Reviews

6/10

+ Weapon variety (many different approaches)
+ Runes offering new areas and carry over
+ Spending cells for upgrades (Dark Souls style)

- Opening biomes quickly get boring
- Chaotic boss fights feel less tactical

7/10

+ Unique beautiful visual style; strong musical score
+ Intuitive combat with just right amount of complexity for JRPG newcomer
+ Chapter style breaks up nicely for portable play
+ Variety in character

- Story never grabbed me; no cross over
- Repetitive structure

7/10

+ Incredibly tight controls
+ Excellent difficulty balance
+ Unique story was unexpected delight

- Platforming doesn't break new ground in genre
- Retro visuals don't stand out from herd

8/10

+ Incredible range of story based on player choices (flowsheet sells this)
+ Each character/story has its own feel; no weak link; incredible performances
+ Oftentimes approaches photorealism

- Needs more gameplay, QTE isn't enough
- Some awkward animations pop up occasionally
- Trite overall story, feels done before
- Didn't feel compelled to jump back in

8/10

+ Traversal feels amazing (fluid/tactile swinging)
+ Characterization of Peter/Doc Ock/others
+ Cinematic feel (music, camera, cutscenes)
+ Vibrant visuals and life-like character models
+ Actually felt compelled to find collectibles
+ Act 3 was suitably epic; loved collection of villians

- Predictable story notes
- Combat is very derivative of Arkham
- Half-baked MJ/Miles stealth sections
- Precise movement very awkward
- Crime tokens are a repetitive slog
- Story dragged in act 2

9/10

+ Very smart reinvention of stale franchise
+ Fantastic character performances (esp. Kratos)
+ Excellent touching/beautiful story
+ Combat is thrilling + challenging, never grew boring
+ Top notch visuals, environments are gorgeous
+ Way more to do than expected, meaty game
+ Soundtrack stood out (esp vocal pieces)
+ Norse mythology much more untapped than Greek

- Equipment customization too complicated, doesn't add much
- Camera too tight

10/10

+ Everyone is here (characters + stages)
+ Visually gorgeous and strong performance
+ More offensive gameplay and better offstage play
+ Listening to fans with additions (Squad Strike, Hazard toggle, etc)
+ Great selection of new characters (Ridley, Inkling, K Rool, Simon)
+ World of Light does a lot with little
+ Music selections
+ Portable play is so awesome

- World of Light repetitive/too long
- Missing modes (homerun contest, stage builder) ; could be patched
- Not many new stages
- Some halfbaked new additions (morphing+meter)

6/10

+ Trademark over-the-top action setpieces
+ Chloe and Nadine are refreshing change
+ Gorgeous graphics as usual
+ Shorter length

- Lack of innovation within series
- Open world segments don't fit
- Lacked the emotion of Uncharted 4

6/10

+ Varied cast of interesting characters; compelling Villain in Engel
+ Story is surprising and delightfully ridiculous
+ Solid gunplay

- Game demanded slower, methodical, less fun play
- Awkward cutscenes and character models
- Too long; lost interest

7/10

+ Ink mechanic depth
+ Style/attitude in music, characters, cosmetics
+ Motion controls work excellently ; allow quick and precise aiming
+ Community focus (e.g. Splatfests)

- Too similar to original Splatoon
- Single player too limited

7/10

+ New metroid game finally!
+ Sense of progression
+ Exciting exploration
+ Impressive visuals and performance on 3DS

- Would have preferred new story
- Melee counter overpowered
- Aeion abilities implimentation
- Controls (floaty jump)

8/10

+ Awesome premise/setting
+ Complex, varied combat
+ Aloy's character growth
+ Creative story kept me invested throughout
+ Excellent visuals in landscapes and lighting
+ Great design and scale for machines

- Fierce difficulty spikes
- Too long; needed tightening up
- Open world felt a bit dated in some areas
- Delivery of exposition sometimes awkward; poor character models on side characters

9/10

+ Extremely well-designed sandbox style kingdoms
+ Mario feels amazing to control
+ Cappy's transformations are a fresh new spin
+ Great length and excellent replay opportunity

- Many moons feel superfluous and unearned
- Boring traditional mario story again

5/10

+ Cool premise; engaging mystery
+ Spooky and trippy atmosphere

- Super slow pace (walking, loading, etc)
- Some awkward writing and delivery

5/10

+ Awesome idea for game; lots of potential
+ Simple visuals conducive to gameplay

- Amateur framing device
- Never advances past initial puzzle premise

7/10

+ Hypnotic audiovisual experience
+ So satisfying/rewarding to nail a section
+ Beating levels is manageable; high scores seem super challenging

- Frustration replaces fun in later levels
- Some repetition

7/10

+ Lara's character is a star
+ Edge of my seat cinematic action set pieces
+ Puzzle tombs were a good challenge and a blast
+ Varied landscapes compared to previous titles
+ Gorgeous visuals throughout

- Combat feels tacked on
- Side quests never felt compelling
- Story treads on cliche Indiana Jones territory

5/10

+ Tinkering with levels is satisfying
+ Collectibles/challenges add tiny replay value

- Never was given any motivation
- Cheap, recycled cutscenes and boss fights
- Short, but still grew dull

6/10

+ Gorgeous unique visuals
+ Great eastern soundrack
+ Zelda-esque dungeon design

- Extremely slow pacing; way too long
- Sloppy controls; didn't feel good to play
- Wasn't grabbed by story and characters
- "voice acting" drove me crazy

8/10

+ Incredible scale of boss fights
+ Intriguing story told subtlety
+ "games as art"
+ Remake preserved atmosphere/feel of original while adding gorgeous visuals

- Camera is very frustrating
- Finding Colossi is annoying in empty world