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Can you believe we’re approaching the final quarter of 2023? Summer is officially done and Fall is here. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Regardless, this year is still full of new game releases with titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, and Detective Pikachu Returns on the horizon. I’ve played several games during the past month with mixed results. 2023 is quite unpredictable in the gaming space and we might even see a voice acting strike some time next year. The drama never ends! Perhaps, it’s good we have so many games this year, just in case 2024 is a bit thin. So, let’s take a look at the last handful of games I reviewed.  I enjoy supporting indie games, but Under the Waves didn’t capture my attention. It seems like this title was advertised as a narrative adventure. However, it’s more like a walking simulator underwater. That might not sound bad to some gamers, but I found the experience dull, slow, and uneventful. The voice acting is quite good, although the character’s mouths are out of sync with their dialogue. Under the Waves doesn’t give players a chance to move quicker, fast travel, or find other methods of more efficient traversal. Some of the puzzles are confusing and the overall gameplay isn’t particularly fun. Additionally, you have to manage resources, such as oxygen and gasoline. It’s a real bummer when your submarine runs out of fuel. The story is both melancholy and interesting, which is unfortunate in a way because the boring gameplay will probably scare away players before they reach the conclusion. In the end, I don’t recommend Under the Waves for the majority of gamers. I suppose it might be worth a shot for hardcore fans of the walking simulator genre. The physical version is $40, which is less expensive than many games, but it’s not worth the price in my opinion. Keep your expectations in check.  Fans of side scrolling adventures and puzzle games might find Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy appealing. For a while, this steampunk game entertained me. Eventually, I became tired with the sparse, yet redundant combat and the multitude of puzzles. Again, the marketing campaign felt a bit inaccurate because Trine 5 was advertised as a metroidvania style game. It’s primarily a puzzle game with some platforming and occasional combat. You have to juggle all three protagonists to complete most of the puzzles. The endearing trio includes an archer, a knight, and a wizard. Their powers have decent variety, but the overall experience would be much better for three player co-op instead of single player runs like my own. The character skills trees are impressive with different types of abilities. Granted, it takes a really long time to unlock the best powers. Plus, the story is also very rote and predictable with an excessive runtime. Don’t get me wrong. I’m simply not the target audience for this type of game. Trine 5 might be a great experience for people who enjoy puzzle games and co-op adventures. I prefer faster hack and slash combat, so the game wasn’t the best fit for me. Trine 5 is currently $30 on many online retailers, so it might be worth your time and money if it seems like your usual repertoire.  Once in a while, developers create titles like Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun in the style of classic Doom shooters. This modern pixel shooter has the frantic pacing, exciting gameplay, and bloody kills from various predecessors. It’s a very fun and brutal experience with waves of enemies, a variety of explosive weapons, and interdimensional locations. Resources drain quickly, but you regain ammo and health by killing enemies and using your chainsaw. You get to play as a hardcore space marine and that counts as something, right? Boltgun might be entertaining, but the frame rate becomes a mess during confrontations with large numbers of enemies. Also, confusing navigation ruined the experience for me. The game doesn’t have a map and the environment lacks distinct features to help players navigate. I spent long periods of time searching for the next doorway or exit. A straightforward recommendation is tricky for this game. Boltgun will definitely satisfy fans of the old school FPS genre. If you like the original Wolfenstein or Doom games, then I would say this title is probably up your alley. However, it might not be a good fit for gamers who prefer having maps, waypoints, or struggle with eye strain. The pixelated visuals and bright colors might be a problem for some individuals. That’s my take.  Starfield was supposed to redeem the dry spell for Microsoft exclusives. I would say this game was at least partially successful. When it comes to cross platform releases, I usually stick with the Xbox. However, I’m not much of an Xbox fan girl. I stay pretty objective when it comes to reviews. Like most Bethesda titles, Starfield is fun and messy. You would think this studio would clean up their games, but it’s not happening for some reason. The character models are weird, the environments are very plain, and the overall experience has a lot of bugs and glitches. Starfield features space combat with a multitude of ships, but I find that part of the gameplay clunky at best. Inventory management continues to be a huge issue for Bethesda, so I recommend selling, storing, or dumping many items. Despite such problems, I really enjoy this Xbox exclusive. The ground level combat is great, several of the missions are creative, and fast traveling is a helpful way to cross the galaxy. Character creation is quite strong while the story is both strange and intriguing at the same time. The game also has a fantastic new game plus mode that connects directly to the plot. You can push through the main story or go on endless tangents with various side missions. Mix and match weapons, outfits, and other resources to make the best experience for you. Basically, this game provides a wide variety of options, choices, and journeys. Starfield might not be a polished release, but it’s definitely worth your time and exploration. What about the $70 price tag? Just play it on Xbox Game Pass instead. All of the Microsoft’s first party games release day one on Game Pass. However, that might change when they acquire Activision Blizzard.  