Hardcore Gamer

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Though Trails’ usual splendor of combat options here should come as no surprise, what’s striking with this year’s remastering is how well this once portable-only entry has translated across to more modern-day portable screens alike. Improved textures, a modernized presentation and sensible quality-of-life inclusions are but the fitting accompaniment for one of the series’ least talked-about entrants and now more than ever, deserving of recognition for how much, a decade-plus later, it gets right. How well this game’s world-building on top of its gameplay has held up is praise in of itself, but it’s PH3’s assistance this time round in freshening up the overall look that helps Trails from Zero shine as a deserved look-in, no matter one’s prior experience with the series. An intriguing tale full of interesting world-building and appealing character moments alike, brief visual and performance issues aside, The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero — specifically for those on Switch — should not go overlooked.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Metal: Hellsinger is the first-person shooter/rhythm game mashup I had no idea I wanted. Being a fan of metal helps as metalheads are clearly the target demographic, but the developers didn’t use metal as a gimmick to sell an unremarkable game. The gameplay in Metal is fast paced and unforgiving where the player constantly has to fight for their own survival. This a great first-person shooter regardless of what an individual’s taste in music might be. Metal: Hellsinger combines great FPS and rhythm game mechanics in way that brings challenging and rewarding gameplay to a hellscape any metalhead would love to visit.

• PS3
• 1.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• VITA
• 2.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Criminal Girls feels like an incredibly average JRPG that just so happens to have a slightly strange battle system and fetishistic minigames at the helm. These facets, especially the latter, seem to have been included to make it stand out against competition. It does stand out initially, but actually dealing with these systems proves to be a lot more monotonous than one would hope. Although far from broken, not being able to specify which ability you want a character to use feels limiting — especially when you want to use a specific move. As for Motivating the cast, it’s up to each player whether they find it sexist or sexy, but one thing’s for certain: it isn’t any fun. Being forced to wade through a dull minigame every time you want a new skill slows down the pace. Then there’s the battles themselves which drag on as if players really care about the second by second “excitement” of grinding. This is not to say that Criminal Girls: Invite Only is inherently broken; it certainly functions and offers over twenty hours of gameplay, but there’s better JRPGs available.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Earlier in this review, I mentioned Ramba Ral and his suit, the Gouf. If you understood the reference, then SD Gundam Battle Alliance was made for you. It’s got a ton of content for the fans while mixing things up so that it’s not a rote playthrough of the same storyline again. It’s not a perfect, but it’s closer than I’ve seen in a long time. For the Gundam curious looking for a robot action game, this isn’t a terrible entry point, especially considering the library does a good job introducing the player to a series. As it doesn’t quite scratch the itch for a general Japanese mecha through its combat mechanics and gameplay, however, SD Gundam Battle Alliance should only be considered within the confines of its source material and those who have no interest in Gundam can skip it.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Early on in one’s adventure it’s clear the tone here is one of a passive, laid back approach to challenge and accomplishment, but that direction in no way diminishes what ends up being one of the most delightful and well-curated IPs in this genre for some years. Largely in part due to Splashteam’s attention to detail in the broader scope of level design, but whose strengths are reliant too on how slick the controls feel and how easy they’ll convince you to stick around in its series of levels thereafter. Its lesser-focus on genuine deduction, on top of one’s skill with aiming and group management alike, may put those looking for a meatier sense of difficulty, off from ever setting foot inside the enormity of its setting. But while Tinykin may not be that type of game, it does little to sully this brief but upbeat trek. Because it’s Splashteam’s clear love for the pull and allure of platforming that ultimately delivers. A combination of a streamlined length that doesn’t overstay its welcome, terrific level design, fluid controls and an overall aesthetic that’s both charming and well-integrated, Tinykin is a joy to play and an easy recommendation for any fan of 3D platformers.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is a Turtle treasure trove, including every TMNT game released for arcade and console between 1989 and 1993. Having access to all these games in their original format is great for classic Turtles fans and the quality-of-life improvements are there for people who aren’t holding themselves to a purist mentality. The amount of bonus content is impressive for this collection and offers fans a lengthy trip down memory lane. Online and local multiplayer makes it easy to enjoy the beat ’em style game, which is with more than one player. This collection’s inclusion of thirteen games is enough to make it worthwhile, but the inclusion of all the extra content shows that the developers wanted to make this something special for TMNTfans. This collection is great reason to spend an evening ordering pizza and party like it’s 1989.

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Like many of the B-movies that inspired it, Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed isn’t something that will be considered great by a general consensus, but does have a certain appeal to the right audience. The game makes many attempts at subtle and not-so-subtle innuendos and while the intention is humor, many of them fall flat. Not because they’re offensive, they just mostly go for the low hanging fruit which may have been more risque in 2006, but nowadays just doesn’t seem that creative. There are sections of enjoyable gameplay, but these moments come as part of a greater narrative that’s difficult to care about. Fans of low-budget sci-fi are clearly the target audience, and for those this will probably be a good time, but there are better options available for the rest of us.

