標籤彙整: reviews

Sky: Children of the Light is a deeper experience, both figuratively and literally, than it first appears to be. Sky directly echoes many of the beats and gameplay moments that defined Journey, thatgamecompany’s last major release. But where Journey flirted with social elements, Sky is a full-on love affair with cooperative multiplayer. Early hours suggest a contemplative and accessible trip through an ethereal land of whirling clouds and distant horizons. While Sky can undoubtedly offer a thoughtful solo adventure akin to the studio’s previous work, it’s through engagement with friends and strangers that it becomes far more involved. Shaped by both mechanics and storytelling, it becomes a game about sacrifice, sharing, and the nature of altruism.

As one of the titular children of light, you are born into a world of interconnected realms linked beneath the same starry sky, and you must find ancestral spirits in order to return them to their rightful place in the constellations. By skipping across meadows, sliding down dunes, and soaring through open skies, you complete your task by bringing light to darkened places, kindling braziers and ancient bell towers with the touch of your candle. Gameplay is freeform and uncomplicated, and puzzles are often as simple as connecting the dots from one point to another. Lost spirits/stars are frequently hidden, so keen observation is required. Your life, light, and flight power are all encompassed in one shared statistic known as winged light, and it grows stronger as you find more of the lost. The sense of progression is satisfying, but the need to divert and collect new wing segments sometimes distracts from the natural flow of play.

Each of seven different realms offers a distinct visual and gameplay experience. The pastoral Daylight Prairie, with its inviting green fields and cumulus clouds, gives way to the rain-soaked Hidden Forest, which steals your light if you don’t find cover. Moving between the shifting landscapes is satisfying and well-paced; the music and environments together paint a potent mental and emotional scene. The most impressive magic on each stage is how much is hidden away, waiting to be discovered on subsequent playthroughs; greater flight power and the presence of friends opens up entirely new areas to ascend through and explore, lending a satisfying sense of mastery.

Whether you invite friends or meet up with strangers, Sky is a social game fueled by positive interactions. Dozens of emotive expressions unlock as you meet new NPC spirits, but the most popular within the burgeoning community are ones like “hug” or “high five.” Players are encouraged to share light and hearts to new friends, boosting their progress to new cosmetics. Musical instruments and sheet music can be acquired, to pause from the action and play together. Up to eight players can hold hands and leap into the sky together, guided by a single leader to discover new destinations – an ideal way to share the game with a child or less-experienced player. Some non-critical-path doorways and tasks in the world require multiple players to unlock, encouraging shared exploration. I really enjoy playing with friends, and I’ve had some magical moments meeting strangers in the wild and working to solve a problem. I only wish the direct invite functionality was a bit more straightforward instead of a strange QR code system. 

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Thatgamecompany makes a valiant attempt to wrangle the touch screen into a usable twin-stick setup for 3D navigation in air and on ground, but it’s only successful for simple tasks. More precise movement, platforming, and flight challenges don’t fare as well; I often struggled against the controls, or fell off a narrow ledge when I thought I was standing still. This interface is by no means a dealbreaker, but it can lead to moments of frustration in an otherwise idyllic game.

As free-to-play games go, Sky is far less predatory or immersion-breaking than many competitors on iOS, but it still has an in-game store that can speed your acquisition of new items. Amassing that same currency in-game can be slow, but faster if you choose to share light with friends, and they with you. Sky is built as a living game, and the hauntingly beautiful conclusion leads naturally into endless potential replays. If that replay is appealing, the developer has seasonal content planned, with new spirits to find and items to earn, which will also come at an additional price. 

Sky expands on the successful gameplay ideas of the developer’s previous games, but with a greater sense of progression, replayability, and a far more involved social component. Conceptually, this new project is a deeply felt meditation on empathy and the connections between people, couched in the same unpretentious and thoughtful presentation we’ve come to expect from the studio. Sky is a refreshingly moving and robust game on the iOS platform, and one best shared with others – especially folks who might not normally pick up a video game.

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Score: 8.5

Summary: The new game from the makers of Journey is a thoughtful contemplation on positive interactions with friends, strangers, and the wider world.

Concept: Fly through the clouds of a gorgeous world while making friends to soar by your side in this follow-up to Journey

Graphics: Swirling clouds, distant light beams, and the ruins of a lost civilization are all depicted in a soft and inviting art style, but occasional hitching on some supported devices can break the illusion

Sound: A stellar score ebbs and flows with the beats of onscreen events, while ambient sound effects add a naturalistic and meditative vibe

Playability: Challenges in touch-screen control mar an otherwise accessible experience that features a smooth curve of new ideas and difficulty

Entertainment: thatgamecompany’s eye for aesthetic beauty and meaning-laden interactions are made richer through social engagement and sharing with friends

Replay: High

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Stranger Things is a well-executed throwback to classic ‘80s nostalgia that follows a group of kids in a small town as they solve world-threatening mysteries and try to grow up at the same time. A 16-bit callback video game is well-suited to tap that same viewership vein. The aesthetic makes the game feel like it should have been released for the Super Nintendo, but the simple action gameplay holds it back from being a worthwhile companion to one of Netflix’s biggest hits.

In Stranger Things 3: The Game (which is confusingly the second Stranger Things game), you control the main cast from an isometric perspective to explore the town of Hawkins, Indiana, and beat up monsters and bad guys as you play through the events of the third season. The story beats are identical to those of the show, but the dialogue is truncated. Playing an adaptation like this is nostalgic in its own right, as direct video game adaptations of popular media are rare these days. I enjoyed that element, but it does nothing to expand the lore, dig deeper into the characters, or show interesting beats happening outside of the main story.

