Anthony Bacchus
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Writing For
COGConnected 
Pure Xbox Latest Reviews
Everything you need to know about One Finger Death Punch 2 is in its title. It’s played with only one finger, there’s a ton of death and punching going on, and it’s a sequel. That simplicity extends to the entire package and the game never wastes your time thanks to super-fast load screens and a ludicrously easy two-button control scheme. More importantly, OFDP2 is insane fun, boasting super smooth gameplay and ridiculous, over-the-top animation. It’s not a huge leap from the first game but since the original isn’t on Switch, it’s the perfect side dish to bite into after finishing other bigger and meatier games.
While video games are, indeed, my favourite entertainment medium, music comes a very close second. So whenever I get my hands on a music/rhythm game, I can’t help but be overjoyed. And while music games have since become less of a mainstay after the egregious milking of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises, they can still be incredibly fun when handled with care. That’s what you’re getting with AVICII Invector, a wonderful and wickedly-addictive rhythm action game that isn’t just one of the finest music games in recent years but is also a perfect farewell to the late and influential Swedish DJ Tim Bergling, aka AVICII.
During my binge-watch of Narcos on Netflix, not once did I ever wish it was a video game. Some stories — in this case, the events of Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel — are simply better suited to certain mediums than others, and I was totally content with watching it all unfold with a big bowl of popcorn in my lap. Fast forward to the tail end of 2019 and developer Kuju has the challenging task of bringing the show to the video game world with Narcos: Rise of the Cartels. The result? Well, I wouldn’t call it “white gold” but it’s still a surprisingly competent game worthy of dipping into, even if it starts to run its course a bit too quickly for my liking.
I couldn’t have known from the start but Afterparty is the perfect palette cleanser for any gamer that is starting to feel fatigued from this Fall’s biggest games. It’s rib-bustlingly hilarious with a truly imaginative version of Hell that must be seen to believe. Night School Studio, the developers behind 2016’s surprise indie hit Oxenfree, has crafted another dialogue-heavy adventure game that is relatable and relevant, even with its zany premise. But while it does succeed as a perfect followup to Oxenfree, it’s riddled with a few nasty bugs and technical issues that are difficult to ignore.
It’s clear from the start that 2016’s Inside is a major influence on Stela, the latest game to come from SkyBox Labs. You’re constantly moving in one direction, it relies a ton on environmental storytelling, and there’s plenty to think about after the credits have rolled. But just because Stela is good at copying what made Inside so great doesn’t mean it is great. For what it’s worth, Stela is worth your time but outside of a couple of cool moments and set pieces, it falls incredibly short of being the next must-play puzzle-platformer. In the end, all I wanted to do was boot up Inside again.
For quite some time now, the Nintendo Switch has become my go-to machine whenever I need to scratch that nostalgic itch. I’m not just talking classic NES games either, but it’s been wonderful revisiting updated ports like Final Fantasy X/X-2, Okami HD, and both Mega Man X Legacy Collections. And while all of those games can be played on other platforms, the Switch has the added benefit of being portable. And so when I heard that Sega’s classic JRPG franchise Grandia was getting an HD collection just for Switch, I could hardly contain my excitement. Not only are these two criminally underrated RPG’s preserved beautifully on the Switch but, more importantly, they also stack up pretty darn well in 2019.
When I first started hearing rumblings about Darkwood — even as far back as its Steam Early Access days — I knew it was right up my alley. I like challenging games, especially ones that encourage experimentation with little to no tutorials. I also love survival horror games. Darkwood is a perfect mashup of these two ideas but with its own set of gameplay twists and an intriguing mystery. It can be brutally tough at times — the game even opens up with a warning — but if you’re steadfast in seeing things through, Darkwood is an immensely satisfying and spooky ride.
You can’t talk about SteamWorld Quest without first recognizing its genre-hopping developer, Image & Form. Not only have they kept the SteamWorld name and steampunk aesthetics intact since the original SteamWorld Dig (and to a lesser extent, SteamWorld: Tower Defense on DSiWare), they aren’t afraid to branch the franchise out into new and exciting genres. 2015’s SteamWorld Heist saw them flex their muscles at strategic turn-based shooting while SteamWorld Dig 2 is a near-perfect Metroidvania. So enter SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, the newest entry in the series that also, predictably, sees the developer once again trying something different — this time, a turn-based roleplaying card battler. So how does it fare, you ask? Unsurprisingly, it’s another home run for Image & Form.
After sinking a ton of hours into Operencia: The Stolen Sun, I realized that developer Zen Studios is really good at pivoting old-school game design into the modern age. They did it so expertly with the Pinball FX series, and I’m happy to say they’ve done it again with Operencia, their latest passion project that hopes to revitalize the classic first-person dungeon-crawling experience from the ’80s and ’90s. Not only is Operencia a treat for old-school blobber fans, but it’s also a perfect starting point for anyone that’s never played one before.
Below is an interesting game to dissect. My first few hours were enthralling. The gorgeous art style, hauntingly beautiful music, and Zelda-esque hack-and-slash combat were exactly what I wanted when I first laid eyes on it all the way back in 2013 when the Xbox One was first announced. Now, having spent more than 30 hours with it, there’s still only one word I feel compelled to say when talking about Below: interesting. You see, the further I trekked down Below’s procedurally-generated dungeons, the more I came to the realization that I enjoy the game’s concept and ideas more than actually playing it.