L1 does the same thing and it’s the button you pressed to get into it), but it’s not anything that’ll give you trouble. Because I played on PlayStation, I do not know if the Switch version has a touch control option. In terms of what’s new for the remaster beyond the visual upgrade, Ghost Trick includes challenges, rearranged classic music tracks, one new music track, a collection of artwork and concept art, and the sliding puzzles from the mobile version of the game.

All in all, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a fine remaster of a wonderful title far too many people missed out on. Shu Takumi has stated another entry in this franchise might happen if this game sells well enough, but I feel like that’s a statement we’ve heard dozens of times over the past 10 years with little of anything to show for it. Whether or not we get another game in the series doesn’t really matter to me. What matters is more people now have an opportunity to play an absolute gem of an adventure game.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (2023) appeared first on Destructoid.

Accidental tourism

The Gamecube started off with a bang in 2001. As if Star War: Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader, Luigi’s Mansion, and Wave Race: Blue Storm weren’t enough to get fans through the year, Pikmin and Super Smash Bros. Melee dropped on the same day on December 3, 2001. It would be crazy to pit any game against such a titan today, but Smash Bros. wasn’t yet the institution it would soon become.

I have a lot of warm memories of Pikmin. I remember failing to get the last piece of the Dolphin on my first attempt and arguing about the existence of purple Pikmin on message boards. Good times.

In preparation for Pikmin 4 (which is one of my most anticipated games of the year), Nintendo has released the first two games on Switch in a nice, clear HD update. There's precedent. They previously surprised us with Metroid Prime Remastered, which was far more than just an HD port. Did Nintendo go to the same effort with Pikmin 1? No. Did I get the last piece of the Dolphin? You better believe it.

[caption id="attachment_388240" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Pikmin 1 (Switch)
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: June 21, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

Pikmin is the story of the intrepid Captain Olimar, whose intelligence is not up to par with his intrepidness. While cruising the galaxy in his favorite ship, he’s hit by an asteroid and sent crashing onto a nearby planet. With his only hope of escape in tatters, he enlists the aid of some indigenous root vegetables to help him piece it back together.

The original Pikmin is perhaps the most anxiety-inducing. You have 30 days to assemble your ship before Olimar’s life support runs out. There are 30 parts, though only 25 of them are necessary to prevent the spaceman’s posthumous metamorphosis. When you’re new to the game, maintaining a pace of obtaining a ship part each day can be a bit of a tall order. It’s sufficient enough, though. This time through the game, I managed to get everything in 18 days.

https://youtu.be/_kKLW7_218s

A new pair of glasses

While Pikmin 1 is largely a straight port of the Wii version played at a higher resolution, it’s been touched up. Mainly, this is just the interface, which displays in HD rather than simply upscaled from its original resolution. You can also play using either motion controls or joypad. Some people swear by using the pointer, but I feel most comfortable with two sticks.

At least I would, but the port also changes the use of the right stick. On the Gamecube version, simply pointing the stick would rally your Pikmin in that direction to attack or grab anything they ran into. In the port, it moves the camera. This makes a whole lot of sense to everybody except my thumbs. Holding the L button results in the right stick functioning as it did originally, but my muscle memory is so ingrained that I’d forget to do this when under pressure.

In any case, the point here is that you shouldn’t expect Pikmin 1 to have been given the tender, loving care of Metroid Prime Remastered. A closer expectation is that it’s more on the level of Super Mario Sunshine from the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection, which I still can’t believe is no longer available. That is screwed up.

[caption id="attachment_388241" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Root vegetables

In any case, Nintendo hasn’t imposed the same time limitation on the Pikmin remasters, which is nice. Pikmin maybe doesn’t top my list of favorite Gamecube games, but I still love it very much. It’s a survival game with none of the features that we would normally associate with the modern survival genre. It’s also interesting in the fact that you can grow hundreds of the little carrot people, and still, it’s hard not to feel bad when your judgment fails and a few dozen get squashed by a Wollyhop.

Poor identical little dudes.

Pikmin 1 is also the most straightforward in its concept. The only gating you run into is when it comes to collecting Pikmin abilities. You start off with only red, which are immune to fire and hit harder. Then there’s yellow that can carry bombs and fly farther when thrown. Finally, you obtain blue, who can breath underwater and that’s good enough. Once you have them all, the world is your oyster.