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The main missions are hampered by their need to hew close to the source material. They’re all fetch quests, or arbitrary moments where the characters proclaim it’s time to talk to Steve at Scoops Ahoy, or agree they should all meet at Mike’s basement. I felt I was moving around in a circle as I traveled point to point with simple puzzles and enemies serving as hurdles. A handful of sidequests exist, but they tasked me with doing boring things like killing rats in a basement, delivering pizza, or finding hidden gnomes and the payoffs were disappointing.

You play as two characters at all times, swapping between them whenever you want. You unlock additional characters every few missions, and each of the 12 has different abilities. Mike and Hopper are up-close brawlers, for example, while Will is a ranged fighter and Max’s special ability drops healing items. I enjoyed trying different combinations, but also appreciated that you can use whoever you want at any time, even if it doesn’t fit with the story. That freedom extends up to the end boss, when I was forced to use a pair of characters I had learned early weren’t for me.

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Despite having different strategic options available with various characters, the moment-to-moment combat is bland. Depending on your attack range, you just press the attack button a bunch and then move to the next enemy. When lots of enemies are on-screen you use your special ability, but that’s about it. I didn’t find blocking useful until the end boss, when it was forced upon me as a necessary mechanic. The geometry of the levels often made it harder to attack enemies than it should have been. I would get stuck on corners or they would be out of reach when they didn’t appear to be.

The upgrade system disappoints, only giving you five upgrade slots shared among the 12 characters. I switched characters often, so I didn’t like equipping upgrades that benefited single characters. I ended up using the ones that granted universal bonuses, like extra health or extra walking speed, which were consequently the most boring ones. You craft the various upgrades by finding items in the environment or buying them from shops and vending machines, but I always seemed to be short on items and money, despite destroying every breakable item in every location.

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No online multiplayer options are available, but local co-op exists. Playing with a friend is functional, but it splits the screen as opposed to letting both players control their character on a single screen. The scrunched screen makes it more chaotic, but having the option to play with a friend is always welcome, even if caveats exist.

As someone who enjoys Stranger Things, walking around a pixelated version of Hawkins’ familiar locations with characters from the show is enjoyable. Outside of the sightseeing, however, the game does little else to garner excitement. The combat doesn’t ask much of the player and the mission structure underwhelms. If you want to experience the events of Stranger Things’ third season, you’re better off sticking to the source material.

Score: 6

Summary: The combat doesn’t ask much of the player and the mission structure underwhelms. If you want to experience the events of Stranger Things’ third season, you’re better off sticking to the source material.

Concept: Take the plot and characters of the third season of Stranger Things and adapt it into a pixelated, old-school action game

Graphics: The pixel art characters and environments recall the 16-bit era in a fun way, but each character only has a few animations

Sound: Much like the show, the synthwave soundtrack sets the mood well, but the number of tracks is disappointingly small

Playability: The characters move slow (even with upgrades), combat is too simple to be interesting, and lining up attacks can sometimes be needlessly difficult

Entertainment: The video game adaptation of the popular show emulates the ’80s aesthetic well, but the action is boring and the missions rarely push you to do more than move from point A to point B

Replay: Low

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The original Dragon Quest Builders took Minecraft to the workbench and bolted on some much-appreciated structure to the building experience. Despite a repetitive formula, it was an enjoyable playground for those of us who enjoy freeform Lego construction but keep the instructions off to the side just in case. Now Omega Force and Square Enix are back with a hefty sequel that improves virtually every aspect of that original blueprint.

You’re a helpful hero with a rare capacity to build. You and your new A.I. companion, Malroth, travel the world and leave things better off than when you first arrived. Unlike the last game, you’re traveling on a ship instead of resurrecting in new places. Consequently, you have a port to call home. This island begins as a barren, desolate place that you won’t be able to leave quickly enough. Over time, you can make it flourish however you see fit, but you need some extra hands to make that happen, and for that you have to go for a quick sail.

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The three main islands showcase different biomes and gameplay systems. For instance, one of the first places you visit, Furrowfield, is where you learn about farming. Thanks to an engaging story about an anti-builder cult and poisoned land, it doesn’t feel like you’re running through a tutorial sequence. I had a great time rebuilding the land and the raising the spirits of the various NPCs. It’s silly, but it’s hard not to smile when a group of villagers rushes over and applauds when you build them a swingset – and they absolutely lose their minds when you complete one of their larger requests. As you improve villages, your efforts attract more recruits who move in and help with some of the less demanding tasks like cooking and tending the fields. That gives you more time to explore and solve puzzles out in the world or engage in the simple combat against wandering monsters.

Other places teach you about mining and building defenses, and give you access to new blocks and items that you can take back to your home island. Online co-op allows you to enlist your friends to help you during free-play on your home island, but they can’t contribute to your story progress. There’s a fairly significant catch, though: Co-op doesn’t unlock until you complete the first story island and a few missions back at home base – a process that can easily take more than a dozen hours. Building with a friend is fine, but the single-player campaign is clearly the thrust of the experience; if you’re looking for a quick co-op game, this isn’t it. 

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If you’re looking for a quick game overall, this isn’t it, either. I adore Dragon Quest Builders 2, but be prepared to settle in for a long journey. Even after spending about 50 hours with it, I was still unlocking new items and equipment, some of which are significant, like a pencil that allows you to create your own blueprints. The rollout of new building options is generous, but players who are looking to dive right into freeform building will find they’re working with a fairly limited palette unless they make more progress into the story.

