2024 Review Roundup
Migrated from X
X (formerly Twitter) has been making it difficult to post lately. I may/not lose my account so I am migrating my older mini reviews to Substack to be safe. Here, they will be posted as yearly blocks in their near entirety (apart from most photos & videos) as presented on X.
1-10-24
Spirit of the North Enhanced Edition review:
A slow-paced puzzle-adventure that's luckily short & should be skipped.
GOOD:
+ Graphics
+ Abilities
BAD:
- Quasi-story
- A glorified tech demo
- Stiff controls,
- Stock music
- Annoying challenges not based on skill
- Simply boring
Score: 3/10
1-16-24
Cocoon review:
This indie puzzle-adventure w/ an assortment of strong puzzles sadly fizzles near the end.
GOOD:
+ Variety of isolated and multi-layered puzzles
+ Techno-electric music
+ Bosses
SO-SO:
+/- Repeated puzzles
BAD:
– Breaks its own rules
– Frustrating difficulty spikes
Score: 8/10
2-11-24
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life review:
The deeply poignant ending to the mainline series.
GOOD:
+ Combat, skills, abilities
+ Detective story that’s focused *solely* on Kiryu
SO-SO:
+/- Blah same/new locations
BAD:
- Bland ending locations
- Too much story; not enough gameplay
Score: 8/10
2-19-24
Super Mario Bros. Wonder review:
A highly fun hallucinogenic 2D platformer!
GOOD:
+ Stellar levels & worlds, many new abilities, perfect length, Wonder zones, TV mode
SO-SO:
+/- Same story
BAD:
- Elephant power felt pointless, ridiculous amount of useless abilities, handheld mode is bad
Score: 8.5/10
2-20-24
Baldur's Gate 3 review:
This PCRPG is a pivotal masterpiece that'll be remembered and studied for generations to come. BG3 is an outstanding piece of art that surpasses anything I thought a game could be.
GOOD:
+ A jaw-droppingly enchantingly lively world built around its secrets crying out to be discovered; the sheer amount of freedom to do whatever is insane
+ A truly massive story that’s both deep and alluring with surprisingly extensive lore
+ Impeccable character development
+ A brilliant battle system like no other
+ Powers & abilities are truly remarkable
+ The level of customization both in character and story branching is superb
+ Music is a phenomenal triumph
+ An unforgettable tale of love, loss, and most importantly ADVENTURE!
SO-SO:
+/- Give us more fast travel points!
BAD:
- Act 3 is slow and doesn’t have the level of adventure and surprises Act 1 & 2 both share
- Act 2 has minor bugs & glitches, Act 3 has even more
- Intermittently wonky camera
Score: 10/10
2-24-24
Return to Grace review:
A narrative sci-fi adventure set in retro ‘60s style world.
GOOD:
+ Gripping story, Neat retro world, simple & to the point; no filler
BAD:
- No much to do outside of its linear story
Score: 7.5/10
2-29-24
Spider-Man 2 review:
A sequel that surpasses the original.
GOOD:
+2nd half of story, less repetition, graphics
+More & better boss battles, set pieces & unparalleled action sequences
BAD:
-Endless enemy waves, boss pacing, unintentional humor, Kraven's pointless story
Score: 8/10
3-5-24
Granblue Fantasy Relink review:
An action JRPG w/ little to offer in its short time.
GOOD:
+ Magical world, stunning vistas, VO’s, and neat set pieces
+ No-grinding, fun abilities
BAD:
- ~14 hours long
- Acts like the middle/end of a larger story; confusing
- Overpriced
Score: 6/10
3-6-24
Penny’s Big Breakaway review:
A fun, lighthearted N64-inspired adventure!
GOOD:
+ Cute N64 graphics & gameplay, simple story & mechanics
+ Great bosses, level design & tunes
+ Penguin hordes!
SO-SO:
+/- slightly repetitive
BAD:
- N64 gameplay was sometimes rough
- Uneven difficulty
Score: 7.5/10
3-6-24
Shadow the Hedgehog review:
A janky adventure!
GOOD:
+ Mysterious story, multiple adventure paths & endings, various paths, weapons, character cameos
+ Shadow swears!? Incredible music
BAD:
- Janky, stiff controls; camera, lackluster character control, nauseating final boss
Score: 6.5/10
4-1-24
Yakuza Like A Dragon review:
The classic series in JRPG form.
GOOD:
+ Layered dramatic story, humor, characters, abilities, battle system
BAD:
- 20+ hours forced grinding, unacceptable difficulty spikes, buggy battles, no checkpoints/saves before bosses, sewer grinding = vomit
Score: 7/10
4-4-24
Princess Peach Showtime review
Peach’s own short & sweet(& sour)adventure!