Actually, not quite. The different stages are unlocked after obtaining a certain number of ship parts, but the point is that, very early, you’re essentially let off the leash. The only thing between you and success is your vegetables and your brain. It’s quite refreshing, even if that means you can finish the game in 18 in-game days (8-ish hours for a fresh run).

[caption id="attachment_388243" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Carrot-kind

Pikmin’s unique premise and tight design have ensured that it remains rather ageless. Even the graphics, as aged as they are, still convey everything they need to. It’s every bit as enjoyable now as it was back in 2001. Pikmin nailed it so hard on the first try that its sequels could only really iterate on the concept.

Pikmin 4 is looking like it may be the biggest evolution the series has seen, but it’s unlikely you’ll need any prior experience with the earlier titles. Nonetheless, I absolutely recommend you check out Pikmin 1 if you haven’t already. If you are familiar with the original, just know that this is a solid port, but it doesn’t really add anything that wasn’t in the GameCube version. However, with its bumped-up resolution, it’s easily the best way to play this absolutely timeless fight for carrot-kind’s survival.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Pikmin 1 (2023) appeared first on Destructoid.

As I hung up the phone, it occurred to me, he'd grown up just like me

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life offers a slightly different take on the well-worn farming sim genre. As a new resident of the Forgotten Valley, you’re still here to revitalize an old farm and socialize with the townsfolk, but it’s that second aspect that takes a central role here. The point of your new life in this hamlet isn’t to save a farm or to stop the development of a theme park...

You’re here to make a life for yourself, one that is filled with love, family, and friends.

[caption id="attachment_387436" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (PC, PS5, Switch [reviewed], Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: Marvelous
Publisher: Xseed Games
Released: June 27, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

A Wonderful Life is one Story of Seasons title that genuinely lives up to its name. Prior games in the series — and when I say prior, I mean those before the release of the original version of this game back on the GameCube in 2003 — put the focus squarely on farming, with making friends and courtship positioned as side activities to keep players busy between harvests. In A Wonderful Life, those elements are the core of the experience. Yes, you'll still spend roughly half your time tending to crops and livestock as you would in any other Story of Seasons game, (and the farming system can get somewhat deep with hybrid crops and animal husbandry to consider), but nothing you do on this farm matters if you go home to an empty house and an empty bed at the end of the day.

It's your activities outside your farm that make the difference in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. Meeting people, making friends, falling in love; these have (mostly) always been elements of the franchise, but here, whether or not you've had a life well-lived will be determined by your success in these areas.

The story of A Wonderful Life is divided into several periods of your farmer's life. You'll start the first year single and hopefully ready to mingle as you'll need to be married to one of the eight eligible townsfolk—same-sex relationships are an option here as is the option to make your farmer non-binary—by the end of winter or it's on to the end credits roll. From there, you and your companion will have a child, and the next several chapters will focus on how well you do as a parent, as a partner, and as a member of the community. As your child grows into an adult, you and your spouse will grow old. People in the town will age as well. Some will die. People will move, and others will make a new start in the Forgotten Valley.

I've played plenty of games in the Story of Seasons franchise over the past decade, but not one of them handles all of the stuff outside your farm as well as A Wonderful Life does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q2qKTRydI0

Life on the farm is pretty par for the course. To accommodate the structure of the game's story, each season in A Wonderful Life lasts just 10 days. For some crops, that might mean you get one shot at growing it a season. For players who like to maximize their farm's potential, there are hybrid fruits and vegetables to discover, several different breeds of cows, each with their own milk, and machines that can help guarantee high-quality crops. With the available arable land being as small as it is, tending to your farm will likely only take up a few hours each day. That leaves plenty of time to go fishing, help out at the archaeology site, complete various requests, participate in some mini-games, or try to strengthen your relationships with the people around town.

Or you can spend that time shaping your child into the adult they will become. In your role as a parent, you can help dictate your child's future, directing them toward one of several interests that may ultimately become their vocation. I'm not entirely sure how much of a difference it makes between which path your kid takes, but the destination didn't matter that much to me. It was the journey that won me over, all those nights spent playing with my daughter, buying her toys, and watching her grow from a toddler to a tween to an adult.

I don't have kids in real life. And, I'm not entirely sure if I want them. But seeing my virtual daughter grow into a young woman was something special to experience. In those moments, when time would jump ahead and I'd see how my rearing impacted her growth, I felt this sense of accomplishment no other Story of Seasons game has given me.

