The Dark Pictures Anthology:
Little Hope

(Available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC)
(PlayStation 4 version used for review)

The second in Supermassive Games series (third if you count Until Dawn) has been put out following last year’s Man of Medan which largely received negative reviews for its lacklustre story, short game length and poor camera and lighting (seriously I know it’s a horror game but I still need to be able to see something). That game ended with a trailer for this game Little Hope which tells the story of a group of college students and their professor being stranded on the road to a town called Little Hope after a bus accident. The group venture into town with some strange supernatural stuff happening along the way and what seems like a dark force stalking them and vision of doubles of themselves during pilgrim witch trials. Once again this is essentially a horror movie you control though like Man of Medan it is also a shorter experience going for around 4- 5 hours for each playthrough. Though like I said with my review of Tell Me Why with these kinds of games the length isn’t the major factor it’s going back to see how you can alter the story. once again the game also offers pass the controller multiplayer which means 2-5 people can each pick characters and will then pass the controller to one another to play which is what I did on Halloween with my housemate which you can see on my YouTube channel since we recorded it in 2 videos ( the reason why 2 videos for a single playthrough will be explained later). the majority of the time will have you exploring environments to provide more context on the town, the mystery of what is going on and the character progression as well as quick time events which you’ll need to do almost perfectly to get that character out alive.

Pros

• Story : I won’t give away too much but each playthrough can offer interesting ideas on how to progress the story since unlike Man of Medan your actions feel like they matter more this time and can directly affect the story in bigger ways which is why I enjoyed Until Dawn so much. There are plenty of twists which really warrant replays to see how events can go differently and it really motivates replays with the twists in mind something that was really lacking first time round. The game also is way smarter with how it uses premonitions which put you on edge for a possible upcoming death and like Man of Medan there’s even some that predict deaths in the next game. while it’s not too scary it is incredibly atmospheric and delivers some really interesting design choices
• Multiplayer offline: this is one of the best parts of the game, it’s great to get everyone around the tv and pass the controller around to each person, the game lets you know which player plays when and it is amazing to have everyone play their part in making the overall story and I had very good fun with it with just 2 players and I’m hoping to eventually give it a go with 5
• Way better QuickTime events: the biggest complaint in Man of Medan was that the quick time events were to sporadic and came out of nowhere which ultimately dragged the game down due to the amount of fails would happen with little fault to the player. You can still fail at these events but that’s due to being flustered not because of bad timing and lack of indication like previous games. This game indicates way better so you expect them coming and can plan accordingly. Whether you’ll succeed is another matter

Mixed

• Game length: this game is between 4-5 hours long depending on how you play. Now it’s a decent time for a game like this though I think that adding a couple of hours on like Until Dawn did in order to really flesh out the story would be nice. I actually would prefer these games come twice yearly rather than the current annual releases we have at the moment to make more substantial experiences.
• Graphics: the graphics are really good a lot of the time and brings some excellent design work to life as well as bring the actors performances to the game through the use of excellent motion capture technology though it doesn’t look like quite as good as Until Dawn did and had occasional moments of blank expression which took away from the experience. This is likely the process of having to develop for multiple hardware unlike Until Dawn which was a PlayStation 4 exclusive as well as the lower amount of time to put it together
• Multiplayer online: this is really more of a preference thing but rather like Man of Medan while it just doesn’t quite have the same effect as playing with friends offline because it doesn’t have the same level of interaction which really adds to the experience and as a result it’s more of a lonely one. also because of the bugs in the game if you get a crash it can be way more difficult to get back to the game in the event of a shutdown (more on that later) which during lockdown times is not optimal.

Cons

• Bugs: remember when I said we streamed over 2 videos well that was not the intention. We had planned to do one long continuous stream of our playthrough but the game crashed during a transition to a flashback. Now luckily aside from an incident where a character got stuck in a wall this is the only one we experienced probably because the day one patch ironed out many of the bugs but a few players have stated they are still getting frequent crashes and even some which are corrupting the games save data. This will improve over time but isn’t a great look right now.
• Tutorials only appear once even in multiplayer: this is another problem from Man of Medan that’s carried over. In the multiplayer game I did I got the tutorials on quick time events and how to perform actions which meant I got an easy practice but my friend who was playing with me didn’t get that so failed a couple times early on from simple mistakes. I think it would be improved if each player got a tutorial chance before playing proper especially with this game potentially attracting a more causal audience
• All the jumps scares suck: this game is WAY too heavily reliant on jump scares and they get so predictable that you can see them from a mile away and are not scary. I have said this on numerous occasions but I’ll say it again when you are that reliant on jump scares you are failing as a horror writer. Fortunately, the game makes up for it with good atmosphere
• The similarities to Silent Hill are distracting: the people who made this game clearly really like Silent Hill because they put their fandom front and centre. It’s set in a New England town with an ominous name and dark past brought on by its own citizens surrounded by fog that forbids escape is one thing but even some of the designs and twists feel like were ripped straight out of the Silent Hill franchise. Now I know the Silent Hill team didn’t invent these tropes and other games have tried to capture what Silent Hill achieved but it’s still feels really distracting and at times feels like it’s on the edge of being a copy though the game has a few distinct design choices that make it its own thing.

Overall thoughts

Little Hope fixes a lot of the problems Man of Medan made but also has its own issues. while it’s a better and more compelling story that invites replay, much better performances and has way better quick time events it still could be a longer experience and it has technical issues that really should’ve been resolved before launch. That being said, I had way more fun with this than I did playing Man of Medan which I think counts for a lot and I’m looking forward to playing more with friends when I can and I hope there will be further improvements in the sequel next year that’ll be going to the next generation consoles.

