It was another busy week this week at GameSpace. We have a plethora of reviews ranging from Piranha Bytes' ELEX to Overgrowth to Rogue Trooper Redux. We've also compiled just about everything you need to know about Assassin's Creed Origins.
Part of me feels guilty for liking something that’s such a mess in many ways, but the bottom line is that ELEX is a game that grows on you. I just wish they’d spent another 6 to 9 months working on it. Still, given enough time and attention, it may become something truly special.
Overgrowth Review - Verdict - 6.5
Nine years is a long time to be working on a project, but what Wolfire Games was able to do in developing their own physics and graphics tech is pretty cool. Overgrowth is fun and challenging (sometimes brutally so) and it held my attention for quite some time… which takes some doing! If you like games with rag-doll physics and a beat’em up style, Overgrowth is for you! A word of caution though, it can get a wee bit bloody.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Review - Verdict - 7.0
With all that said I’m a firm believer that humor is subjective and I’d be willing to admit that you could have different tastes and find this game to be way more hilarious than I did. But I also thing that I’ve been a fan of South Park for a long, long time and played the crap out of Stick of Truth, so it’s not like I didn’t want this game to be good. So maybe you play it and you laugh and I’m totally cool with that. But for me, this feels like an unfinished symphony that could’ve used a few more punch ups before performance.
Rogue Trooper Redux Review - Verdict - 6.5
If you’re going to choose between RTR on the other consoles or the PC, and the Switch? The only reason to choose the Switch is if you simply must have the game in a portable fashion. It’s not that it plays poorly, it’s that it’s so clearly a downgraded version of the revamped game, making it a zero-sum equation if you know what I mean. It looks far more like the Rogue Trooper of 2006 than the one from 2017. Enemies and gunfire feel weak and impactless compared to the PC version, making this the poorer of the Redux versions.
88 Heroes (Switch) Review - Verdict - 6.5
While 88 Heroes can be fun for a quick play session, the premise feels as though it hurts the overall game. Making each level beatable by each hero makes the game a little too easy at times, but it is fun to get one of your favorite heroes and mess around with their unique abilities. While you can unlock modes that let you limit the heroes you wish to use, to either a pool of 8 with Magnificent 8 mode or 1 with solo, it still doesn’t quite solve the game’s issue of needing to cater to all of the heroes as a whole.
What I’ve seen so far of the story in Goken feels properly written with a good sense of humor involved. While some of it does seem trope-y and parts been done before, I feel Gianty has done enough to make the story in Goken their own. Overall the game felt like a good solid addition to anyone’s Action RPG library.
A Hat in Time Review - Verdict - 9.5
Conclusively this is A Hat in Time is a really fun game that provides both laughs and challenge. It has been a while since I actually got to sit down and play a platformer and I’m happy this is the one that brought me back into it. It brought me back to the fun I had in other platformer games like Blinx the Time Sweeper and Mario. I would rank this up in my top favorites along with those two and Crash for the fun, laughs and challenging boss fights. Took me 3 tries to beat the first boss. Got really close each time but he always got me in the end. When a game can bring about those kind of emotions but also stay fun and enjoyable, that’s how you know it’s really good in my book. You never want to give up and only want to keep trying til you beat it.
Neon Chrome (Switch) - Verdict - 8.0
Neon Chrome’s environmental destruction and bright, cyberpunk colors do a lot to help it stand out from a crowd of dark and dreary rogue-likes. Giving players a sense of progression helps motivate you to play through multiple rounds, and the procedurally generated levels mean you are always doing your best to scout ahead and make a plan for the next room, whether that be taking out a few walls or running in guns blazing.
Tiny Barbarian DX (Switch) Review - Verdict - 9.0
Overall Tiny Barbarian DX is a title worth your time. Whether you’re an older gamer like me chasing the experience we had in our youth, or a newcomer to the retro genre, it’s worth your time. You’re in for hours of entertainment from one playthrough alone, and even more, if you’re a completionist that craves finding all the secrets a game has to offer. So do yourself a favor: load up the eShop (or Steam if you don’t have a Switch), search for Tiny Barbarian DX, click the ‘buy’ button and settle in for a great time.
Culdcept Revolt Review - Verdict - 7.0
I highly recommend Culdcept Revolt. The story might be largely irrelevant, but the gameplay is absolutely excellent especially if you’re into other trading card games and/or board games and becomes even better in multiplayer. It finds a happy medium squarely as part of both those genres with a variety of card art and abilities that make for a wide range of deck strategies and replayability.
Flame in the Flood (Switch) Review - Verdict - 8.5
While the game causes you to go through some learning pains, The Flame in The Flood will reward those who stick with it to a great experience that you won’t find elsewhere. Playing through this game throws the player into a situation that will make the player feel helpless and constantly struggle to look for material, rather than eventually getting so powerful you just feel like you won the game.
Oxenfree (Switch) Review - Verdict - 9.0
Oxenfree follows in the footsteps of the Telltale narrative games, but where you’re often locked in place in that studio’s games, Night School lets you roam freely, engage with parts of the setting, all while taking part in the game’s various conversations. If there’s anything I felt was cumbersome while playing, it’s that the map wasn’t easily traversable, and sometimes if you spend too much time to go the wrong way it can be a real slow and boring chore to hoof it back to get to the right location. Additionally, there’s no way to make Alex run and ergo, sometimes it feels that the pacing is forced upon the player. Oxenfree is a short 3-5 hour affair, so it’s not like they needed to artificially drag things out. It’s meant to be a movie-like experience.
Assassin's Creed: Origins - Literally Everything You Need to Know
I have recapped yesterday’s live stream. I started watching without any plans to do so but this game is so promising I just had to! Bluntly speaking. Everything I saw today is what I have been waiting for in an MMO without the MMO part and because there are so many well-done features, for the first time ever I am ok a game is not an MMO! That’s how good this game is.
Impressions of the Gran Turismo Sport PS4 Open Beta
I’m excited to progress through the driving school at launch as no other racing game offers this kind of in-depth training and it’s the kind of tutorial I think that every racing game should have. These are skills you can transfer to any other racing sim – and even arcade racers – that will inherently mark you as a vastly superior racer. By utilizing the Missions as personal tests that I have mastered the driving techniques, I’ll strut my stuff online to take home the gold.