[caption id="attachment_387435" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

If you're already sold on Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life as a fan of the original and are just wondering how this remaster holds up, know that this is an exceptional version of the game. The Forgotten Valley looks wonderful in HD, it runs pretty much flawlessly on Switch, I appreciate most of the new character designs, and Marvelous has added enough new elements, including new hybrid crops, new recipes, and a new bachelor in Gordy, to make this a return visit well worth making if you've played it before.

Just don't expect certain elements, like animal husbandry, to have the depth they once did as a lot of the processes have been streamlined. For those who didn't give it a try on the GameCube or PlayStation 2, the easiest way to decide if this is right for you is to ask yourself how important you consider farming in your farming sims. If there is one complaint I have that isn't just nitpicking, it's that the audio isn't up to par with the rest of the presentation.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is a remarkable experience. It takes the classic farming formula and gives it a purpose beyond just seeing how many S-ranked tomatoes you can grow. With its focus on family, legacy, and living a good life, this is a farming sim where what you do away from the fields is as important as what you do when you're tilling that land. It's a game that encourages a healthy work-life balance, and there is no better lesson we need in our modern era than that.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life appeared first on Destructoid.

Devil May Clive

There’s been quite a bit of talk around the release of Final Fantasy XVI, mostly about what a Final Fantasy game is. Depending on the era you started playing games and the consoles you played them on, that answer can vary wildly. And with Final Fantasy XVI breaking new ground for the series, this debate has carried on for a while.

After rolling credits on Final Fantasy XVI, I can verify it is a Final Fantasy game. It’s about crystals and magic, ancient beings of incredible power, and swords clashing over ideals that could shape the fate of the world. Plus, there’s chocobos and moogles. If nothing else, those are absolute signifiers.

Credentials aside, Final Fantasy XVI feels like a big step in a new direction. It might not be the classic style some long-time fans had hoped for. But it’s a step that’s confident, exploring a new world of possibilities while carrying forward good chunks of its past. It’s a Final Fantasy, and a good one at that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eciI3eMPj7M&ab_channel=Destructoid

Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)
Developer: Square Enix Creative Business Unit III
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: June 22, 2023
MSRP: $69.99

Final Fantasy XVI follows the journey of Clive Rosfield, through three distinct eras of his life. Starting in his teens, where Clive is the Shield of his younger brother and heir to the throne Joshua, it later jumps forward to a more tumultuous and traumatic time for Clive, and further on as the story develops. I’m working to keep this review largely spoiler-free, as there are quite a few twists and turns along the way.

There are many nations, names, and proper nouns to remember, so the Active Time Lore feature helps a ton. Square Enix has done a surprising amount of work cataloguing all the character relationships, political intrigue, and the evolving landscape of Valisthea over the course of the story.

Throughout this adventure, Clive also slowly builds up a band of companions. His childhood friend Jill, who happens to be the Dominant of Shiva; Cidolfus, or Cid, the Dominant of Ramuh; the cheerful and crafty scout Gav, rambunctious Mid, and various other characters who work together as part of Cid’s organization, attempting to right the wrongs of the world. Clive starts out as a bit of lone wolf, on a quest to solve his own troubles. Soon after, he gets caught up in the larger issues at hand.

Tales of loss and fire and faith

And oh boy, are there some wrongs to be righted. Final Fantasy XVI goes for a dark fantasy setting that feels very, very Game of Thrones at times. Schemers plot and thwart each other. Armies fight and die for control of the Mothercrystals, massive crystalline structures thought to hold off the advance of the destructive Blight that’s destroying the world of Valisthea. And yes, Final Fantasy says “fuck” now.

Those born with magic are seen as lesser people, are branded as Bearers. They’re bought, sold, and expended like a commodity, as their use of magic gradually drains the life force from their body until they’re spent. Dominants are the most powerful of these, as users that have control of an Eikon, one of Final Fantasy’s classic summons like Bahamut, Titan, or Shiva. Though, depending on where the Dominant resides, they may be treated as royalty, weapon, or just another Bearer to control.

[caption id="attachment_387650" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Square Enix tackles a lot of this headfirst, and how it lands can vary. Some early plot beats around Bearers and their struggles land well, while others don’t. Final Fantasy XVI’s highest plot points really, really hit, in the way a super-produced Final Fantasy cutscene can. Seeing giant Eikons clash against each other, the devastation they wreak, and the impressive scenes of battle are a sight to see.

