Category Archives: 8 Star Games

Marvel Midnight Suns Review

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I remember thinking Midnight Suns looked like a really odd Marvel game when it first came out. The whole strategy card game just didn’t seem like something you’d expect for a superhero game. It was also known as a super long game so I figured I ought to wait until I had some time. Well, that time was now and this definitely ended up being a really fun game. I’ve been loving this kind of strategy gameplay and it is really satisfying to play through. Mix it in with a really detailed story and this is a winner all the way.

The game starts off with an ancient evil awakening and so the Caretaker wakes up The Hunter. The Hunter is the son of the ancient witch who has returned to destroy the world. He’s not really much of a people person but he does get results. The Hunter will be working with the Midnight Suns as well as the Avengers to save the world. It won’t be easy but he will have to step up and work as the leader here. Can he bring all of these heroes together?

A big part of the game is about how nobody really gets along. Iron-Man is used to leading the Avengers after all and doesn’t want to be taking a backseat to the Midnight Suns. Additionally, the Midnight Suns are resentful for being put to the side when they are the experts on the supernatural side of things. Hunter isn’t used to working with others and so that ties into the relationship mechanics in the game. As the story goes on you will be trying to increase your friendship ranking with the various characters.

That said, you can also choose the meaner options to increase your dark energy. It’s not completely linear though where some dark options will increase your friendship depending on who you’re talking to. For that reason it can sometimes be difficult to tell which is the right option but I focused on increasing my dark energy because there was a trophy for getting 200 dark energy decisions. I ended up completing the game before I could get it fully maxed out but I was awful close.

A lot of times those awkward responses felt more in character for Hunter anyway. I didn’t really go out of my way to use a lot of the social aspects of the game but it is impressive just how much content is here. It’s like a whole other game within a game. The structure is formulaic. Each morning you get to start a research, send a hero on a research mission, and talk to your friends. You then select your story mission for the day. After the mission is complete it is the evening so you can hang out with your friends or attend a book club. Go to bed and you repeat the adventure again.

There are only 21 story missions in the game but each one usually requires you to do a filler day in the middle so the story will still take you a while. I believe my playtime was over 30 hours by the end which shows just how much there is to do here. I haven’t even touched upon the training dojo, collecting all of the cards, etc. There is also DLC that you can buy to continue the adventure and fight more battles.

So lets talk about the gameplay. It’s a strategy game where you have your playable characters and can move them across the board based on how many turn points you have. You can perform 3 card actions, move once, and use up to 3 items per battle. You can do free environmental attacks where you blow up objects to injure enemies but it costs you some action points. Action points are how you use the stronger cards in your disposal.

I appreciated that the game really explains these mechanics to you very gradually so you’re not scrambling from the start. If the game had launched all of the mechanics immediately then trust me you would end up lost very quickly. There are just so many mechanics that it would feel overwhelming otherwise. The final level is essentially a pop quiz on all of these mechanics at once as you launch into the longest mission yet where you end up using every character in the game.

The game is reasonably difficult without being overbearing. I died twice in the game but for the most part I was taking care of business. There are harder difficulty options available though and they increase the rewards you get when completing the level. That’s definitely a good incentive right there. This is also a game where you can level up your characters but the enemies scale up to them so it’s not immediately helpful. The level cap is 25 and after that you just increase stats which don’t scale to the enemies so that is when you will really see the benefits. I was only able to max out the Hunter in the game but level ups come pretty fast so it wouldn’t take long to do that with the rest of them.

The graphics are definitely pretty solid. The art style may not be my favorite but on the whole I thought they did a good job here. It does have a bit of a supernatural feel and you can tell that this isn’t the normal superhero adventure. I also enjoyed the different gameplay effects in terms of visuals. The soundtrack is a bit more on the boring side though. The tunes aren’t bad but none of them really stand out. As for the writing, as long as you like it when all of the characters are constantly being ironic and cracking jokes then you’re good. I had a fun time chuckling at most of the dialogue here. I’d say it works out well enough.

It’s rare to have so much dialogue in a Marvel game like this so I was really just enjoying getting to see all of the characters talking to each other. There is a lot of great opportunity for banter in this kind of setup. They should really make more Marvel RPGs, I would definitely be there ready to have fun with the tactical gameplay. Or if they just want to go with a classic Final Fantasy turn based kind of gameplay, I’d definitely be there for that as well.

Overall, Marvel Midnight Suns is a really great game. I’m super impressed by how much content is in this game. There is a whole lot to do and you’ve almost got 3 different games here between the story, the relationships, and the card collecting. You could easily spend 100 hours here just trying to complete everything. It does mean that I won’t be getting the Platinum trophy here any time soon but the game has a ton of bang for your buck which I appreciate. I’d recommend picking it up.

Overall 8/10

Wild Arms Review

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It’s time for a really old school RPG. I’ve owned Wild Arms 3 for many years and hadn’t ever gotten around to it before. Well, now I’m one step closer to checking that game out. This one’s a whole lot of fun so I can only imagine how much they continue polishing the gameplay mechanics from here on out. Wild Arms is considerably long and it’s also quite challenging. If you’re looking for a great game to play, then you’ve just found one!

The game starts off by introducing us to 3 main characters. The first is a man who was cursed with the power of ARMS which some consider to be a sign of bad luck. The second is a bounty hunter who travels with his sidekick who looks like a rat in search of great treasures while also being on a quest of vengeance. Finally you have the priestess who has ties to royalty. The three of them are all brought together as an evil force seeks to resurrect all of the golems and destroy the planet. These 3 unlikely teammates will have to foil these plans but it won’t be easy.

