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Marvel Cosmic Invasion review – Super short but sweet, beautiful nostalgia As someone who grew up on Marvel beat-em-ups like Captain America and The Avengers and Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage , I was immediately enamored with the latest title from Tribute Games when I first saw it announced and in action. Marvel Cosmic Invasion elicits the same nostalgic joy from those titles, featuring a retro art style and a fun roster of playable heroes, but I just wish the excitement lasted longer and had a bit more to do in its package. Assemble Image via Dotemu The biggest draw for Marvel Cosmic Invasion is its IP. Similarly to how Tribute Games ratcheted up the retro arcade nostalgia with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge , the star of the game is its established characters and world. The side-scroller features a fun roster of Marvel mainstays (Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Storm) and some lesser-known heroes (Nova, Phyla-Vell, Cosmic Ghost Rider, Beta Ray Bill) teaming up to battle against Annihilus and his army of bugs as the cosmic villain takes center stage as an antagonist. In each stage, you choose two heroes to play as and then can combine them and their skills using basic attacks, special attacks, and fighting game-like assists to clear the screen of enemies. It's fun, simple, and satisfying to pull off massive combos and defeat the variety of Marvel goons that are sent your way. The heroes all have their own distinct feel and abilities, and each is exciting in their own way. Storm uses wind and lightning to blast foes, Spider-Man can web-swing kick the crowd, Silver Surfer uses his surfboard to glide around, and Wolverine dashes and slashes through enemy waves. Other than the characters having specific moves, the main separator is that several characters on the roster can fly, making them better for handling certain enemy types. Heroes like Storm, Nova, Phyla-Vell, and Iron Man can dominate the top half of the screen because of this, and I found them to be more fun to play in most instances. The game can be played in co-op for up to four players, meaning you can feasibly have eight Marvel heroes on the screen at once if everyone is calling in an assist or super ability at once, turning it into a wild sight and good time for a group of friends. Using different combos of heroes is exciting and representative of the IP it's based on, enhanced by a good soundtrack and several familiar iconic voice actors like Steve Blum and Josh Keaton. In addition to the heroes, the story mode features familiar locations and several iconic Marvel villains to battle (or team up with), including Thanos, Galactus, Venom, and Hela, making it a worthy journey for fans of the comics, movies, or games that Marvel has amassed over the past few decades. There are even several easter eggs, including characters and locations for eagle-eyed fans to spot and seek out on each stage. But not for long Image via Dotemu Marvel Cosmic Invasion is fun to play, but it is a disappointingly short game. The main story can be cleared in 3-4 hours, and then replayability from there focuses on leveling up and playing as different characters to complete mission-specific objectives. Completionists will likely achieve everything in under 20 hours. These objectives are basic, like using a certain hero to defeat the mission's boss in lore-accurate ways or using a hero's special attack to defeat a number of enemies. Completing these unlocks minor additions like hero palette swaps, arcade mode modifiers, and music tracks, so outside of the achievements/trophies, there isn't all that much to grind for. Arcade mode is the classic style you would've found in the almost-extinct setting of a bunch of game machines lined up waiting to be filled up with your quarters, and the aforementioned modifiers can add or remove challenges based on how you want to play. It's worth playing through the story multiple times to fully level up each hero and finish the challenges within, but beyond that, there's just not a ton of content to dive into. Several events and minor mentions throughout the story seem to be setting up a future DLC expansion, which lines up with how Tribute Games added post-launch content for TMNT: Shredder's Revenge . I wish the day one package felt beefier, but the game is fun enough that I am looking forward to whatever comes next. I love the concept of Marvel Cosmic Invasion . I'm a lifelong Marvel fan and I love this style of gameplay, but I just wish there was more to the game than what it currently holds within. The post Marvel Cosmic Invasion review – Super short but sweet, beautiful nostalgia appeared first on Destructoid .

Reviews Archive – DestructoidDec 1

Marvel Cosmic Invasion ReviewGood enough to get your Avengers assembled on a lazy Sunday.