Score: 8/10

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time

(Available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One)
(PlayStation 4 version used for review)

Crash Bandicoot 4 is the latest game Activision have brought out the N.Sane trilogy 2 years ago being full on remakes of the PlayStation 1 games as well as a remakes of CTR to build up the franchise from the ashes. With Crash 4 we have a new developer, Vicarious Visions were working on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2 Remake and the job was handed over to Toys For Bob who developed the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. The game is fundmentally the same as the N.Sane trilogy and picks up from the end of Crash 3 (effectively erasing all the games past Wrath of Cortex on PS2 to be a partial reboot). Dr Neo Cortex and Dr N. Tropy have escaped from their time travel prison and are now messing with reality by fracturing several timelines and Crash and his sister Coco have to stop them. It’s as basic a Crash plot as it gets though there’s some nice call backs to previous games in here that I won’t completely spoil. the game structure is also very similar to several areas and complete several levels to progress to the next however this time you only have to beat 4 levels as opposed to 5 though a few optional ones also pop up. the other differences are that this time you don’t chose the order of the mandatory levels it’s completely linear like Crash 1 and there’s no crystal to collect. Instead when you reach the end of a level you get a series of gems, there’s of course the box gem for breaking every box in the level but now there’s a hidden gem in each level plus 3 gems for getting 40,60 and 80% of the whumpa fruit in each level and a gem for dying 3 times or less. Plus if you can get all in 1 run you get a perfect gem for your troubles. the game also brings back the time relics and adds a couple of multiplayer functions to boot.

Pros

• Controls: the controls in this game will be very familiar to anyone who has played the recent N.Sane trilogy and will really be memorable to anyone who played the PS1 games. The controls however feel a bit more refined than previously which if you compared with the N.Sane trilogy, I liked the controls with N.Sane Trilogy but a couple of levels were showing the age of the controls. That’s not the case with Crash 4 it really feels like it was very well crafted whilst maintaining a lot of the classic feel. The biggest changes have been that Crash and Coco have a double jump from the start which works better than ever but the most welcome edition is a circle below each character after jumping to help judge distance and depth in order to make more precise jumps something that was a complaint in previous games though if you think it makes the game too easy it can be turned off. the other big edition is the 4 masks which add new dimensions to each level, 1 effects reality on which boxes or platforms appear, 1 gives you extra Hight with a massive spin jump, 1 freezes time and 1 changes gravity to walk on the ceiling. They all add some generally good gameplay, are easy to control , are generally wellcome and I don’t have an issue except when the level design doesn’t fit it but we’ll get to that.
• Gameplay styles: other crash games would often add tons of gameplay styles but would either be a distraction like the bike and jet ski levels in Crash 3 but Crash 4 adds 3 other characters to play as Tawna, Dingodile and Dr Cortex. They each are based around the standard Crash platforming with slight tweeks. Tawna gets a wall jump and a hook shot and is the funest of the 3 to play, Dingodile is a bit slower but gets a suction gun which makes for fun combat though his floater jump got me in trouble, Dr Cortex on the other hand gets a ray gun to transform enemies into blocks and bouncy platforms as well as a forward dash. I have my issues with cortext but what I like about all these characters gameplay is that they don’t drastically change the game so don’t feel like a massive shift and feel fun for the most part to play. Plus they’re almost entirely optional they are only required for 2 levels each though you will need to do each of their levels for 100% completion, and belive me we’ll get to that.
• Multiplayer: the multiplayer involves passing the controller but it’s a really cool idea. You can set it so the next player takes over either after check point or death or so on but also offers multiplayer for competitive play which adds a fun extra way to play the game. It unfortunately doesn’t offer online multiplayer at this stage which would’ve been cool especially with a whole bunch of us being more restricted visiting our friends but I don’t think any of us were expecting multiplayer, and good multiplayer at that, so take what you can.
• Graphics and Performance: the game looks amazing, this feels like a real evolution from N.Sane trilogy though feels a little more lively and expressive. What’s aided the look is that unlike Vicarious Visions, Toys For Bob aren’t remaking a series of games but instead making their own game so can make their own environments and style which benefits their creativity. The game also runs at a cool 60 frames per second which is a step up from N.Sane’s 30, well at least it did on my PlayStation 4 pro. I’ve heard that original PlayStation 4’s original models of Xbox One’s do have frame rate dips though even from what I’ve seen it’s not too awful and doesn’t ruin the game. you also gets some really interesting art styles to the graphics which I won’t dare spoil once you unlock the inverted versions of levels
• Boss fights: some of the best in the series not a bad one in the bunch that’s all I got

Mixed

• Soundtrack: it’s not bad but unlike Crash2 and 3 it’s just not too distinctive and other than Tawna’s first level they don’t stand out to me
• Level design: it’s generally really good for the most part with some cool platforming, themes and it generally well designed. Most levels don’t feel like they go on too long and most don’t have cheap level design leading to death though there are some exceptions and some of the design choices feel like they were deliberately trollish to people going for 100% completion such as way too many hidden boxes off screen or platforming challenges that require trial and error to figure out a formula of getting everything which become an issue if you’re hoping to get the 3 deaths or less gem and even worse if you’re going for the perfect gem or aiming to pick up the video tape in the level which requires not dying before reaching. Put it this way you know the level designers are trolling when there’s a box hidden behind a wall in the first level which almost ensures on your first try you will be 1 box short.
• The various costumes: they’re cool and easy to earn (no microtransaction so far fortunately) but they really don’t add too much other than few ones which are nice call backs to games from the past and only really add extra collectable for 100% completion
• Dr Cortex’s levels: I wasn’t a big fan of Cortex’s gameplay. I found his levels to be the biggest shift gameplay wise and it takes way more getting used to, my biggest problem is with the aiming of Cortex’s gun. If I was slightly off where enemies were tuned into platforms or bouncy platforms it made the rest of the platforming that much more difficult plus there’s a few issues I had with his platforming where I had issues judging distance of things like his forward rush. His levels are ok and mostly optional but are the weakest part of the game