Now this is a game that is well over 20 hours so you can bet that there will be a lot of twists and turns along the way. The game gets real cosmic by the end and just never stopped impressing me all the way. The story is really engaging and the cast actually gets rather large. The villains are also a lot of fun as we get a formal villain group. I always enjoy seeing that and each of the villains really got some time to shine. The main leader of the group in particular just kept getting up over and over again. He’s not someone who would be giving up very easily.

One of the phases to the final boss fight even got me good. He had me locked into an unwinnable situation where he attacked first with a teamwide KO move. So I had to rewind to the previous phase and adjust my strategy. Without rewind this would even be crazier. I would have definitely had to do a lot of extra grinding but it’s safe to say that this is one of the tougher RPGs. I’m curious if the next one will be quite as difficult as this game was.

The gameplay is a classic turn based style. Each of your characters get to use their attacks and then the opponents strike. The turn order is based on your speed. You can use normal attacks, magic, super attacks, and summons. You learn magic at the local shop by using talismans but can reroll your spells at any time. Buying the latest equipment is also very important here. As a result money is a premium currency throughout the game. You really can’t do much of anything without money. You’ll be left without items or weapons to survive the encounters with.

Generally I prioritize getting the weapons first and then the shields. It’s also important to note that you cannot buy MP items in this game. Meaning if you run out of magic meter then you have to go find an inn. For that reason I saved just about all of my MP items for the final boss. As the meme goes, that meant I beat the game while still having a lot of MP items left. Ah well, I still thought that was worth it. Better safe than sorry right?

The wild encounters are fairly aggressive in this game. You can expect to be fighting minions a whole lot and they don’t let you run away unless you are vastly overleveled. That’s something that I think the game could have toned down quit a bit. Towards the end of the game you learn a spell to reduce encounters but the catch is that it costs quite a bit of magic that you will need for the bosses. The final dungeons in general are really long and detailed so you can expect to be using a whole lot of magic left and right.

It also feels absolutely amazing to finally have quick travel by the end of the game. Trust me when I say that this title really makes you work for it though. You don’t get it for the longest time which means a lot of running everywhere straight into more minions to defeat. The enemies are always going to be tough enough to deal some damage and their curses can be tough to brush off. Make sure you buy some of every kind of medicine.

The game’s puzzles can be a bit difficult at times too. This is one of those titles that is just old enough where it can be hard to know where to go next at different points. There aren’t always obvious markers of where to go. So in those times just be prepared to visit each town over and over until you have a lead. I’m not the biggest fan of puzzles in general but I couldn’t say that any of these were unfair.

Meanwhile the graphics for the game are definitely ahead of their time. I enjoyed all of the effects and the colorful backgrounds. Additionally after the credits we see a bunch of hand drawn illustrations of what the characters would have looked like. That was definitely neat and I also thought that the soundtrack was pretty good. There may not have been any tunes that made it to my playlist but I was still satisfied all the way through.

Overall, This is the kind of game where you get a ton of bang for your buck. There may not be much in the way of replay value but RPGs really don’t have to rely on that. You get to just go in and have a bunch of fun all around. The story is really good and I always enjoy turn based combat. Mix those two elements together and you have all the makings of a great game. Wild Arms does not disappoint! I eagerly look forward to playing the second one.

Overall 8/10

Mega Man Legends 2 Review

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Mega Man Legends 2 is the longest of the 3 titles in this sub series so I was expecting things to end off with a bang. It is definitely a fun title and one that I recommend checking out. It still feels surreal to finally be checking out these games from way back in the day. Hopefully one day w will get the elusive Legends 3, but I suppose that would probably be far in the future.

The title kicks off with Mega Man and Roll attending a conference when a group of villains show up. They are seemingly led by Roll’s mother and they will be reawakening a powerful threat that may end the world. This seems to tie into Mega Man’s past which was hinted at in the first game but now things are personal. Mega Man will have to take these opponents down while trying to find out why Roll’s mother would join the dark side like this. Tron still tries to get Mega Man to notice her but perhaps they are doomed to always be on opposing sides.

Right away there are a few improvements you can see compared to the first game. The general gameplay is smoother, particularly with turning. The dungeons are also bigger as the very first one was about as big as the final dungeon from the first game. This does mean that some dungeons are going to have gimmicks though. For example I did not care for the underwater dungeon as Mega Man moved way too slowly for me. It was not nearly as fun as any of the others. The final dungeon also had these weird leech things that felt a bit overpowered. When they touch you, you are unable to move for a decently long period of time while they drain your energy. Falling into any lava will deal massive damage as well.

So the stage hazards in general got a big buff here. There is also an ice dungeon where everything is very slippery. I get the feeling that the game was just trying to show off all the cool stuff it can do since none of that was in the first game. This one is really bigger in every way and has so many power ups to buy. Earning money is not that hard in this game which I appreciated. If you want to buy anything then you just need to save up for it.

The ole strafe and blast strategy still works really well on almost every boss. The game did manage to make a few exceptions to that at least so you aren’t totally mowing down every challenge in the game. You will occasionally need to jump and use some strategy. That said, the game feels a bit easier than the first because I was able to make it through the whole game with my mega buster. I just never got the blueprints for the missiles or any of the other sub weapons. Without those you can’t unlock any sub weapons which makes that process much more involved than the first game.

They are likely in the optional dungeons. The game has quite a few of those, I only did the first optional dungeon personally. We can chalk this up to more replay value though. The most important thing is having the 3 buster part upgrades. With that your mega buster is absolutely busted anyway and deals a ton of damage. Almost any opponent will go down in a few shots to that thing. So for bosses it was really busted as well.

