My Threads(26)
See AllTwo Point Museum Might Be The Best of the Series So Far!
For me, the museum setting is more appealing. I've spent many, many happy hours in real-life museums, and love to seek them out in new cities and towns. This title also seems to take the humor and interactivity even further than before, making it the best of the bunch for me!
What's Been Your Favorite Interaction with Balatro's Blueprint?
The much-beloved Blueprint is a Joker with a simple yet very powerful effect: It will have the same effect as any compatible Joker placed right next to it on the right. There are all kinds of score-rocketing ways to use this, but my favorite so far has been matching it with Ancient Joker and playing into its suit-matching mechanic. I obtained my first 1,000,000+ chip hand that way.
Which Do You Think is the Hardest Crash Bandicoot Game?
The original Crash Bandicoot is well known for its level of challenge, but for me, It's About Time claimed the Most Difficult crown. With some deviously-hidden Wumpa Fruit, complex new mask mechanics and the longer stages, it's a real old-school challenge.
Which Popular Game or Series Have You Been Meaning To Play, But Just Haven't Gotten Around To Yet?
For me, it would be the Arkham games. I've been hearing nothing but great things about them for years, and they're my kind of game, but I've never played them. I'm not quite sure why this is, but I'm setting out to rectify it: Just yesterday, I dove into Arkham Asylum. I've been having a blast with it, particularly with the combat, just as I knew I would.
Is There a Balatro Joker You'll Always Insta-Pick Up At The Store?
For me, I've never been able to resist Ancient Joker. Of course, there's the inherent unpredictability of its random switch each blind, but no matter. I'm a huge fan of an autopilot flush approach, and matching suits and watching that multiplier shoot upwards is deeply satisfying. It can be a very simple yet effective strategy too.
My Reviews(15)
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Slay the Spire
There have been an enormous amount of deckbuilding roguelites, and few of them have reached the heady heights of Slay the Spire. It's a huge part of the reason there have been so many such titles.
If I had to describe the game in one word, it would probably have to be pure. In terms of balance, enemy and card variety, it's a perfectly-judged experience that will always find a way to challenge you. There's an inevitable RNG element in terms of which cards you draw and when, which boss you'll come up against, and such, but experienced players have the knowledge to make the very best of what the game's given them.
The difficulty can certainly be stark before you learn the ropes, though. Some of the most potent cards are utility offerings rather than big damage-dealers, and you can really squander their potential if you haven't learned which those are and how to combo them effectively. Nonetheless, it's truly satisfying to steadily get better and better and rise up the Ascension levels. While there's only a quartet of playable characters, they're all very different and there's an almost endless amount of gameplay here if the title clicks with you.
Mario Kart 8
Eight mainline entries in, the Mario Kart series has seen its share of evolution. This entry could be seen as the equivalent of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a big celebration of the series that throws in just about everything we've seen before and expands on it further.
The divisive two-racer karts of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! have been dispensed with, but gliders, underwater racing and anti-gravity shenanigans are all present and correct. Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda tracks and characters may be jarring for some, but this is the biggest package that Mario Kart fans have yet been treated to. With all the DLC waves on top, it's hard to see how a ninth series entry could top this.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Even with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's enormous (and ridiculous in places) roster, many still consider Melee to be the best entry in the series. It's a true icon of the GameCube library, and a fantastic follow-up to the original N64 title.
The Melee experience is as intense and competitive as you want it to be. Are you looking for a pure one-on-one fight without any ludicrous items? Maybe you'd prefer a chaotic four-player mess with projectiles, explosives and Pokemon attacks erupting all over the screen? Whatever you're in the mood for, tweaking the extensive customization options will land you in just the right kind of fight.
Melee offers a wide range of play modes for the lone player or for several, an equally enormous list of collectible to hunt down, and a nicely varied and sizable cast that ensures everyone will find a favorite fighter. It has a timeless quality that makes it popular even after the release of two even bigger sequels.