IGN PC ReviewsDec 1

Review: Marvel Cosmic Invasion Is a Great Brawler for Marvel Fans Marvel Cosmic Invasion presents a problem for me. I’ve never been a Marvel fan, but I am a fan of retro brawlers. Especially when those brawlers are coming from Dotemu, the publishers of both Streets of Rage 4 and TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge , which are some of my favorite games of the last few years. So with that talent in place, could they potentially win me over to liking superheroes? If you’ve played those Dotemu games, or indeed any brawler, you already know what’s happening here. If not, this is a side-scrolling brawler, where you take control of Marvel superheroes and walk through a 2D space (with some vertical movement) beating up an army of enemies that try and stop you. There are fifteen heroes to choose from, from popular names like Spider-Man and Captain America to obscure picks like Beta Ray Bill and Nova. Screenshot by Siliconera What makes Marvel Cosmic Invasion stand out from other games in the genre is the tag team feature the whole game is built around. Instead of picking one hero at the start of a stage, you pick two. In the stage, you can then switch between them at any time, including mid-combo, which can either trigger a team-up attack or allow for some satisfying juggling. It adds a lot of strategy to your combos, as timing it just right during one character’s finisher opens you up to let the incoming hero throw out theirs with little chance for enemies to respond. The combat feels as good as Dotemu’s other games. There’s a lot of similarities between this and Shredder’s Revenge on a fundamental level, which is good news. This is right down to the best part: the ability to endlessly build your combo meter by juggling enemies, even if they’re already KOed, as long as they never touch the ground. There’s some good variety between heroes too, with each one offering a unique moveset, weight and speed. Spidey has his webs and a swinging kick in the air. Wolverine has fast claw attacks. She-Hulk is a grappler. Captain America can throw his shield like a boomerang. Storm can fill the stage with lightning. You will almost certainly find at least one hero to suit your playstyle, with Wolverine, She-Hulk and Rocket Raccoon being some of my standouts. Especially the latter, who’s the only character whose basic attack is long range and can lay mines with his dash attack. Screenshot by Siliconera Where Marvel Cosmic Invasion falls down is in its strange balance. It has a leveling system, similar to other recent games in the genre, where characters hit harder and gain more HP as they level up. Stages are balanced around this system, with enemies getting more powerful as you progress. If you’re the kind of player who’s just going to pick your two favorites and play the whole game with them, you won’t notice much wrong as they’ll level up with the stages. The problem is, the game doesn’t present this as the ideal experience. Instead, the game seemingly expects you to swap between the “intended” heroes for each stage. These heroes are highlighting on the character select screen at the start of a stage, in the story scenes before and after the action and mandated to complete the stage’s optional challenges. But if you swap around, each hero will eventually feel underleveled for the stage as enemies stomp you. It’s a strange choice to signpost this as the suggested way to play. Screenshot by Siliconera But the real question is, did Marvel Cosmic Invasion manage to win over someone with no interest in Marvel? Not really, as I found its story to be completely incomprehensible. The wider plot is that Annihilus is invading Earth with his bug enemies, but each stage features its own story focused on a different supervillain. It’s mainly an excuse to shove as many characters in as possible, but no one is properly introduced. as someone who doesn’t recognise anyone outside the MCU (which I’m mostly aware of against my will), the experience felt disjointed. Naturally, this is a me problem, and it’s possible that Marvel diehards will delight in the breadth of its villains, but it does limit its appeal. Ultimately, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a solid brawler that continues Dotemu’s streak of great games. If you’re a hardcore Marvel fan, add a point to the score, since you’ll have a great time, but if you’re like me and have never found these heroes particularly compelling, this won’t change your mind. The post Review: Marvel Cosmic Invasion Is a Great Brawler for Marvel Fans appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 1