Cons

• The final levels: I’ve heard a few reviews point this out but it bears repeating. The final levels are really designed to frustrate you to no end. They take all the trollish level design points and turn them up to 11. I died over 120 times in the final level trying to complete it and it drove me insane with how precise they were expecting me to be even after abandoning trying to break all the boxes
• Load times: I was playing on a PS4 pro but even then I occasionally had load times lasting nearly a minute which probably will be even worse on an original PS4. This is something which will improve if you use the backwards compatibility features on the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X since those have SSD drives which are deliberately designed to cut load times but for now expect a wait between levels.
• Level structure for optional levels: this applies to the Twana, Dingodile and Cortex levels. There’s nothing wrong with the levels per se, the problem comes part way through the level when you come to a moment which requires you to play as Crash or Coco during a segment of a level you’ve already done. See these levels are designed to show what that character was doing when you were playing this level and when their part is done you go back to playing as Crash and Coco in a section you’ve already done. If you count the inverted versions of each levels that’s several areas you’re doing 4 times with minimal change for 100% (I’m getting Sonic Heroes flashbacks just saying that)
• Trying to go for 100% completion: I couldn’t do it, because of how this game is designed the game’s difficulty is dependent on it. If you’re not going for 100% completion the levels are way easier and it’s when you will have the most fun with Crash but with the way boxes are placed in some levels, the weird location of hidden gems which I swear some are impossible to discover without looking up on the internet and all the hoops you’re expected to jump through to get 100% the diifculty is a nightmare. I can’t count how many times I thought I had all the boxes only to be missing a few or have seen a platforming challenge so difficult to get all the boxes that it broke me and I just would go nuts with each failed attempt. The time trials aren’t bad this time because unlike when they were added to Crash 1 & 2 in N.Sane trilogy the levels have been constructed with that in mind even with stricter times. The N.Sane trilogy had some tough challenges but it felt manageable, this game because of sheer requirement for 100% makes it feel like a chore which I haven’t gone back to

Overall thoughts

Crash Bandicoot 4 looks great and just doing all the levels from start to finish without going for 100% makes this game one of the best platformers in recent memory. The controls feel way more precise, the levels are well designed and it feels like a nice throwback to the classic games whilst adding modern flare to it. the game goes downhill when you go for 100% completion with some really overboard challenges and collectables and they really could’ve dialled back a bit on it. but you absolutely should get this game because if you tailor it to your likeing you can get a lot of great play time out of it

Score: 9.1/10

Tell Me Why

(Available for Xbox One and PC)
(Xbox Series X version available later this year)
(PC version used for review)

(No Spoilers in Review and please refrain from posting Spoilers in the comments section)

Tell Me Why is a narrative driven game made by developers from Dotnod entertainment, the developers behind the Life Is Strange games. This time the game is not being published by Square-Enix but instead by Xbox Game Studios to make it an exclusive to Microsoft platforms and is also being used as a way to bolster the line up for Xbox Game Pass which is looking better deal by the day. it initially released with just its first chapter in late August but received the second and third chapters shortly after which is welcome bit of fresh air considering that Life is Strange 2 took most of last year to release all 5 parts. The second and third chapters also come at no extra charge so once you pay for the game you get everything, both of which is likely as a way to make it more palatable for Xbox Game Pass streaming. Since this is such a narrative driven game as mentioned earlier I’ll be avoiding spoilers, but the basic premise is that twins Tyler and Alyson after being separated because of Tylor going to prison for the murder of their mother in self defence (it’s not a spoiler it’s the first scene of the game) they are traveling back to their childhood hometown of Delos Crossing to finally refurbish sell their mother’s house. However they begin to see visions of their past which suggest things might not have been the way they thought and they investigate using this new power to give themselves closure. Right off the bat the game is much shorter. While each chapter runs about the same length as typical Life Is Strange episode of around 3-4 hours there are obviously less episodes so it runs of a total run time of about 9-10 hours which obviously means you’re getting less play time than Life is Strange 1 & 2 which come in of a run time of 16 and 18 hours respectively but the beauty in these games is how they hold up to replays to see how events can turn out differently.

Pros.

• Soundtrack: Dotnod games always have great soundtracks and this game is no exception. If you’ve played Life is Strange the soundtrack will be familiar to you in terms of music genre’s
• Brilliant LGBT characters and storyline: Tyler is probably one of the best written transgender characters that has been put into a video game and the use of LGBT themes are also well done in regards to another character.
• Set up for the plot: the game sets up a very intriguing storyline which gets you invested in the characters and what happened around the incident all those years ago , how it follows that up is another matter

Mixed

• Graphics: the graphics are a mixed bag, on the one hand they seem like they are better than the Life is Strange games in terms of textures on characters and backgrounds but it feels like compared to those games the characters are not as expressive in cutscenes and the game has a way less distinctive art style. the game does run well for the most part. the game is set as a default 30 frames per second but I was able to up it to 60 in the settings and I suspect the series X version will be 60 as a default. The game runs way better at 60 so if you’re playing the PC version and have a PC that’s capable make that settings change as soon as possible
• Story: it has good character moments and a decent sense of mystery but if falls flat on the whole and the game feels like it tells you more about character motivations than it actually shows you. it also doesn’t help that I guessed a major plot twist way in advance because the games limitations on characters and scenes with those characters. many of them only contribute to a couple of scenes. They’re good ones but they don’t serve much purpose outside of that.

Cons

• Not much replay value: this games gives you choices but they really don’t feel like they matter at all. You really can’t affect much of the plotline at all. Unlike Life is Strange 1 & 2 it doesn’t have the replay value since the choices don’t affect character motivation all that much and the game comes down to 2 endings which don’t affect the conclusion in any way. say what you like about Life is Strange 1 at least in that game you could actually affect the conclusion this game on the other hand really makes you feel like you were just along for the ride and weren’t doing much of anything
• Too short: this game really need to be longer so the developers could do more with the characters and the plotline. 9 hours simply isn’t enough time and the lack of replay value means you won’t get more time out of it after you’re first playthrough. The game was likely rushed and that is really felt by the end of the game because it feels like a lot of ideas have been left out of the game
• Puzzles: they’re too easy and are tedious, all you have to do is look up for a chapter in the storybook and you have what you need.

