Comprehensive Game Reviews

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From AAA titles to indie games, we cover it all. Our comprehensive reviews provide detailed insights to help you find your next favorite game.

Screamer ReviewTedious characters and difficulty spikes notwithstanding, Screamer is a unique and confidently assembled racer that feels like the result of locking Blur in a room for 12 months with nothing but a Crunchyroll subscription.

IGN PC ReviewsMar 22

Review: Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss Preserves Another Voltage Otome While we see quite a few Voltage otome games appearing on other platforms, primarily the Switch, the company started with mobile titles. These tended to roll out in chapter-based releases, with new characters gradually added. Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss is one of those otome titles that started out as a Love 365 app release, and it’s one that’s gradually grown with additional “books” and love interests like Rio Voleri. Now that it’s on the Switch, it’s a great move for preservation purposes, but is an incomplete port that doesn’t go past Book 2 or offer all the prince or valet romance options. Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss begins with a young woman who’s living alone with her pet cat, Robin. Her parents passed away years ago, so she’s accustomed to getting by on her own. However, one night when she looks outside, she happens to see an unusual blood moon in the sky. When she does, she falls into a deep sleep and wakes up magical alternate world called Saligia. But she’s not alone. Five princes named Fenn, Guy, Lynt, Roy, and Toa are all around her. After inadvertently touching some of them, they discover doing so amplifies their magic powers. It’s then that the headmaster of the academy where she apparently awoke tells them to get back and places her under the school’s protection. What follows means getting used to these unusual individuals, finding out why she has this ability, and perhaps discovering a way forward that could lead her home again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh8SvlI_gmg Since Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss is a port of one of the Voltage mobile otome games, that means the Switch version UI does follow that aesthetic. When you start, you’ll be able to pick the common prologue to find out what’s going on and how your avatar ended up at the academy in Saligia, surrounded by princes, on the night of a blood moon. You can then also select which of the five love interests’ routes you want to see and read through the Book 1-2 stories and Book 1 Consort Paths. This does mean the flow is a bit different, if you’re more accustomed to Voltage’s other Switch games like Neon Clash or The Red Bell’s Lament or titles from Aksys and Idea Factory International. It isn’t necessarily bad and I can attest that you’ll get used to it, but it does feel very different and some might find it breaks up the flow and pacing. Once you do get into a Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss Book, it does feel like a traditional otome visual novel. You’ll be doing a lot of reading while looking at character portraits and CGs of different characters. Again, since this was originally a mobile otome game, it might not feature the same sort of character designs and artistic directions as others. However, I do appreciate that there are different portraits for major characters to change their perspective or pose, and the designs do have a pleasant sort of 1990s and 2000s aesthetic to it. Screenshots by Siliconera Likewise, the story takes that sort of approach as well. There’s the whole magical academy element, adding some school life themes to it. However, the fact that the main heroine can boost the power of the royal romance options adds a twist, and finding out why does add a hint of mystery. Speaking of twists, there aren’t too many present here due to this only going up through Book 2. However, the character development is still rather solid. Likewise, the localization ended up being better than I expected, or rather stronger than I remembered, which is another plus. Like I mentioned earlier, the main downside to Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss is that the Switch version isn’t as up-to-date as the mobile ones. We don’t get characters like Rio, Jasper Lane, Lance Ira, or Tino Maes. While that’s understandable and easier to deal with, the lack of additional books ends up feeling more disappointing. From what I recall, the app’s gotten into Book 6 for some characters’ and the Fenn, Guy, Lynt, Roy, and Toa stories only go up to Book 2 here. It means we’re left off on a cliffhanger. While I really do enjoy this story, not getting the full experience and needing to then head into Love 365 if we really enjoyed it and want to see what’s next is a shame. Screenshots by Siliconera I applaud the fact that Voltage does preserve its mobile otome games with Switch ports like Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss, but wish there was more to this one. It’s a really fun story involving magic and school life, and the heroine actually has a personality and speaks up so she isn’t a total blank slate. The love interests included are interesting too. Unfortunate, we aren’t even halfway into each of the routes for the characters who are present, and people need to head to another source and potentially spend more money to find out what happens next. Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss is available on the Switch, and the ongoing otome game is part of the Love 365 mobile app . The post Review: Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss Preserves Another Voltage Otome appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraMar 21

Crimson Desert ReviewThis extremely ambitious open-world adventure swings wildly from incredibly cool to gobsmackingly infuriating.

