Branford Hubbard
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Ravenswatch is a fantastic game and proves just because it’s the same old song, it’s still worth listening to. A corrupted world with varied champions to take, many different combinations of skills, modifiers if you need more or less of a challenge, and all that even before considering co-op. While you may run into some issues if you’re a ‘purist’ or trying to do a ‘no death run’, it’s an otherwise outstanding package. Even still, the game has oncoming DLC if you’ve somehow mastered the game already. Answering the call of the Ravenswatch wasn’t just my duty, but my pleasure.
I would understand if using a small subsect of top-tier strategies would be needed for getting full achievement credit, for instance, but this applies to even finishing the game. I made a poll not too long ago surveying some fighting gamers, and one of the results from it was that player expression is a hugely important part of what players want from a game. Having only one real viable build is like being told the character you really like in a fighting game or the build you’re using in an RPG isn’t actually going to be able to get you to the credits. Devastating, to say the least.
Beyond Galaxyland was a pleasant surprise, and never overstays its welcome. The vibrant graphics, subtle but infectious music, and breezy gameplay with plenty of optional content make this a game that respects your time, but if you want to spend more time with it, I have a feeling you’ll enjoy the higher difficulty or side content.
While I cannot call Reynatis my favourite game of 2024, it’s an enjoyable experience with some small issues that shouldn’t keep you from considering playing it. I was never turned completely off by a lack of progress, and the game is lenient enough so that just because you haven’t mastered the mechanics or encounter something annoying, there’s no reasonable way around it. It did crash quite a few times, but I never lost too much progress as it does autosave frequently. Even more prescient is FuRyu and Natsume Atari’s decision to actually make this game, and what’s next for them, considering this may be as close as we get to the next Square Enix entries this pulls from in years.
While there are definitely plenty of fun and interesting parts to Solium Infernum; from choosing the right Archfiend and loadout, to poring over the lore and potential strategy you can take with the Encyclopaedia Infernum and its 5 Power trees, the pain points made me sigh in frustration more than look forward to my next session. While I really like the concept of a 4X game that puts Diplomacy first (even trying to kill off all your opponents takes much more effort than just deciding to go to war) and has such a unique theming and aesthetic, the actual gameplay needs to back that up. As League of Geeks just announced on 6/12/24 they’re pausing full-time development, I can only hope someday this game will be worth the hellish throne it aspires to.
Backpack Hero asks the question ‘How enjoyable was rearranging your inventory in Resident Evil 4?’. While this is definitely not the first time a game had you play with space, it is a bit rarer for one to actually look at your inventory as something precious unless you’re playing a game with an encumbrance system. And the inventory is nearly all the game is - a task that required the needle to be threaded very carefully. I do think if Jaspel either wants to patch this game, or start on a sequel, the bones of an excellent game are right here. As is, however: Backpack Hero is fun, but you may find yourself checking if the warranty is up and consider returning it back to Amazon to try another backpack.