There are a lot of upgrades to buy in the game so I recommend focusing on the health potion and making it as big as possible. It is often cheaper than buffing up your actual health bar and has the same real effect anyway. Of course buy as much as you can effort but if money is tight, go for the potion. With that you can just keep healing as needed. The last boss required me to heal 4-5 different times to the point where my bottle had run out. It really came down to the wire there.

Since this is a PS3, PSN game there is no rewind either. So that’s something to really keep in mind here. You will have to complete this game the old fashioned way but that’s how you will get more satisfaction in there. The graphics are really good as you’d expect. The PS1 artstyle works well and all of the energy blasts look good. The combat is good as well and I enjoyed all of the cinematics. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side, nothing you’ll really be putting on the ole Youtube playlist.

Then we have the story which was a lot more interesting than the first one. The first story was good too but this one is going a lot more into the cosmology of the verse. We learn a lot of twists about the humans, the robots, and he motivations of everyone involved. It all gets a bit convoluted but in a fun way. It’s the kind of series where you can probably have a lot of fun watching lore videos on Youtube. There are still questions left for the next game as well although I would say that the ending here is still mainly conclusive enough. We also get one last look at the eternal rivalry between Tron and Roll.

Overall, This was definitely a really fun game. There are a few ways where the game’s age starts to show itself but on the whole it goes really smoothly. This is basically what I pictured a 3D Mega Man title would be like. I still can’t believe that they haven’t done more since then. Capcom really has let Mega Man fans down ove the years. I would say that it does beat the original Legends as well as the spinoff. There is just a whole lot to enjoy here so if you haven’t bought the game yet, you should hurry and do so! The PS3 version of PSN won’t be up forever and once that goes down, there won’t be an official way to play the game anymore.

Overall 8/10

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Review

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I have returned to the world of Uncharted with this spinoff adventure. Chloe and Nadine get to serve as the leads this time so Nathan is getting himself a break. It’s a fun adventure although you can definitely see how it is a lot shorter than the main titles. Typically Uncharted adventures have over 20 chapters while this one has 9. Still, the 9 that we do have are very good so I had a great time here. There is a whole lot to enjoy.

The adventure starts off with Chloe trying to get aboard a truck. She manages to slip through the enemy defenses and we find out that she is working with the mercenary, Nadine. Together they are going to try and grab another ancient relic but there appears to be more to this mission that Chloe is keeping secret. The two will try their best to work together while staying professional but this doesn’t do wonders for their very tenuous bond.

At first I actually thought the opening level was a flashback because it’s rare to see Chloe panicking or unsure of herself. I guess that’s what happens when you go from the big rival character to the main lead. She ends up needing a little help from a kid in order to get past the initial guards. I would have preferred Chloe to be her usual sarcastic self right from the start and just beat everyone up. Instead she acts a bit more like Nathan this time around and panics a whole lot.

Still, Chloe is a fun lead overall. Once she begins her team up with Nadine then she goes for more of the usual quips we know her for. Nadine ends up being less likable by the end as she tends to blow up at Chloe a whole lot. She also goes out of her way to mess up their plans on different occasions because she couldn’t contain her emotions. It was a very difficult situation at different points so I understand that, but Nadine is supposed to be a professional.

She does get hit with the main character nerf as well though. In the last game she was defeating Nathan and his brother Sam at the same time. Here she and Chloe are losing when going 2 v 1 against the new villain. Times have really changed. That villain end up looking pretty impressive as a result though. He’s certainly not my kind of villain but I do have to respect his abilities.

The story is fairly straight forward here though. The two heroines have to get to the treasure before the villains do. In the process of this we get a ton of action scenes and have to blast through the equivalent of a mini army. From a gameplay perspective you get a lot of the usual parkour and gun combat. They are both handled very well and in some ways the parkour can be a little more difficult than the main titles. This game assumes that you have played those so there is no kind of tutorial at all. I was a bit rusty at first but quickly got with it.

By contrast the gun combat was a lot easier than the main Uncharted games. One reason for this is the amount of checkpoints in them. Usually if you lose a gunfight then you have to restart it. In this game some of the enemies will stay dead when you die so it inevitably gets easier as you keep on fighting. As long as you use some good tactics and hide as necessary then you should be fine.

There is a decent amount of replay value to be had here. There are a whole lot of collectibles to grab after all and there is a proper level select here which allows you to nab them. Completing the game will only get you a few trophies as well so you will need to replay the game a lot to get the rest. Only the slow motion walk scenes may get a bit annoying but the rest is really easy to replay. Sony games are known for being cinematic and while some use that as an insult, I always find it to be very impressive.

You feel like you’re in a movie here. The graphics are really strong and there is a ton of attention to detail. The gameplay is very well polished as well. I suppose I would have liked to have had a map that was always active instead of having to constantly pause to see it. That’s a bit more of a nitpick though. I was starting to get lost when driving around in the car but was gradually able to figure it out.

It was cool to have a car in general. That’s something you don’t see every day. There isn’t much of a soundtrack here but they squeezed in a song for the end credits. Those credits were extremely long though, one of the longest ones I’ve seen in a long time. I looked it up and apparently they are close to 11 minutes in length. That’s pretty insane, they needed to speed that up or let you skip them. It’s extremely rare for a game in 2026 to not let you skip the credits.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking out this Uncharted title. It is a full fledged game even if it is shorter than the others. I got this one for $10 so if you get a deal like that then I’d say you should really jump on it. As far as I’m concerned that is an absolute steal! Even if you have to shell out a little more for this one, you should do it. Hopefully one day we get another Uncharted game. This is the kind of series that could easily have many more adventures because there are an infinite amount of treasures out there. I feel like the recent James Bond game was essentially a kind of Uncharted title so they need to follow that blueprint.