Fortunately, the campaign is peppy and fun, and filled with characters that have their own little personalities. The overall cheer and goodwill make the darker moments, such as a character’s slide toward evil, feel all the more unsettling. Similarly, it’s kind of weird to see these fallen cutie-pies muttering “Damn” after they’ve been vanquished in battle. I’m not a Dragon Quest fan by any stretch, but that didn’t dampen my enjoyment. Longtime fans might get excited to see familiar enemies, but you don’t need any experience with previous games to have a great time. 

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Dragon Quest Builders 2 has remarkable improvements, both large and small. Boss battle are now actually kind of fun. NPCs help you build some of the more ambitious projects, which lets you focus on doing your own thing. Malroth helps fight and gather resources, so you aren’t on your own. Other players’ creations are highlighted in loading screens and in-game bulletin boards, and you can easily visit (but not destroy) their worlds. This is one of those rare sequels that delivers on just about every front, so long as you’re able to put in the time it asks of you. This definitely isn’t a weekend project, but it’s one that’s absolutely worth the effort.

Score: 9

Summary: Omega Force and Square Enix are back with a hefty sequel that improves virtually every aspect of that original blueprint.

Concept: Restore a broken world (or build to your heart’s content) using your hero’s mysterious builder powers

Graphics: Blocks may be the dominant sights in this world, but wonderful character designs and an impressive array of other props keep it from being bland

Sound: Every location has an appropriate theme, and actions are accompanied by simple, appropriate effects

Playability: Everything from combat to construction is simple and intuitive. Inventory management is a breeze, which is great considering it’s a huge part of the experience

Entertainment: Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a fantastic sequel that expands on the original in almost every imaginable way

Replay: High

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In SolSeraph, you are a god. You build cities from nothing, command the elements, and fight off invaders. When the time comes to strike at an evil lair directly, you inhabit a corporeal champion who jumps and slashes through monsters until the threat is eliminated. Then you move on to the next area, taking a new nascent civilization under your divine wing.

If that premise sounds familiar, then you were probably playing SNES back in 1991. That’s when publisher Enix released ActRaiser, a pioneering action/strategy hybrid with 2D side-scrolling levels mixed with top-down city-building. Though it bears no official connection to ActRaiser, SolSeraph uses similar gameplay in an attempt to continue its legacy. However, this modern take on a decades-old formula is so boring and repetitive that it crumbles under the weight of the torch it’s trying to carry.

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Despite its obvious influence, you don’t need any familiarity with ActRaiser to understand SolSeraph. It alternates between traditional arcade action and simple tower defense, and both are easy to pick up. When you start a new zone, you need to clear a side-scrolling stage full of enemies like goblins, dragons, and bugs. These stages aren’t much to look at. Apart from a couple bosses, the enemies look like generic fantasy beasts, and the dull environments span an unsurprising collection of swamps, ice worlds, and deserts.

The action is painfully simple. Even though you acquire a few different magical abilities (like healing and lightning), your main repertoire is jumping, slashing, and dodging. That isn’t necessarily bad, but your limited options means the complexity doesn’t evolve, so most of SolSeraph’s difficulty comes in frustrating forms that feel artificial. For example, most levels have no checkpoints, so failure means starting from scratch every run. Another problem is how enemies can approach from the background and foreground. While this adds some visual dimension, it also blurs your perception of when these foes are vulnerable versus when they are on an inactive plane. Getting hit and restarting a level because you swung at an ambiguously nearby goblin is not fun.

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The civilization phase doesn’t fare any better. You increase populations by building farms and houses, then put those people to work in defensive buildings like barracks and archery towers. That way, they can intercept the waves of monsters pouring out of their lairs and following the roads to your village center. The more of these waves you finish, the more temples you can build, which open the lairs to attack via the 2D action levels. This routine gets old fast. It’s a bare-bones tower defense experience, and you only unlock a few other buildings to expand your defense options. Without a sense of growth and progression, each of the fives zones follows an identical development pattern with only minor variations. In the desert area, you need to a build a well before you can build farms, but that one wrinkle doesn’t change your strategy in any interesting or significant way.

Living up to a legend is practically impossible, but instead of providing an entertaining experience on its own terms, SolSeraph adheres to an ancient blueprint. It seems content to imitate rather than innovate, but its tedious gameplay can’t even accomplish that. I love ActRaiser, and I can’t blame SolSeraph for failing to recapture the magic of a 16-bit classic. At the same time, SolSeraph doesn’t have much value apart from how it reminds you of a better game you may have played about 30 years ago.

Score: 5.5

Summary: SolSeraph’s modern take on ActRaiser’s decades-old formula is so boring and repetitive that it crumbles under the weight of the torch it’s trying to carry.

Concept: By combining arcade action and basic city-building, SolSeraph tries to tap into the nostalgia surrounding the SNES title ActRaiser

Graphics: Plain environments and unremarkable enemy designs result in an off-putting art style

Sound: Sometimes the music successfully conjures a satisfying ‘90s vibe, but not often

Playability: Navigating the action and strategy layers is uncomplicated. The controls are straightforward and your attacks and dodges feel responsive

Entertainment: Building and defending your settlements doesn’t have enough variety, and the challenging parts are more frustrating than fun

Replay: Moderately Low

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Mental health is a difficult subject to tackle in games. Achieving a tactful balance between game mechanics and tough themes requires insight, but it can make for a rewarding experience when the two intertwine in meaningful ways. Titles like Celeste and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice illustrate this, and Sea of Solitude boldly plunges into similar subject matter; its world is as beautiful as it is melancholy, with several characters opening up about how their lives are ravaged by mental health.