Marvel Cosmic Invasion Review – Making The Dream Work Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: Dotemu Developer: Tribute Games Rating: Everyone 10+ Tribute Games, creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, know how to spice up the easily bland beat ‘em up genre like few studios can, and Marvel Cosmic Invasion is no exception. Injecting tag-team mechanics reminiscent of the Marvel tag fighters adds a fun layer of strategy and chaos to this intergalactic smackdown, creating a retro-inspired treat comic fans shouldn’t miss. When the evil Annihilus hatches a plot to take over the galaxy, a collective of heroes, from iconic names like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine to space-faring saviors like Phyla-Vell, Nova, and Silver Surfer, stand up to oppose him. As a comic book fan, I appreciate the roster’s diversity in featuring names less-utilized in games like She-Hulk, Beta-Ray Bill, and the more modern Cosmic Ghost Rider. The sprites look great and are animated just as well, and voice performances capture the endearingly cheesy bombast more reminiscent of the source material rather than their TV/film counterparts.   Marvel Cosmic Invasion’s story campaign is a succinct but fun romp through comic lore, featuring varied locations on Earth and beyond. I got a kick out of clipping the wings of Sauron in the Savage Land and taking on Knull and his symbiote army on Klyntar, and the stages are chock full of fun references for comic fans, new and old. The combat retains the genre’s appealing approachability while boasting enough mechanical depth to be more engaging than most contemporaries. Pummeling and air-juggling scores of A.I.M. goons or alien bug warriors feels great, but the kicker is tagging in a partner for a quick assist attack to extend combo strings. This tandem action is simple to execute yet consistently satisfying to pull off. I also like how stage hazards and enemies, particularly the tough boss battles, offer entertaining tests of your defensive abilities, such as blocking, dodging, and parrying. Characters feel mechanically distinct and true to themselves, and their special abilities encourage strategic play. I love tossing Cap’s shield to ricochet off multiple targets or hurling Beta-Ray Bill’s hammer, Stormbreaker, which spins independently and can stun-lock foes indefinitely until it's recalled. Telepathically tossing threats into pits as Phoenix always feels empowering, and Rocket’s randomized roster of grenades is a chaotic element of chance. The ability to fly, utilized by heroes like Storm, Iron Man, and others, is a nice remedy for the historically pesky flying enemies. Mindlessly obliterating everything that moves yields some success (mostly when playing with others), but I appreciate how the sheer number of threats that sport their own effective defenses pushed me to learn my characters and play more thoughtfully. Like fighting games, finding your "mains" becomes key after sampling their various charge attacks, launchers, defensive moves, and special attacks. Though I enjoyed playing as every hero to some degree, Captain America, Spider-Man, Phyla-Vell, Cosmic Ghost Rider, and Silver Surfer became my standouts. However, and to the game's credit, there's no real wrong answer when it comes to choosing a hero; they're all fun in their own, unique ways. Optional stage challenges effectively encourage a mastery of certain moves and strategies. The reward of unlockable bonuses, like character palette swaps, music tracks, and lore entries, is a sufficient carrot to dangle. Leveling up heroes through play improves their stats and unlocks new passive abilities, adding a nice sense of progression and growth to a typically stagnant genre. I like using my powered-up favorites to overcome tougher adversaries. Swapping characters and mastering tag team synergies also makes this one of the most enjoyable brawlers I’ve ever played alone, but that’s still not the optimal way to experience this game. Believe it or not, beat ‘em ups are more fun with other people, and having four players controlling eight heroes leaping in and out of battle at once is a raucous blast, whether playing locally or in the well-implemented drop-in/drop-out online play. Marvel Cosmic Invasion follows in the footsteps of Shredder’s Revenge by offering a smartly modernized take on the arcade games of yesteryear. It’s not the deepest package, nor does it completely shatter this genre’s reliable mold, but anyone bearing a nostalgia for the Marvel arcade brawlers of old will have a great time smacking around villains as Earth’s – and the galaxy’s – mightiest heroes. Score: 8.5 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsDec 1