Overall 8/10

Spark The Electric Jester 3 Review

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It’s finally time to jump back into the world of Spark! Well that’s what I would be saying except the first two games never got a console port. So this ends up being the first one that I’ve gotten to check out. Well I can say it does a great job of reliving the glory days of the Sonic series. The 3D gameplay is incredibly fast paced and even the soundtrack sounds like Adventure 2 Battle. If you have enjoyed playing those Sonic games then you should definitely play this one, it is an amazing homage.

The story starts off with Jester running around and having fun as normal but then the stakes get higher. Not only is his old foe back but a mysterious girl has appeared who also has a grudge with him. Powerful forces are operating within the shadows and Spark is about to learn some things about his own past. Nothing will be the same after these revelations and Spark will need to try and keep himself in one piece by the end of this. It won’t be easy though.

I was not expecting an almost 30 minutes series of cutscenes at the end of the game but it shows how much thought the writer put into the story here. At first you mostly get context from short text bubble cutscenes but then later on you have full cinematics and everything. We learn knowledge that recontextualizes the entire trilogy which is no small feat. I can see this being a little jarring for longtime fans of the series but as someone starting with this title it was just hype.

The ending also stuck the landing which was important. Then we also have a top tier soundtrack. All of the stages sound excellent and then of course there is the one lyrical song that slips in during the 3rd last boss of the game. The song was excellent and I had fun Youtubing it afterwards. Some games may have been satisfied with replicating the Sonic gameplay but going the extra mile and getting the soundtrack was an extra cherry on top. The graphics are also really good so that is another point in Spark’s favor. It just kept on winning and winning throughout.

So lets talk about the gameplay. The main gameplay style is your classic 3D platforming. There is a big emphasis on speed so you use that to zip through the stages and try to get to the goal. Some stages are around 2 minutes while others can go up to 4. You have two jumps and 2 boosts so you have to use each one strategically to get to the end. You also have the homing attack and even a blaster. The game is designed to give you a ton of gameplay options and it’s up to you to choose the right ones.

There are also car segments where you have to drive around which was handled well. These levels were a fun change of pace. Then there is the free falling where you have to activate different moves to slow your fall as well as some levels where you have to locate coins around the level. It was pretty neat to have so many different gameplay styles in here. You don’t actually have to beat every level to get to the final boss, but about 90% of them are required. Beating the extra 10% will net you bonus lives on the final trial.

There are also combat segments where you have to use combos to destroy every robot in the way. These levels are pretty fun and can be challenging. You have to get very good at parrying every blow or they will really add up and deal massive damage. I got pretty good at it although sometimes I would just use my speed to dodge instead. It’s what Sonic would have wanted anyway I’d say.

Now for the final trial that was really intense. It’s a level that is over 20 minutes long and you have to get past every obstacle that appeared throughout the game. You have to have mastered every different element or you will not be completing this level. Before now you had unlimited lives with which to get past the levels but this time you only have a few. If you run out of lives by the end then that will be game over and you have to start again. I got the game over 3 times in this level so I got to spend over an hour on this single stage. Man that was easily one of the tougher 3D platforming levels that I’ve played. It really makes you stop to appreciate how tough Sonic gameplay can get if it tried.

Now if I could choose I’d have split it up into several levels. I like a good challenge but I think it’s better to keep that difficulty into smaller bunches so you can challenge each part without having to replay everything. I understand why you’d merge it though because that does inherently make it even harder. The mental strain of having to stay 100% focused through each obstacle can be challenging and then you start to overthink yourself. Suddenly even basic jumps start to get difficult. Whew, it was really a journey.

I’d say the most challenging part for me were the circular loops. Usually in these games you can count on it keeping you in the center but here you are in charge of keeping yourself level. So you have to react incredibly fast at every turn or you just fall off. I was able to cheese this a few times by reacting very quickly and jumping as soon as I started to fall off but that wasn’t always easy. I even ran across the outside of a bridge on the final trial to bypass 3 of the challenges. Probably not the intentional design but hey you have to break out all of the tricks to win.

Overall, Spark is definitely a great game. I had a blast playing through it and I just love fast paced gameplay like this. The stages were super creative as well as all of the gameplay tweaks to the usual Sonic formula. I wish they’d bring in the first two games at some point, or at least the second one since the gameplay is really similar. If you like 3D platforming then I definitely recommend getting this game as soon as possible. You definitely won’t regret it, this is AAA quality right here.

Overall 8/10

Lost Soul Aside Review

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It’s time for one of those PS5 games that you see everywhere. It always looked pretty fun although I don’t think the cover does it any favors. Almost looks a bit uncanny like an action figure or something. The actual game’s artstyle is more like a typical Final Fantasy adventure though so don’t let the cover fool you. This is a great game but one that could have stood to have more content overall.

The story starts by introducing us to a world where the empire owns its country with an iron fist. The people have risen up through a resistance group known as GLIMMER. The main character is a member of this group and is also a “gifted one” which means that he has super powers. Unfortunately these powers are not enough to turn the tides of battle so he went off to train. Upon his return, the lead ends up meeting an ancient dragon lord named Arena who gives him true power. This would be enough to end the world but then the kingdom is attacked by aliens who are led by Aramon. This guy wants to end the human race and in the process he absorbed the souls of many humans. We now have to stop him as well as the emperor and in particular save the soul of Kaser’s sister.

