Hardcore Gamer

• PS4
• 2.5 / 5
• États-Unis

ERICA stands as an intriguing example of connecting players with a game through touch controls. It succeeds primarily as a technical feat and less so as a deeply-engrossing video game. If the storyline were given more time to grow then maybe it would have blossomed into something special. As is, it’s akin to a murder mystery popcorn flick. There’s fun to be had solving the mystery, but not quite enough to create a memorable experience.

• PS4
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Oninaki is a nostalgic throwback to old-school action RPGs such as Secret of Mana and Brave Fencer Musashi that doesn’t quite stick the landing. The story is ominous and surprisingly compelling, but due to a lack of meaningful characters and a somewhat convoluted mid-section, it ends up spiraling out of control. At least there’s some fun to be had in the combat as there’s a decent number of Daemons to find and use in battle, each with their own unique fighting skills and stories to be told. Disappointingly, this doesn’t last too long. Forty hours for an action RPG seems like it would offer a decent value for your dollar, but because the latter half of the campaign feels sluggish and utterly repetitive thanks to unwavering scenario makeup, it only devalues it. You should never have a game where you’re just rushing through the final dungeons because you don’t want to deal with the same old enemy encounter it has been throwing at you for so long. Tokyo RPG Factory appears to have one goal: remind us of the Golden Years of RPGs. Unfortunately, Oninaki captures that era of gaming and does nothing remarkable with it.

• SWITCH
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Metal Wolf Chaos XD is an exercise in pure Americana filtered through the cheesiest anime imaginable. The banter between President Wilson and his assistant Jodie Crawford is rarely serious, Vice President Hawk is a pure cartoon villain with a character design that would almost be at home in Metal Gear Solid, and the action starts off over the top and escalates from there. Each level is its own unique challenge, whether it’s carefully dashing from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other and back again, dodging bombs as they fall on Miami Beach, or racing against time to prevent the giant raygun of Alcatraz from frying San Francisco. President Wilson will see the country restored to its former glory with the Justice in his heart protected by the toughest mecha-armor a President could hope to pilot, bringing hope and truth back to an America that has seen better days.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Whatever your stance on the current state of the Madden franchise is, it will either get a lot better or a lot worse with Madden NFL 20. The changes in the game seem to cater to what the community wanted as EA Tiburon has stated they listened. This community, however, consists of players who are on their forums and those who compete in their tournaments. If you like the fast-paced and high-scoring outcomes much like the NFL wants its games to be, this Madden is for you. Simply put, it has an arcade feeling with simulation elements. If you’re looking for improvements to game modes, that isn’t happening even though Face of the Franchise shines at times. Ultimately, Madden NFL 20 is the most fun the game has been in quite some time, but not the most realistic and doesn’t add any evolution in its game modes.

• PS4
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Wolfenstein: Youngblood begins with Soph and Jess killing their first Nazi and ends with both caked in blood from their conquests. The co-op action of Youngblood may be a complete reversal of many of the previous game’s core gameplay mechanics, but it’s a fun, bombastic time. The new hubs, while empty and lifeless, provide a fresh way to interact with a Wolfenstein world. The story suffers tremendously from this open approach, but MachineGames provides plenty of shootouts to spectacles to keep players engaged. Gunplay has never felt better, but the bullet-sponge nature of the enemies and lack of necessary ammo dilute what is otherwise an enjoyable game to play. Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a different beast from its predecessors. While some of it works, other aspects fall flat. Youngblood is a fun distraction with a friend, but if you want the full Wolfenstein experience, you’ll need to wait for Wolfenstein III.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

For those looking for an extra bit of challenge — not to mention one heck of a sequel-bait left to linger right at the very end — The Messenger: Picnic Panic fits the bill of tasking players to prove their worth with every and all skills they’ve accumulated from the base game. Yet Sabotage’s care and clear love for the material they’ve already crafted is here and accounted for too with a figurative vertical slice that perfectly sums up the base game’s joyous yet formidable build of a platformer with a surprisingly witty and interesting world to match. Still just as quirky and as self-aware as it was last year, the dimension-hopping antics may have lost a smidgen of the former majesty, but it takes nothing away from how well Sabotage have crafted many a level that is all too ready to have you stun-locked into tumbling all the way back to square one. That annoyingly-enticing challenge remains the beating heart of Picnic Panic‘s design above everything else and it’s one players will enjoy seeing fulfilled come the few extra hours they’ll invest here. Whether the studio will indeed “do the thing” all over again for a sequel is up to them, but The Messenger: Picnic Panic serves as both a continuation as much a celebration of what made The Messenger such a fantastic outing in the first place.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Blazing Chrome is an modern take on classic run and gun arcade classics. It’s difficult to ignore the strong influence Contra had on the game’s development, but either because of or in spite of this it’s still a lot of fun to play, especially on co-op. Anyone who wants something new with the classic Contra or Metal Slug style gameplay can’t go wrong with Blazing Chrome, but even though it’s a good time, it doesn’t really bring anything new to the party.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is everything Castlevania fans could possibly want and is a great 2D action platformer in its own right. Played by someone without no familiarity with Castlevania, this is a great game that does everything one would hope from the genre, but this really is a nostalgia goody bag for Castlevania fans and because of that it’s so far my personal favorite 2019 title. The developers did play it safe with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and drew heavily from previous Castlevanias instead of introducing some new ideas and concepts. The result is an excellent game and it would be great to see Bloodstained grow as a franchise, adding more innovations to help balance out the heavy-handed sprinkling of nostalgia.