Review: Windswept Can Feel Like Classic SNES Platformers SNES platformers could be brutal experiences that demanded excellence, and WeatherFell’s Windswept feels like the latest game to tap into the lessons and concepts taught by those earlier titles. Is it difficult? Very. does the control scheme take getting used to? I didn’t feel confident in my abilities until the third world. If you can stick with it and find the right groove, it can feel rewarding. Windswept is deceptively adorable. Marbles, a baby duck, ends up separated from their family and meeting Checkers, a small turtle. Together, the two are stronger and and more capable than they are alone. In order to deal with enemies, reach collectibles, and get past all sorts of platforming challenges, players will need to learn how to take advantage of each one’s abilities when they’re the “leader” character in order to get back where they belong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-gcqY7P3t8 As the duck, Marbles seems intended to be the character you use for different movement types. This means gliding to pass gaps or even using a charged version of the spinning attack to go a further distance. When in the leader position, the duck can Shell Throw Checkers and then jump on the in-the-shell turtle for a slightly higher jump. Checkers seems like more of the “might,” due to being a slower character with a heftier type of attack. However, I also felt like the turtle was generally a stronger leader. The Tagteam Upward Toss with Marbles as a leader results in a really substantial vertical leap. Groundpound is the Checkers Leader attack, which offers a bit more precise attack directly below than the duck’s spin and can go through the ground in marked spots. The turtle’s Dropdash also allows an on-ground or midair dash, which is helpful for maneuvering. The only time I felt I benefitted from using the duck as the leader was when I needed some sort of ranged attack, which involved tossing the turtle as a projectile. Otherwise, Checkers was it for me. Like platformers such as Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World, the goal is to safely get Marbles and Checkers to the end of each stage in the four worlds, dealing with challenges that get more demanding along the way and dealing with all kinds of collectibles and hidden stages. For example, you’ll be collecting the letters for the word “comet,” searching for cartridges, and trying to safely grab records along with the more ample stars. Different worlds feature different biomes and themes, though you don’t learn any techniques beyond the ones introduced in the first world’s initial stage. So theoretically, you have all the tools you need all along. You just need the precision, execution, and muscle memory to pull things off. And boy, do later levels rely on having gone through stages or situations often enough to instinctively know the timing through repeated exposure. The difficulty is a lot and, while the game isn’t terribly long, you’ll probably know by the end of the first world if you should keep going. Images via WeatherFell That said, I do get the sense that WeatherFell’s drive to make a game like those Nintendo Hard SNES platformers perhaps resulted in a title that omits some quality of life elements in more recent adventures that could have made it a little more accommodating to people who might need more time to get accustomed to the leader-switching nature of skills, precision jumping and timing, and eventually incredibly demanding stages. More checkpoints and opportunities to recover Checkers/Marbles if one falls would have been so appreciated. Some slight tweaking of the level design so some of the stages in the third and fourth worlds don’t feel reliant on replying until you memorize every hazard so you can complete it all in one quick, uninterrupted run would also be fantastic. Perhaps some additional telegraphing there could help? While some level design elements are a bit awkward and the controls take some getting used to with the swapping and “exact” actions needed, the audio and visual design is on point. Windswept looks absolutely fantastic and sounds great. I loved the character designs for Checkers, Marbles, and every enemy. The biomes all feel unique, and there are cohesive design elements in stages in each world. There’s some great pixel art here. Images via WeatherFell Windswept is a demanding platformer that can feel Nintendo Hard at times, but it could prove quite satisfying if you put the time into it. It looks great and the moves can let you speed through levels once you get used to the execution and timing. I do wish that there were some elements to perhaps remove unreasonable segments that seem to only be passable with constant stage replays or that the checkpoint system worked a bit differently. If you’re looking for a challenge though, this offers it. Windswept is available for the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The post Review: Windswept Can Feel Like Classic SNES Platformers appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraNov 29

Project Motor Racing ReviewProject Motor Racing feels like an early access game that hasn’t actually been identified as such, and is simply not a better racer than its 2017 ancestor Project CARS 2.