The plot definitely starts fast here and introduces a whole lot of characters right away. I really enjoyed the fact that there were 3 factions here because it immediately makes things more interesting. Kaser is essentially forced to work with his life long enemies here but knows that they can betray him at any moment. That’s a good amount of tension to be working with here. Ther is also a lot of extra lore through the pages that you pick up along the way but generally I wouldn’t say any of it is too crucial. The main plot is within the game that you’re playing after all.

I will say that the story can get a little slow during the middle part though. You’re really interested in fighting Aramon and the Emperor so when you have to fight a bunch of reskinned bosses you just want to get to the next cutscene. There is an impressive amount of boss battles here with at least 50 but a bunch of them are reused as the game goes on which makes this a little less impressive. The game does leave a little room for a sequel should they ever want to do that.

The strongest aspect of the game is the gameplay though. It plays like a 3D beat em up and you have to use a mix of dodging and blocking to get past the waves of enemies. I spent most of the game blocking but by the end it was incredibly difficult to read the opponent moves so I relied more on dodging. Each style has its set of pros and cons but blocking is best if you are comfortable with the timing. By blocking an opponent’s attack you reduce a lot of their stamina and it also causes them to freeze up for a good chunk of time. This gives you some more free hits right away.

The beginning of the game is when it is the most difficult because you don’t have any arena powers or upgrades yet. Interestingly this is an example of a game that continues to get easier as you go on because your upgrades are incredibly broken. Additionally the game has a great XP system so you are leveling up constantly. The more you die, the stronger upgrades you unlock so I dare say there are even some roguelite elements to this title. I guess everyone wants to add those nowadays. The combat is super smooth and there are so many different attacks that you can use. You can really have a field day equipping all of the fun ones that you want.

Now the game does have an issue with the menus though. I think the devs needed to workshop these a bit more because they are not intuitive at all. There is a whole crafting section of the game and I never used it because I just couldn’t figure it out. The parts you need to make the weapon are unclear and the weapons seemed weaker than the base ones so it seemed pointless. Every weapon I unlocked naturally were also weaker than the base one so I stayed with my starter equipment the whole game. There has to be something that I was missing.

There are also boss rushes and survival challenges but there didn’t seem to be an upside to doing them. I suppose they give you online trophies for completion so down the road they would be useful but not during the campaign. There are too many options in the main menu to choose from and as a result I didn’t pick any. It’s a fairly small deal but the kind of thing that does separate an average game from a top tier one.

I did enjoy how easy it was to acquire money and items though. Now I will mention that the game has a super guide type feature where you can skip any puzzle automatically by talking to a blue diamond. I decided not to do that since it felt cheesy but I guess that’s good if you really don’t like puzzles. Trust me, I’m not a big fan of them but skipping them entirely like that will always be a last ditch effort at best.

This game really had a lot of fun trying out different gameplay styles. For the most part these additions were a bit pointless but they don’t take away from the game. You’ve got skateboardig, mecha fights, aerial combat, grappling, platforming, puzzles, etc. The game was trying to use every kind of gameplay style it could think of. Ultimately it would always go back to the combat you were looking forward to though which is the important part. That is the ultimate highlight of the game after all.

The graphics are pretty good. This may not be a full AAA type title but it holds up well enough. I liked the character designs and the colors are striking. The gameplay itself is particularly colorful. The soundtrack is also pretty good with some really solid tunes. The boss themes definitely will not disappoint. The overall campaign length is around 15 hours too which is fairly solid. There is virtually no replay value though so your best bet is in trying to get all of the trophies. That will definitely take you some time because the game is really relentless on that front. I won’t even try to achieve the platinum in the foreseeable future.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this game. It may be a hard sell for $60, but I got it for $10 thanks to Prime Day. If you can get a price like that for this game then I highly recommend doing so. It’s a steal for that price and either way the gameplay alone is enough to make you want to get this game. If they ever do make a sequel, I’ll definitely be picking that one up.

Overall 8/10

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Review

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It’s time for another big roguelite game! Hades really helped me get into the genre and it’s been nonstop Ws since then! This one isn’t quite as story based but there is definitely a lot of story content here to sink your teeth into. This collection also brings 9 DLC waves with it so that’s a lot of extra content at the ready. Get ready to lose a lot but every death will take you closer to your big victory.

You play as an undead guy who just won’t stay dead. For some reason you are doomed to regenerate after every death. There is some kind of a grand plan at work here and the hero knows that he will have to defeat an ultimate evil. Problem is he doesn’t have much of a memory either so the whole thing is like a never ending mystery. One thing’s for sure, escaping this realm is not possible so he will have to keep on moving forward.

There is a lot of lore within the game’s universe but it’s all told within interactable objects. There is the occasional cutscene with some vague dialogue but the atmosphere is the top priority here. Additionally if you want to get the true ending then you have to complete the game on all 5 difficulty levels. Props to anyone who is able to accomplish that because this seems like an incredibly difficult task to me. Beating the game on normal and hard was tough enough.

The gameplay feels a bit like a Castlevania title. It is 2D and you use your weapons to clear out the enemies and make it to the next room. Each room has around 2-3 exits which lead you to other levels. There is also a rest level in between each one for you to heal up and gather your bearings. You will be presented with many different weapons and bombs as you go through the levels and you need to choose the ones that you prefer to use. There are many different ending rooms since each of the DLCs are baked into the game as well. It makes for a lot of variety and of course the room layouts are randomized so don’t think that you can just memorize all of the spots.

