Noah Buttner
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DualShockersLatest Reviews
Dark Souls Remastered on the Nintendo Switch is a tribute to the Souls series and everything it stands for. Playing the game on the go allows you to really revel in the moment to moment successes amid seemingly hundreds of failures. While I love everything this port stands for, I'd be hard pressed to recommend it as an entry point for players getting into the series, or even as a remastered version of the game that people don't plan on playing on a commute or outside of their home in general. It is, despite all of this, capable of creating a brand-new way to play Dark Souls, and for someone as invested in the series as I am, that's more than enough.
All in all, I dreaded every hour I had to keep playing Fallout 76 for review. As soon as the game was beginning to teeter on fun or interesting, a bug or a frustrating gameplay design element would quickly remind me that the game was otherwise. I'm interested to see whether Bethesda will continue to put work towards making this a somewhat enjoyable experience or if they'll just save their money for Fallout 5.
Destiny 2: Forsaken is Destiny at its best. Many of the systems that players loved from the original have returned, and many features from Destiny 2 have been refined. If Bungie continues to produce expansions like this then Destiny will certainly last for ten years as promised.
Furi is sure to make your adrenaline rise at least once, with formidable bosses and a fantastic story, each moment of the game -- whether it be narrative or combat -- drives you towards the ending of the game that you choose. You don't need to be a dueling master -- failing in Furi is part of the fun as each lost life means that you're one step closer to understanding the mechanics and therefore one step closer to victory. Simply put, if you can get past the difficulty and see the beauty behind it, you're sure to have a blast with this game and especially on the Nintendo Switch.
Need For Speed Payback is the perfect example of one step forward, two steps back. While the world is more beautiful than any of its predecessors, it feels empty in much the same way that the game does. All of the systems seem to be their own worst enemy. Want to build a car? How are you going to upgrade it? Want to customize its looks? You've got to complete unnecessary challenges. Want to progress the story just to see if it gets better? You've got to make sure your car is the appropriate level. All of these things, combined with an unimaginative and frankly boring story result in a racing game that makes it frustrating to race. While there's still the rush of pushing past second place a few meters before the finish line, that rewarding experience is not due to any innovations that the series has made here and the innovations that make this entry in the series unmemorable and unattractive.
Destiny 2 has proved that it is not just an expansion, or an unnecessary sequel. It is a second attempt at a game that hooked fans with its incredible gunplay, and now those players can buckle in for a story and activities to match.
As it exists now, Gigantic is a unique take on the genre, with entertaining mechanics and even more entertaining characters. But the more you play Gigantic the more obvious the flaws become. With a little bit of polish before the game’s official release (including meaningful character stats, the ability to preview the character progression tree outside of a match, and quality of life improvements such as auto-skill leveling and clear explanations for each character’s moves), Gigantic could be an amazing game that makes a difference among its peers. The combat and pacing by itself is enough to interest players, but without recognizing the game’s potential hardcore MOBA audience, Gigantic will have a hard time keeping them around.