GOOD:
+ Beautiful, fanciful graphics & environment
+ Fun power-ups, mildly entertaining
SO-SO:
+/- Easy
BAD:
- Bland/Average/Boring
- frustrating controls & bosses
- Some powers suck
- game gradually gets worse
Score: 6/10
4-15-24
Sun & Punishment Star Successor review:
An on-rails shooter with oomph!
GOOD:
+ Characters & controls
+ Wonderfully bright, colorful & deep, dark levels
+ Music = AMAZING!
+ Easy mode & checkpoints
SO-SO:
+/- Nonsensical story (but it’s a shooter, so who cares?)
BAD:
- Crazy, sometimes unfairly difficult levels & bosses
Score: 8/10
4-20-24
Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions review:
A sweet 3DS remake of the DS version.
GOOD:
+ Wonderfully bright graphics, catchy music, & lovable characters
+Powers & Abilities, most bosses
+ Good length
BAD:
- Last boss = infuriatingly difficulty & killed a perfect score
Score: 9/10
4-26-24
Brothers A Tale of Two Sons Remake review:
A short single/co-op puzzle/adventure of 2 bros on a journey to save their father.
GOOD:
+ Improved graphics; simple yet effective controls
+ Immersive & always intriguing
+ Every moment is heartwarming/breaking
BAD:
- Void of challenge
Score: 8/10
5-5-24
Persona 3 Reload review:
A faithful, quality JRPG remake.
GOOD:
+ Original story, anime cutscenes, VO cast, Personas
+ Music, social link stories, combat
SO-SO:
+/- lackluster side quests
BAD:
- Too repetitive for its length to maintain interest, some songs, finicky/strict social links
Score: 7/10
5-11-24
Mortal Kombat 1 review:
An exciting reboot woven in as a kontinuation.
GOOD:
+ Jaw-dropping visuals, backdrops & perfect story mode
+ Mechanics, controls & simplified fatalities
+ VO acting— especially Johnny Cage
+ Invasion
BAD:
- Megan Fox voice acting
- Purchasable characters & micro-transactions
Score: 9/10
5-12-24
Somerville review:
A slow but sometimes adrenaline pumping puzzle adventure.
GOOD:
+ Beautiful aesthetics, heart-pumping setup, cool concept, intriguing puzzle elements
SO-SO:
+/- Rushed final half of game
BAD:
- Slow, sometimes wonky controls, pacing issues, visually too dark
Score: 7.5/10
5-18-24
Brothers A Tale of Two Sons *Original* review:
Tried the original & it holds up extremely well compared to the remake!
GOOD:
+ Cute graphics; simple yet effective controls
+ Immersive & always intriguing
+ Every moment is heartwarming/breaking
BAD:
- Void of challenge
Score: 8/10
5-27-24
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora review:
An exquisite first person adventure.
GOOD:
+ Beautiful ambitiously crafted world
+ Minimal pop-in
+ Fighting mechanics & weapons
+ No overly-stuffed map
+ Unobtrusive HUD
+ Music
SO-SO:
+/- Leveling system
BAD:
- Impeccably good AI
- Crafting too demanding
Score: 9.5/10
6-12-24
Astro’s Playroom review:
A fully-realized tech demo demonstrating the power of PS5’s DualSense.
GOOD:
+ Cute, colorful, well-executed graphics
+ Wonderful use of DualSense controls
+ Artifact & Puzzle collectibles, endless PS homages
SO-SO:
+/- Music
BAD:
- Some power suits
Score: 8.5/10
6-20-24
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon review:
A 3rd person adventure about a boy on a search for life & self worth.
GOOD:
+ Cute characters, interesting story
BAD:
- Frustrating motion controls, slow camera & battles, breakable weapons, back tracking, boring last 2/5ths
Score: 6/10
6-23-24
Killzone review:
A classic first-person shooter now on PS3!
GOOD:
+ Dynamic story, main cast VO’s, partner AI, proper length
SO-SO:
+/- typical weaponry
BAD:
- Enemy AI, bullet sponge enemies, confusing levels w/o mini map, bland level design, muddy visuals, no level music?
Score: 6/10
7-2-24
Killzone 2 review:
A better FPS sequel than the original.
GOOD:
+ Graphics
+ Authentically feels like war
+ Thoroughly immersive
+ Waypoint
BAD:
- Only 1 main weapon @ a time
- Lack of rumble makes directional deaths confusing
- 1 of the worst, most frustrating & confusing final bosses ever
- Missing sound FX
Score: 7.5/10
7-5-24
Killzone 3 review:
A grandiose end to the trilogy!
