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.

Terminator 2D: No Fate Review

IGN ArticlesDec 18

Review: Dogpile Is Full of Good Dogs Dogpile is a Suika Game like puzzle, which isn’t uncommon as of late, but it’s one of the most intriguing due to its deck-building nature and implementation of roguelike elements. While there is a barebones, straightforward sort approach that just involves matching dogs, the real fun comes from playing around with your deck, dogs’ traits, and other elements to keep successfully adding more pups to your yard. In Dogpile , you start with a yard and no dogs. Which is no good. You need puppers in your life! Fortunately, there are small and big ones, ranging from a score of a teeny lil’ dude at a “1” or a big ol’ buddy that is a “King.” Each hand deals you three cards you must play, which could be dogs, trainer ones that affect the dogs, or a pet store for a shopping visit. (Depending on the tags on your collar and traits, you might draw more than three.) Your goal is to keep hitting bone objectives through merging dogs to get bigger ones, to meet objectives and get to go to the dog wash for perks, while also earning money you can spend at the pet shop for more dog cards, trainer cards, and tags with perks. It’s all incredibly clever, coupled with an amusing “script” that features great descriptions for items and a personable flea as a “guide.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nypRrTHPCE At its heart, Dogpile is a matching game like Suika Game , since we have the well in the center of the screen and the different sized animals that merge with identical pairs of themselves to create a bigger one, continuing to merge them until they can get no bigger. But it’s the implementation of the deck-building elements and sorts of traits found in roguelikes that makes it feel like we have more decisive and strategic control over things. For example, the dog wash allows us to grant one of three traits to three dogs from our deck. Maybe we go with an upgrade that improves all of them by one level? Perhaps we make them all teenier than they were before. We could also always go with making them friendly, which I love because it then automatically makes them rush over in the yard to pair up with their match. While there are good traits like the ones I mentioned, such as making them extra good to get more currency or a pack trait that will automatically also use another dog card from your deck and deploy it, there are negative traits too. Timid will make them run away from other dogs. If one is fostered, it becomes a single-use card. A dog could end up temporarily crated, which makes it unable to match for a number of hands. And if a dog has fleas, none of its positive traits will come in. A royal dog is opposite of a miniature one, as it will be bigger than usual. Not to mention missing bone criteria via matching will mean incurring a punishment like temporary crating, fleas, or adding a rock to the yard. It makes you think about your decisions and consider adding more trainer cards like a sponge that could wash negative traits off a dog in the yard, sheers to make one in the yard miniature, or a treat to make a specific one extra good. Images via Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot The tags are also great. You’re limited to a certain number on your collar, and these are exclusively purchased in the pet shop. These can give you things like more bones or more money for certain actions, ensuring a certain option always appears at the dog wash, automatically assign traits to certain classes of dogs, and other bonuses for playing in certain ways if equipped. While we can only hold a certain number on our collar at a time, they can be sold back for funds and to make room for more. It’s almost like they’re relics like in typical roguelikes or deck-builders, offering a reason and excuse to tailor our deck and playstyle to a certain situation. Dogpile also deviates from Suika Game to behave more like Balatro with its varied decks. If you “beat” a game by getting the Saint Bernard (King), you can unlock a new deck. These could change the difficulty of a run, depending on the situation. I also noticed that, while no new dogs appeared, I did sometimes see new tags after getting more decks. Images via Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot Dogpile combines the Suika Game formula with deck-building, and I really like the results. It’s quite clever and incredibly cute. I loved playing around with certain builds and trying to capitalize on putting together decks that involved certain mechanics. Did I see myself getting near the endgame? Eliminate all smaller dogs to prioritize minimized versions of larger ones in the deck! Did I want to make things easier for myself and not worry about placements? Try and add friendly and pack traits to as many dogs as possible. I really loved challenging myself and working things out. Dogpile is available for PCs. The post Review: Dogpile Is Full of Good Dogs appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 17

Terminator 2D: No Fate Review - No ProblemoIf I could use only one word to encapsulate Terminator 2D: No Fate, it would be "authentic": Both in the way it faithfully recreates James Cameron's seminal 1991 action movie and its nostalgic love affair with the 16-bit era of video games. Movie tie-ins were mostly awful in the early '90s, but I could easily see myself renting No Fate from my local Blockbuster and blasting through its sidescrolling run-'n'-gun action in between episodes of Dragon Ball Z and WWF Smackdown. It's a brief experience, with the credits arriving in less time than it takes to watch the entirety of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but No Fate is a licensed video game done right, created with palpable reverence for both its source material and the era of video games it emulates. No Fate's story mode opens with a shot of rolling tarmac, as the painted yellow lines in the middle of the road scroll past at regular intervals. If you're a fan of Terminator 2, this shot will be a familiar sight, albeit one now rendered in gorgeous pixel art, with chiptune music and Sarah Connor's monologue presented as blocks of text rather than through Linda Hamilton's hushed tones. It's also in a different place--on a desert road instead of a Los Angeles freeway--and opens the game as opposed to bookending the movie. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsDec 16