Sea of Solitude casts you as Kay, a young girl whose loneliness has transformed her into a literal monster. She navigates a partially submerged city, with blurry memories of a human past. Soon she finds out she’s not alone in this world, and she begins a quest of self-discovery in which she attempts to right previous wrongs by helping her family (who have also become beasts) find peace. Sea of Solitude introduces an intriguing premise with darkness hiding under the surface, and it largely succeeds despite occasional hiccups.

You spend your time travelling by foot and by boat, platforming over roofs and through cityscapes, avoiding dangers, and engaging with whatever grandiose monster – like a large, fear-inspiring crow – lurks in the area. I was always eager to see what the next beast awaited me would be, and how the world would change to reflect it, such as sunset skies and harsh waves when Kay’s parents bicker at one another.

Kay has a personal connection with each beast, whether that’s a reflection of a familiar darkness within herself or an embodiment of a tortured family member, which brings a fascinating depth to enemy encounters. I empathized with each major foe, and never wanted to hurt them. Luckily, I never had to. Boss battles in Sea of Solitude are not conventional fights; rather than defeating enemies, you help them overcome issues by clearing corruption, which increases Kay’s understanding of their problems and helps those in pain see clearly, such as two characters realizing its best to end a relationship that is dead in the water. It’s a clever approach that succeeds in driving empathy in the player, too.

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Clearing corruption is your main goal in Sea of Solitude. Corruption points appear as glowing orbs with clouds of black smoke twirling around them. To eradicate these, you collect other smaller orbs by platforming around the area and doing light puzzle solving. You have a flare you can shoot into the air that helpfully guides you to your next objective, but it’s also your one and only weapon. Light defeats shadow enemies; sometimes you have to kill them before moving on or, as the gameplay evolves, turn them into allies so they can jump upon ledges you can’t reach to grab orbs for you. Fighting or manipulating enemies is a lackluster experience since it doesn’t require much strategy, and I preferred platforming moments that are intertwined with voiceovers that give insight into what happened to Kay’s family.

Puzzles, like defeating shadow creatures, are shallow. For example, you can trick enemies into chasing you to lead them away from a door you wish to enter. But the easy puzzles never bothered me much, since smooth progression allows the story to continue uninterrupted – and narrative is Sea of Solitude’s strength.

Characters have depth, and you learn more about Kay and others when clearing corruption. Problems are rooted in mental health, such as Kay’s boyfriend who is in a deep pit of depression and another sequence about a young boy being bullied. Most of these moments feel genuine, but I found the brief bullying storyline clumsy, especially when it delved into suicidal ideation in a sloppy way. Other times I took issue with stilted and awkward dialogue or when deeply personal themes were rushed.

However, some moments shine when the game lets its world speak for itself; I enjoyed seeing characters coming to grip with their reality on their own and how both the weather and aesthetic changed to emphasize these feelings. I love how the city becomes chilled and blanketed in snow when exploring the topic of a broken romantic relationship, or how a building with vents that spew steam fittingly reflects a father’s overwhelming anger.

Weather plays a significant role during exploration, with rainfall warning you of danger and sunny skies signaling safety. It’s a simple system that works well to inform the player when to brace for horrors, and there is a surprising amount of fright. A fish monster swims in the dark waters and if it catches you it violently tears you apart with its sharp teeth. Murky seas occasionally have ghostly hands that emerge from the depths that drown Kay if she touches them. All of this feels all the more terrifying because of Sea of Solitude’s barren world.

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While an empty world is often seen as a negative in games, it feels appropriate here not just for the effective horror elements, but also because it reflects Kay’s feelings and adds intrigue to the mystery. I kept wondering how Kay ended up alone and why monsters are the only living beings left. Answers to these questions aren’t always handed to you, but I enjoyed trying to piece together bits myself through my own interpretations and messages left behind in bottles.

Sea of Solitude provides an insightful look at how mental health devastates the lives of not just those it affects, but also loved ones on the outside. Kay learns a lot about herself by understanding the value of listening, coming to term with her flaws, and not just empathizing with family but also accepting that a simple fix isn’t always possible.

Score: 7.5

Summary: This adventure game provides an insightful look at mental health inside a gorgeous and melancholy world.

Concept: Navigate a half-submerged city and conquer your demons by overcoming literal monsters

Graphics: Sea of Solitude is both beautiful and frightening, with colorful aesthetics juxtaposed with darker palettes during storms

Sound: The sound design is well done, such as a crow’s piercing cry and the crashing of waves providing an unsettling ambiance

Playability: Sea of Solitude controls easily, and the minimalist interface helps you become fully immersed

Entertainment: Sea of Solitude provides an insightful look at mental health and its characters evolve in meaningful ways

Replay: Moderately Low

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The F1 series has a well-earned reputation for demanding sim-based racing. If you want to feel the full torque and acceleration of your machine and think you can control that beast, then go ahead. That’s just one of the challenges of F1 2019, but it’s not the only metric by which this game should be judged, nor the only one by which it succeeds. Codemasters’ F1 series isn’t only for hardcore racers and F1 diehards; it’s for anyone who wants to race on the edge, who wants to build a top-flight organization, and who wants to test their mettle turn after turn and season after season.

