Andrew Stretch
Writer of news, reviews, previews, features, and more at TechRaptor for over a decade and a member of the CriticDB team. Talk to me about your D&D parties!
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TechRaptorLatest Reviews
Disney Illusion Island is a great entry as a first Metroidvania for younger fans. While the slower paced movement might not mesh well for all gamers there's a lot to do in this expansive world filled with quick wit and hidden collectibles.
Final Fantasy XVI is everything I could have hoped for and more. Combat is fast paced and rewarding as you master combos and abilities. Eikon fights, while not as interesting to play, are gorgeous to witness. All of this is wrapped up into a deep story and fully fleshed out...
Layers of Fear (2023) does a good job of leaving the core of the original and sequel intact but with major graphical issues and a bland additional story doesn't quite reach the new elevated status it was hoping for. The games on their own still hold up relatively well.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom manages to maintain the sense of adventure that Breath of the Wild instilled but elevate it even further with the implementation of deep new crafting mechanics and abilities while specifically addressing and improving the weapon system, difficulty, and story.
Ravenlok
Ravenlok is a cute and short game where you play as a girl who stumbles into a magical world and finds out she's destined to save it. The combat is shallow but functional, and the game's charm is through its interwoven quests and gorgeous environments.
Wild Hearts
Wild Hearts has everything you need for a competent Hunting style game. The weapons are fun to use and the upgrades go a long way to make you feel powerful. It's the Karakuri system that will be what draws new players to it adding a new level of depth to...
Dead Space manages to completely capture what made the original game so good while updating it for the times. As Isaac Clarke exploring the Ishimura is as terrifying as ever with Necromorphs popping out of the wall, but with enhanced visuals and audio are elevated to a new level. The...
Persona 3 Portable creates a compelling story and interweaves global danger with the importance of building up friendships around you. Portable brings with it some good enhancements even if it's not the 'perfect' way to play it. The Tartarus mega-dungeon however wears out its welcome quickly as you tediously climb.
The Jackbox Party Pack 9 brings with it an excellent variety of party games to fit any mood. Whether you want to perform and engineer the comedy yourself or have the game provide ample opportunity there's a game that will appeal to everyone. That being said, there also might be...
Scorn
Scorn is aesthetically impressive and sets a tone early on. Unfortunately there's nothing more to back up this experience as plot is non-existent and puzzles are linear.
Soul Hacker 2 does a really good job crafting an enjoyable high stakes story and populating it with realized characters. Combat has been left mostly unchanged, which is for the better, but there's a lot to be desired in the copy-paste treatment of the large Soul Matrix dungeon.
Digimon Survive leans heavily into the Visual Novel genre and it pays off. For fans of VN or Digimon this story is one of the best out there. Combat is enjoyable but some mechanics don't stick the landing.