Overall thoughts

There’s a really good game in here but it really feels like a game that was put out quickly to be a selling point for Xbox Game Pass. It has good characters and acting but doesn’t know what to do with them and leaves a plotline with intrigue but no real consequence since choices don’t matter so much. I didn’t hate this game and was invested for the first 2 chapters but the third one made the game feel a lot more hollow once everything had been said and done. but felt a bit more empty afterwards compared to other Dotnod games which really had me invested by the end. It’s probably the weakest game the studio has put out in recent memory though I can sense there was a lot of effort and some good ideas here it just feels like they don’t pay off. though I have also been coy on some of my thoughts to avoid spoilers

Score: 6.8/10

Super Mario 35

(Available for Nintendo Switch only)
(Nintendo Switch Online account is required)

Super Mario 35 is a free online multiplayer battle royal game for the Switch online as part of the Mario 35^th Anniversary. You play the original Super Mario Bros for the NES with 34 other players at the same time darting between levels back and forth with a small time limit which can be increased by defeating enemies which also sends that enemy to one of your opponents, keep going until you’re eliminated, last player standing wins. Which opponent can be set to Random, whose attacking you, who has the lowest time, or who has the most coins. Coins are also used for an item roulette which can be activated at 20 coins collected making coin collection more incentivised. If it sounds familiar it is very similar to the previously released Tetris 99. This obviously is really just a more chaotic version of Mario Bros on the NES so it’s built on good foundation of the game that would define all platformers going forward so most talk is going to be on how it works now as a battle royal game.

Pros

• Gameplay: it’s so Addictive, I can’t drag myself off this game. Nintendo has been constantly re releasing Super Mario Bros for the NES through releases on platforms like the Gameboy or the Virtual Consoles on Wii, 3DS and Wii U and most recently the NES collection on the Switch online so it’s really not too exciting to replay it as much as it used to be (something that’s wrong with how Nintendo is handling it’s legacy content but that’s a subject for another day). this game really revamps the experience and gives me more ways to show off all the little tricks and short cuts I have learnt over the years with the 34 other players to outlast. The only major change is that if you get hit with a fire flower you go back to Big Mario rather than Mini Mario which makes it slightly more forgiving. The fast nature also really improves on the gameplay and makes you really think on your actions and learn levels to pace a strategies to benefit your score. Seriously I’ve been playing this game at least 30 minutes longer than I ever intended to each day just to see if I could do better and have finished in the top 5 on numerous occasions and even won a game. to add an extra dimension to a classic that has been replayed to death is an amazing achievement and has been pulled off

Cons

• Not too many features at launch: it’s very basic at this point in time. There are timed events that are planned for the future but if I compare it to the content you got in Tetris 99 it feels rather underwhelming. It also has little single player content unlike Tetris 99 which means that it’s not as good to play portably whilst traveling so if you want to play this game portably I’d advise turning you phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot
• Only available until end of March: for some baffling reason Nintendo is going to shut this game down at the end of March. Why is a mystery and completely sours the experience going forward knowng that a game I’m getting tons of fun out of will be gone. If a game has a good online community there is no reason to shut down a server. And I get that this is a special thing for the 35^th anniversary but it still feels like a bad move for endering yourself to your fans

Overall thoughts

To have this new amazing way of experiencing. Both oldschool players and New Mario fans will get a lot out of this and this is one of the most addictive multiplayer games on the Switch. I really enjoyed my time with Mario 35 and unlike many of the online focused games I’ve reviewed this one I will be regularly playing while I can. This has been incredibly enjoyable way of playing Mario Bros

Score: 9.2/10

Super Mario 3D All Stars

(Available for Nintendo Switch only)

The long rumoured collection Mario’s first 3 3D games have finally arrived after months of people saying the collection doesn’t exist it has finally appeared to kick off the 35^th anniversary of Mario. The collection contains Super Mario 64 which originally released on the Nintendo 64, Super Mario Sunshine which originally released on the GameCube and Super Mario Galaxy which originally released on the Wii.

The games are basically hybrids of being emulations and ports but with some slight control changes you are mostly playing original releases though they have received a slight texture upgrades to the graphics to be on the Switch. the collection also comes with full soundtracks for each game in the collection which you can listen to with the system in sleep mode. Now because this collection is pretty much identical to their original releases I’m not going to say too much about the individual games in the collection except that all these are still really good and I would recommend them and I’d say I’m even warming up to Sunshine despite some of it’s issues. instead I’ll be talking more about how the transition to the switch has effected the experience of playing these games and if I think the collection is worth it

Pros

• Graphics (Galaxy especially): all the games have actually cleaned up quite well, Mario 64 certainly looks better than other Nintendo 64 games that have been ported to the Switch like Turrok and Doom 64 and certainly doesn’t look as badly aged as I was expecting especially in handheld mode and certainly has a lot more care put into it’s look compared to Virtual Console releases on the Wii and Wii U, Sunshine is now full 1080p HD in widescreen and has surprisingly really good looking game. the game was always one of the real graphical standouts on the GameCube and this update works well on the Switch really showing off the level of colour and life that the game had. however the standout is Galaxy, this was already an outstanding looking game on the Wii and now in 1080p HD on the switch it actually stands up to modern releases. While the game doesn’t live up to Super Mario Odessey in the graphical department it certainly comes close and is really amazing updated for the modern era.
• soundtracks: these games all had really good soundtracks, even sunshine which arguably was the weakest of the 3 games< when it comes to their soundtracks and all still hold up and to have the ability to play all of them on the main menu and hear them while the game is in sleep mode is fantastic.
• Controls: the controls have all been updated very well. they all work with the Switch Pro Controller as well as the Joy cons and all have no real issues and in the case of 64 both are better than using a Nintendo 64 controller. The big change to sunshine has been that analogue controls for controlling F.L.U.D.D’s water pressure but it’s not difficult to get the hang of and doesn’t drastically affect the game. The game which needed the most control revisions was Galaxy to replicate the motion controls that were present on the Nintendo Wii. Galaxy didn’t require as much motion controls as a game like Wii sports and mainly relayed on the wii mote pointer function. To make up for this when playing the game docked it uses the gyroscopic functions of the joy cons or the pro controller and in handheld mode uses the touch screen functions similar to how The World Ends With You functions on the Switch but way better on both counts. Now I’m not a fan of the touch screen functionality but it kind of ok though I don’t recommend playing Galaxy with them. The other controls however work really well and make Galaxy the best controlling game on the collection. The joy cons really replicate the Wii mote well for the pointer and motion controls though the pro controller is even better and works very well with the gyro controls. You do have to readjust it every so often by pressing the R trigger but you’re certainly doing it way less than The World Ends With You Final Remix. The spin attack works well to by mapping it to the Y button which makes using it way more precise though you can shake the joy cons or pro controller for a more classic feel.