Defeated enemies drop orbs which you can use to unlock permanent power ups as well as alternate costumes. Be warned that every weapon you unlock becomes part of the random rotations. So if you really don’t like a weapon, you should not unlock it. There is no way to turn off unlocked weapons unless you go into creative mode. For the most part I tried not to unlock new weapons after I got my initial set and just focused on mutations and the permanent ones. Still, it’s possible that you will miss out on some really cool ones as a result so you shouldn’t be too picky.

Each weapon has a rank from 0 to 10 and those ranks have 3 levels to them. As you progress through the levels in each run they will get higher. What that means is that you might start a run with your favorite weapon but it’s in your best interest to upgrade soon. Yes, that means getting rid of your favorite weapon sometimes but that’s just how it goes. There is no benefit to staying with a grade 0 weapon and in fact it’ll make defeating some bosses nearly impossible.

The enemies scale up with each room so you need to keep pace with them. In each level there are also scrolls which you can use to amp up the power of one type of weapon. Red, Green, or Purple. You want to focus on always using the power ups on whatever color you are going to prioritize. They scale like crazy with compound interest so trying to do a little of everything is a super bad idea. Definitely don’t fall for it and stick to one. That’s the best way to make a lot of ground here.

My favorite setup was the mega hammer and a freeze gun. I would just freeze the enemies in place and then land my power move. It’s not good against the boss at the shipyard but works on just about everyone else. I was able to use that combination to beat the game on my only 2 successful attempts. I have a harder time reading the enemy movements so going with the faster swords didn’t really work for once. The game also puts a lot of work in for setting up shields for parrying/blocking but admittedly I never really tried it. I mean literally I never used the shields. I feel like this game is more about DPS and I didn’t want to bother trying to learn how to use the shields effectively.

The game has over 110 trophies which is incredible. That’s thanks to the DLCs of course but I’ll take it. I got over 60 trophies during my run which was a satisfying number. Getting the platinum is not something that I’m really going to attempt though. It would definitely be really difficult as it is and you need total mastery of the genre. It would be a true milestone to get that though. It’s something that most players won’t get anywhere close to.

The graphics look pretty good. It has that indie type vibe to it while still being pretty colorful. It does well in the retro side of things and the soundtrack is also good. I would say that the Castlevania tracks tend to be the best ones though. The remixes were a blast and there was a lot of care put into that one. The Castlevania DLC also was the most story based one which was pretty cool. You’ll easily be here for at least 20 hours or so. Honestly I’ve been getting some pretty good bang for my buck lately as every game seems to last at least 20 hours or so. It’ll probably be time for the shorter games to make a comeback at some point but it’s just hard to turn down the longer ones.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Dead Cells. As long as you enjoy the Roguelite genre then you can definitely appreciate all the work they put into this one. The amount of content you get is super impressive and the gameplay is extremely smooth. Some things may be really difficult to figure out without a guide so I recommend checking in with the community. Then you will have fun unlocking the final levels and slowly improving your home base. You get to see new weapons and items pop up on the ceiling and I guess one goal you can have is to get them all up there. I don’t know if there is a reward for that but there might be one.

Overall 8/10

Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad Review

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It’s time for a game that I had to pre order immediately! Sword Art Online is one of those franchises with unlimited potential but unfortunately does tend to stumble. This game is not one of those times. While there are some gameplay limitations which I will get into, it’s clear that the developers had a very grand view of the world. They wanted to make this title feel as massive as the actual game from the anime and they succeeded. The game is over 25 hours and only covers 2 floors which is really crazy. Sadly I doubt we will ever get to see all 100 but it was still nice to see how in depth this one was.

The game follows the adventure of you, the player! You have logged into this game to have some fun but unfortunately get stuck in there along with 9,999 other players. The only way out is to complete the game and if you die in the game…you die in real life! You meet up with a bunch of new characters as well as some familiar faces from the anime. Conquering the game may be a difficult ordeal but it’s something that you are absolutely ready for. Your whole life has been leading up to this moment!

So lets go into the weaker parts of the game first. There are some obvious quality of life items missing from this title like the ability to access parts of the map that are not related to the current mission. This means that you have to play around in different missions before you can actually unlock the whole map. It’s a bit arbitrary and clearly set up that way to extend the game. There are also some pointless mechanics that never end up mattering and are seemingly just there to check off a box. This would be the platforming (Which is not very well done to be honest) and the multiple answers part.

No matter what you answer, the story does not change at all and the characters hardly acknowledge your answer anyway. Most responses are limited to nodding your head or choosing to “look confused”. If these choices weren’t going to matter anyway then I’d have preferred they make the main character real. Give him some voice acting and personality. The self insert just doesn’t work very well for games and it can be jarring to see him looking oblivious the whole time while everyone is fighting for their lives.

The game also does reuse a whole lot of bosses and minions. The in game reason for this is that the 2 floors will naturally only have a very limited amount of bosses. It can just get a bit old to fight the same boss over 10 times. They just color swap the boss and call it a day. I think the funniest part is that the final boss is a reused one except for the final phase that was brand new. Cmon at least the final boss should be completely new right?

So it did feel like this game had a tough budget at times. Someone also called it a walking simulator and I get it. The game has you run for large distances at a time without combat. Other times there is combat everywhere so the run will take forever. There are no beacons to show you where you should be going so it is also easy to get lost. Perhaps this is by design but it wasn’t a good one.