GOOD:
+ Best trilogy graphics, interesting story & intense gameplay
+ Weapons & handling
+ On-rails sequences
SO-SO:
+/- Pointless Objectives Screen, hover suit = I don’t get it
BAD:
- Frame rate lag
- Linear
- Not much is “new”
- Lackluster ending
Score 8.5/10
7-6-24
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney review:
A fun, interactive, visual novel!
GOOD:
+Hilariously yet deep stories
+Many fun cases & interactions
+Clue hunting
SO-SO:
+/-Some connect-the-dots evidence doesn’t connect
BAD:
-Overly long cases
-Moments of Tiredness
-Outlandish “evidence”
Score: 8/10
7-12-24
Infamous review:
A third-person action-adventure w/ more bark than bite.
GOOD:
+ Comic book-style story, cool powers, effective karma system
+ Music, sound fx
SO-SO:
+/- Graphics
BAD:
- Enemy AI
- Ineffective city design built around traversal, climbing & speed that’s more hassle than helpful
Score 7.5/10
7-17-24
Super Princess Peach review:
A 2D platformer about an emotionally uncontrollable Peach!
GOOD:
+ Adorable graphics, ultra colorful
+ Perry
+ Level design
+ Emotion-based abilities
+ Catchy tunes w/ lots of love
SO-SO:
+/- Relatively easy
BAD:
- Frustrating moments
- Somewhat basic
Score: 8/10
7-21-24
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (campaign) review
A hilarious third-person action game starring our favorite misfits!
GOOD:
+ Actions-packed, varying missions
+ Top-notch writing & visuals
+ Playable characters, attributes, weapons
BAD:
- Pacing issues, some missions= ANGER @#$%!
Score: 9/10
8-6-24
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name review
A return to the series’ action beat-em-up roots.
GOOD:
+Engaging world, fun side quests, good combat, abilities
SO-SO:
+/-Whackier than other Yakuzas
BAD:
-Weird sci-fi elements, Kiryu’s rebirth arc not deep enough, EXTENSIVE filler
Score: 7/10
8-11-24
Killzone Mercenary review:
Authentic fps action on the go!
GOOD:
+ Unbelievable graphics for Vita, Full VO cast, fun objectives, and challenging levels, missions lengths
SO-SO:
+/- Unnecessary touch controls
BAD:
- Difficult controls, claustrophobic & stuffed in tiny screen
Score: 8/10
8-17-24
Lizard Lady vs The Cats review:
A budget title well worth the 10¢!
GOOD:
+ So bad it's good, super short, stupid fun
BAD:
- Graphics, repetitive music, story (the cats killed 1 million puppies, so it's up to Lizard Lady to kill the cats!), premise, ammo charging
Score: 1/10
8-30-24
The Simpsons Game (PSP) review:
GOOD:
+ Hilarious writing, quality animated cutscenes, impressive PSP visuals, interesting abilities, diverse levels
BAD:
- Frustrating controls
- Awful camera & even worse camera controls
Score: 6.5/10
9-6-24
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk review:
A tenacious successor to Sega’s forgotten Jet Set Radio.
GOOD:
+ Faithful to source, fun but crazy story, graffiti art, easy controls, great tracks, level design
SO-SO:
+/- Some confusing parts
BAD:
- Not enough tracks, odd difficulty spikes, sometimes confusing
Score: 8.5/10
9-15-24
Star Wars Outlaws review:
This third-person, stealth-action game is set in a galaxy-spanning open-world big on adventure!
GOOD:
+Light weight story, characters & VO, planet exploration
+World building & design, side missions, sleuthing
SO-SO:
+/-Music isn’t SW enough
BAD:
-Archaic stealth elements, minor bugs & crashes
Score: 8.5/10
9-21-24
Astro Bot review:
A 3D adventuring bliss!
GOOD:
+ Attention to detail, whimsical graphics, exquisite DualSense controls with: ingenuity, sound & performance
+ Genius designed, challenging worlds
+ Collectibles, secret & nonstop nostalgia
+ Endlessly entertaining
Score: 10
9-26-24
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine II review:
A riveting third-person shooter.
GOOD:
+ Immaculate graphics, larger-than-life set pieces, fully fleshed out world, mission structure
BAD:
- Load times
- Lore too deep for first-timers to comprehend
- No cover mechanics
- Ultra linear
Score: 7.5/10
10-5-24
Epic Mickey Rebrushed review:
Cute & macabre collide in this remastered 3D action-platformer.
GOOD:
+ Darkly twisted Disney worlds, solid paint brush controls, music, graphics
+ Morality system has true consequences
BAD:
- Too long; length detracts from its charm
- Too many 2D levels
Score: 8/10
10-10-24
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom review:
A Zelda adventure starring…Zelda!