Mixed

• Mario 64 isn’t in widescreen: I’m in 2 minds about Super Mario 64. I already mentioned that I think that Mario 64 looks better than the Turrok and Doom 64 Switch ports and part of that is that it doesn’t feel like the image has been stretched but at the same time you can see it playing in full screen on the title menu and it still looks great. I think it could’ve been possible to make this look good in widescreen but it still looks good as is and I’m not going to complain too much
• Mario 64’s camera: it functions fine but playing now in the modern era it has begun to show it’s age especially when its on the same compilation as Mario Sunshine and Galaxy which have much better implemented cameras. That being said you can’t entirely hold it against Mario 64 this was one of the first 3d platformers of it’s type and it would take time to figure out what makes camera’s for these kinds of games work but it was way ahead of the competition at the time. Trust me I was there.

Cons

• Less easy control options playing Galaxy on a Switch Lite: I mentioned in handheld mode with galaxy you have to play the game with the touch screen. Now it is possible to put the switch on a surface with the kick stand and remove the joy cons from the Switch and play the game with the gyro controls but the Switch Lite doesn’t have a kick stand or detachable joy cons so if you want to play like that with one of them it’s a right faff since you will have to prop it up somewhere and connect more joy cons or classic controllers. Obviously this only effects Lite owners but if you didn’t like having to use the touch screen for galaxy you won’t have much of a choice in the matter and shows up more of the shortcomings of the Lite compared to the regular Switch
• Not too many extras: The Soundtracks are great and having the ability to play them all in sleep mode is great but there really should’ve been more. Especially since I have access to most of these songs in Smash Bros Ultimate. Why does the game not have more like interviews, historical timelines, concept artwork etc. it seems Nintendo is still cagey about keeping that to themselves and I really don’t understand why. This is meant to be a celebration of 35 years of Mario and it really doesn’t have the presentation of that.
• No GameCube controller support for Sunshine: the Smash Bros team went to lengths to add support to use GameCube controllers to Smash Ultimate and it seems weird that the team behind this game wouldn’t add it to Sunshine to really add to the nostalgia. You can use a GameCube controller with the adapter, but the Switch will act like you’re using a pro controller and will not replicate the analogue controls the original game gave you. Yes it’s a minor complaint but it’s a complaint none the less
• Still maintains many issues I have with the games (Sunshine especially): these games are identical to their original releases which is great in many parts but of course it retains much of their problems. In the case of Sunshine it is still the worst if you’re going for 100% completion. The blue coins are still a real pain to get especially the hidden ones, some of the environments were not designed around Mario’s control scheme that was implement for this game especially if you went from 64 to Sunshine, some of the levels are infuriating (looking at you Pachinko Machine Level), and you get a rubbish reward for 100% completing the game compared to the rewards for 100% completing 64 and Galaxy. Nintendo had an opportunity to fix a lot of faults but because these were emulation/port hybrids they didn’t have the opportunity to do so which means that they haven’t been.

Overall thoughts

Despite some minor complaints this collection is completely worth it. to have these 3 amazing games in one collection is amazing and I’ve had a ton of fun revisiting these games. 64 is still really great, sunshine is better than I remember and I have a new appreciation for Galaxy. While Super Mario Odyssey is still my favourite Mario game playing Galaxy again on the Switch has really made me have a new appreciation for what a technical achievement it is. I didn’t put Galaxy 2’s absence in the cons section since I’m personally not the biggest fan of that game and wasn’t too upset by its absence in the collection though I acknowledge it’s a notable absence for many people. You really should get this collection though since all these games really hold up as some of the greatest platformers and this is one of the best ways to play them though I wish Nintendo had put slightly more effort into making this feel like a 35^th anniversary celebration.

Score: 9.2/10

Marvel’s Avengers

(Available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Google Stadia)
(PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions to be released later)
(PC version used for review)

With Covid making it impossible to go to the cinema for most of the year most of us haven’t had our MCU movie for this year and if Disney decide to delay Black Widow again, 2020 might become the first year that there will be no MCU movies released since the venture started. Sqaure Enix and studio Crystal Dynamics have stepped up and have finally released their long awaited Avengers Game after several delays. Now the game already has some bad press following the beta for the game that acted as a preorder bonus but going into I was hoping it would be better with a campaign that would at least come close to Spider-Man on PS4. The game has a single player campaign and a massive online multiplayer game similar to that of the Destiny games which feels tacked on to add microtranscations to pay off the incredible licence fees it. must have cost to get this off Disney. The story revolves around the Avengers being brought together by Kamla Khan (AKA Ms Marvel) to bring the avengers back together after a distar that creates a toxic cloud which makes Inhumans and the vilanious organisation AIM is attempted to capitalise off it and stir public opinion against the Avengers. The whole thing is a nice alagory for racism issues that feel very topical now and making Kamala the main character is a wise descion. I was stoked when she was announced for the game since her comics have so far been fantastic and I am a big fan of the character so I’m glad the game portrays her well and she adds to something to the group dynamic. Apart from MS Marvel the playable characters include Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor and The Hulk each coming with a slightly different play style though I have some opinions about that for later. if you’re worried about no Hawkeye there don’t be he’s already confirmed to be the first of several DLC characters to come into the game, Spider-Man has also been confirmed however rather annoyingly for everyone not on a Sony platform he will only be available for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game.