Destiny 2: Renegades Review - More Than An Inspiration Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Bungie Developer: Bungie Rating: Teen Destiny’s earliest incarnation drew heavily on the science/fantasy roots established by Star Wars, nodding in various ways over the years to that mainstay of genre fiction. As an expansion, Renegades makes those inspirations far more explicit, borrowing directly from that galaxy far, far away to bring in the likes of lightsabers, Jedi, blasters, specific storytelling beats, and familiar costumes – albeit with distinct naming conventions. The suffusion of familiar Star Wars elements is sometimes odd and forced, and at times, it loses touch with some of the things that have always helped Destiny stand apart. Nonetheless, the fun of some of those transplanted elements (especially lightsabers) is hard to deny. Moreover, on a more moment-to-moment level, Renegades represents a strong loop of storytelling, game modes, and upgrades that is a notable step up from Edge of Fate earlier this year. In total, it’s a strong batch of content that’s well worth exploring, especially if you’ve been away from the game for a time. In the wake of the revelations in Edge of Fate, the Guardian is now contending with the godlike power of the Nine as they contrive to shape fate as they see fit. In particular, one of the Nine has exerted control over a Kylo Ren-esque individual who takes issue with the Vanguard and is preparing a doomsday weapon that will devastate the Guardians. As Wilhelm screams sound, trash compactors squeeze, and red energy blades clash against green, the narrative that ensues is fun but almost forcibly familiar, demanding you acknowledge each moment as a nod to Star Wars canon. What saves it is the pace and action that drive everything forward. Your guardian is now a truly epic one-person army in their own right, and Renegades stacks up dozens of enemies in each battle to mow down. Bosses are potent and enjoyable; traversal puzzles are exciting, especially the lengthy temple visit to get your glowing blade; numerous seasonal and expansion rewards provide a steady stream of gradual, compelling upgrades. The ample new social space is built around a lawless Cantina, and I enjoy the loop of different competing factions you bounce between from their home base around the bar. Venturing out into distinct play spaces on Venus, Mars, and Europa, the bounty hunting, smuggling, and other jobs you undertake feature varied and challenging objectives, especially as one climbs to higher difficulties. These jobs borrow concepts from the likes of Helldivers or extraction shooters like Arc Raiders, but the core action and shooting is unmistakably Destiny. Of all the Star Wars inspirations, the unqualified success in the mix is the introduction of the Praxic Blade, a lightsaber analogue that dramatically changes up playstyles for everyone, and features a variety of sought-after customization options. There’s an undeniable power fantasy to being a mythic warrior with a glowing blade in hand, and Bungie has really nailed what’s fun about slicing into enemies, throwing the weapon in wide boomerang-like arcs, and deflecting blasts onto foes. While content organization has seen significant reworking in the last year, I quite enjoy the customizability available to tweak the many activities on offer. Bungie seems conscious that many players may have lapsed and might only now be returning, and much of the current game aims to resurface some great dungeons, raids, exotic missions, and other high-end content that a player may have missed, but with great flexibility in how challenging (and rewarding) that content will be. Alongside new fun chases, like the engaging new 3-person Equilibrium dungeon, there’s a lot to do, and a lot of it is immersive and thoughtfully crafted. I’m not totally sold on the melding of universes that Renegades aims for, but I think the expansion as a whole offers many hours of satisfying exploration, build-crafting, and new rewards to discover. This isn’t the fundamental reinvention of Destiny that many fans seem eager for, but as a creative twist on expectation, it offers plenty of good times. Score: 8 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsDec 16

Destiny 2: Renegades ReviewThis Star Wars-flavored expansion is cringey and light on content, but what’s there works surprisingly well.

