Fingal Belmont

“The best feature in Hotel Barcelona is easily its personality and style. The game is oozing with character despite its shortcomings. The outrageous climax completely won me over, and even though I didn’t need to, I kept coming back for more because I grew to love the characters and that God damned hotel.”

“The game boldly embraces girl battles, complete with dynamic cutaways and iconic “beam struggle” climaxes. If the storytelling were more compelling, this could easily be Inti Creates’ best title to date.”

“Everything just feels “right” in Replaylee. It makes the vanilla game look like a rough draft and like this was the game they intended to make the first time. It took a long time, but it’s finally here; this is the “Banjo-Threeie” fans have been hoping for.”

“Blood West offers flexible, skill-driven mechanics. Whether players approach it with stealthy backstabs or gunslinging headshots, the open-ended levels encourage creative approaches in an imaginative setting with plenty to see and do. It isn’t the most polished or evenly balanced, and the tone can feel more comedic than horror. It feels more like Evil Dead than Bone Tomahawk.”

“For almost fifty American dollars, you are not getting your money’s worth. Death end re;Quest Code Z is outrageously overpriced. The visuals look like it’s a twenty-dollar PlayStation 3 downloadable game, and the low-effort visual novel scenes have no energy or dynamism.”

“Nightdive has made an exceptional remaster of a very mediocre game. The Thing does not deserve this kind of attention. There are better games out there that could have gotten this treatment, but hopefully, it inspires someone else to take another shot at adapting John Carpenter’s immortal classic. Its premise is still fertile and novel and maybe one day, someone will get it right.”

“Most people consider Chrono Trigger one of the best JRPGs for a good reason. It’s an exciting story to play through with unforgettable visuals and music. The gameplay is a perfect balance of challenging yet it remains streamlined to keep it accessible. It may be too basic for hardcore RPG maniacs, but it’s hard to ever feel disappointed when getting swept up in such a wonderful and feel-good adventure.”

“Much like Triangle Strategy, both games suffer from having to compete with Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. No SRPG has ever or likely will ever come close to achieving such greatness. You’re better off revisiting those two classics if you need to scratch the strategy RPG itch.”

“Spirit Mancer is a solid action platformer with amazing pixel art and breezy gameplay that makes it ideal for kids.”

“Little Big Adventure: Twinsen’s Quest is borderline unplayable. The kinesthetics are dreadfully unpleasant and the rough state of the game can lead to some nasty bugs. The few areas of improvement are not worth enduring this sluggish mess. Gamers are better off playing the original.”

“River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next was close to being fun. The tiring and repetitious structure that makes players run back and forth between the same areas across a huge map becomes very boring. There is too much teasing the player with a challenge and when it finally comes, it is too little and too late.”

“The older Ocarina of Time gets, it only becomes more relevant. Its themes resonate through a classic story of good versus evil and a weighty ending that carries tragic implications for anyone who has played the later entries in the franchise. It’s a tale as old as time itself and still engrosses despite its age.”

“Mindcop won’t set any trends or shock players with its premise. The story is well-executed enough to see through to the end and entertains until the truth is revealed and beyond. The art style does not stick to landing, but anyone looking for a Northern Pacific mystery with a magical twist will find a lot to enjoy.”

“Considering how long this was in development and how little there is to show for it, I can’t help but feel this was a compromised release. If all that you want is Clock Tower in English on current platforms, then that is what you’ll get with Rewind. The base game is still a palm-sweating and butt-clenching horror game, but know that it has all of its warts intact and not enough options to tweak your experience and that it comes with some intensely lame extras.”

“You’ll be shocked, you’ll cry, and you’ll wonder why. The text-based gameplay will be a hurdle for some gamers to accept, but any gamer with an open mind and willingness to explore will be swept up in the story in Slay the Princess – The Pristine Cut.”

“The pacing is drawn out and intended to be contemplative, nostalgic, and relaxing. Gathering stuff most of the time and bouts of intense break-neck racing do not always make the best experience and will turn off a lot of players. It is worth sticking with it and bearing with the grind because the story is genuinely interesting and the trolly races are fun.”

“The Smurfs: Dreams is surprisingly fun and beautiful-looking. This is the best outcome for an IP that is traditionally used as shovelware fodder. It is disappointing that the core gameplay is overly safe and derivative, but the young target audience won’t know that. The lack of effort for the narrative and characters makes it hard for anyone to care about The Smurfs as a concept, but the trade-off is imaginative and wild levels.”

“The novel premise is executed as well as it possibly could have been. The imagery is haunting, the flavor text is creepy and Home Safety Hotline will make you chuckle when you least expect it.”

“While the story itself is nothing special, the action is rousing, and the cycle of running through the cave is stimulating. Getting the sexy outfits is the real journey of the game and will take gamers well over 20 hours to earn, which is a huge value for ten dollars.”

“Shogun Showdown is a challenging game and a hard game to put down. The tactical scenarios during every run are enthralling since even with a less-than-desirable hand of cards, it is possible to overcome with cunning. It’s a deceptively simple game with crude pixel art at first glance that becomes a black hole that pulls you in with its alluring strategy.”