Pros

• Ms Marvel’s story and gameplay: her arc is great and she really takes centre stage with some awesome moments. She’s been one of my favourite superheroes in the comics for the last few years and this game really does her justice. When I got more missions as her it really reminded me why I like the character and the devlopers seem to have that in mind with her gameplay since she’s the best character to play as by far and controls the best.
• The cinematic campaign missions: those missions really make you feel like you are in an Avengers movie and they are sometimes enjoyable especially the first mission

Mixed

• Playing as any character other than Ms Marvel: they really vary in quality but if I were to rank playing each of the characters from best to worst I would go with Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Iron Man and finally Hulk. The key point though is all of them have fundamental issues with there gameplay design such as Iron Man having to do more punching than ranged attacks and him being put in mission that don’t suit that. none of them are terrible but each of them feel very samey to not overcomplicate controlling

Cons

• The Story: it’s a story that feels barren by the end if it wasn’t for Ms Marvel’s arc. The rest of the Avengers feel like cut-outs with little devlopment and the villains feel like they had something more in mind but was cut at the last minute
• Very greedy microtransactions : this game has some of the worst asking you to pay up for gear and cosmetic to cut down your grinding time. You also can’t buy what you want you just have to hope it’s up that day and it completely sucks and I was unwilling to pay but given how
• Boring level design: the missions outside of the main story are all so dull. It’s do the same dull things to the same dull enemies and is just a grind and you need to do this to get the characters up to the standard to actually feel like the charcters they represent. Not to mention the level design is the same open spaces with no character to them which are boring to explore
• Boring boss fights: I hate the boss fights. There’s only 3 Marvel villains in the game (when Batman Arkham Asylum over a decade ago had double that many iconic villains) and the rest of the time they’re generic robots with obvious weak points and barely put up a fight. The Marvel villains aren’t much tougher and it was just a slog to get through overall
• Consistent graphics and frame rate issues: I ran on a PC with very good ram and a 1 tb SSD and I was still getting terrible frame rate issues, graphic error, tons of glitches and a few times it straight up crashed. I’ve heard the console versions run better but I don’t care to play this again to find out and the players for those systems said that they were runninginto the same issues just not as often
• Multiplayer: it’s exactly the same and is once again boring to play, it sets up this to be a sort of MMO similar to that of the Destiny game. now inherently that’s not to bad and the Marvel universe could suit that style of game but man does this turn it into a very droll experience with you doing tons of repeated missions to get more loot. I actually thought single player was worse for several reasons as well but with how multiplayer focused this game is it bore mentioning
• The camera: I hated this camera it’s so counterintuitive all the time and needs constant readjusting. It cost me so many lives
• Checkpoints: this game gives you barely any so expect to do a lot of the same things over and over again until you get it perfect
• No way to replay campaign missions after completing them: great so the only mission I enjoyed I can never do again unless I completely erase
• Spiderman is going to locked to PlayStation 4 and 5: I know Sony has a grip on Spider-man but given how Sony gave Nintendo the rights to use the character in the Switch exclusive Marvel Ultimate alliance 3 it come off as petty.

Overall thoughts

Not going to lie I hated playing this. This is one of the dullest AAA releases I have played in a long time . I had very little fun playing this game and as soon as I had done the bare minimum to do this review I immediately uninstalled this game to get the blight of this game off my PC. If this game gets better down the line like Destiny did I won’t be there for it because this game is so BORING!

Score 5.5/10

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2

(Available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC)
(PlayStation 4 version used for review)

Activision earlier this year announced that after completely killing the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise between their terrible peripheral based game Ride and the terrible Pro Skater 5 that was not only bad but also literally had the entire game patched onto the disc on day 1, (which means in the future when the servers go down you won’t be able to go beyond the tutorial) a remake of both Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2 from the PS1. Now these beloved ps1 games have been given the modern generation treatment. The game has arrived and it is for the most part a faithful remake of the game with some modern extras with the game being developed by Vicarious Visions and Beenox who handled the Crash Bandicoot and CTR remakes. Rather like those games it’s very much the original game if it was made for todays consoles and it certainly has feel of it. that’s not necessarily a dig at it there’s a reason people still think fondly of these games and get tons of views on twitch streaming them. The game itself doesn’t have too many extras from the initial outset though the addition of Online multiplayer certainly helps and there is a few unlockables (no one of them isn’t Spiderman unfortunately).

Pros

• Graphics: this game looks seriously good. Considering the limitations of the original PlayStation there wasn’t the most massive environments, in retrospective sense, they could make but they looked good at the time and the updates made are brilliant. They maintain the designs of the original game but look great. Fans from the original will get an immediate nostalgia bomb the minute they upload the Hanger or Venice Beach. There’s also some real attention to detail in some of the little moments of play which makes it a very good looking game for this generation
• Gameplay: simplicity is key to why this game works. While it fixes up a lot of the physics from previous games it also really retains much of the simple good fun nature of early Tony Hawk which the series had been getting away from. this pushes it right back to the arcade nature of the game giving you tons of timed challenges in each skater park to unlock the next one which will put your skills to the test but don’t worry because all parks are available from the start in free skate mode. The game takes a real skill to learn especially if like me you haven’t played these games in a while and are rusty but it incentivises you to get better to pull off better tricks and get higher scores. Put it this way I suck at this game but I was still having a ton of fun and playing loads trying to get better (I didn’t at this point in time).
• multiplayer: this game has fantastic multiplayer offering a variety of competitive games such as who can pull off trick to get their graffiti across most of the park or who can pull off the highest scoring combo with everyone skating at the same time. The game allows for 8 people to play at once and opening a room to play with your friends is very easy from what I could gather though I didn’t have any friends who bought the PS4 version to test this out. playing with random people was still really good fun and I really didn’t run into much lag though maybe I got lucky and no one I played with had bad connections.
• Soundtrack: The Ska and Alt Rock has returned. The soundtrack has virtually the entirety of the iconic licensed soundtrack from the first 2 games which will make you nostalgic for late 90’s MTV when Jackass was premiering. The soundtrack includes people like Less Than Jake, Anthrax and Rage Against the Machine but also has new tracks from artist like Machine Gun Kelly and a brilliant feature the game has is the ability to skip a song if you don’t want to hear it so be prepared to have a ton of great song to skate to.

