Zoey Handley
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Writing For
Destructoid
GamepurLatest Reviews
It feels like it would fit better as an additional mode to some sort of NES Remix compilation. And that’s ignoring the fact that NES Remix 2 already had a mode based on the Nintendo World Championships. Nintendo World Championship: NES Edition is a celebration of the classic console; it’s...
It would be extremely difficult not to be charmed by the graphics and animation in Luigi’s Mansion 2, as the passion behind them is practically tangible. Even the central focus of puzzle solving and ghost-catching are fun on their own. However, I cannot possibly overstate how much of the joy...
But aside from that, Duck Detective: The Secret Salami delivers on its philosophy too well. It’s an easygoing detective game, sure, but its design feels similarly laid-back. It doesn’t feel like it reaches to excel very often. It doesn’t excite, it doesn’t provoke thought, and it doesn’t linger on the...
But the fact that Paper Mario did diverge after The Thousand-Year Door makes this remaster even more effective. It’s been absent for 20 years, and the new territory that has been covered since then hasn’t resulted in the discovery of the same magic. It’s a new opportunity to see the...
But regardless of what caused the project to get derailed, it still means that Phantom Fury is a disappointing result. It’s a mash of ‘00s FPS cliches without reprieve. I spent most of its runtime wishing it was over. Or, at least, wishing it was what it promised to be....
Life Eater
Life Eater feels like an experiment that neither fizzled nor exploded. All the parts are there, but they don’t fit together quite right. Something is missing, and before that something was located, it was released into the wild as-is. Because it can’t find its effectiveness, the central concept that should...
The Making of Karateka feels like it was told by someone who really loves video games, whereas Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story feels more like it was told by someone who loves Jeff Minter. It’s more interested in showing the man and less about telling his story. Instead, Llamasoft: The...
It’s slightly above par for a game in general and below it for Contra. Despite my complaints, I enjoyed swaths of the game when playing with Bill Rizer, but not enough to want to replay it endlessly. The Contra series has done much worse, but it’s also done much better....
Pacific Drive
There’s a lot here that feels great, but it’s the inconsistency that lets it down. All those great moments are padded by a framework that doesn’t do them enough justice. Too much emphasis on scrounging, an unfocused narrative, and a generally poor feeling of momentum and progression. I’m still certain...
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is such an unjudgmental love letter to Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. It’s a reminder that whether or not a game is good or bad isn’t the whole store. It’s more complex than that. The internet found legitimate entertainment...
Against the Storm is easily my favorite city builder to reach its full release this year. It manages to escape from the sometimes dull lack of progression felt in some other builders, while also providing a lot of depth to sink your teeth into. Because of that, it lives for...
What I mean to say is that if an extremely rigid city-builder doesn’t sound like a problem to you, or even if it sounds appealing, then SteamWorld Build is worth trying. I can honestly say that I didn’t hate the time I spent with it, even on the second playthrough....