IGN PC ReviewsDec 15

Review: PancitoMerge Adds More Flavor to the Suika Game Recipe Ever since the Suika Game ( Watermelon Game ) appeared in 2021 , we’ve seen a lot of companies build on that matching formula for their own titles and takes on the concept. Inti Creates made a version tied to Azure Striker Gunvolt . BeXide made 3D generic and Hololive takes on the concept. With Fayer and Sketchy Ceviche’s PancitoMerge , we again get a 2D Suika Game like, but there’s more strategic intent to it that adds extra flavor to the affair. There’s no need to worry about any sort of story in PancitoMerge , as just like Suika Game it gets right down to making matches. This puzzle game takes place in a Mexican bakery. As you drop different types of pan dulce, you’ll see two of the same variety merge together to create a new, larger option. The “well” in which all items drop looks like a bag, which gradually fills as you let new elements fall in. Every few moves, a new customer will come to the door in search of a different pastry, which you can then pluck from your bag and give to them in order to maintain a combo. You’re scored based on number of pastries in the bag and successful maintained combos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDGiXRE4Hgo Now, there are a lot of things that PancitoMerge does that I like more than Suika Game . The first is that I felt like it was better about the variety of items that show up as potential things to drop into the bag. In Suika Game , it typically feels like it sticks to the first two to four options most frequently appear as drops. Here, after both getting past 1,000 points and unlocking certain treats, I’d occasionally see some of the larger, later drops come up like an empanada de fruta or concha. (I think I even saw a Marranito come up as a drop once.) This is helpful for matching purposes, of course, but it’s also pretty invaluable for the “customer service element of things. By the way, the pan dulce designs are fantastic and incredibly recognizable. Like you can clearly tell these are things like besos, chinos, cubiletes, galletas, gendarmes, nino envueltos, and polvorones. There are a few different bakery designs that can unlock, with each one featuring different desserts, which is a nice touch. Images via Fayer and Sketchy Ceviche The customers part of PancitoMerge is also absolutely fantastic. Every few turns, a new individual will show up at the door requesting a specific type of baked good. Like a luchador might want an oreja. If you have it, you press a button to pluck it from the bag and offer it to the person. If you have more than one of it, you could select each one. If you don’t have the item, you have some leeway where the person will keep that request for a few drops before changing their order to something else. (That breaks your combo in the process.) Strategically, it’s fantastic. It frees up room in your bag! It might help you with some matches, in case one is in the way. Or you could just get rid of one of the smaller galletas that fell through the cracks to the bottom. Speaking of rearranging, PancitoMerge includes a shake bag mechanic. From time to time, you can occasionally press the triggers to shake things slightly. Think of it like the tilt function in a pinball game. Does it help? Sometimes, yeah. So much so that I would even save up the shakes to ensure it might be ready when I’d be closer to the top or in need of a larger, more high-value pastry. Screenshot by Siliconera The only thing I noticed is that if someone does prefer shorter Suika Game style merging puzzle sessions, PancitoMerge isn’t that. Because of the more strategic elements like serving certain items to customers and shaking the bag, it is very easy to get a minimum of 2,000 points before things start to get challenging. Even then, as long as you’re playing smart, I think someone could maybe even get to 3,000 without too much trouble. (But then again, I have been playing a lot of games like this lately.) I really love PancitoMerge and feel like it’s a more stylish and thoughtful approach to the Suika Game style matching and merging puzzle. The different pan dulce desserts all look fantastic. The themes are great. I loved being able to serve customers in the name of more points and bag management. Even something so similar as a little bag shake helped a lot. It means longer game sessions, which I saw as a plus, as well. It’s just a lovely little puzzle game. PancitoMerge is available for PCs via Steam . The post Review: PancitoMerge Adds More Flavor to the Suika Game Recipe appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 15