Mixed

• The Create a skater features: while the create a park features are excellent and most aspects of the create a skater features are really good I can’t help but think that it feels rather limiting in certain areas and that there was an opportunity to expand this in a way that hasn’t been taken advantage of.
• Skill level required to get most out of the game: I can see people not used to this design philosophy giving up on this game. while there are good tutorials if you don’t get good at this game like me a lot of the best features are locked out for you though as said all of the parks are available at the start for free skate so there really isn’t too much restricted

Cons

• Cant create a playlist or chose what song you hear: why is this not a feature, later Tony Hawk games had the ability to choose which songs to hear so what’s this game excuse
• There might be microtransactions later: this won’t effect the score right now but I have a bad feel Activision will do what they did with Call of Duty WWII and CTR Nitro Fuelled and add microtransactions in after the release which will effect gameplay. The skater shop is already kind of set up for this so be weary
• Where’s Pro Skater 3: this also shouldn’t effect the score but I really think it was bad move to not have any parks from pro skater 3 given it was also on PS1 and had some of the best skater parks. Activision has expressed in interviews that they would like to make remakes of 3 and 4 but given were heading into a new generation of consoles I think it’s not likely this will be dlc.

Overall thoughts

Tony Hawk Pro Skater remakes are really good fun which is something the series really needed. This is a really good time and is an excellent time with friends on the multiplayer thanks to the brilliant controls and well-tuned physics. It does have a skill barrier but the game encourages you to experiment and get better and the feeling of satisfaction pulling them off is excellent

Score 9/10

It’s an excellent deal for a full priced release track it down though there are digital editions with extra content that might be worth it.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered

(Available for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Android Phones, iPhone)
(Nintendo Switch version used for review)

One game Sqaure-Enix has been hyping for ages is their remaster of the Gamecube classic Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles a multiplayer dungeon crawler spinoff title that allowed you to team up with up to 3 friends using gameby Advances and link cables connected to the Gamecube. Crystal Chronicles has become a cult classic and is often considered one of the best Gamecube games for it’s gameplay as well as it’s throwback to classic final fantay tropes and designs and spawned a further franchise with further games on the Wii and DS which didn’t recapture the magic. This game has been kicked around the release schedule quite a bit being initially revealed during the September 2018 Nintendo Direct with rather vague release of 2019 but was moved about a lot until a concrete release date was finally given earlier this year for August and in all honesty I was looking so forward to playing this game. This has been one of the most anticipated release of the year espically considering Mulitplayer is drastically improved with crossplay online multiplayer added to multiplayer meaning players with the Switch, PS4 and mobile versions can play with one another regardless of which console which I’m going to comment on later on. It was so hard to do the multiplayer without all of your friends having their own Gameboy advances and link cables so to have the online multiplayer means more people can experience the multiplayer aspect of the game. Crystal Chronicles is a spinoff franchise which brings in classic final fantasy iconography, mainly from the first 6 main series games with a bit of 9, which involves you taking a caravan to refill your villages crystal to save it from being consumed from toxic air known as miasma. You can play with up to 4 players online with crossplay between all systems with no offline multiplayer.

Pros

• Graphics: this game really has cleaned up well for this generation and I hope it convince Nintendo that GameCube era games can look good in this generation.
• Dungeon and character design: Crystal Chronicles has one of the most unique world design and art style and create several amazing dungeons to explore, they tend to be pretty quick especially in multiplayer but they are enjoyable to explore
• Gameplay: it’s pretty much got the great mechanics from the GameCube game and it controls pretty well
• Added content: I’m glad the game added content for veteran players for their post-game
• Soundtrack: it’s seriously good and I would say it’s up there with some of the best Final Fantasy soundtracks

Mixed

• Multiplayer mechanics: now online multiplayer attempts to recreate the GameCube experience and to a certain extent it does but it also has some big lag issues which make it work worse especially if you play crossplay with people on other systems and if you decide to play with random people it’s way more easier especially if you’re the host though I still ran into lag doing it and we cannot communicate with each other very well at all . However playing with friends is another story

Cons

• Actually playing the online multiplayer with friends: me and 3 of my friends attempted to test the online multiplayer and it was a nightmare. For a start we couldn’t do all the dungeons together based on where we were on the overworld map or how much we had progressed and there was only one dungeon. Now the cross play did work since one of us played the PS4 version and other 3 were on the Switch but the didn’t sync up too well. we tried so many times with different hosts and different dungeons but only one dungeon we tried would work and essentially we were blocked from playing with each other until we played more by ourselves. As a result this game is damn near impossible to play in a group setting which would have good communication (because there’s no voice chat) which was what I was most looking forward to about the game. we made series of stream on YouTube 9it was a series because of internet trouble sorry about that) and it shows our live frustration so well about how much we were looking forward to having a co-op game with each other only to be thwarted and could only do one dungeon
• Single player: its really lonely and boring and to a certain extent mandatory to join certain dungeons with friends which is idiotic
• Cutscenes trigger way too often: there were tons of these and they always trigger at the worst moment and it actually hindered us joining each other in dungeons
• You can’t leave a dungeon once you’ve started: this is idiotic but once you start a dungeon you have to finish it the only way to exit if you don’t want to finish or join someone else’s game is to shut down the game or kill yourself which is surprisingly hard if you’ve help on to some phoenix downs. Please let me quit the game when I want to for crying out loud
• No local multiplayer: I really think they should’ve had offline co-op to fix the multiplayer issues which would make the game way more enjoyable

Overall thoughts

I really wish this game was better. it looks great remastered and has a cool world and mythology to back up some cool gameplay but it’s not very fun playing single player and by screwing up the multiplayer, the main drawing point, square-Enix have taken one of the best GameCube games and made it worse and at points unplayable with friends. It’s for that reason I cannot say this game is worth it until it has a major overhaul

Score: 6.4/10

Spiritfarer

(Available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One , Nintendo Switch, PC)
(Nintendo Switch version used for review)