GOOD:
+ Cute & relevant story
+ Echo powers w/ unlimited outcomes & potential
+ High replayability
+ Side quests
+ Wonderful music
BAD:
- Some useless/one-time-use-only Echoes
- Slightly finicky Echo controls
Score: 9.5/10
10-18-24
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door review:
A worthy JRPG sequel!
GOOD:
+ Lighthearted story, cute & funny
+ Clever paper mechanics, puzzles, and battles
+ Length
SO-SO:
+/- Some areas drag on
BAD:
- Difficulty spikes
- Filler content that diverts from the story
- Backtracking
Score: 8.5/10
11-3-24
Visions of Mana review:
An Action JRPG with mostly the right vision.
GOOD:
+ Tightly-knit story, sound & Voice acting
+ Quality graphics
+ Fantastic atmospheres & locales
+ Exploration
BAD:
- Useless story fluff
- Difficulty spikes
- Level grinding is exhausting & slow
- Severely drags on
Score: 8/10
11-4-24
BloomTown: A Different Story review:
A Persona lite x Stranger Things in this pixel RPG.
GOOD:
+Interesting concept that works
+Demon catching
+Funny/emotionally touching stories
+Soundtrack
SO-SO:
+/-Battles can drag on
BAD:
-Buggy, frame rate issues
-Long loads on Switch
-Typos
Score: 8/10
11-29-24
Mario & Luigi Brothership review:
The handheld RPG series returns (on Switch) for better or worse.
GOOD:
+ Fun music, worlds, special moves
SO-SO:
+/- mediocre graphics
BAD:
- Performance, fps, controller lag
- Controls oddly change in battle
- Difficulty spikes
- Too long; loses fun 25-hours in (40-hour+ game)
Score: 6.5/10
12-1-24
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns review:
Mortal Kombat 1’s primary campaign cliffhanger ending kontinues here with the DLC story expansion.
GOOD:
+ Combat is still fresh, crisp graphics, stunning backdrops, music, included DLC characters
SO-SO:
+/- Not sure if Cyrax & Sektor needed a full story
BAD:
- Very pricey $60 DLC ($30 on Black Friday) @ only 3-hours long
Score: 7.5/10
12-5-24
Sonic x Shadow Generations review:
Sonic Generation’s high-speed nostalgic entry returns with a new Shadow story.
GOOD:
+ Best 3D entry, graphics, music
+Shadow’s story & zones are mind-blowing
+ Shadow’s controls
- Occasionally frustrating gameplay mechanics
- Rare wonky Sonic controls
Score: 8/10
12-21-24
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review:
A magnificent first-person adventure w/ Indy!
GOOD:
+ Troy Baker as Indy, graphics, set pieces, excellent temple exploration, side quests & puzzles
+ Story, controls
BAD:
- Numerous bugs, Enemies are bullet sponges, boss fights suck
Score: 8/10
12-23-24
Nobody Wants to Die review:
A cyberpunk, noir-style game that offers a quick & simple murder mystery to uncover.
GOOD:
+ Triple-A graphics & voice cast, interesting story & abilities
SO-SO:
+/- Too many names to remember
BAD:
- Linear & too simple, not much to do outside of solving a crime
Score: 7/10
12-24-24
Solo: Islands of the Heart review:
A short puzzler w/ a bland story.
GOOD:
+ Cutesy graphics, some fun main/side puzzles
BAD:
- Music is awful w/ ~5 notes total
- Repetitive & boring puzzler
- Story doesn’t hit an emotional response; feels like an online questionnaire/quiz
Score: 4/10
12-27-24
Under the Waves review:
A thought-provoking open-world adventure into mystery.
GOOD:
+ Poignant story, exploring open sea, mission structure, music
SO-SO:
+/- relatively linear for an open world, short
BAD:
- Visually too dark, repetitive story elements, slow moving character, slow dialogue
Score: 8/10
12-27-24
Dear Esther review:
This first person narrative/walking simulator has a story to uncover.
GOOD:
+ Land to story triggers
+ Voice over
+ Environments
BAD:
- Slow walking
- Fragmented narrative & its unlock order make the experience convoluted
- Nothing else to do but walk & listen
Score: 6/10
12-30-24
Freedom Planet review:
A terrific 2D platformer that follows in Sonic’s shadow.
GOOD:
+ Visually appealing, level design, responsive controls, tough but fair bosses, music
+/- A long adventure
BAD:
- Frame rate issues, zones are too long & final zones are enemy saturated
Score: 8.5/10
12-31-24
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D review:
A much needed upgrade to a classic.
GOOD:
+ Masterclass storytelling
+ Unrivaled music
+ Time travel mechanics
+ Improved controls
+ Highly improved graphics
+ Unique boss battles
+ Good length
+ Exceptionally designed dungeons & open world
Score: 10/10