That’s not to undersell the individual, more intimate performances though. Ben Starr holds it down as Clive, and Ralph Ineson’s performance as Cidolfus (a.k.a. Cid) is particularly memorable. Special shout-outs to Stewart Clarke, who puts in great work as Bahamut’s Dominant Dio Lesage too, as well as some others I can’t spoil here. Suffice to say, the core English VA crew does a great job, and the impressive renderings of the characters add a lot to XVI’s emotional highs.

[caption id="attachment_387656" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The supporting crew is solid too, but gets a little less to work with. It’s an overall mild problem, but there were times where story beats or ideas would be set up and then immediately shuffled out of the main plot’s path. Some characters feel like they flit in and out of the limelight, and I would’ve liked to see them get a little more to do than stand on the sidelines of the big fights and plot beats.

These story beats and side characters usually get more fleshed out in the side quests, which contain bits of expanded lore or more time with a specific character. Those rewards are good too, as the side quests themselves are often pretty mundane. Frequently, they would task me with a “go here, do thing, return” structure that would feel a little too routine. Hunts, at least, are a bit more involved; these are special encounters, with unique enemies that you have to actually find and locate in the world using the description on the Hunt Board. It’s a really engaging set-up, and makes good use of Final Fantasy XVI’s zone-based world.

Flames unyielding

It also highlights the combat of XVI, which I will just say is flat-out good. Easy comparisons can be made to other third-person character action games, ranging from God of War to Devil May Cry. But while it captures the spirit of those, it doesn’t lose all of its RPG heart, either.

Clive can have up to three Eikonic forms equipped at any time, which he can swap between like stances. He can also swing his sword and fire off bolts of magic, holding either down to charge it up, as well as dodge and take to the air. At any given time, there are a lot of options available to Clive.

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Each Eikon brings its own power and style to the fight. Phoenix, your first form, is a jack-of-all-trades. But swap to Garuda, and now you have Stagger-inducing swipes and a pull ability to bring enemies close. On Titan, you can armor through enemy attacks for big damage and counter foes with your massive bulwark. As Clive gains the power of various Eikons, his moveset keeps expanding, and each one adds a distinct and interesting new way to fight.

Where the RPG seeps in is how the player gets to determine their playstyle. Abilities can be upgraded and eventually mastered, which frees them up from being attached to their respective Eikon. So if you master a Phoenix move, for example, you can equip it to your Shiva or Bahamut loadout. Endgame builds get really interesting, as you start to mix the Eikon forms and signature moves you want, like Phoenix’s dash or Titan’s counter, with the individual Eikon abilities you favor. A playstyle that feels like your own can start to emerge.

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My frustration, then, is that it takes quite a while to get to that point. A good chunk of the early game is spent with a handful of Eikons and abilities. Combat opens up once Clive can swap through three different power sets, and as abilities begin to evolve and grow. It makes some early, standard-fare fights feel a bit repetitive, but thankfully, that gets better as Clive learns more skills. Equipment can also augment this, but aside from a few different accessories, they largely help boost your resilience, damage, and ability to Stagger enemies into a state where you can really wallop on them.

On Timely Accessories

Final Fantasy XVI has a set of accessories called Timely Accessories, which can assist with a lot of the more action-y aspects of the game. Some are low impact, like an accessory which controls Clive’s faithful companion Torgal for you, while others can make dodging easier or let you auto-combo. I messed around with them enough to make sure they work like they should. For those who enjoy action combat, I don’t think you’ll want or need to fall back on these; but for those who want a little help, they’re nice for getting through trickier fights.

Bosses are where Final Fantasy XVI’s combat really gets to shine. Whether in main story fights or the higher-rank Hunts, bosses bring new sets of engaging challenges to deal with. Bosses will start out slow, but gradually start throwing the kitchen sink at you. Barrages of abilities can feel like I’m playing a more action-driven Final Fantasy XIV raid encounter, as I’m reading AoE indicators and timing dodges while trying to unleash all my moves.

It makes sense, then, that Square Enix has included so much extra stuff to do in this game. I’ve already mentioned the side quests and Hunt Board. There’s no shortage of those, but on top of that, you can also replay certain stages or encounters, and there’s an Arcade Mode for leaderboard chasing against specific boss fights. These are bosses that aren't just fun to fight once, but over and over.