IGN PC ReviewsNov 28

Review: A Better World Leaves You Questioning Choices With the concept of time travel also comes the supposition that the act could be used for the greater good. If someone who knows the outcome of certain events travels to alter them, would we be better off? Ludogram and ARTE France offers a chance to see if that could be true with the visual novel A Better World , though it quickly becomes a moral lesson both about what comes from messing with the established order and allowing a corporation that kind of power. A Better World begins with our avatar joining the titular organization. On the surface, it operates as an insurance company. It’s secretly using time travel technology to allegedly make a “better” future. We start at the lowest possible rung with the mascot “advisor” program Globos assisting us with the “easy” tutorial task “Make Someone Ordinary Extraordinary,” but quickly end up dealing with larger scale decisions even in that first assignment. Doing well sends up us the ranks, making bigger scope changes to the world like eliminating junk food. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-OGlBehsy8 While we can look out the window to the right of our station in A Better World , much of the game tasks us with reading missives on a station and making decisions based on little information. For example, the best way to explain is to look at that first task. Our goal is to “Make Someone Ordinary Extraordinary,” and Globos looks out the window to pick out Henry Hellman. We then go to various points in his life to make him a business, cinema, or musical icon. His parents owned a grocery store, which was about to go under, so trying to influence the course of that business via regulations or adopting a new direction are an option. When televisions end up in every home, we can embrace that. However, there’s also a possible love interest and person in the same building named Anna Huang, and the effects of altering Henry’s life can change hers and fulfill unknown conditions that lead to another ending that fills the requirement. Since the sweeping choices offered by the company could also affect the world, like trying to head off the JFK assassination or “banning selling products at a loss,” it could also mean major tampering just to fill a small request. Very early on, it means seeing sweeping repercussions. Which is interesting! It also means heavy-handed, implied commentary on decisions and time-traveling early on. I didn’t mind this, but someone looking for nuance won’t exactly see it here. The idea in A Better World is using the visual novel to offer choices that clearly have the game suggesting that choices matter and can go awry immediately. Images via Ludogram and ARTE France Said repercussions are mainly brought up via dialogue on the computer screen, and it can be perfunctory. We’ll get a summary of results and see how that affects our next jump or choice. So a possible outcome can be ruled out very quickly. This ensures some replayability, though it isn’t very easy or fast to skip through to unseen text. Since the game itself can be completed in under three hours, that isn’t a huge deal. The scene outside the right window can also shift, but I really only found that interesting when it was a big alteration. There are some elements of A Better World that made me wish there was either more to it or that elements were handled better. It isn’t really well optimized for a controller, though it can run on a handheld gaming PC like a Lenovo Legion Go with no issues. This can make toggling through all the console buttons a bit cumbersome. I also wish there was a designated Globos button so I could tap that to check in with her or continue her commentary, since there are a lot of times when you need to consult with the mascot in order to advance the story. Since there isn’t a designated button, that means moving back from the terminal, moving to look at her and focus on the mascot, click, then turn back to the console, focus again, and return. Images via Ludogram and ARTE France I also think A Better World would benefit from more information being offered for each major decision in the game. Considering the choices we make affect the future and this is a company with access to time travel, I suppose I expected a little more insight or opportunities to get context for the choices I’d make to meet goals. Especially if some of the elements involved moments in actual history. Instead, we’re occasionally offered only a sentence or two. A little more insight into individuals, locations, and situations would be great, as otherwise decisions can feel rather arbitrary until you make one that sends you to a premature end and forces you to rewind. The idea behind A Better World is interesting and the morals make sense, but the game’s execution could be improved. A little more time could have been spent building up to the choices and better explaining and sitting with the repercussions so our ensuing decisions carried more weight. A few quality of life adjustments that would make it easier to go through when replaying or move things along at a better pace would be appreciated too. The ideas explored and way of handling situations is thought-provoking, at the very least, and the free demo should help someone see if it is for them. A Better World is available for PCs, and there is a free demo for the game on the official site . The post Review: A Better World Leaves You Questioning Choices appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraNov 27

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Zombies ReviewThis year's iteration isn't bad, but it feels like a remnant of something greater.