The world of F1 is relentless in its competition, whether that’s on the track, between teams’ R&D departments, or even rival drivers within your own team. F1 2019 has all of these, and importantly, it keeps them in reach of drivers of all abilities. The F1 cars are responsive in acceleration, braking, and control, with the usual variety of helpers, like rewinding and changing difficulty settings. Regardless of your play style, you get tense and triumphant moments, like when a competitor threatens to overtake you as their DRS kicks in along the back straightaway, only for you to dive hard into the corner and hold them off. In specific gameplay terms, the braking feels a touch easier to lock up this year, but it’s not hard to adjust to and I could manage it without losing time or position.

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The addition of F2 racing in certain areas (Codemasters plans to add the full 2019 F2 schedule to season mode after launch) provides additional challenge through cars that are harder to control, whether that’s slowing them down entering corners or controlling them on exit. The feeder series’ is used as a preamble to the career mode, and although the two drivers you meet via cutscenes in F2 follow you into F1, their presence and effectiveness as a storytelling device tapers off once you’re in F1. For instance, I beat a long-standing nemesis from my F2 days, Devin Butler, in a multi-race rivalry faceoff and I didn’t even get to revel in my victory through a cutscene.

Thankfully, F2’s relatively small inclusion in the career mode doesn’t blunt how good the career mode is overall. New this year is the ability to sim practice sessions for a modicum of resource points for your R&D department – a nice way to give more casual players options while still rewarding those who want to put in the time investment. The career mode is filled with such balance. A part fails R&D? You can work harder next practice to get points to try again, as well as buy a durability upgrade for the appropriate department to help you next time. Lose a rivalry matchup? You can still further your reputation by earning team upgrades and perks during the next contract-negotiation session. Even when I wasn’t doing well, it didn’t feel like the beginning of the end – only the start of my next opportunity.

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You can also find versatility in the new user-created leagues multiplayer feature. Creating or participating in a league is easy, and I appreciate options like being able to have a set day to race or leave it up to the discretion of all involved, and the ability to have A.I. cars present on the track but not in the league standings. However, differentiating between ghosted A.I. cars and non-ghosted real players during races is confusing when everyone’s piling up going into a corner.

Customization is also a big part of this year’s multiplayer, but the cosmetic choices for your suit, gloves, and liveries are basic, so far. Most can be unlocked purely through earning and spending the in-game currency, but a few Premium items can only be bought with real money. This monetization isn’t obnoxious, and the customization options are more notable for the fact that there isn’t an in-depth livery editor and there are no face-sculpting options.

You should play F1 2019 not just because you’re an F1 fan or the hottest thing that’s ever gotten in a cockpit. Do it because you want to experience the thrill, the heartbreak, and the satisfaction of competing at ridiculously high speeds. Trust me, you do.

Score: 8.75

Summary: Whether guiding your car, career, or league, F1 2019 has plenty of options to keep you covered and entertained.

Concept: Custom multiplayer leagues add to an already-great career mode. The latter has some minor additions, including a brief stint in the F2 feeder league

Graphics: Objects on the horizon can exhibit some graphical degradation, but it isn’t a serious issue

Sound: The commentary lines are old and often not that interesting. F2 announcers have been added, but they don’t break out of the mold either

Playability: Pushing the F1 cars to their limits is fun, and the F2 cars have their own feel and are actually harder to drive

Entertainment: Whether guiding your car, career, or league, F1 2019 has plenty of options to keep you covered and entertained

Replay: High

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Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is a more interesting and polished game than Pokémon Go, yet is too much of a spiritual successor for its own good. Many of the gameplay mechanics and ideas that carry over are shoehorned in, and ultimately hurt an experience that delivers some magic in the elements that truly speak to the license’s appeal.

Like Niantic’s last AR phenomenon, Wizards Unite has you visiting real-world locations and interacting with fictional objects in order to build up a collection. Wandering the Muggle world and using various spells to round up misplaced “confoundables,” which can be characters, beasts, or wizarding items, doesn’t have the same appeal as collecting cute Pokémon, yet is the backbone of Wizards Unite. When a confoundable is captured, it ends up as nothing more than an image in a sticker book.

While some fun comes from trying to place every sticker on the book’s pages, catching the same thing over and over again is an exercise in monotony. Once a page has all of its items, you can wipe it clean and start again. The reward for this accomplishment? The page gets a new border design, and you’re asked to claim even more of the same types of things. Since these items don’t have any gameplay value (unlike Pokémon, which can battle for you in Pokémon Go), the only reason to catch them is to grind experience points. That grind becomes more pronounced the more you play. Catching the Weasley’s Clock dozens of times just isn’t fun, yet is the definition of what this game is.

To catch something like the clock (or even Luna Lovegood), a spell must be cast like. To do this, you simply trace a squiggle that appears on screen as quickly as you can. This may sound easy, but it’s a surprisingly challenging and amusing test. Any kind of deviation from the line leads to a less powerful spell, which increases the chance of the confoundable running away. You can use potions to make the encounters easier, but these resources are not bountiful, and must be concocted using ingredients found in the world. Inventory space is ridiculously tight, and the bag fills up in no time, especially given you have to keep track of 23 different items. As a result, you are frequently asked to expand the bag’s size using in-game gold or real money. Wizards Unite’s microtransaction baiting is intrusive, and decisions like repeatedly telling the player to expand the bag size make the game worse. The push to spend real money is far more pronounced than it is in Pokémon Go.