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On top of that, there is a New Game+ option that bumps up the level cap, swaps up encounters, and seems to generally expand on the entire campaign. Getting through Final Fantasy XVI once was already no small task, as I rolled credits at about 55 hours and still had plenty of side activities left over. But it seems like if you want more Final Fantasy XVI to play after credits roll, there will be plenty still waiting for you.

The final fantasy

Even just getting words on the page about what this action-RPG is feels like a huge task. Final Fantasy has entries that can feel monolithic in size and importance, standing out as these big system-driving role-playing games. Final Fantasy XVI is no exception.

Where Final Fantasy XVI succeeds for me is its confidence in what it is. It doesn’t half-step into its newfound drive for action combat. It goes hard into its M-rated dark fantasy world. Yet it doesn’t leave behind crystals, chocobos, or moogles.

XVI’s overall message is one of free will and choice, and the resolution to determine your own destiny. Breaking the chains of fate certainly isn’t new for RPGs, but it feels apt for a series trying to break new ground, and in a numbered entry at that.

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There are some stumbles and falters, a few places where quests can drag on or story beats fall flat. At certain points, I started breezing through or running by overworld battles. And there were certainly characters I wish had seen a bit more time to flourish.

When it comes to the big moments, the titanic clashes of ideals and reason, with gods trading blows over scorched battlefields, few do it like Final Fantasy does. Final Fantasy XVI absolutely delivers on the action front, has a compelling story with engaging twists and big payoffs, an excellent soundtrack, and a memorable cast.

It’s difficult to judge a Final Fantasy against the crystalline legacy of its predecessors. But Final Fantasy XVI takes a confident step into new territory and doesn’t slip. And for those who want an impressive, electrifying, enjoyable action RPG to sink hours upon hours into, you’d be very hard pressed to find a better option than Final Fantasy XVI.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Final Fantasy XVI appeared first on Destructoid.

Whoa?

Another live service game just came out in 2023 in Crash Team Rumble, and we're getting it instead of a Crash 5 for now. Wait, come back! If you're a Crash fan, there might be something here for you. Yeah, I didn't expect it either.

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Crash Team Rumble (PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Toys for Bob
Publisher: Activision
Released: June 20, 2023
MSRP: $29.99 (standard), $39.99 (deluxe)

So what the heck is Crash Team Rumble?

Despite the weird and somewhat pointless monetization angle (which we'll get to), the standard $29.99 edition (yes, this is not free-to-play) is a much simpler package than it seems on the surface. Crash Team Rumble is a 4v4 battle game that asks two competing teams to dunk Wumpa Fruit into their goal until they hit a score limit: at which point that team immediately wins. Easy to parse, right? It actually is! Matches are around five minutes to boot.

You'll need to roam across nine different maps (with more to come) that feel a lot like miniature Crash Bandicoot platforming levels while grabbing fruit, stopping other players from scoring, and causing havoc with power-ups. Those three core game loops encapsulate the trio of codified roles in the game: scorer, blocker, and booster. Actually fulfilling the core duties of your role (which is linked to specific characters) will shorten your ability cooldowns, but it's not completely necessary; as I've been in plenty of games where players flex into different jobs on a constant basis (and thrive).

The secret sauce of Crash Team Rumble is how all of this plays out. Given how easy this game is to pick up and put down, I was shocked to look up at the clock and see that an hour went by during multiple sessions.

[caption id="attachment_387597" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Breezy, fun, and cute mayhem

Crash Team Rumble controls a lot like a legitimate core Crash game, which is where it's going to make its mark for fans.

Crash himself still double-jumps, spins, and belly flops as normal, and each other character is different enough to justify their inclusion while mixing up how you approach each match. Platforming skills are paramount too, as swift jumps and air dashes can mean the difference between losing all of your fruit to a pit or scoring a game-winning goal. Coco in particular became a favorite of mine, as she can drop a digital brick wall behind her, with the option to trigger it during an air dash. It's immensely satisfying to block out an enemy while getting away for a breather, or drop them while mid-air to cause an opponent to slam into them and fall into the depths below.

