Hardcore Gamer

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• SWITCH
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Neptunia Virtual Stars is a good game in the long-running series, but does fall short in terms of being a great gateway game. The shooting action is solid and the hack and slash combat is rewarding, but the camera does get in the way too often and the lack of an English dub will make this tougher to get into for newcomers. For longtime fans, it's a completely different change of pace for the cast and feels like a nice shot in the arm from the norm. It also has a pleasing visual style and uses a far more modern graphical styles than one might expect from what's normally a low-tech series that isn't known for pushing visual boundaries. The soundtrack is a lot of fun and keeps you humming and tapping your toes to the songs.

• XONE
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Taxi Chaos is a fun, flawed game that takes a lot of inspiration from Crazy Taxi, but does genuinely improve upon the formula in impressive ways. Freeroam allows players to learn the city to do a better job in the arcade and GPS-less modes, while having NPC fetch quests keeps things fresh and further rewards exploration. The available car selection is hit or miss, but most of the vehicles are fun to use and allow you to have a blast while darting around NYC. The soundtrack and voice work need work, and with post-launch updates planned, we’ll see how all of the issues related to the audio work out in due time. Taxi Chaos needs more polish, but still offers a lot of fun and it’s a must-play for anyone looking for a more modern-feeling version of Crazy Taxi.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS5
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• SWITCH
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

• PC
• 2 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• PC
• SWITCH
• PS4
• XONE
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Olija doesn't do enough to be regarded as generally good, but at the same time doesn't frustrate to the point of truly damaging the experience. Had Olija been without its frantic, harpoon-wielding combat, the story might've been different. Then again, the similar emphasis on a story and a world that feels neither purposeful nor refined, could've had the result land in more promising waters too. Perhaps this middling indecisiveness is the real conclusion to draw from a game like Olija. A short, platforming-of-sorts release that doesn't commit to any one definable trait and ends up a scatterbrain of ideas that don't gel or add up to anything remarkable. At the same time, providing little to evoke any manner of meaningful investment. That's not to say there isn't enjoyment and moments of delight to find here, but there's something equally dispensable about Olija's design and equally "seen before" with its tone, that doesn't hit home as effectively as it may want to.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Despite its narrative leading to little in the way of a noteworthy tale, TOHU manages to gracefully side-step such an omission through wise understanding of its scale. Utilizing such a wild, excessive aesthetic in a way that feels earned, as opposed to unjustly forced. But in focusing specifically on the bevvy of point-and-click conundrums — as much making sure to sprinkle in more deductive puzzles along the way — TOHU isn’t just a pleasant trip through a child-like exaggeration of visuals and scenery, but crucially, does so in a way that doesn’t treat its players similarly as such young-aged audience members. Both with the way conundrums are presented, but also through its hint system that manages to give enough of an assistance, yet still trust its players to deduce the correct method forward. It may fall victim to the trappings of point-and-click’s very structure once or twice along the way, but TOHU still manages to provide a short and sweet little adventure through a surreal, at times delightful, set of circumstances.

• SWITCH
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

There’s no better way to sum it up than just by getting straight to the point: Cyber Shadow is a fun action-platformer and one that expertly emulates the NES classic of yore. While it also kept some rather hair-pulling moments, largely thanks to a few annoying level sections, it still manages to deliver the type of classic, action-packed gameplay that the best games in the genre were known for. Throw in an engaging story, superb graphics and a few neat secrets, and this is one throwback to a twisted cybernetic future worth basking in.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Super Meat Boy Forever is an incredibly polished and fully worthwhile sequel to the platforming classic. While it’s a different beast thanks to being an auto-runner, it uses the seeming simplicity of the genre to allow the player to do a lot of complicated things. Each section of the game is designed around a specific move-set, and things can quickly get complicated when you only need to worry about two buttons. Super Meat Boy Forever asks a lot of the player but also makes sure that they’ve got the tools to master its challenge while also being considerate enough to make each one approachable in bite-sized chunks. A perfectly-run level takes less than a minute and is divided up into sections that are rarely longer than ten seconds, but each second requires focus. And if that focus slips then a retry is instant with little time lost, making it easy to try again, and again, and again until Doctor Fetus finally realizes what a terrible idea it is to antagonize the Meat Boy/Bandage Girl family.

• PS4
• 2.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis