It’s rarely a good sign when I can’t remember a game’s name. For the first couple of days I was playing Awaken – Astral Blade, I kept getting its name confused with everything from Astrea to Stellar Blade. The only thing that managed to stave off this thoroughly generic title was a joking innuendo I made with one of my friends (“I’ll awaken your astral blade 😉”), which isn’t exactly an early point in the game’s favour. Even having beaten it, I couldn’t tell you what the real meaning of the title is; I suppose the protagonist Tania wields a blade, but it’s not particularly astral in nature. Perhaps it’s just the nature of video games to have nonsense titles that don’t seem to mean anything. That being said, what really matters is if Awaken – Astral Blade is a more enjoyable and memorable experience than its title, and while I do have reservations, I think it manages to be a fairly competent action platformer.
Tag: Sci-Fi
Katana ZERO Review
“This is just sidescrolling Hotline Miami,” was one of my first thoughts upon starting Katana ZERO, and I have to say that I wasn’t immediately sold on the concept. Sure, it had the same fun brand of gory, balls-to-the-wall action, but it didn’t feel as visceral and animalistic as its top-down cousin; it felt, dare I say, sanitized. Fast forward a few hours, and I found myself spiraling deeper into a gradually unfolding non-linear narrative, punctuated by bursts of hectic gameplay that had me simultaneously holding my controller in a death grip and wanting to hurl it across the room. Katana ZERO is a harsh game, both to the player and its characters, but it managed to draw me in like few games in recent memory have and transcend its inspirations to become a real hack n’ slash gem.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Review
Lego Star Wars is pure nostalgia for me. As a kid, I was obsessed with the Star Wars franchise, but since the movies were deemed too intense for little ol’ me, playing Lego Star Wars at friends’ houses was my way of experiencing the galaxy far, far away on a TV screen. I distinctly remember staying up “way too late” (it was probably only 1 am or so) working through episode one in co-op with my friend, trying to grind out levels and money to unlock cool villains like Darth Maul and, eventually, General Grievous. Back in those days, the two trilogies of films actually got released as separate games, before eventually being united in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Fifteen years and three additional films later, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a game that would have made kid-Olivia’s head explode. It’s not just the sheer breadth of content on offer, but the presence of “open world” areas allowing free-range exploration of various iconic locales. Hell, knowing when to stop and write this review has been difficult to judge, as the game’s wealth of collectibles give it a certain magnetism that keeps bringing me back, even after completing all nine episodes. That said, 61 hours of playtime at time of writing is certainly nothing to sneeze at, so let’s see how The Skywalker Saga shakes out.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Review
It was a weird experience going from DmC: Devil May Cry to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Despite both games being developed by Ninja Theory, Enslaved is a noticeably rougher affair, with less refined gameplay mechanisms and presentation. With Enslaved being 3 years DmC’s senior this does make sense, but it was nonetheless jarring going from fast, free-flowing combos to clunky, plodding fights that had me wondering if my controller was experiencing input lag. Perhaps it was Capcom’s heavy involvement that allowed DmC to become a diamond in the rough, but that level of polish certainly didn’t make it to Enslaved. Whatever the reasoning, Enslaved sets out with grand goals, but it unfortunately flops in nearly every regard.
Mothergunship Review
Prior to writing this review, I spent a decent chunk of time playing Mothergunship; nine hours, to be exact. Yet I feel like I spent twice that time contemplating one simple question: why doesn’t this game work for me? I’ve played and loved fast-paced first-person shooters like High Hell. Roguelite FPSs such as Immortal Redneck have brought me countless hours of bliss. So, the mystery of Mothergunship’s mediocrity has plagued me, to the point where I had to go back and replay some Immortal Redneck to attempt to glean some fresh insight.
Assault Gunners: HD Edition Review
On paper, Assault Gunners HD seems like the perfect game for me. Featuring a deep customisation system, fast-paced mech combat, and the Dynasty Warriors-esque satisfaction of mowing through hordes of opponents at the drop of a hat, it’s pretty much my personal power fantasy come to life.
Here comes the “but”.
EVERSPACE Review
Rogue-lite mechanics have been one of the most popular features in indie games for years now, second only to pixel graphics, it seems. I get the appeal: given the comparatively small budget that many independent games have compared to their AAA counterparts, being able to artificially extend an experience with a near-endless supply of randomly-generated content is an appealing proposition. However, its prevalence has started to wear on me over the years, to the point where “rogue-lite” or “rogue-like” as buzzwords often tarnish my interest in a game. Thankfully, while this did somewhat colour my experience with Everspace, there were enough good ideas under the surface that it was worth a more thorough look.
Sine Mora EX Review
Sine Mora EX is a veritable melting pot of ideas. It’s a bullet-hell shmup that replaces lives and health bars with a timer. It weaves a grim narrative of war, rebellion, and genocide, all seen through the eyes of anthropomorphic animals. To top it all off, its creators include the Hungarian studio Digital Reality, Grasshopper Manufacture (known to many as Goichi “Suda51” Suda’s development house), and Akira Yamaoka (known for his Silent Hill soundtracks). Somehow, though, all these disparate elements combine to create a shooter that is challenging, beautiful, and consistently entertaining.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series – Episode 3: More Than a Feeling Review
The Guardians are back once again with a new chapter of their adventures. After their painfully average first outing, things were starting to look up in episode two. The story began to branch out, the choices were more thought-provoking, and the characters, well, had more character. Sadly, this uphill trend doesn’t seem to have carried over into episode three, which ends up suffering from several of the same issues that plagued the first episode.
Immortal Planet Review: I-Souls-Metric
Slow, stamina-based combat? Check. Enemies that respawn whenever you rest to heal? Check. Experience points that get dropped every time you die? Check. No, this isn’t some ill-promoted sequel to the Dark Souls series; it’s an isometric action game by the name of Immortal Planet.
To say that Immortal Planet draws heavy inspiration from FromSoftware’s famous series is an understatement. For the first half hour or so of the game, every time I asked, “I wonder if it does this thing that Dark Souls does?” the answer was a resounding, “Of course!” Thus, Immortal Planet takes place in a semi-open world backed by a largely vague narrative. As a mysterious Awakewalker, you are tasked with restoring the Cycles of the planet, the lack of which has caused it to turn to a frozen wasteland. In your way stand countless enemies with varying attack patterns, all of which need to be analysed and circumvented to succeed.
Olive's Game Garden 