IGN PC ReviewsNov 26

Review: Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked Is Generally Sound Demeo first appeared as a Dungeons & Dragons style tabletop RPG with strategic elements for the Quest, PSVR, and PC headsets, but it wasn’t explicitly tied to that series. That changed with the follow-up Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked . Resolution Games has the support of Wizards of the Coast now. It doesn’t change the experience much, beyond names for certain classes and places from D&D implemented, and the experience remains as solid as ever. Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked comes with two campaigns and six heroes. The first is Embers of Chaos, which features the elves of Neverwinter and humans of Neverwinter about to go to war after the humans broke a contract and started logging in the woods, but there may be some other forces also trying to disrupt the peace. In Crown of Frost, Icewind Dale is potentially under attack, and our heroes join the forces to investigate the situation and fight back. As you go through sessions, there will be both mainline campaign quests and some supplemental missions for other NPCs. Images via Resolution Games The characters available for each run are a Dragonborn Paladin, Dwarf Fighter, Elf Bard, Halfing Sorcerer, Human Ranger, and Tiefling Rogue, with up to four human players able to play in each session. If you have fewer than four, then there is one “main” character controlled by each human and the remaining party slots are “hirelines” that don’t level up. Those that do level up have some specialization and update options. However, all characters regardless of whether they are standard or hireling do have the options to get more cards in their 10-card deck to change their moveset. Once you head into a quest, regardless if it is a mainline mission or optional task, you’ll get a few cards dealt into your hand. (You can only see ones held by your main character and hirelings and can’t see what other players have.) The four characters in your party will act one after another, able to move within set areas on the grid and use abilities represented on their cards to act. All classes fill their traditional roles from D&D . Once everyone in the party acts, the enemies take their turn. This continues until the stage’s objective is complete. It works well! There are cards that are permanent and others that are single-use, leading to a sense of balance. We also gain new ones at a steady rate, and it seemed like about once per campaign mission or so it would come up. It’s easy to investigate cards before using them, and placing them on the field to attack is simple enough. Being able to have a full party of four regardless of how many human players are there? Also great. Some genuinely tricky situations can come up too. Images via Resolution Games There are some elements in Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked that can feel a bit awkward. All of which you’ll, unfortunately, encounter at some point due to the ways campaigns work and the lengths of them. The most frequent issue I encountered is that the zoom feature effectiveness varies. Sometimes, it works wonderfully and I can get as close or as far as I need. However, there are occasional maps, usually the smaller ones, which seemed to lock me into a certain position and wouldn’t let me focus in enough to get more precise positioning. Some quest item appearances also seem random. For example, in one situation our party was tasked with finding pieces of sheet music for an NPC side quest. We loaded into a campaign quest map and, initially, I saw the piece of sheet music in a position there. Due to a technical issue, we ended up needing to remake the room and return. When we loaded up the save before that fight and went in, there was no sheet music there that time. Speaking of technical issues, that’s the other awkward elements. There’s no way to assign hirelings to specific individuals. When you first make a room and head in, it will clearly assign folks to people. So if there are two folks playing, each will control one hireling. If, say, a person drops out, then needs to get the code again to pop back in, when they do rejoin the match and map, they will have no hireling assigned to them and it is impossible to go into any menu and place them in charge of that character. Images via Resolution Games While getting the D&D license for this VR strategy game is nice, Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked ’s appeal lies in it being an enjoyable multiplayer tactical adventure. There are a few cumbersome elements, like the hireling assigning issue, that I’d love to see worked out in later patches. But what’s here works well and is enjoyable, especially if you have at least one other person to play with. Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked is available for the Meta Quest headsets, PC headsets via Steam, and the PS5’s PSVR2. The post Review: Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked Is Generally Sound appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraNov 26

