Kenneth Shepard
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Writing For
Kotaku
CGMagazine
GamingTrendLatest Reviews
It's an odd experiment, but charming humor and engaging gameplay make this blocky parody of Aloy's story a successful one, too
People will no doubt call Sonic X Shadow Generations a “love letter” or “tribute” to Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic’s brooding rival who debuted back in 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2. But as a person who grew up seeing the black-and-red hedgehog as the emotional center of the franchise, it feels more like an apology. Sega has not been kind to Shadow over the years. Where once he was a complex, playable mainstay in the series, the Ultimate Lifeform has become a flanderized background character defined almost entirely by not liking other people and wanting to beat the blue blur in any competition that will have him. Shadow Generations, a hefty pack-in alongside a full remaster of 2011’s Sonic Generations, delivers a wonderful course-correction for Sega’s mistreatment of Shadow over the years, reminding fans that he was once the deepest well of emotional storytelling the series has to draw from. The best part is that it’s also a thrill to play, feeling better than maybe any Sonic game has in, well, generations. That’s right, Sega is releasing one of the best Sonic games it’s ever made as a pack-in for a remaster.
‘With all my heart, I hope that fantasy gives you strength’
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure by developer Furniture & Mattress is the kind of delightful, genre-blending game that words can feel inadequate to describe when it’s much more easily understood in motion. Yes, telling you that it’s an adventure game which you navigate via a grid that moves the environment with you is technically accurate, but that doesn’t encapsulate how or why this effortless, intuitive way of moving through its world and embracing its inherent restrictions scratches an itch in my brain.
Hellblade’s mundane mechanics help underscore a powerful story of overcoming your demons, if you’re willing to subject yourself to the honest portrayal of mental illness it presents.
With mysteries more elaborate and impactful, Danganronpa 2 is a masterfully crafted story that sets the stage for some challenging puzzles of logic and deduction.
While some problems that weren't present in the Vita version have made their way into Danganronpa on PC, everything that makes the game great is still intact on the platform.