Spiritfarer is a management sim with a very interesting story and setting developed by indie developer studio Thunder Lotus Games. I’ve had my eye on it since the Xbox press conference reveal at last years E3 when I saw the hand drawn animation art style and nautical island hopping setting not knowing too much about the game but after a year of not much information it was dropped onto all platforms after the last Nintendo Indie Showcase. The game has you play as Stella, and her cat Daffodil if you play with 2 players (side note: 2 players come on automatically if you have a second controller connected). Stella is has been tasked by a ferryman to become the new Spiritfarer who sails the oceans on her ferry which you have to customise to deliver Spirits to the afterlife and along the way she will hear of their problems in life and how they come to terms with their death fulfilling their requests by making a homes for them, cooking a meal they loved in life, reuniting them with memories or loved ones that also passed on etc. the game has you sailing to various islands to do a verity of tasks and platforming in order to gain resources to build or cook and on route you will build facilities to harness those resources such as a kitchen for cooking, a sawmill to refine logs into planks, a loom to make fabric from the linen and wool you get the idea and of course most things can upgraded by yourself or Albert the Shipwright. I would say if management sims aren’t your thing this won’t be for you however I’m not the biggest fan of them and I found myself loosing hours on it. I think the personal stories of the cast of characters really solidified it, by having each of their stories to experience and learning what food makes them happy and when is the time they need a hug I really connected with them and had a real sense of wanting to get each task done and enjoying the peacefulness of the routines as I sailed from island to island.

Pros

• Graphics and art style: like I said Spiritfarer reflects the style of hand drawn animation production and it is possibly one of the best looking indie games in a while. From the backgrounds to the various islands and the characters who are all represented as literal spirit animals the art style and design is simply amazing and very fluidly animated. characters are very expressive and move seamlessly so it’s easy to see how they are feeling in certain moments and have them move about the ship. This especially helps with Stella who doesn’t have any dialogue but is very expressive so she still feels like a fully fledged character. I also loved the design of the ship no matter how ridiculous it looked by the time I made 3 stories tall by staking so many thing on it. this game really works with it’s look and I really think it’ll stand out amongst many indie and it can be joy just to watch the world go by as you’re sailing
• Gameplay: both the platforming and management sim side of the gameplay is well handled. The platforming controls well and I only ran into issues when trying to jump down in the lighting catching mini game. most of what you’re doing is resource gathering as part of the management sim, build a kitchen to make food, a sawmill to make planks from the tree logs you gather on certain islands, planting fruit an veg seeds to grow ingredients. Rather like the effect you get from Animal Crossing the routine becomes really relaxing. I was losing myself in working to gain resources to help fill out each quest line of each character. it is also a really long time with the average time in the game being around 30 hours though that number shoots up for competionist by about 10 hours. The best way I’d describe the game as an experience game, there’s not much jepordy to tasks, you can’t fail platorming and you cant overcook something for example but this is not an indictment because the enjoyment comes from the exploration and company with all the characters and going through the excellent story and the gameplay is great for experiencing it.
• The story and characters: the themes of the game surround Death, acceptance and learning to value the life you have. It all sounds rather sombre but I actually found it to be an uplifting game. the game does a good job of making you care about the characters and their lives such as Stella’s best friend Gwen who has a troubled backstory, or her uncle Atul that uses food to bring back his most precious memories of his family and friends and each of the characters fell well rounded because of their tastes and quirks. For example you could have a character that prefers exotic or old fashioned food or someone who won’t eat meat and making them happy brings real joy. It meant the inevitable crossover to the afterlife was genuinely emotional and it was sad to think I wasn’t going to see them again even with the knowledge they were at peace which is a hell of an achievement for a storyteller.it’s also not an entirely family friendly story and tackles quite mature issue such as Alzheimer’s and cancer
• exploration: I really was overjoyed of exploring the map and finding all these interesting and quirky islands whether they be beauty spots, village, lighthouses or even a museum each one would give me sense of wonder as to what I was going to experience. I even enjoyed the trips and just taking the world in as day turned to sunset and eventually night whilst I got crates from sunken ships or met up with the traveling salesman
• soundtrack: the soundtrack is excellent from start to finish. It’s very atmospheric and suits the enviroments and can even bring out the emotion in some scences. It also has the excellent theme song “What We’ll leave Behind” which appeared in the indie world trailer

Mixed

• Not much replay value: this isn’t really an issue because Spiritfarer is an experience game which don’t often lend themselves to a lot of replay but after you’ve finished the story you won’t really have much reason to go back since you can’t do much different. so, I’d recommend if you want to do 100% do it on your first playthrough and have a couple of guides for the late game for the last few bits and bobs

Cons

• Only one save file: I was hoping to stream this game on my YouTube channel but with it only having one save file per playthrough it meant that you better create multiple profiles on your console if anyone that uses that uses the console wants to play as well.
• Ran into technical issues: this was the biggest problem. I ran into quite a few issues including one time when the game crashed. This seemed to be when the game was handling multiple things or I triggered a conversation at the wrong time which would stop me from being able to go into the room to move the ship or would not let me trigger an event I needed to and triggered way more towards the end of the game. now these were mostly solve by selecting save and quit and then restarting the game but I t bear mention and I’m hoping thunderlotus games will patch the game for better performance. I also as pointed out have only played the Switch version so this may not apply to the PS4, X Box One or PC versions. Also I want to point out if you have a second controller on and the cat isn’t moving with you that’s because the second controller automatically turns on co-op which is slightly annoying.

Overall thoughts

Spiritfarer is the best Indie game I’ve played this year and is a joyous experience that I lost hours playing. I seriously kept going with each time saying just one more thing then I’ll stop only to have played for 2 more hours, that’s how addictive it was. it brings you a really relaxing routine which gives you a very excellent story that maturely tackles life and death that doesn’t feel sombre but does really deliver on character and emotion and really delivers the “feels”. It also is one of the best looking indie games in recent memory with it having it’s own brilliant style. This game made me proper happy though it loses points for technical issue I hope get worked out. you absolutely have to experience this game this has been one of my favourites this year

Score: 9.3/10