This is frustrating since players are encouraged to collect everything they see, but the time it takes to brew potions with those ingredients doesn’t line up with the time spent exploring. The player is better off exiting the game for extended periods to brew potions and free up some inventory space…or spend money.

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Wizards Unite also delivers a respectable kind of frustration with the confoundables. Even if you happen to stumble upon a Tom Riddle or Harry Potter encounter and perform a perfect spell, they may run away. The player needs to gain more power to have a better shot against them, and this is where Wizards Unite fascinates and sinks its addictive hooks into you. It delivers a legitimate pursuit of power with relatively deep RPG systems.

When a player selects their profession, deciding to be an auror, magizoologist, or professor, they open up a skill tree offering over 130 upgrades that can enhance stamina, defense, and percentages to various things like wand damage and critical hit chances. The more the game is played, the more powerful the wizard. The grind is beneficial to gaining power, yet isn’t that entertaining given just how often confoundables are repeated.

Strong RPG elements also bubble to the surface in the fortresses, which push a team to battle against a set number of beasts and wizards on each of the 20 floors. The higher the floor, the higher the difficulty, and the need increases for players to team up to provide healing, buffs, and other kinds of support. I had a blast journeying through fortresses with friends, but wish they weren’t timed. All too often our progress would come to an end because we spent too much time discussing tactics.

Up to five wizards can journey together, but each battle is a one-on-one affair. These encounters are good fun, pushing you to hover a reticle over a moving target until a meter fills and a spell can be cast. When an enemy strikes, you simply need to swipe in a specific direction to deflect some of the attack. Damage is sustained no matter how perfect the swipe is, but you can at least limit how much is dealt.

Now to the worst part of Wizards Unite: Progress for any activity can come to an abrupt end when a wand runs out of spell energy. Even if you are in the middle of a battle, the action pauses to ask you if want to spend gold to replenish the wand’s energy. The only way to get it back is to visit inns, complete tasks, or cash in that rare gold. Again, Wizards Unite frustrates in its design, which often pushes for real money to be spent.

Pokémon Go was (and still is) criticized for not having enough content, and Niantic and WB Games clearly took that to heart with Wizards Unite. Although everything revolves around the casting mechanic, this game is swimming with challenges, events, and mysteries to solve. A lot of this stuff comes down to dumb luck with what spawns around you, but at least there’s some depth here to take a bit of the bite out of catching that damn clock repeatedly.

No corners were cut with Wizards Unite’s visuals. Each encounter plays out like an animated skit, with detailed character models doing different things for catches and misses. I was quick to turn off augmented reality for catching, but it is used in a clever way for Portkeys. If a player enters a Portkey, they are transported from their reality to the Wizarding World for a fun 360-degree scavenger hunt in a known location like Hagrid’s hut.

When Wizards Unite is trying to do something new, it can be good fun. Most of the content sadly ends up feeling like a strange version of Pokémon Go, giving players flimsy reasons to catch or zap ‘em all.

Score: 7

Summary: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is a more interesting and polished game than Pokémon Go, yet is too much of a spiritual successor for its own good.

Concept: Explore the real world to cast spells on Harry Potter characters and beasts

Graphics: The detailed character models and animations are impressive, making each encounter a little more fun…until you’ve seen them all a dozen times

Sound: Familiar Potter melodies ring out in the overworld and menus, and you occasionally hear banter from the characters

Playability: Casting spells is simple, but fun and surprisingly challenging. Depth comes in the form of a skill tree and plenty of quests

Entertainment: While rich in content, a lot of the catching and questing comes down to the dumb luck of spawns

Replay: High

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Over the past few years, medieval-themed melee games have been gaining popularity. The multiplayer-focused Mordhau struts onto a field crowded by titles like For Honor, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, Warhammer: Vermintide 2, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. With its intriguing combination of realistic combat and kooky physics-based chaos, Mordhau stands out among its peers and in the entire contemporary multiplayer landscape.

In Mordhau, combat is a grisly, amusing affair. Blades cleave limbs, clubs smash heads to pulp, arrows tear through eye sockets, catapult stones send bodies ragdolling through the air – you can even get on a horse and impale a foe by charging at them with a lance. You have to work to be the inflicting party for a lot of these moments, but every kill you deal feels like a small, bloody miracle. Once, I sent a foe’s head flying off his body with a mighty swing, and I celebrated with a fist-pump and cheer. Some nice goofy opportunities are sprinkled among the gore for good measure, like scoring a kill by bonking someone in the head with a pathetically tiny blacksmith hammer before playing your lute to mock their corpse. You can also trap someone on a ladder by building a small wooden fort around it and then setting them ablaze with a firebomb. The humor of these interactions helps give Mordhau its own sense of identity; among grim deaths, entertainment and chuckles prevail. Even when you’re on the losing side of a match, the doldrums of defeat are whisked away by fantastic events happening around you that make you feel like you’re in the middle of a massive and lively battle as opposed to a small skirmish.

The multiplayer suite is composed of three modes: battle royale, horde, and frontline. Battle royale is absolutely what it sounds like, with 64 players roaming a map in search of weapons to kill one another until only one warrior is left standing. Horde has a group of players defending a fort and trying to survive against waves of enemy soldiers that grow increasingly powerful. With the player able to buy weapons and better armor between rounds, horde is essentially a medieval take on Call of Duty’s zombies mode. While both of these modes are fun enough, they’re ancillary, with frontline being where Mordhau shines.