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Technical issues notwithstanding, Saints Row is not without its shortcomings, but it succeeds more often than it doesn’t. Even with the release date pushed back it still doesn’t feel finalized. The tech issues can hopefully be ironed out in a patch or two, but the characters could have also benefitted from further development and being more fleshed out. Santo Ileso is a great open sandbox to explore, but it seems like a greater emphasis was placed on repetitive criminal venture activities and less on the more exciting story missions. Still, what Saints Row does well is it does very well with memorable missions after the Saints have started to establish themselves. The banter between characters is generally entertaining and a lot of the humor is derived from this series never taking itself too seriously. There’s a lot of potential with this reboot and new cast of characters, but it doesn’t seem like it was fully realized in this title, making it a game that’s fun for Saints Row fans, but isn’t the spectacular reboot we were hoping for.

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Dusk Diver 2 shows a notable improvement over the original by adding a second playable character to switch between in-battle at any point, but doesn’t improve the formula enough to be a must-have for anyone who didn’t love the original. The combat system has been beefed up, but variety is still in short-supply and the same environments being used throughout dungeons hurts things. The overworld exploration is the most pure fun the game offers up in its current form and it’s a shame some streamlining wasn’t done to dungeons to make them less laborious and more fun to complete.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Madden NFL 23 takes a few good steps forward, but seems to forget other aspects that will hopefully be addressed in the future. FieldSENSE is a good change that goes along with the other recent additions in the series. The Freeform Passing is a huge and fun change and the new hit animation engine is nice, but it can leave the occasional strange animation and outcome. The defensive coverage needs to be addressed as there seems to be glaring issues. The visuals continue to improve to bring a more realistic approach and the change to the presentation is a nice touch. Franchise Mode players should enjoy the changes to scouting and the offseason even though the in-season portion remains largely unchanged. The mode still needs a better attachment to the storyline of the season. While the changes are good, there’s still a good bit left in the dust. Ultimate Team returns with new ways to earn rewards with Field Pass. Couple that with an unchanged Yard, a largely unchanged Face of the Franchise, online play and the Franchise Mode, and there aren’t a lot of options for play here. The changes will appease Madden fans looking for gameplay and Franchise Mode improvements, which is mainly the community that provided the feedback.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS5
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Soul Hackers 2 is a by the books turn-based JRPG that doesn’t do anything particularly memorable nor offensive. The story is lacking in scope, dungeons are bland, and there’s questionable design choices to tried and true systems. It doesn’t help that there’s less-than-stellar load times on the current generation consoles, especially considering the amount of traveling that’s required. With that said, there’s decent character development, a fantastic combat system and of course all your favorite demons and creatures you’d expect, and then some. On top of that, the visual aesthetic (at least outside of dungeons) is tremendously vibrant, bringing your screen to life in the most enticing way possible. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game, but it comes with numerous flaws. Soul Hackers 2 has all the trappings of a great Shin Megami Tensei game, including heart, but lacks the substance to make it special.

• PC
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

While Midnight Fight Express falters when it comes to keeping things fresh, there’s still enough of a nicely-twisted plot, impressive levels with great action setpieces, and a terrific techno soundtrack that goes alongside the fast-paced combat to keep things enjoyable overall. Beat-’em-up and/or fighting game enthusiasts and speedrunners will probably get the most satisfaction out of the game, but there’s still enough here for anyone that’s worthy of giving things a whirl.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Rollerdrome effortlessly combines thrilling speed and adrenaline-inducing combat to create an exciting mashup of genres that will appeal to sports and action fans alike. The surface-level story, needy challenges and lack of environmental variety hinders the game from becoming something special, but in the heat of the moment, Roll7’s latest creation makes it nearly impossible to not pull off epic bits of slow-motion, high-flying carnage that will leave you wanting more. By rewarding players for taking advantage of enemy weaknesses and performing last-second dodges, Rollerdrome creates a satisfying and engaging gameplay experience that will have you returning to the arena for one more round again and again.

• PC
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Thanks to a nice set of challenges, a charming style and sense of humor, and a ton of unlockable items to toy with combined with a hefty chunk of customization options, Two Point Campus easily graduates at the head of its class. The task of having to manage a successful university is tough but fair all around sucking you in as you try to figure out how to best increase your campus’ attractiveness for that one goal without breaking the bank. Two Point Campus is another winner from Two Point Studios and we can’t wait to see what profession they bring their unique simulator style to next…

• SWITCH
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis