Chris Carter
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Writing For
Destructoid 
CGMagazine 
Screen Rant Latest Reviews
In the rare moments where I could scan for fun and learn more about the game, it ruled. But for the most part, scanning feels like a chore and can give away some puzzle solutions. It's not like you can avoid it either, as Metroid Prime 4 forces you to scan a lot of consoles to progress, which stick out on your scanning HUD like a sore thumb and make some sequences and exploration trivial. Scanning is a core part of the Prime ethos, but it could have been refined here to give the player more agency.
I appreciate that the roster isn't just diverse in terms of picks, but playstyles. For instance, some characters can fly, a select few can use grabs, and not all characters can block. It incentivizes using every single roster member you can find, especially ones that gel with your playstyle. Again, it's crucial to note that it adds a lot of depth to solo play, since the vast majority of the game's characters play so differently. You're constantly experiencing something fresh if you mix things up.
In that sense, it's a joy to boot up and play from the first minute, as you can even skip the relatively short and comprehensive tutorial if you want. From there, you'll have the option to play one of the game's core modes: Air Ride (core racing), Top Ride (an isometric top-down mode with different courses), City Trial (a battle royale type game set in a big city hub), and a fully-fledged single-player campaign. Including every track from the original game is a thoughtful move, as it allows for a degree of preservation of the GameCube classic, while also allowing players to mix and match all the nuances and benefits from 22 years of developer hindsight.
What really struck me is how well Age of Imprisonment runs. It runs at a consistent 60 FPS, a huge step up from the inconsistent 30 FPS (or worse) in prior games on their original hardware at launch. It feels like we're finally in the era of Musou games running well on a Nintendo platform. These slick improvements really make a difference, as you feel in control at all times, especially when throwing a giant move out or hitting a well-timed dodge and launching a counterattack.
I was in basically from the intro onward. The tutorial sequence is simple but satisfying, as it showcases the multiple ways you can approach nearly every conflict. If you want to sneak by and try a pacifist run, you can do that for the most part. You can also go in guns blazing, or sneak around like a space assassin. Or, you can simply use your wits and talk to people, using words as weapons. It's classic FPS RPG gameplay, and I'm glad that studios are keeping this tradition alive in the first-person space.
If you've never played Plants vs. Zombies before, think of it like a cartoonish tower defense with a ton of style and charm. You play as the plants, and with the help of sunflowers (and other resource-generating plants later on), you'll pick up sun, which is used as a currency to create offensive and defensive plants. The team at PopCap managed to craft a wonderful, interactive onboarding experience, allowing even complete newcomers to the genre to pick it up in minutes.
For instance, enemies telegraph unlockable attacks, which can be often canceled by throwing out a quick Bloodraven ability. Bloodraven form serves multiple purposes, like breaking guards and taking out multiple enemies at once. It's all governed by its own meter, which is in addition to an additional Devil Trigger-like super meter that lets you go all-out on foes for a limited time. Because of how many tools the development team armed you with, you feel like a formidable one-man army at all times.
Addictive combat isn't the only thing Hades 2 has to offer, though. To be blunt, I was blown away by just how many voice lines there are this time, whether in the hub or on the battlefield proper. The hub in Hades 2 features a farming minigame, numerous vendors, and extensive customization options. It feels like every single run, I was tweaking some value, as opposed to rushing through the original Hades with mostly the same build.
Addictive combat isn't the only thing Hades 2 has to offer, though. To be blunt, I was blown away by just how many voice lines there are this time, whether in the hub or on the battlefield proper. The hub in Hades 2 features a farming minigame, numerous vendors, and extensive customization options. It feels like every single run, I was tweaking some value, as opposed to rushing through the original Hades with mostly the same build.
Hollow Knight: Silksong has a long road ahead of it, and I'm ready to follow it on its entire journey. Whether that includes a swath of free updates just like the original game, or potential DLC, I'll be there. In fact, I'm still there, slowly chipping away at a 100% completion rate. I won't be putting this one down for weeks.