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Frontline pits two teams of 32 against each other as they vie for control points on a map. At the start of each round, you select a “class” but really, you’re just selecting weapon loadouts. A brigand, for example, carries a huge axe and two throwing axes, while a knight has a giant broadsword capable of cleaving foes in half.  Weapon selection is vital to your success on the battlefield.

Once you have your weapon in hand you quickly learn that the key to victory lies beyond slashing frantically and hoping for the best. Every weapon has different strengths and weaknesses that you have to learn by heart.  A polearm, for example, has a long reach but its vertical slash isn’t worth much, and the window of vulnerability after unleashing an attack is a long one. This means that if you aren’t precise and miss your foe entirely, you’ve just opened yourself up to a fatal blow, especially if you’re not wearing much armor.  Alongside the weapons’ strengths and weaknesses, you also have moves like feints and kicks to trick your enemies into attacking early or breaking their guard. It’s an intimidating system to learn, but one that can lead to dazzling displays once someone has mastered it. One of my favorite movements in Mordhau was watching in awe as another player took on three rushing enemy players on their own at the same time with a halberd, skillfully blocking, dodging, and slaying all of them within seconds. Of course, getting to that level can be a grind.

My first hour of Mordhau, even after its lengthy tutorial, was mostly filled with failure. I’d try going toe-to-toe with foes only to make a foolish mistake and pay with my life. However, after committing myself to one weapon instead of jumping from class to class in search of a magical fit, I improved rapidly. Learning how to time blows and parries, knowing when to dodge to the left of an attack and slash to deliver a decapitation, was quite satisfying. The transition from lowly fodder who can’t swing a sword to decent axeman racking up kills is exciting, and every increment of improvement is rewarded with spectacular displays of violence.

For all my enthusiasm for Mordhau’s combat, I wish the progression system was more interesting. You earn gold and equipment points as you go from rank to rank, earning XP from playing matches. With those two currencies, you buy various cosmetics as well as weapons and armor types in order to build a custom class for frontline. However, the cosmetics aren’t that impressive, with lots of leather pads and various dull suits of armors and making a custom class shouldn’t be an enticement but something the player is given off the bat so that they’re free to experiment without arbitrary restrictions. None of this is a significant deterrent considering Mordhau’s fun moment-to-moment action, but the lack of compelling rewards doesn’t provide much incentive to return after combat loses its luster.

Mordhau is not for those who want a multiplayer experience that’s easy to drop into and utterly destroy foes. However, the joy of mastering its challenging system as well as memorable moments of violent ballet make these engrossing battles unique.

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Score: 8.5

Summary: Mordhau balances brutal realism and goofy battlefield antics to great effect.

Concept: Prove your worth on the medieval battlefield by mastering a brutal and intricate combat system

Graphics: From its diverse environments to impressive character models, Mordhau looks fantastic

Sound: The music is forgettable, but the clanging of swords and the squishy sounds of dismemberment make battles feel alive

Playability: Learning the ropes of combat takes time. This is not a game for those unwilling to confront failure in order to progress

Entertainment: If you can push past the steep learning curve, Mordhau’s brand of chaos is addictive and hilarious

Replay: High

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Frogwares has made a name for itself with wannabe detectives through a run of imperfect-but-entertaining Sherlock Holmes adventure games built around deductive reasoning. However, the developer’s interest in this unique brand of puzzle-solving extends beyond the world-famous consulting detective. The Sinking City is Frogwares’ latest and most ambitious adventure game to date, setting players loose in a Lovecraftian open world with a journal full of twisted cases. The expanded scope and greater emphasis on action introduce issues, but as a whole, The Sinking City still presents a mystery worth unraveling.

Players take on the role of Charles Reed, a private detective whose horrific visions have brought him to Oakmont, the titular sinking city ravaged by a mysterious flood and the supernatural terrors it has unleashed on the beleaguered population. As you undertake cases for various influential families and factions, Reed is quickly ensnared in Oakmont’s politics and power struggles. Like everything in Oakmont, no case is ordinary or straightforward, such as helping the rich and strangely simian Robert Throgmorten track down his missing son, or investigating a faction of fish-like Innsmouthers whose generous food donations to starving citizens may hide an ulterior motive. Once again, Frogwares exhibits a deep understanding and appreciation for the source material, touching on many of the tenets of Lovecraftian horror while weaving its own unique tale.

You gather clues from various locations and crime scenes, and then piece them together through deductive reasoning to solve each mystery, much like the Sherlock Holmes games. You may find yourself with only a name or a scrap of a letter to go on, and it’s up to you to figure out how to proceed. Perhaps searching through patient records at the hospital will give you another lead, or cross-referencing dates and locations in the local paper might turn up another witness. These player-driven puzzles and deductions are the heart of The Sinking City, and are just as entertaining and rewarding without the deerstalker and calabash pipe.

This time around, some of the deductions are also subjective, requiring you to make a call and live with the consequences. Is that character a cold-blooded murderer, or was he possessed by some cosmic horror (a real possibility in Oakmont) and not responsible for his actions? Should you turn him over to the authorities, or let him go free? The consequences of your decisions aren’t particularly far-reaching from a narrative perspective, but they are often memorable, and your inability to get through every case without getting your hands dirty fits with the grim world and themes. While Reed himself remains a bland and forgettable cypher, the evolving mystery behind Oakmont’s curse and its eventual fate kept me engrossed for the long run.