Mortal Kombat 1 might be my favorite games in franchise at this point. Granted, I’m not an expert in the fighting genre or a huge Mortal Kombat aficionado. This is a reboot of the series, even though it takes place directly after the events of Mortal Kombat 11. Think of this game like a multiverse tale. It has a few flaws, including some weird facial animations, a brief single player campaign, and a lousy way to introduce players to the character’s move sets. The game just dumps you into fights with each playable character. I paused the combat and skimmed through the list of moves during each fight. With that said, the overall experience was a lot of fun and probably the most accessible Mortal Kombat title for casual gamers. Anyone can learn how to play this game with a little practice. Mortal Kombat 1 introduces a brand new story with major changes for many of the characters. I appreciated this refresh of the universe. If you’re looking for amazing combos and gory fatalities, this game should be in your library. The death scenes are ridiculously over the top and many of them are downright hilarious. I also enjoyed the Kameo system, which gives you a supporting character who will help periodically. Due to the graphic nature of this game, I wouldn’t recommend it for young kids. I believe many fans of the fighting genre and casual gamers will enjoy this new take on the Mortal Kombat canon. It’s necessary for long running franchises to make changes if they want to stay relevant. I heard the Switch version is really bad, so go with the PS5 or Xbox.  The roguelike genre can be frustrating and Death or Treat has some of the most irritating elements from similar releases. At first, it’s easy to feel charmed and enamored with the cast of cute supernatural creatures. The combat is serviceable, although very repetitive with minimal variety. Pretty soon, the experience simply feels like constant dying, respawning, and going through the same motions on loop. I found the game uneventful and dull after several runs. It takes quite a while to build decent power ups, weapons, and health perks. Dying and respawning doesn’t have to be a problem, but the game needs to incentivize players to go through continual runs. Death or Treat has a bare bones story and little variety. It’s a long grind because you’ll die without upgrades many times. In the end, the game just isn’t fun enough. Death or Treat is a weak example in the roguelike genre. It’s a cheap purchase, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting a bargain. Overall, I would only recommend it for people who are having trouble finding enough roguelike games in their library.  Did Batora: Lost Haven prove more entertaining than some of the examples on this post? No, but it wasn’t a total failure either. The game follows the path of many post-apocalyptic stories with a feisty young heroine who was granted special powers to save the world from an intergalactic threat. Batora is an isometric adventure with real time combat. The protagonist rotates hack and slash style weapons with projectiles. Enemies are generic, but some of them are more vulnerable to close combat while others suffer more damage at a distance. There isn’t anything special about this game, although the characters are fine, the missions are okay, and the world building feels like a decent Saturday morning cartoon. Batora emphasizes player choices, which will affect the outcome at the end. Two major issues turned me off. It takes forever to build enough skills and perks. Also, the combat is very imprecise and causes many unjustified deaths.
This game has many positive elements, but the few negative ones are serious. Furthermore, this game isn’t very memorable. It’s not a bad experience, but video games cost money and the market is downright oversaturated. Are you really going to spend money on this smaller release? I saw Batora listed on Steam for $15, so it’s your choice. That should be enough variety to keep you busy for a while. What games have you been playing lately? Do you think 2023 is a strong year for gaming or does it feel disappointing? Leave a comment. Currently, Starfield and Mortal Kombat 1 are the stand out titles for me. It’s hard to predict next week’s post. I’m fighting a sinus infection and still organizing some things in my house. So, we’ll see how it goes. Life always finds a way to keep everything interesting. Take care of yourselves and party safely! Good night!
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Greetings! You probably know my world turned upside down for a while. Most of my time was spent packing, moving, buying new furniture, etc. Then I had to bring everything back to the house and unpack. It’s still a work in progress, but the project is moving along nicely. The tiny bit of free time I had was spent playing the newest video games on the market. I can’t let my bedroom’s new home entertainment system go to waste. That means I haven’t seen any movies for quite a while. However, I have a wish list when my home improvement project is done. Let’s take a look at everything I’m planning to stream at some point.
Evil Dead Rise This horror film was a real hit on Max and it had strong critical reception. I’m not sure if this movie is a reboot of the Evil Dead franchise or a distant sequel. Either way, it sounds really freaky and gross in the best ways possible. It also seems to be following the serious and more frightening elements of the 2013 reboot instead of the campy humor of the Bruce Campbell era. Evil Dead Rise features a family and other tenants in an aparatment complex, which is completely different than typical settings for this series. I doubt this family will have a happy outcome. Traditionally, the Evil Dead movies have one or two survivors and this one will probably follow suit. Extraction 2 Yeah, this action film has been on Netflix for a long time. I wasn’t a fan of the first Extraction, despite having a plethora of impressive action scenes. Chris Hemsworth is definitely a good action star, but he struggles to find an audience outside of the Marvel franchise. Hopefully, Extraction 2 will have better pacing and a stronger script. Granted, I shouldn’t expect much from Netflix. It seems like viewers in enjoy this film, so I’m willing to be somewhat optimistic. Fast X I’ve never been a fan of the Fast and the Furious movies, but the most recent entry is on Peacock. I should give a whirl. The more recent films have been really goofy and over the top, which is potentially why people enjoy the series. I’m not sure how many movies Universal Pictures can squeeze out of the franchise. This might be a rumor, but I heard Fast X is trying to set up another sequel at the end. I hope that’s not the case. Either way, I’ll check it out in due time. The Flash Such controversy! Public disinterest in the DC superhero movies and Ezra Miller’s personal drama hurt this film badly at the box office. However, it received surprisingly good critical reception. I don’t know what to think. In a way, this movie is one of the most intriguing entries on today’s post because it revolves around drama in the worst ways and the plot might serve as a partial reboot of the DC universe. Truthfully, I’ve never been a fan of the Flash as a character. Hopefully, Warner Bros. will make better casting choices in the future. I don’t see anything wrong with recasting a major character, especially when the actor is becoming a huge problem. They replaced Johnny Depp in the Fantastic Beasts series, so I’m not sure why the studio kept Ezra Miller in this case. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 I almost bought a ticket for theaters, but the grim story drove me away. The third Guardians of the Galaxy movie went on Disney+ at least a couple weeks ago. I heard this film is quite entertaining and still a worthy entry in the trilogy. Marvel is finally introducing other classic members of the team, such as Adam Warlock and Cosmo the dog. I’m curious about the ending because it’s unlikely many of the original cast members will return for future movies. Let’s see if we wind up with a completely different team at the end. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant Hollywood could use more modern war films. They always cover WWII and other wars from decades past, but the market is a bit thin when it comes to recent wars. I know The Covenant was received well by critics, but it had less impressive box office numbers. Maybe it will find a decent audience on Amazon Prime. The film dropped recently on the streaming service and I’ll try to find some time to watch it. Please, don’t be boring. So many war movies are boring with uninspired scripts. I don’t expect The Covenant to be anything like Saving Private Ryan, but hopefully it can have some shades of American Sniper and similar releases. Heart of Stone Honestly, I don’t know anything about this action film, except it’s a Netflix exclusive that stars Gal Gadot. Again, I’m not expecting much. Wonder Woman was a hit for Gal Gadot, but she seems to have the same issues as many superhero leads. Somehow, she can’t find successful projects outside of the DC universe. I don’t think she’s a particularly good actress and that might be a big part of the problem, but Netflix could be a decent location for her and other ex-superheroes. At this point, I’m just looking for entertaining action scenes and a way to kill a couple hours. Don’t disappoint me, Netflix! Transformers: Rise of the Beasts I also have an entry for Paramount+. The new Transformers movie has been streaming for a while and it seems like this franchise will never die. It reminds of the Fast and the Furious series. I don’t want to have unrealistic expectations, but Rise of the Beasts has a new cast and it adapts some of my favorite elements from the toy lines and cartoon shows. It still has Bumblebee and Optimus Prime with the addition of the Beast bots. I assume it’s just going to have a bunch of action scenes and VFX. That’s good enough for streaming most of the time. All right! I have a total of eight films on my streaming list, although it will grow bigger shortly because more titles will inevitably drop in the near future, such as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Meg 2: The Trench, The Boogeyman, Haunted Mansion, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. Halloween is going to be a busy time for streaming. What movies are you catching on streaming this year? Are you still devoted to movie theaters? Do you even think modern streaming services will survive as a business model? Leave a comment. Take care of yourselves, have fun streaming, and come back again next week. Good night! |
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May 2019
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