IGN PC ReviewsMar 20

World Of Warcraft: Midnight Review - Back At It Again In Quel'thalasA game doesn't survive for decades without evolving, and World of Warcraft has evolved more than most in its 22 years, slowly transforming to cater to players' changing tastes and expectations. But despite being around for so long, many of the biggest, most foundational changes to Blizzard's MMO have happened more recently. It was only the game's previous expansion, The War Within, that added proper account-wide progression and the ability to earn endgame gear playing solo. It was only four years ago that Blizzard made it so Alliance and Horde players could finally team up. WoW's new Midnight expansion continues that evolution. It's not as dramatic a transformation as The War Within, but nonetheless sees Blizzard continue to confidently push WoW forward in ways that just a few years ago would have been unthinkable. New systems like Prey bring actual challenge and endgame rewards for those who prefer to quest out in the game's outdoor world. Blizzard's new built-in user interface tools, like the Cooldown Manager and damage meter, give players the information they need to succeed without having to rely on third-party add-ons like in the past. Midnight also introduces the biggest new feature in the history of the game with player housing, finally allowing players to properly call Azeroth home after decades of waiting. Even as Midnight advances WoW's various systems, the expansion leans more heavily on WoW's past than ever before. Modern WoW has rarely felt nostalgic, but it's hard not to think fondly of the game's early Burning Crusade days while running around a lovingly revamped Silvermoon City and Eversong Woods. That duality is Midnight in a nutshell. As a game, WoW has never felt more modern and approachable in its gameplay. At the same time, Midnight is more willing than ever before to pay homage to the past, mostly to its benefit. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsMar 20

Review: Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime Oozes Charm If a game can put you in a good headspace, that’s great. I love that. If it can do so while also challenging me to think critically, even better. Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime , the latest from Bonte Avond, stars charming characters, features incredible songs, challenges us with the Checkers -like Frogtime battles, and just makes whoever’s playing it feel good. It’s a lovely way to spend a few hours every day for a week, with the strategic element making it feel quite replayable. Bonnie Bear had a rough year, so much so that she wasn’t even going to celebrate her birthday, but her friends had other ideas. They surprise her with a cape and everyone getting Toad Bags so they can all play their favorite game, Frogtime, together. However, something else seems to be going on. A mysterious shell is also left as a gift by an unknown individual, quickly stolen by bully Rik Spek. (Who also eats her whole birthday cake.) While the group does eventually get the shell back, it leads to an even bigger predicament that leads to Ann being held captive inside of the artifact and puts the fate of Frogtime in jeopardy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKFsNrKK3xQ What really struck me about Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime is the pacing and progression both in terms of the narrative and gameplay. The scope in both cases gradually grows and develops in such a way that we’re prepared for ramifications. In the case of the story, it’s seeing the way in which the journey develops and takes Bonnie to different places. We go from dealing with a bully to frogkind-saving implications. As for the Frogtime matches themselves, early challenges involve Rik Spek and his deck with a single legendary-tier frog to more competent folks like Botte. Likewise, we see the progression of Bonnie Bear’s self worth both through experience after each battle and due to actions taken throughout the game. But it isn’t just Bonnie, as we see that same sort of character development happen for supporting cast members. While we can go around and talk to folks, playing Frogtime and beating increasingly more adept opponents drives the action in Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime . I mentioned earlier it is like Checkers, in a way, but it’s more generally a turn-based strategy game and deck builder. Our Toad Bag holds frogs Bonnie’s collected, each with their own unique tendencies and damage-dealing levels. There is a 9x3 grid as the field, with the first and final rows being the starting points for Bonnie and her opponent. There must be six frogs in play at any time, with three from each participant, and you can only fit eight frogs in your Toad Bag at once. The goal is to get to the other player’s endzone so it can deal damage, with the one knocked out first as the loser. Images via Bonte Avond Though I find it easiest to compare Frogtime to Checkers , “jumping” opponents to make further progress and reaching the other side of the field are only part of it. The frog diversity really helps matches feel like a challenge. For example, some frogs’ strong point isn’t jumping! Like a Charger will deal two damage and, after moving twice and charging up, it will dash forward two additional spaces. A Hopper can be a great frog to play once after your initial three are placed, as its skills involve hopping over frogs, dealing a minimum of two damage, and potentially dealing up to five damage if it can perform double jumps. There are even special traits, like Riders, and one like a Dino Sir (frog riding a Brontosaurus-style dinosaur) will deal extra damage if it isn’t the only “Rider” you sent out to fight. Basically, there’s a lot to think about! It’s handled in a way that gets you thinking about synergy! If you spend a lot of time on it, you could end up spending way more time than necessary to build up a fantastic Toad Bag to tackle foes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QGPMl0syXA Perhaps not surprising from a Bonte Avond game, but Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime features a phenomenal soundtrack. From silly little asides like, “Rik Spek (Look at My Six Pack)” to more serious ones like “Bonnie’s Theme,” it is fantastic. These are absolute earworms. Even though some got me choked up with some of the more poignant lyrics, they still made me feel great. Clearly, that’s something we need more of nowadays. Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime features the same heart and humor as other Bonte Avond games. Even better, it pairs that with a strategy game that might seem simple, but gets more involved as you find frogs. It’s incredibly charming, and Bonte Avond proves adept at making someone smile and tear up within the span of a few hours. Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime is available on the Switch and PC . The post Review: Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime Oozes Charm appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraMar 20