Now that sounds bad but these are all more in the way of nitpicks. On the whole the gameplay is very strong because the combat is great. That’s why we’re here after all and you can seamlessly master all kinds of weapons. I used a sword for the first half of the game and then the hammer for the second half. Each weapon has a lot of pros and cons to it. You can also level up your weapon class in addition to leveling your character. There is a whole lot of customization to be had here and unlike the enemies, your character is always changing. It keeps the gameplay really fresh.

I also did enjoy the story. It may be a bit slow at times but it’s clear that this was made with the idea being that it would be the first step in a whole saga. Many more floors and adventures could be added as DLC. If not…well then it’s true that at least 5-6 plots were not actually ended in this game. Also I wasn’t able to find the Kirito side quest before I beat the game so in the end he did not show up almost at all here. We got to meet him twice and that was it. I like the idea of being a random side character but would like to see the main plot a bit more.

The soundtrack is definitely solid. The main theme song/intro is super good. It feels like something right out of the anime and was really handled perfectly. The themes within the game are a little less memorable but still good in the end. The graphics are also very solid. Not top tier, but more like high end AA. Again, you can tell that the budget wasn’t massive but they did a good job overall.

The biggest factor in why this game is great aside from the combat is how convenient all of the questing is. You can pick up quests at any time and resume whenever you want. Don’t want to be locked into a side quest for long? Well, you aren’t! You can resume progress at the exact point you left and keep on moving. You also keep your EXP whenever you lose a fight so you are constantly getting stronger. There is also a perma death mode for those who want to try that but fortunately there is no trophy for that.

Getting the platinum feels achievable here even if it would probably take a very long time. There is a side quest about defeating a level 200 enemy which seems absolutely crazy. I don’t see myself being able to conquer that for a little while but I do look forward to grabbing more trophies. I feel like the best time to aim for a platinum in a title like this is when the game is still fresh in your mind. You’ll have gotten a lot of the trophies naturally just by playing the story. There are no missable ones either so that’s another thing that is very gamer friendly.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this title. The game can be a little rough around the edges but never stops being an absolute blast. I’ve said this many times in the past but a game’s ultimate goal is to be fun. I had a lot of fun playing this one between all of the voice acting, solid combat, great story, etc. It’s the kind of game I could just keep on binging without needing any breaks. You just want to see what the other weapons feel like and slowly unlocking each map feels incredibly satisfying. If they ever make a sequel for this one then I’d definitely get it day 1. Less guarantees on DLC though since I don’t usually tend to buy any of that.

Overall 8/10

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy Review

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Phoenix Wright is one of those game series that I have seen around for a very long time but never got to play before. With the collection being on one of those big PSN sales, I knew this was finally my chance! It is definitely a pretty great collection and the games give you a lot of bang for your buck. This collection took me over 90 hours to complete which was intense! I came super close to hitting that 100 hour milestone.

The story follows a young man named Phoenix who is a defense attorney. He wants to help the innocent and prevent them from being sent to their death. See, in the future there are so many crimes that court cases are only allowed to take up to 3 days. If the defendant is found guilty then more often than not they are put to death. The prosecutors will use any trick up their sleeve to win a case and so Phoenix has to spot the contradictions in the evidence. If he is able to do that, then he will be on the right side of history.

Each game has a similar setup but the main prosecutor tends to change. The first game focuses on Edgeworth who knew Phoenix back when they were kids. They have quite a lot of history and so Edgeworth gets to have a full character arc. The second game has Franziska who is quite ruthless and whips anyone who annoys her. The games don’t mind getting a little extreme in this sense. What other franchise would actually have the judge allow whipping in his court right? Like with Edgeworth she does get a good amount of character development by the end.

The final game has Gadot has the main villain. He has a whole mystery going on that is unveiled as the final game gets to the end. While he felt like the weakest villain which was an interesting way to end the trilogy, I do have to admit that he had the best lines. Pretty much everything he said about the coffee or his abstract messages were just fun. So he definitely grew on me by the end.

Something the games really had going for them was the strong character roster. The supporting characters are a lot of fun. Mia and Maya have really big roles throughout the games and are people that Phoenix can rely on. Mia was really portrayed as the strongest character in the series and you could argue that she still has that spot by the end. Maya goes from being a total novice to actually challenging Phoenix in the final case. She really came along way there. The villains I already mentioned are really good as well. It doesn’t mean that every character is fun, some are a bit overplayed like the old lady. Whenever she appeared I’d have to shake my head. In a way the world feels too small when you bring a character back too often.

The games also did a great job of constantly switching things up. You end up playing as different characters as the games go on like when you play as Edgeworth or Mia. That just helps to keep everything really fresh. Seeing young Phoenix as an unreliable witness was intense. It really reinforces how you can’t trust anyone who is on the stand.

So what’s the gameplay like? Well, you have two sections, free roam and then the court case. In free roam you switch between different areas and talk to people to get evidence. You can also present evidence to people in order to get some reactions and obtain some clues. You will also click on different objects in the background like something in I Spy to get more clues. The toughest part can be deciding what to show each suspect or making sure that you have clicked on everything in the area. So you have to be very methodical. One thing you will figure out quickly is that every person should have 4 lines of dialogue. So if they have less then you must have missed something.

Some cases will add bonus gameplay styles to this like when you have a metal detector or a spray that can locate hidden blood splotches. The meat of the game is in the courtroom though and that’s my favorite part. Basically the witnesses will say 4-6 things and you can press or object to the statement. Generally you will need to press the statement first and then object to the one that is wrong. You will have to prove the contradiction by presenting a piece of evidence. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. Sometimes it is incredibly difficult to find a contradiction and I died many times in this game. It is rather brutal, if you don’t save the game midway then you have to replay a large chunk of the case. Definitely keep a backup save at the ready because it is possible to get save locked here.