I love how seamlessly Team Rumble eases you into all of this. The tutorial is short and sweet, and it's painless to pick up characters as there's a detailed move menu, just like a fighting game. What really surprised me is the high penchant for heroics in Crash Team Rumble's minute-to-minute flow. I've seen plenty of matches where individual players can make the difference in a marked way, cleaning up an entire team or blowing a crucial cooldown to defend a base when the enemy has the fruit they need to dunk and win. Hazards and other objectives (like taking control of extra score boost platforms or grabbing neutral power-ups) mix things up constantly, where no individual match feels the same, as different things are popping at different times and different roles of different skill levels are crossing paths.

The maps are just big enough to encourage discovery and small enough to create conflict: and the in-game iconography can help you make split-second decisions, like holding a large cache of fruit until the moment another teammate captures a bonus objective, to dunk in some extra points.

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To reiterate the looseness of the role system gimmick, you aren't fully "locked" into being a scorer, blocker, or booster, but slipping into that role will make things a little smoother. Scorers want to actually score. Blockers block other scorers, naturally. Boosters want to manipulate the match using those aforementioned activities, providing power-ups for the team and locking down scoring bonuses. Shorter cooldowns through role performance mean more opportunities for bigger plays, but you can make those plays organically.

All of this action funnels into one core mode (competitive matchmaking), with the option for private matches and "practice" featuring bots. This ensures there's one major "pool" for everyone to funnel into, and the aforementioned loop allows for a lot of variety. It's kind of a genius way to handle an online competitive game.

Thankfully, Crash Team Rumble has cross-play on day one. For a game like this, it basically needs cross-play to survive more than six months. Even so, I'm still worried about this one just from a preservation angle. A bot mode is a decent addition, but it is ostensibly a live service game, and I don't magically expect it'll become more generous as time goes on.

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What about those live service elements?

Outside of the 20 seconds or so it takes to connect to the game after the intro, it's hard to even sniff out some of the live service portions of Crash Team Rumble. This is partly due to the fact that the base game (again, $29.99) comes with the premium pass for season 1, while the deluxe edition includes seasons 1 and 2. Those passes are standard fare, containing emotes, backpacks, skins, and so on for each character...so a Fortnite lite style pass. The progression is what I'd call "slow-ish," which makes it feel all the more pointless; but individual character progression is kind of neat, as you can level up each cast member and unlock more cosmetics on top of the pass.

Even so, the slow-going pass is antithetical to the casual nature of how matches flow, and it's simultaneously confusing and innocuous. Those elements can feel tacked on, and although future seasonal content updates and monetization is up in the air (Activision is notorious for adding more layers after the launch of several similar games), all the core content (read: characters) is tied to in-game challenges, even future characters.

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It's a bold move to go with a premium package on top of a season pass model with a smaller release like this, but that's what we have at the moment. It's hard to predict how Crash Team Rumble ends up in six months, but I hope it's still around, and the team is able to just facilitate what is working without corporate meddling. Whether or not enough people feel like spending $30 minimum to stick around and find out is up in the air.

_{[This review is based on a retail/launch build of the game provided by the publisher, as well as beta playtime.]}

The post Review: Crash Team Rumble appeared first on Destructoid.

Back to the Little Tail Bronx

It felt like we weren’t going to see a sequel to 2021’s Fuga: Melodies of Steel. For starters, it ended rather conclusively. It also only sold modestly, and it feels like Cyberconnect has been trying unsuccessfully to get the Little Tail Bronx series to take off since Tail Concerto in 1998. Yet, here we are, with Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2.

I couldn’t be happier. The original Fuga was a surprisingly well-executed design that got a lot of mileage from what could be considered very simple mechanics. So, how do you expand on that? What can you do to improve what has already been polished to such a gloss?

Not much, I guess.

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Fuga: Melodies of Steel (PC, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: CyberConnect2
Released: May 11, 2023
MSRP: $39.99

Taking place one year after the events of the first game, Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 sees the children reunite. However, before they even have time to catch up with one another, an ancient evil is re-awakened, a friend of theirs is killed, and they’re left chasing a new foe. Surprisingly, even though the kids still find themselves at the wheel of the giant Metal Slug-like Taranis, the plot manages to be mostly different.

In particular, I like the way Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 improves on its cast. While the children are all still children, one year is an eternity when you’re pre-teen. They’ve all grown from their experiences during the war and now have new strengths and insecurities. Characters who I maybe didn’t love in the first game, like Jin and Wappa, are given the chance to shine anew. Likewise, two boss characters from the previous title make their way aboard the Taranis, and in the new light of their diminished status, they add a nice flavor to the happenings on the tank.