Two Point Hospital
With the sad demise of Bullfrog Productions, it seems that the iconic business sim Theme Hospital wouldn't see an official sequel. The game boasted gameplay that was deep enough to be involved without being too complex, blended with a fantastic sense of humor, making it fondly remembered. Nostalgic fans were delighted by the announcement of Two Point Hospital, and crucially, the new game has these traits in spades too.
The format is the same, with the player taking charge of a series of hospitals and having to achieve certain objectives there to progress. At the same time, Two Point Hospital has enough unique elements and twists of its own to ensure that it hasn't simply ripped off the classic title.
Two Point Studios' effort gets the pacing just right, with each new stage adding just the right amount of new rooms, unique ailments to treat and quirky staff members to hire to keep you interested. With the DLC packages, there are a huge range of events to deal with too. Even if you do tire of the main campaign, the sandbox mode allows you to while away the hours developing your perfect hospital.
Wargroove
With the announcement and subsequent lengthy delay of Nintendo Switch's Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, fans of the turn-based strategy icon grew impatient for another slice of the same. Chucklefish, who clearly have some enormous fans of those games on their staff, dropped a rather lower-key release that franchise fans should absolutely check out: Wargroove.
A fantastical spin on the tanks-and-warplanes vibes of Advance Wars, Wargroove and its sequel tell familiar stories of the goodly battle against malevolent forces. The action takes place in a grid-based format and sees you leading troops into combat, taking advantage of your forces' strengths against the opposing units, and capturing properties to boost your funds and deploy more fighters.
There are some interesting wrinkles, though. For one thing, your chosen commander is a unit on the battlefield themselves, and though they're very powerful against a variety of opponents, you will instantly lose the match if they're defeated. They'll need to fight if they want to charge their Groove (a unique skill similar to an Advance Wars CO Power), however. For another, each type of unit can strike with a critical hit under certain circumstances (if your archers haven't needed to move before attacking for example), lending an extra layer of strategy.
With an arcade mode, the expected multiplayer and map creator options and a lengthy campaign, this is a very generous package for the price.
Hades
I'm a huge fan of the roguelike genre, but if there's one thing that often holds such titles back, it's the lack of an overarching story that drives you forward.
The gameplay loop is typically taking on runs, collecting various types of currency, and using them (where applicable) to power yourself up a bit for a hopefully-more-successful next run. A deep and satisfying narrative isn't typically needed for such an experience, but this can alienate those gamers who love such things. This is what Hades did so well.
It boasts super solid combat, varied weapons, a great progression system and everything else a good roguelike demands. The true brilliance of Supergiant's title, though, lies in the relationship building between Zagreus and his fellow denizens of the House of Hades, the between-runs hub. By adding this aspect, and an engaging narrative that ties everybody together, the game was able to also bring in those who typically find the genre's pure action focus offputting.
Final Fantasy 8
Final Fantasy 8, though beloved by millions of fans, definitely took a controversial step or two. It retained a lot of the elements that had become synonymous with the series, such as the ATB system and the ability to summon familiar beings like Shiva and Ifrit, but then added some more experimental mechanics on top.
The Junctioning system is one that has confounded players, as has the laborious Drawing of spells from enemies. It's a game that's easy for experienced players to 'break' and make rather trivial, but on the other side of the coin, it's one that newcomers may find difficult to get used to.
Even given its shortcomings, I found myself becoming deeply attached to the cast of characters and the minigame of Triple Triad, and the story is as engaging as I've come to expect of a Final Fantasy title (as curious as some of its twists and turns are).
Cuphead
Cuphead isn't a title for the faint of heart. Of course, no game can suit everybody's tastes, but this one is specifically tailored to those who enjoy relentless boss rush action and an hefty challenge. There are run and gun platforming stages too, and they're just as fiendish in their own way, but the bosses are the stars of the show.
The Ye Olde animation is sublimely done, and it's a treat to watch the transformations, unpredictable attacks and funny little references that make up each battle and stage. It's rather brutal that the easier mode doesn't technically allow the player to progress (because the all-important Soul Contracts can't be collected from your foes in this mode), being more of a practise option, but fiddling with builds and trying over and over again is what Cuphead is all about. If you're committed to getting the highest grades for each boss battle, there's potentially a lot of gameplay to enjoy here.
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