The game isn’t a graphical masterpiece though so you shouldn’t expect too much there. There aren’t a lot of animations as most of the story are just still images. There is also no real voice acting outside of the characters yelling objection in the court room. I’d like them to add voice acting to all of the dialogue at some point. It would just make this feel more like an authentic audio book. So the games are very strong but they succeed more on the premise and gameplay than on the technical elements around it.

Technically there isn’t a lot of replay value once you beat the game. It’s not like there are bonus paths, you either win or you lose. Still, at over 90 hours you don’t actually need any replay value. I obtained the Platinum when completing the game because I made sure to go back and get answers wrong as needed. You’ll get most of the trophies naturally but can definitely work on getting any you missed as a form of replay value.

Overall, This was definitely a great trilogy. On its own each game may be more like a 7 because they are just lacking a bit in gameplay but together this just makes such an incredible narrative that I had to bump it up. I’ll definitely be curious to see how the next games play out. I’ll miss Phoenix being the main character as the next trilogy switches but I’m sure they’ll do a good job with the next one. It’ll probably be a while before I get the next trilogy though.

Overall 8/10

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review

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I’ve finally managed to grab the new Sonic racing title! Crossworlds always looked like a lot of fun. At the same time, it’s a bit hard to justify getting any racing game for $60. Fortunately it was on sale for $20 for Prime Day and that’s when I realized that this would be the perfect time to take the plunge. The game definitely holds up and really has a lot of content built in throughout the game. There are just so many characters, stages, and items here.

Naturally I went through the grand prix mode first. There are 8 tournaments and then you can play them all again in mirror mode. Each race will really push you to your limit as you try to come in first. There are quite a few speed levels in the game and the faster you go, the smarter the A.I. gets. So you will really want to keep that in mind here. It would be nice if you could jump right to the highest speed but you have to beat all cups on a lower speed to unlock the higher one. The gam is really made to force you to play it over and over a lot.

I think that can be a little annoying with how direct the game is about this. It has enough content where it doesn’t need to artificially extend it like that. At least if you ask me that was unnecessary. I did have fun beating all of the cups and am nearly done with beating them all a second time. You will really learn the ropes by the time you’re done with this. It’s also worth noting that the game starts you off with driving assistant on by default. Basically this prevents you from crashing or falling off a stage.

It’s nice as a form of training wheels and the catch is that this makes it impossible to get some of the red rings. If you want to get all of the collectibles then you’re going to have to work hard and drive on your own. I thought that was a pretty fair way to do things. You need to pay some price if you’re using an assistant like this.

Of course aside from the grand prix selection there are a lot of other modes. You have time attack mode and free racing. Then there is the racing park which has minigames that you can play. There is also the online races of course and thanks to the free PS+ weekend I actually got to check that out. It is really fun to play against other players online. I was surprised that the cars keep their customizations and items though. I suppose that means there will be an actual tierlist in the Crossworlds meta.

You can also use the online as a way to play the new DLC stages that you haven’t actually purchased yet. I’m glad that it doesn’t just lock them out or anything. The game makes sure to keep them tempting at all times with how the locked characters/stages will stay on your homescreen though. Basically the game is reminding you not to forget about all of this. The prices aren’t bad so if you really enjoy the game then you should consider buying everything. Personally I just don’t buy DLC very often at all.

As for the graphics, the game definitely holds up really well. The colors are super sharp at all times and there is a lot going on within the matches. The items are all really fun to watch even if they can be hard to keep track of at first. This game prides itself on being chaotic and lives up to that reputation. Especially on the faster speeds where things are really moving.

The soundtrack is also really good. There are a ton of remixes here so as long as you enjoy Sonic music then you will have a great time here. The main theme may not be the greatest Sonic tune that we’ve had but it’s still catchy. I was mainly listening to that tune while writing this review. You do feel like you’re about to get on a grand adventure. There is a lot of replay value here between the multiplayer mode and all of the online features. This is a game that will clearly keep on being supported for a very long while.

The customization also adds a whole other layer to the title. You basically have to try and get a ton of customizable equipment throughout the game and then see what you like to use the most. You’ve got tons of cars, wheels, horns, etc. For now I haven’t spent too much time on this and just picked the Shadow car with whatever items I had on hand. For the pre set boosts I picked extra rings and boosters. Generally I’m just not a big customizations guy. I’ll use whatever you’ve got and then go on to have a blast. It may come back to bite me in online races but that’s just how it goes.

The game has a pretty detailed tutorial so don’t be afraid to check that out if you feel a bit overwhelmed at first. Since this game is still getting updates, you will get a ton of pop ups when you first turn the game on. That is completely normal though. I unlocked over 10 characters and about 40+ items when the game first loaded. It’s honestly pretty exciting because it shows you how much free DLC the game got before it moves onto the paid model. Sure it’s probably a tactic to make you more willing to spend but since that tactic helps the player out, I’m totally cool with it.

Overall, I definitely recommend this game. It puts the racing genre to great use and pushes the genre about as far as it could go. I do wish we had a story mode though. Even a barebones one would have been nice just to have had something on the single player side. I suppose it just wasn’t meant to be in this case. A racing game doesn’t need one but it’s a little cherry on top of the package. As long as you like the genre then you should check this one out right away. I don’t see very many racing games coming close to this one anytime soon. It goes without saying but I would even put this one above Mario Kart World.

Overall 8/10