World Of Warcraft: Midnight Review – Home Is Where The Hearth Is Reviewed on: PC Platform: PC, Mac Publisher: Activision Blizzard Developer: Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard’s hot streak continues with Midnight, World of Warcraft’s latest expansion, which further builds atop (and below) the world of Azeroth. The main storyline offers poignant commentary on religion, family conflict, and generational trauma through its well-written characters. The long-requested housing feature finally debuts, offering impressive building and customization systems and introducing a new reward vector that enriches almost every activity in the game: decor collecting. Furthermore, Blizzard’s reimagining of older zones like Quel’Thalas and Zul’Aman makes them a delight to revisit; I get as much enjoyment exploring these revamped locations as I do new places. While I still have many more hours ahead as I explore the full breadth of Midnight’s endgame activities, the expansion’s new core features and questing experience are stronger than ever. Serving as the middle chapter in The World Soul Saga trilogy, Midnight keeps the spotlight on antagonist Xal’atath, who has sundered the skies above the Blood Elves’ homeland as her void army, The Devouring Host, assaults The Sunwell, a fount of arcane and light energy that’s sacred to the elves for its beneficial effects on their society. The narrative sends players on an exciting tour of a revitalized Quel’Thalas, first introduced 20 years ago in The Burning Crusade, its many locations brimming with new activity as they reflect years of prosperous change. The capital city of the Amani Trolls, called Zul’Aman, was previously only an instanced dungeon. However, Blizzard has expanded Zul’Aman into a full zone with breathtaking, moody vistas. Ancient pine trees jut out from the fog-ridden landscape, their natural beauty contrasting the cold, carved stone ruins of a once-thriving troll empire. Impressively, the whirling voidstorm above the Sunwell is visible from both neighboring zones, a vibrant showcase of Blizzard’s skybox tools as well as an excellent grounding mechanism. We once again assume a supporting role in the political stories of Azeroth’s denizens, as Midnight’s story centers on themes of generational loss and the long-lasting results of war. Characters like Zul’Jarra, granddaughter of a notable Amani patriarch, and Arator, a Blood Elf paladin struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps, represent a new generation of leaders whose reluctance for bloodshed is in stark contrast to their elders’ past conquests. Upon completing significant quests, most characters offer an option to “stay awhile and listen,” granting agency as to whether you’d like to hear more exposition or to keep the adventure moving. Most of these optional conversations are worth hearing, often serving as a lens into deeper emotions and motivations, though some conversations feel like nothing more than exposition dumps. It’s nice to have the choice, regardless. My favorite feature, player housing, fundamentally improves World of Warcraft by giving adventurers their own plot of land to build a house and showcase their creativity and relics of their achievements. Nearly every activity in Midnight rewards players with new housing decorations; even legacy professions, dungeons, and raids grant new rewards, giving good reason to interact with decades-old content. Players can place decor with a simple grid system; the advanced building mode enables 3D gizmos to manipulate an object’s scale, rotation, and position data. The latter provides all the tools necessary to kitbash disparate objects into new ones. For example, clipping a stone fountain into the wall can make for a stylish bathtub, or you can shrink a cooking fire and hide it in a metal box to make a rudimentary cooking appliance. This process is an incredible creative exercise and gives the same sense of satisfaction I might get from solving a complex puzzle. While I’m still working my way through endgame content, including several raids, battlegrounds, and a target-hunting Prey system, Midnight’s core experience is great. As the second entry in a trilogy, Midnight effectively fleshes out returning characters and blurs the line between good and evil in interesting ways. Ending on a dark note, this middle chapter creates more questions than answers, and serves as a great staging ground for the story’s final act. While the conclusion is still years away, I’ll happily devote that time to decorating and, inevitably, renovating my new abode. Now more than ever, Azeroth feels like a home away from home. Score: 9 About Game Informer's review system Purchase