That said, the narrative still has some of the same problems as the first game. The overarching plot seems to be stretched out to accommodate character growth. This time, it has trouble focusing on any significant event. Something happens to shake things up, and then it’s quickly resolved, and we move on. It’s definitely not terrible, but it’s not as interesting as the previous story, and that one was already not spectacular, to begin with.

https://youtu.be/hydneoxIkJ0

That's a big metal slug

The gameplay is more-or-less remixed rather than changed. Each of the characters has been gutted of their old skills, and they get an entirely new set of them. Once again, they commandeer either a machine gun, grenade launch, or cannon on the Taranis, and they may have something different this time around.

There are more widespread changes. The grenade launcher, for example, is where you’d commonly find the attacks that hit multiple targets in the first game. In Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2, these are spread out across the machine guns and cannons. The changes don’t make the game dramatically different, but they do mean that you’ll need to adopt new strategies to succeed.

The enemies have also been tweaked. While the enemy was defeated in the previous title, you still largely fight their tanks. This (along with many other questions raised at the beginning of the game) isn’t initially addressed, but you eventually do find out why you’re fighting zombie tanks. But while they’re the same old machines of war, various mutations within them mean that they have a lot of new tricks up their sleeve. Overall, there’s more variety here, even if some of the units are quite familiar.

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Powered by a forsaken child

Perhaps the most harrowing difference is with the Soul Cannon. In Fuga: Melodies of Steel, you could chamber a child in this massive metal appendage and destroy anything in your path with a single blast of terminated innocence. However, doing so would net you one of the less satisfactory conclusions to the game. Less tragically, it would kill the child.

That wouldn’t cut it for Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2. You’ve already had one game to build up your skills, and it’s less likely you’ll need to lean on a “get out of failure-free” card. Now, if you find yourself on a losing trajectory – say, your health drops below 50% in a boss battle – the Taranis will select a child at random to load into the cannon. You then have 20 turns to finish the battle, or that child gets a one-way ticket to the other side of your opponent.

To offset this, the Taranis also has access to the Managarm, which uses children as ammunition. However, the Managarm only leaves the child injured and isn’t a guaranteed win like the Soul Cannon. It also means you don’t get experience points from the battle you used it in, but it might be better than having to scrap unrealized potential off the wall.

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Unconventional ammunition

You’ve probably figured this out already, but it’s best if you play Fuga: Melodies of Steel before moving on to the sequel. There’s a recap available if you want to know what happened in the first game, but Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 works more as a continuation of the story rather than a completely new entry in the series.

To that extent, Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 might be a bit too conservative when it comes to advancing forward. Many of the assets are completely recycled, which I don’t usually count as a bad thing, but they’re not repurposed, just reused. So, many of the stages take place in the same areas of the first game, and the backgrounds feel mostly unchanged. Aspects of the game have been touched up but otherwise left the same. I feel like the intermissions and the plumbing of ruins for loot could have been completely revamped just to give players something fresh to do, but they weren’t. They feel the same.

To be fair, I played the two games back to back and didn’t really feel bored or underwhelmed. There’s an extreme sense of deja vu in Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2, but the core gameplay still proves to have longevity beyond its simple mechanics.

I have mixed feelings about how similar it is to the previous game. For one thing, the $39.99 asking price – while reasonable when you consider the length and quality of the game – feels like a lot when held up to its contemporaries in the small-budget space. On the other hand, if cutting corners was needed just to allow the series to continue, then I’m all for it.

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Old friends

That’s the most important thing to keep in mind: Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 is a continuation of the first game. While it remixes a lot of things to give you a fresh experience, nothing has been overhauled or upgraded to give you something new. If you wanted more Fuga – and who could blame you? – then that’s what you’re getting here. However, if you didn’t enjoy the first title, then there’s no hope for you here.

Yoann Gueritot, one of the directors who has now moved on to Platinum Games, has stated that Fuga is planned as a trilogy. I’m definitely on board with that, but I also kind of wish the series was doing more to earn that. A cohesive series of games is fine, but I prefer to see things evolve, expand, and reach for perfection as CyberConnect2 soldiers on. Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 is complacent. It’s great, but we’ve already seen its greatness. Eventually, it’s going to need to load something new into its cannon if it wants to get its dazzle back.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 appeared first on Destructoid.