- By Ash
- in Reviews
Earth Defense Force 5, much like the rest of the series, is an interesting anomaly. With mediocre visuals, obtuse mechanics and terrible voice acting, one would think that Earth Defense Force 5 would be unplayably bad, yet the truth is actually quite the opposite. It is so unapologetic with its premise, so completely over-the-top with its action, that it manages to successfully transform some of its worst problems into the main attractions!
So if you're wondering just what Earth Defense Force 5 has to offer, as well as what sort of genuine problems it might have, allow me to share my thoughts now that I've spend a weekend blasting apart giant spiders and punching Godzilla in the face.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, much like the classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night from which it draws a great deal of inspiration, is a combat and exploration focused Metroidvania game. In other words, you can expect to spend most of your time carving a path through numerous bosses and enemies, messing around with a giant assortment of weapons and abilities, and perhaps most importantly of all, using said abilities to open up new shortcuts or to simply explore previously inaccessible areas.
A fairly old formula at this point, but one that has managed to stand the test of time quite well! So if you're wondering just what Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has to offer, as well as how its newly redesigned visuals have fared, allow me to share with you my thoughts after a rather eventful playthrough.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Warhammer: Chaosbane, much like the Diablo series from which it draws a great deal of inspiration, is a fantasy hack and slash that's all about cleaving through untold hordes of monsters in search of ever-increasing amounts of randomized loot. A fairly simple formula, yet one that has managed to stand the test of time with resounding success!
So if you're wondering what exactly Warhammer: Chaosbane has to offer, as well as how it compares to the rest of the ARPG genre, allow me to share my thoughts after playing it for the past week or so.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Outward is an exploration-focused RPG that doesn't treat your character like they're anyone truly special. Instead, it just shows you the door to a wide-open world, gives you a pat on the back as you leave in search of treasure, and then laughs while you get devoured by a pack of hyenas. A ruthless experience to be sure, and one that many will not be able to stomach, but it's certainly a captivating one once you realize that all of the tools needed to survive are right there - you just need to figure out how to make the best use of them.
So if you're curious about what exactly Outward has to offer, as well as how it compares to the rest of the RPG genre, allow me to share my thoughts after a rather lengthy and eventful playthrough.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Warhammer: Chaosbane, much like the Diablo series from which it draws a great deal of inspiration, is a fantasy hack and slash that's all about mowing down large hordes of enemies, messing around with a variety of abilities and classes, and naturally, collecting more loot than even the over-the-top Warhammer Fantasy races could ever hope to carry.
If you're wondering what all of this looks like in gameplay terms, as well as how Chaosbane compares to the rest of the genre, allow me to share my thoughts after playing through the Closed Beta. Before we begin, it is important to mention that Chaosbane is a work in progress, so don't judge its faults too harshly as the developers still have a few months to get everything squared up and ready for launch.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Unlike the most recent Resident Evil 1 remaster, the Resident Evil 2 remake is not exactly a faithful recreation of the original horror classic. In fact, the new Resident Evil 2 has changed so many fundamental aspects of the original that I would say it's fair to treat them as two similar, yet still rather distinct games. However, while the Resident Evil 2 remake has definitely altered the formula, I am very glad to say that it not only manages to reach all of the same heights as the original, but occasionally even exceed them!
So if you're curious about where exactly the two versions differ, as well as what the Resident Evil 2 remake has to offer, allow me to share my thoughts now that I've spent a good chunk of time exploring its zombie-infested hallways.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Gwent's singleplayer campaign Thronebreaker was supposed to arrive nearly two years ago, but due to a series of unfortunate circumstances it ended up being delayed over and over again. By the time Gwent's second major rework was announced around half a year ago, I was just about ready to write Thronebreaker off completely. As such, I hope you can understand just how pleasantly surprised I was when Thronebreaker not only came out, but ended up being a pretty darn enjoyable game as well!
So if you're curious about what Thronebreaker has to offer in terms of gameplay and story, as well as where exactly it falls flat on its face, allow me to share my thoughts after a rather long and eventful campaign.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Throughout my first review for World of Warcraft's Battle for Azeroth expansion I have detailed my thoughts on the leveling experience, story, Azerite Armor, World Quests and Island Expeditions. This time around, however, I will be focusing on Battle for Azeroth's end-game, longevity and some of the major problems Blizzard will have to tackle in the relatively near future.
So if you're wondering what exactly Battle for Azeroth's dungeons and raid have to offer, as well as how did the new Warfront and World PvP features fare, allow me to share my thoughts after spending a rather significant amount of time across various characters, both Horde and Alliance.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
[Update]: My second Battle for Azeroth review is now live. Give it a look if you're interested in seeing what the dungeons and raid have to offer, as well as whether the new World PvP and Warfront features have ended up panning out as expected.
After an entire expansion filled with demons and universe-devouring threats, Battle for Azeroth has now brought World of Warcraft back to its basics, back to the age-old conflict between the Horde and the Alliance. Perhaps most importantly of all, it has also replaced the fel green and dark brown wastelands that have dominated most of Legion's end-game with the much more pleasant and colorful islands of Zandalar and Kul Tiras.
So if you're curious about what exactly Battle for Azeroth has done to improve upon Legion's success, as well as where it fumbles and falls flat on its face, allow me to share my thoughts after experiencing pretty much everything that's currently available. As for raids, mythic keystone dungeons and the new PvP zones, I will cover them in a subsequent review once they're finally available.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
[Update]: My review of Monster Hunter Rise (PC), the 2022 successor to Monster Hunter: World, has now been released and I'm very happy to say that it's a great port for a compelling yet somewhat unambitious Monster Hunter game.
Monster Hunter: World has been available on consoles for quite a few months now, while the PC version was held back in order to ensure a fully polished experience. Now that it has finally arrived, the big questions are: has Monster Hunter: World been worth the wait, and is the PC port any good?
The simple answers would be "yes" and "kind of", but since that doesn't exactly tell you much about Monster Hunter: World's strengths and flaws, allow me to share some of my thoughts after spending a rather considerable amount of time chopping up dinosaurs and adorning my character with enough spikes to shame a World of Warcraft Orc.