Review: Goodnight Universe Might Make You Cry Nice Dream experimented with unexpected control schemes for the first time with Before Your Eyes . As the name suggested, tracking your blinking helped control memories. In Goodnight Universe , that concept is expanded upon and added to a much more compelling story that sees us helping an above average, supernaturally gifted baby find his way through extraordinary situations. Isaac isn’t your average baby. He’s smarter than normal, able to understand the world around him and engage in some pretty complex problem solving situations. There’s also the telekinesis. But he can’t just spend time processing that and trying to connect with his awkward family. There’s a company named Aio Industries that is very aware of what Isaac is capable of and wants to use him for their own purposes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuGuy9VsDxs While Goodnight Universe can be controlled via more typical control schemes, such as a controller, and there will be some segments where we need to move Isaac, the main mechanic here involves actually looking at things and blinking in order to affect the world around you and make things happen. (As such, it’s not a great fit for something like a Steam Deck or handheld gaming PC!) I played using the built-in webcam on a laptop, and it worked pretty well. I do recommend calibrating the game first in Settings to ensure it is catching your eye tracking, since there will be some segments where you want to be certain the game is recognizing when you’re focusing on an object/person or blinking. But I found it’s quite capable in most situations. There are some situations where I did notice it didn’t seem to recognize my inputs, but those were ones where there time felt of the essence and I wasn’t sure if it was due to my moving too quickly and out of my patterns or the game not properly recognizing it. After playing all of Goodnight Universe via the intended control scheme, which didn’t take long since it is three hours or so, I did try it playing only with a controller. It definitely feels less “special” that way. So I will say if you can’t play it with the eye-tracking option, you will be missing out. Images via Nice Dream While Goodnight Universe is an adventure game, it can also feel a bit like a visual novel or interactive movie due to how heavy and pivotal the story and character relationships are. It’s an incredibly well-written affair with a lot of moments that can hit you hard. This is all without feeling overly melodramatic. The plot beats are amazing here. While it also is a drama with some supernatural thriller elements, there’s some levity too. It’s genuinely funny! Some altercations with Aio Industries are scary! As someone who was incredibly close to her grandfather, the parts involve Angus got me misty. This game is absolutely moving and heartfelt. There are a few parts around the middle that feel a bit slow, but in general the pacing is okay. A part of that also has to do with the fantastic casting. I really loved Lewis Pullman as Isaac, and Tessa Espinola does a great job as Cleo. Both Al Madigal and Kerri Kenney-Silver are perfect picks as Isaac and Cleo’s parents, and I’m glad they went with folks who are so adept at comedy for those roles. Perhaps my favorite was Beau Bridges as Angus, as he nailed the part, came across as sympathetic, and it ended up being quite a surprise to hear him. Images via Nice Dream Goodnight Universe features a wonderful story with great performances and a unique, competent control scheme. Said method even works pretty well, considering it’s relying only on eye-tracking! I will say part of the experience is lacking without that, so you should make sure you can play under optimal conditions. But even if you can’t, the narrative and performances from its stacked cast are pretty great. Goodnight Universe is available for the Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC . The post Review: Goodnight Universe Might Make You Cry appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 14

Review: Forestrike Will Test Your Skills Forestrike , a roguelike about martial arts fights and the power of premonition, sounds like it makes so much sense. Go on a journey. Enter basically your “mind palace” to work out a fight in your head. Implement it in reality, based on your foresight, to ideally survive and keep moving forward. If you manage to learn exactly what you should and do everything right. There are times it can be great! But when it isn’t, I’ve found it can be the most frustrating roguelike I’ve ever played. A foreign Admiral placed Emperor Lun Liao under his spell, and Yu is one of the few who sees exactly what’s going on. As such, our warrior heads out under one of multiple Masters and Paths in order to deal with the Admiral and save the country. This means using the power of The Cold Eye, The Leaf, The Monkey, The Storm, and The Tiger to win, with only Master Talgun and The Leaf available initially. While you will head through the Moongate and practice using foresight to deal with the situation, you need to go through everything in reality, with no practicing, to understand the full scope of this political thriller and discover the truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCbJLFTjgbo&t=1s While it’s never guaranteed that a roguelike will feature a fantastic story, or even offer any explanation at all, Forestrike offers an explanation and intent. Granted, you absolutely need to earn it! (Not to mention, I had to unlock my favorite Master.) Which is frustrating due to the difficulty. After seeing the outcome, I do think it is interesting. However, I’m not a fan of a design decision that means you lose access to certain options once beating a run with them. I feel like narratively, more could have been done with it, not to mention I really liked certain run types a lot. I do appreciate how the narrative does tie in to the repetitious nature of things and explains the foresight ability. When a Forestrike run begins, you choose a Master. This influences the techniques and moveset you get. You then head into fights against The Admiral’s forces. So an initial tutorial match will involve three enemies and Yu, with a task of surviving and perhaps accomplishing an optional goal for additional rewards. (For example, clearing it in under 10 moves.) Since Yu has three health and a heavy hit could knock out more than one, being careful is critical. Enemies come at you one at a time, and certain types have specific patterns you can memorize. You can use attacks or Techniques you’ve learned, and if you collected the right resources perhaps block or dodge an attack. When you win, you might get an active or passive Technique. These involve precise button presses and perhaps even resources. Once the first fight is done, you can see the map and determine which road (and experiences) you’ll face that run. While Forestrike is a roguelike, in that we are picking a path, building a “deck” of moves, and should expect to try multiple times before we succeed, there are ways in which it doesn’t work like one. As a result, I feel like that weakens part of the experience. For example, the fights against foes felt random sometimes. I’d find myself in situations where I couldn’t win, even if I was doing things “right.” Also, unlike a more traditional roguelike, if you lose you don’t start off in a better place next time. You begin with nothing carrying over. As such, it can get incredibly frustrating going through an attempt. Things might go great and you’ll get situations that take advantage of your Techniques. But more often than not, I found myself outclassed. I also felt like not all Masters’ paths were created equal. Some of them can be really cool and fun! The Leaf is a good start, and I enjoyed The Storm. The Monkey is my absolute favorite. However, I hated The Tiger, even though I really liked Buton as a character. Perhaps it’s just me, but it seemed like some were more creative and offered more opportunities for success depending on your choices and implementations of Techniques. Forestrike features an interesting concept and aesthetic I appreciate, but can feel unbalanced. I happened upon many situations where I felt like I couldn’t win, which was even why it took longer to prepare this review. I like the story and the way some of the martial arts movesets work. I just wish it didn’t often feel like chance so heavily affected my odds of success. Forestrike is available for the Switch and PC. The post Review: Forestrike Will Test Your Skills appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 13