Game Informer ReviewsMar 20

Review: WiZmans World Re;Try Tries to Make Grinding Exciting Us getting a localized version of WiZmans World about 16 years after its 2010 Japanese debut on the DS is wild. A part of me wants to suggest people grab it and try it to help show there’s a demand for these sorts of releases and see what this snapshot of past JRPGs is like. Fortunately, WiZmans World Re;Try is mechanically interesting due to the Anima Fusion system, though it does get incredibly repetitive due to grinding to conquer dungeons. In WiZmans World Re;Try, a whole town is kept captive. Everyone in Wizarest is dealing with memory loss and finds themselves trapped in a town surrounded by dungeons. Those who try to challenge those labyrinths face untimely ends. However, as the adventure begins, a witch named Giselle discovers a child in the forest. He’s unable to speak, but she brings him to Archmage Adan and states she’ll raise him. Years later, he’s meeting with that same authority figure after Giselle’s disappeared into one of the dungeons and is about to start his own journeys into the depths. When he does, he learns she succeeded in creating artificial lifeforms called homunculi, an objective she’d had for years, and joins forces with Aen, Doe, and Toori to conquer these trials and find out the truth about the world and the apparent collapse that is leading to the influx of monsters and dangers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlnCMvjk2ww In terms of gameplay, WiZmans World Re;Try is a rather typical turn-based JRPG. There will be Main Quests that come from the Archmage and involve going into each of the dungeons surrounding Wizarest. However, you can (and should) also take on Sub Quests from villagers that provide opportunities to grind levels and gain rewards. Fights are traditional affairs in which a timeline on the top of the screen shows the order in which allies and enemies will act and you can opt to attack, use a skill, guard, use an item, or escape on your turn. An auto function is present, which is handy given this is a very grindy game. Dungeons and towns feature an overhead perspective, and the character and monster sprites generally look fine. You can also see the enemies on the map, making it possible to avoid or seek out encounters. The unique element to WiZmans World Re;Try is the Anima Fusion system. When you defeat an enemy, you might get their soul as a reward. Going to your lab in town lets you fuse that with Aen, Doe, and Toori to change their in-battle appearance and abilities. I suppose I’d say it is similar to the fusion mechanics with demons and Personas in Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series. You pick a homunculus, then select a soul. This then determines the boost in stats, Ex Attack, Skills, and appearance after they’re combined. Once done, you see the Anima Status with up to two combined and the results. The final appearance ends up looking like a female humanoid version of the monster souls used in the process. There’s a standard option, but it is possible to get manastones and other materials for more advanced ones involving catalysts that result in better final results. Images via Clear River Games The thing is that system is great and does encourage WiZmans World Re;Try dungeon diving, but also ties into the parts that get pretty tedious. This can be a grind-heavy game. Especially if you want Aen, Doe, and Toori to be at their best and capable of covering every elemental base when attacking due to a rock-paper-scissors sort of system. (Fire beats wind, wind beats earth, earth is better than water, and water will put out fire.) The fights themselves aren’t all that enthralling. If you can get into a routine, maybe put on some music or a show and play in handheld mode, it’s fine. But it doesn’t really challenge you beyond knowing you probably need certain extra souls to be prepared for a boss or some stronger fusions, so you better grind a bit to prepare. WiZmans World Re;Try isn’t the most exciting JRPG, but it is great we finally get to experience it after about 16 years. The Anima Fusion system is interesting, and there’s some pretty intricate spritework involved for some characters. The game is something of a grind though, so be prepared to work for your best combinations and to take down some bosses that appear in later dungeons. WiZmans World Re;Try is available on the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the original game appeared on the DS. The post Review: WiZmans World Re;Try Tries to Make Grinding Exciting appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraMar 19

1348 Ex Voto ReviewAn action game that makes a promising first impression it doesn't live up to at all.

IGN PC ReviewsMar 18

Crimson Desert Review - Highest FantasyCrimson Desert excels as an open-world action-adventure game when exploration and combat intersect. In the lead-up to release, there's been a lot of discussion about what exactly the game is and whether it's too good to be true, with trailers showing off everything from dragon-flying and mech-piloting to Shadow of the Colossus-style boss fights. Developer Pearl Abyss certainly set its sights high with its first single-player game, and there's no denying that Crimson Desert is an incredibly ambitious game stitched together with as many ideas as humanly possible. A few hours into my adventure in Crimson Desert, I decided to explore to the east of the Duchess of Hernand--the game's starting location. Just beyond a sloping valley, I could make out what looked like a giant diving board nestled atop a mountain ridge. With this landmark in my sights, I made it my mission to scale the chalky cliff face and find out what exactly this enticing structure was. As I figured out how best to tackle the climb, finding spots where I could stand and replenish my stamina before continuing, I eventually reached the top and discovered that what looked like a diving board was actually a mysterious wooden pulley. It wasn't clear what it was used for, but I didn't really care. The view from the top instantly grabbed my attention, presenting a breathtaking panorama of Hernand and beyond. Pastoral countryside stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with hamlets, beautiful meadows, and dense forests. In the distance, snow-capped mountaintops reached for the clouds, while a number of hilltop castles were only a horse ride away. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsMar 18

The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Review So FarA run-of-the-mill anime fantasy come to life.

IGN PC ReviewsMar 18