While that world-building and atmosphere is where The Sinking City really shines, traveling around said world isn’t as fun. Getting from one area of the city to the next is a time-consuming process, often requiring hopping between roads and boats to get where you’re going. And you always have a lot of places to go; in addition to the aforementioned hospital and newspaper headquarters, you’ll be visiting the police station, city hall, and library to drum up more leads, and it’s not always clear which location you need to visit. Fast travel helps with this process, but it isn’t particularly fast, requiring you to first find and run to a phone booth, then wait through a lengthy load time.

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As you’re traveling to various locations, eldritch monsters occasionally spring up, leading to survival-horror combat. Simply put, the stiff and sluggish gunplay is not fun, and frustrates more than it excites. However, the grotesque enemy creatures introduce an ever-present threat and tension that heighten the Lovecraftian world you’re exploring. Ultimately, The Sinking City’s combat is a necessary evil that I’m glad Frogwares included, even if its implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

The Sinking City also suffers numerous technical problems. In addition to the long load times, screen-tearing is a persistent distraction from exploring Oakmont’s creepy locales on console (Frogwares says it’s working on a patch to correct this), and uneven voice performances and cutscenes also take their tolls on the immersion. The main quest is a little too long for its own good, but those who can overlook the game’s shortcomings will find a wealth of solid side quests to keep them hanging around.

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The Sinking City shares all of the same problems of Frogwares’ previous games, but it also capitalizes on the same strengths. Reed’s cases offer up surprising twists and memorable moments, and flesh out a twisted world and cast of characters that I enjoyed learning about. The combat and repetition may elicit the wrong kind of madness, but fans of Lovecraftian horror should still consider visiting The Sinking City.

Score: 7.5

Summary: A rich theme and atmospheric world shine through forgettable gameplay.

Concept: Solve Lovecraftian mysteries while fending off eldritch monsters in a half-sunken open world

Graphics: Frogwares has crafted some intriguing and atmospheric locales, but screen-tearing is a constant issue on console

Sound: An understated musical score helps build tension. The voice performances are passable at best

Playability: The gunplay is stiff and rarely satisfying. Investigation mechanics are well done, but eventually grow repetitive

Entertainment: The Sinking City succeeds at creating a memorable world and twisting narrative that pulls players beyond its mediocre gameplay

Replay: Moderately Low

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The ‘80s were hugely influential years in video game history, and we see that reflected in the abundance of modern games that appeal to our nostalgia for the era. With new twists on old formulas, many current titles are inspired by the ’80s, but they don’t necessarily feel like they belong there. That’s where 198X is different. This gauntlet of arcade experiences doesn’t try to put a clever spin on the games of that decade as much as it tries to replicate them. With five levels that imitate five retro classics, 198X admirably succeeds in capturing the authenticity it strives for. However, in that hyper-focused effort, its depth of gameplay and narrative suffer.

If you have fond memories of the heyday of arcades, 198X brings them to the surface through a series of familiar genres. Every stage is modeled after a different old-school game (Final Fight, R-Type, Outrun, Strider, and Phantasy Star), and when taken together, they convey an aesthetic moment in time incredibly well. Detailed sprites, colorful backgrounds, and an impeccable soundtrack nail the vibe and make you feel like you are playing fragments of games that could have existed in the 1980s. Plus, they capture similar moments and thrills, like a giant laser-spewing robot appearing in front of your tiny spaceship, or the sense of speed as your sword-slashing ninja barrels forward.

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I enjoyed how each of these games felt immediately familiar and comfortable. They aren’t exactly carbon copies of the source material, but any muscle memory you have definitely transfers. If you don’t have experience with the originals, the controls are accessible and intuitive enough to help you feel at home. However, 198X can’t escape the shallowness of these brief jaunts. The games are built directly on 30-year-old templates, and their mechanics are too simple to give you a sense of mastery or escalation. That problem is magnified by how quickly you are shuffled from one level to the next; the whole game only takes an hour or two to finish, so no stage type gets enough time to shine.

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The story tying the various levels together is also disappointing. It’s presented as a coming-of-age tale that chronicles how a teenager called Kid discovers video games in a dingy arcade, and the freedom that comes from these digital worlds. However, the theme is mainly explored through cutscenes full of obvious teenage observations about isolation and belonging. Nothing actually happens, since the game doesn’t have plot points or character development. No narrative threads bind the different game genres either, so the levels you’re playing feel disconnected. Only in the Outrun-style game, which is bookended by musings about freedom, is there a smooth transition between the story and action.

198X is part one of a two-part tale (with the second part scheduled for release next year), which explains the incompleteness to a point, but the story doesn’t establish the foundation necessary to build true excitement for what comes next. However, I am eager to see what new old games the next chapter holds; the team at Hi-Bit Studios clearly understands the landscape surrounding iconic ‘80s games and the many facets of their appeal. 198X reminds players that even simple arcade experiences (or their recreations) can provide an interesting escape.

Score: 7

Summary: In 198X’s hyper-focused effort to emulate popular ’80s staples, its depth of gameplay and narrative suffer.

Concept: Capture the look and feel of the ‘80s with five convincing imitations of retro games, then wrap them up in a vague coming-of-age narrative

Graphics: The detailed and colorful pixelated style skillfully straddles the line between being original and invoking the classics

Sound: Excellent arcade-appropriate music (along with atmospheric synth) conveys the era well. Contributions from composer Yuzo Koshiro seal the deal

Playability: Controls are straightforward and easy to pick up, though none of the stage types have enough complexity to require much skill

Entertainment: 198X is exciting as a stroll down memory lane, but its simplicity and abbreviated story leave it short on substance

Replay: Moderately Low

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