Review: Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons Is Repetitive I didn’t expect Taito to get in on the roguelike trend with Bubble Bobble, but here we are. Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons combines the traditional style stages of the game with the ability to bring in items or learn skills for each run to get through a set number unscathed in the name of getting treasure. While it does sort of work, it all ends up blurring together due to design choices and sometimes feels too unfair to be really fun. The concept behind Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons is incredibly simple. Dolcen heard about Bub, the bubble-blowing dragon who can’t get enough of adventuring. He grabbed him and brought him to a place where he can go through castles and dungeons to collect treasure. Since Bub loves adventure, he doesn’t question the whole possible-abduction thing and agrees to go castle-crashing and dungeon-diving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUma2zdhOMU The gameplay for Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons is pretty much identical to past games. Bub goes through stages, attempting to reach the door to the next one. Enemies appear, and they can be trapped in his bubbles. Once popped, they’re eliminated and you’re rewarded. However, since the goal is to either reach the boss in a castle or the exit in a dungeon, it isn’t about defeating every enemy to clear a room and move on. You just want to get in and out as fast as possible. Since you also can bring in items, such as ones cause fire to damage enemies, and also jump on bubbles to ride air currents to float to platforms, it can feel more focused on platforming than puzzling things out. The roguelike nod comes from going on successful runs, eventually going back with items that could help or getting skills like a rolling attack that you boost to make surviving and getting further next time easier. It’s a generally typical Bubble Bobble experience and, in isolated runs or the castle portions, can feel fine. I think the thing that gets to me most about Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons is how it all blurs together. While there is some slight variation to each area of the dungeon and run, they all tend to have similar color schemes due to it all being candy, cookie, and pastry-themed. A lot of it is just pink on pink on pink on other pastels that sometimes aren’t all that far off from pink. While the runs are randomized, the layouts aren’t. So you’ll eventually recognize the patterns and see the same sorts of stages over and over again. The Castles avoid this issue, since they are predetermined, but the dungeons really suffer from this. There’s also an issue with difficulty in Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons , which is exacerbated by the return of the invincible ghost that returns if you run out of time when going through the stages. The layout and position of enemies can sometimes be a bit intimidating or awkward, which isn’t the issue. Especially if you did bring in some of the limited-use materials. But the problem comes from a run being done in a dungeon if you get hit even once. Since it’s going to be tens of floors before you reach the end, the ghost is going to appear. It took me hours before I managed to get through a full, 40-floor dungeon without being touched by the ghost or hit by an enemy, and by the end I wasn’t having fun. I was just stressed. Images via Taito A perk of this release is also getting Bubble Symphony with the pack. It’s a fantastic game! This is a more traditional Bubble Bobble experience, with players needing to trap enemies in bubbles or use their human forms’ wands to attack them in consecutive stages, getting treasures and rewards for clearing each screen. The more frequent boss fights and ability to choose our paths after clearing one. This is a great bonus and honestly helps make the whole package feel more worthwhile. Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons has its moments, but the inclusion of Bubble Symphony helps it feel worth the try. The base game itself is fine, and I had fun with the castle portions. The repetitious colors and stage layouts coupled with the dungeon difficulty is a bit much. Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons is available for the Switch, PS5, and PC. The post Review: Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons Is Repetitive appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 12

Unbeatable ReviewA visually striking rhythm game that suffers from an identity crisis.

IGN PC ReviewsDec 10