Kirby Air Riders Review - Star Ships We're Meant To Fly Reviewed on: Switch 2 Platform: Switch 2 Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Bandai Namco, Sora, Ltd Rating: Everyone 10+ "Waddle Doo!" I cheer at the top of my lungs. I just lost an online race in Kirby Air Riders, but I couldn't be happier. All week, I've been trying to unlock Waddle Doo by using a specific item in a specific mode, and have been so unlucky in finding it that this otherwise insignificant race has become a massive achievement. Kirby Air Riders, the latest from beloved game director Masahiro Sakurai, is filled with moments like this. The game overflows with his signature style, making bold creative choices even if it limits the game's appeal to a slightly narrower audience. The original Kirby Air Ride on GameCube is a racing game that uses just one button, and the sequel adds a (rarely used) second button. These barebones controls imply that the gameplay is similarly simple, or perhaps even boring, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Because the B button drifts, charges a boost, inhales enemies, uses copy abilities, and drops you mid-air, the timing and duration requirements are precise. Anyone could pick up Kirby Air Riders and get to the end of a race, but it takes a few races to get the hang of it, and the skill ceiling is sky high. Machines also come in several categories – stars, wheelies, and tanks, to name a few – and they all drive differently. Even among these categories, each machine has different stats (of which there are nine) and bespoke abilities, which can range from getting unique boosts to completely reworking the drift mechanics. The same is true for the game's roster of 20+ playable riders, which combs every inch of Kirby's lore for characters. For every Meta Knight and Waddle Dee, there's a Scarfy or a Rick, and you will undoubtedly learn the names of Kirby enemies you've seen a million times and never thought more deeply about. Riders also have unique stats and abilities, along with their own special ability that charges up during a race. While it's a boon for Kirby fans and those who like unlockables, this huge variety can make the game overwhelming to new players. In single player, the rider and machine select screens show stats and abilities for each option, but once you add more than one player in the mix, it creates a condensed, Smash Bros.-like select screen that hides the finer details. Unless you warn a friend that the cool-looking Bulk Star has a unique acceleration mechanic, they'll hop into the game and be confused as to why they aren't moving. The right machine can make a massive difference, and if I hadn't been the one to unlock them, I'd be frustrated trying to find the one right for me without seeing a tutorial. These riders and machines can be used in one of four main modes. Air Ride is a standard race, with six riders and a series of gorgeously designed tracks, each of which bombards you with color, style, and catchy soundtracks. Top Ride is a condensed, top-down view of the game that simplifies the controls even further, and while I initially wrote it off, I grew to find its bite-sized competition exciting. City Trial is a longer competition, with players exploring an open map to collect upgrades before a big event at the end, which can include races, battles, gliding challenges, cooperative boss fights, and much more. Of the included modes, it's my least favorite to play alone, as the repeated city exploration gets stale after a while. You can play any of the aforementioned modes online, but be prepared to wait. It typically takes a few minutes to be placed into a match of any kind, and I spent more time waiting than actually playing. Finally, there's Road Trip, Kirby Air Riders' solo story mode. Like all Kirby lore, it starts cute and whimsical and somehow ends up dark and apocalyptic, a tone I greatly enjoy. In Road Trip, the player travels long stretches of highway, encountering micro-challenges along the way, like the stadium challenges at the end of City Trial, all while being pursued by the mysterious Noir Dedede. It only takes about two hours to complete, but I almost can't imagine doing it all in one sitting. The pace of minigames is relentless, and by the end, they bleed together and feel a bit repetitive. Still, it's a mode worth checking out, as it's arguably the best time I've had with Kirby Air Riders while playing solo. The game's wealth of achievements and unlockables is my other favorite part. There are hundreds of challenges, divided up by game mode, for the player to complete, with unlocks ranging from stickers and decals to courses, riders, and machines. The first dozen races in any mode are almost guaranteed to complete a handful of goals, and after that, it gives constant reason to go back and try another course or another rider one more time. Having so much to unlock is nostalgic, as many modern multiplayer games aim to even the playing field and get you competitively viable as soon as possible. It also makes you appreciate each of the game's elements a little more, since they're unlocked one at a time. I don’t think I would have cheered "Waddle Doo!" the way I did when I unlocked them if they had been an option in the character select screen from the start. Kirby Air Riders is an inflexible experience, forcing the player to learn its mechanics and engage with all its modes to get the most out of it, and it's a better game for it. Its gameplay is simple to learn but hard to master, and with such a variety of machines and modes, there are a lot of different definitions of what that mastery looks like. It's a game with a strong, unique identity that likely won't unseat your favorite racing game, but it isn't trying to. Kirby Air Riders is a star shining for no one but itself, and I can't help but respect it for that. Score: 8.5 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsNov 26