Nick Mangiaracina
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Writing For
MonsterVineLatest Reviews
Through all the wonderful moments together, the four outcast girls living in rural Michigan during this moment in their lives. The summer when you’re sixteen, what a fucking time, man. Hanging out at the beach, the hideout in the woods, bloody mary in the outhouse, finding the abyss, playing a parking lot concert, and recording all of it with a handycam. I felt like I lived an extra life, even in the short playtime of both games. I let Autumn down. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me from loving the best summer ever.
That aside, while both games have their issues, the Lunar Remastered Collection does a wonderful job of bringing these two games out of the 90s and into modern day. And if you played just these two games in the Lunar series, you’d probably be left to wonder why this series died out in the first place. Perhaps if this Lunar Remastered Collection sells well enough, we’ll finally get that Lunar 3 that’s been rumored to exist since as far back as I can remember.
You’re also given an option for graphical style. Offering a Doujin mode, Studio mode, and Vivid mode, you can really play with how the game is being presented. Doujin mode gives the appearance of a fan-made project with a clean but novice look. Studio mode most resembles how the game is meant to look but with the added green palette effect from older computer games. Finally, Vivid mode is what I believe is the intended mode for display. Featuring the cleanest look with the most colors. I played through scenes on each mode and it’s impressive how good this game looks in all three.
It really sucks because, without these technical issues, Bloom & Rage is Don’t Nod at the top of their game. Bloom & Rage, to me, easily eclipses Life is Strange. I’m ready to have my heart broken again but, when the core of your game is discussion, emoting, and people talking, it should work and look good. I hate framing my review this way too because damn it all, Bloom & Rage is a great story. But I can’t overlook the bizarre eye-twitching, the models resetting, the lip synching. It’s all part of the package.
Mysteries, individual cases, and the overarching story are both exciting and satisfying. I was pretty upset by where the story went but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Even just replaying the opening scene, I was immediately shown the breadcrumbs for what the story would become. Impressive, really.
Now, I’m conflicted. I dig Tales of Graces f and the Remastered version offers some very nice quality-of-life features. And truthfully, if we go back to the original Wii release and then look at the Remastered version, it’s a night and day difference. I refuse to be a fence sitter, but damn if Tales of Graces f Remastered didn’t throw me for a loop on whether or not I found this game worth recommending. And truthfully, if you want to play Tales of Graces f now, legitimately, your only option is to buy this Remastered version (Although you can still get a digital copy of Tales of Graces f in a combo pack with Tales of Xillia on PSN.) This is especially true if you’re playing on an Xbox or the Nintendo Switch.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn’t a perfect game but, hot damn, it’s a great one. I feel at home in Thedas, I like the people that live there and the care that Bioware puts into writing these characters. Imperfect companions and story beats that help us understand not just what’s going to happen in the future but what’s happening right now. A brand new art style that’s just gorgeous and a combat system that’s fully realized instead of a half-compromise.
Unfortunately, the greatest looking characters in the world couldn’t cover up for the low-stakes narrative. While mechanically Life is Strange: Double Exposure is very cool and aesthetically a beautiful beast, I just walked away from the story feeling let down. Maxine Caulfield is a favorite character of mine and I think they made her pretty rad in Double Exposure but it just didn’t feel like a full story. While the narrative hooks were strong, they culminated into something that was ultimately disappointing. The end of Life is Strange stuck with me for weeks. After this review, I’m not sure I’ll be giving Life is Strange: Double Exposure too much thought.
Even without the DLC, Vampire Survivors has an extreme amount of content to unlock within the game. Free updates alone have added in modifiers for the base game and a ton of weapon combos, unions, stage variances, and things to collect. The DLC not only includes a separate side-story but also adds content to the base game, a surprising feature, that makes Vampire Survivors an incredible bang for your buck.
As I mentioned earlier, Cat Quest III is about exploration, and while the story is straightforward enough, there’s lots of side-questing to do to keep you occupied for a few hours beyond what the story offers. For example, there’s a large inflatable pirate duck that roams the map and becomes hostile when you attack it. I recommend waiting until you’re closer to level 100 before engaging in this balloon bird. With lots of puzzles around the map and lots to explore, Cat Quest III can keep you occupied beyond the story, just not for a whole lot longer. I imagine it would take around 10 hours at the most to see everything Cat Quest III has to offer.