• SWITCH
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

I’m inclined to call F1 2019 the most complete version of Codemasters’ series to date. The Career Mode has some good ideas and the inclusion of the new classic cars and the F2 cars add a bit of variety to the series. If you pay for something, however, you shouldn’t need to wait to unlock it. The AI can be a killer and racing online will have you weeding through some jobbers until you gain some experience on the Super License. Running at a silky smooth frame rate and capturing the sound of the cars while not having an overly-difficult handling model makes the core game the best that it will be this generation. F1 2019 is embracing the legacy of the sport and stays true to providing a true replication of Formula One.

• PS4
• 2.5 / 5
• États-Unis

There’s a bit of a love/hate relationship in play when reviewing a game like Super Neptunia RPG. Maybe a case of Stockholm Syndrome has crept in, but the time in this 2D world feels mostly well spent. It makes numerous glaring mistakes throughout the game and yet it still manages to charm. The series is such that it seems likely another attempt at this flavor will be tried again and this would be highly welcomed. Seeing them get up from this faceplant, dust off and take another swing should result in a much better title. In the meantime, fans of Neptune and Friends will likely have a great time here. Those who already hate it should run away. For those who aren’t sure? Well, despite its warts, it’s a decent introduction to the series, and a great way to see which side of the line they will fall on.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

There’s an argument to be made that Judgment does at points let the familiar get the best of itself — confusing the mere sake of additional features and mechanics for those that genuinely feel like fresh changes. While its gameplay additions, those that cater towards the more detective-orientated style of play and presentation, can feel like a mixed bag of shallow and interesting deviations alike, it’s but a minor crease in a game that once again excels both on its content and the knowledge on how to use it. A story that is engaging, intriguing yet thoughtfully structured, complete with another grand cast of new characters, even when it risks of becoming too pedestrian, Judgment predominantly finds the means to keep players fixed on the events unfolding. Fans of the Yakuza series may be quick to filter out what’s genuinely new from everything else, but for a game as packed and as entertaining as this, what it may lack in pure originality, Judgment more than makes up for with a game that is as fun to engage with as it is to just sit back and watch as the now-commonly bizarre antics of Kamurocho play out to delightful and convincing effect.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is an unexpectedly ambitious remaster that puts a fresh coat of paint on the accessible and deep kart racer. With a robust adventure mode that serves as a great introduction for new players and a welcome challenge for veterans, plus a varied roster of characters and tracks that feel just as vibrant and detailed as the remaster of the Crash trilogy, the title is more than capable of appealing to players of all skill levels. Not every aspect of the game shines brightly, as a lacking battle mode, overly-lengthy progression and a rough online launch put a damper on the bandicoot’s return to racing. Thankfully, the core gameplay is as strong now as it was nearly twenty years ago, opening the door for plenty of hours of arcade racing fun that serves as a welcome reminder of the past and a new path ahead for the future of the series.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Even with forty levels, My Friend Pedro can be beaten over the course of a few sittings. Walking away after would be missing the point, though, because anyone can bull their way through to the end with a bit of practice, but the real fun comes from doing it with style and efficiency. All those C-rankings from the earlier areas just don’t feel right once you’ve got the experience to properly orchestrate the gun-chaos and earning consistent S-ranks would be much easier with the bonus from higher difficulties. Beating the game is simply the start, the thing you do to get grounded, and then it’s time to put all those skills to work. The sheer number of buttons necessary to do everything creates a learning curve, but once you’ve gotten it down and grown a few extra fingers to cover everything at once, you get to sit back and be impressed at the carnage. My Friend Pedro is graceful horrific violence at its finest, never resting for a minute before moving on to something new, and while it never quite makes sense at least there’s a talking banana to put things in to perspective.

• SWITCH
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Collection of Mana is one of the greatest classic RPG assortments out there now. It’s easily worth picking up for Trials of Mana alone, but Final Fantasy Adventure and Secret of Mana are wonderful to have along for the ride as the trio that started the franchise. Anyone who has never tried these titles before is now given the opportunity in easily the best way possible, and despite the remakes these titles have or are soon going to see, it’s well worth playing each one from where they began. Collection of Mana is a title every fan of JRPGs should have whether they’ve played them or not, as they are tried and true classics that stand the test of time by still being simply outstanding well over twenty years later.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

The time and effort for MotoGP 19 prove that this is Milestone’s best game to date. It’s actually only $50 and has more going for it than some of its competition. The racing is enjoyable and has the ability to be mastered while the A.N.N.A. AI has some flashes but some other aspects need to be touched up. The plethora of bike classes are welcoming and the Historical Challenges will have players hooked. While the visuals take a bump, fans of the series will no doubt enjoy the updates to the game.