Welcome back, gaming fans! 2024 is another packed year with new games. It also seems like this year will be quite controversial for the video game industry, but we’ll find out more details within the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’m starting to get through the first games of the year. Did 2024 have a decent opening season or did publishers release a bunch of filler content? Check out my thoughts below. I was disappointed with last year’s brawler games, but 2024 seems to be heading in the right direction. Mayhem Brawler is a 2D side scrolling brawler with a few modern elements, such as branching storylines and different enemy or boss encounters that reflect your choices. That means the game has multiple endings as well. The controls are fluid, the animation takes influences from comic book illustrations, and the basic mechanics are easy to learn yet challenging to master. For example, you can dash toward enemies with the press of a single button instead of double tapping the joystick. Each playable character is a different archetype with their own unique abilities, including a wolf-man, a shark-man, and a superhero in the vein of Captain Marvel. Mayhem Brawler has seven chapters, which feels like the right length. The game also has plenty of replay value because each experience will be somewhat different. Mayhem Brawler might be one of the most commercial brawlers and yes, that’s a good thing. It introduces players to the genre and helps them build skills with their own gameplay style. I wholeheartedly recommend this game and it’s hard to beat the price at $20 digitally. The gaming community waited many years for a new entry in the Prince of Persia series. It’s a side scrolling metroidvania that brings the franchise back to form while adding several modern elements. On the plus side, The Lost Crown has excellent animation, entertaining combat, numerous ways to traverse the environment, and accessibility features to make the game more enjoyable for casual players. You can also take pictures to help you remember locations that require unlocking. However, the inventory and upgrade system feels convoluted. You’ll spend a long time unlocking new abilities and it’s hard to tell what items make the best upgrades. I accumulated large quantities of material, but it just seemed like a collection of stuff. What do all these totems, gems, and sigils mean? Your guess is as good as mine. The map is pretty good, although it needs way more fast travel options for a game of this size. The Lost Crown requires massive amounts of backtracking and it pads on a lot of extra time for no particular reason. After a while, the gameplay and platforming feels highly repetitive with excessive grinding. It just feels like a chore past a certain point. I also experienced a lot of motion sickness. If you’re curious about the new Prince of Persia game, check it out on Ubisoft+ for PC or Xbox. That way, you can try the game without paying full price. People who love metroidvanias will enjoy this game, but it’s not going to be a great experience for newcomers or players who struggle with the genre, despite a multitude of accessibility features. Another Code: Recollection includes two point and click mystery games. The graphics have an anime style and it’s easy to maneuver through the environment. Puzzles are fun with a decent amount of variety. Most of the puzzles are pretty simple, but others are more challenging. The story is quite interesting with influences from various cozy mysteries and light sci-fi excursions. Another Code has solid voice acting and plenty of opportunities to learn more about the characters through dialogue options and letters strewn around the environment. You probably won’t get lost because the game has a map and the puzzles have a hint system. Both games combined have a very meaty runtime at easily twenty hours. This remake collection has a few issues worth mentioning. Some of the mini games require the Switch’s motion controls, which is a pain in the butt. The story drags periodically and the plot can be a bit confusing in the later chapters. It’s not a hard collection, so certain gamers will find the experience dull. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this duo of titles. Another Code: Recollection might not be the best choice for people who are searching for an ultra difficult experience, but it’s good for people who appreciate narrative adventures and mysteries. It even has a fun little sci-fi spin. I will say the price is off putting at $60. You definitely have the option of waiting for a sale. If you’re a fan of courthouse dramas, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy be a good choice. Granted, I was less thrilled with this trilogy compared to The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. The Apollo Justice games have similar elements, such as investigations, crime scenes, interrogations, deductions, and other elements that you’ll see in Law & Order. It seems like 2024 has a lot of anime remakes, including this trilogy. Chronicles had interesting mysteries, well developed characters, clever deduction systems, and plenty of humor. However, the Apollo Justice Trilogy is slow, repetitive, boring, and goofy without being witty. Some people are really huge fans of the Ace Attorney franchise and I’ll bet a few of the stories in this trilogy rank lower on the list. The runtime is unrealistically long at ninety hours. If you play through all of the main stories, you’re looking at days or weeks of gameplay. That’s simply too long for students and adults with busy schedules. I’m only recommending this trilogy for hardcore Ace Attorney fans. The franchise has better entries and I found unrelated games more satisfying, such as Another Code: Recollection and last year’s Murder On the Orient Express. The fighting genre’s renaissance continues with Tekken 8. I was afraid this game would fail to impress me after playing Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1. Good thing I was wrong! Tekken 8 has great controls and countless combinations that can drain your opponent’s health. The new heat system can regenerate your health and temporarily unlock new combos. When your health is low, the game gives you the chance to use a super move that will cripple your opponent. The story mode is surprisingly good and you have other gameplay options, such as the short character stories, multiplayer, and a unique arcade tour. Tekken remains the most challenging and unforgiving of the major fighting IPs, but it has some new elements that can help newcomers. For example, you can turn on the new control scheme that will allow you to perform lengthy combos by mashing a single button. The roster is very impressive with more than thirty characters, including original favorites and new characters to the series.
Ultimately, Tekken 8 is one of the best entries in the franchise and a great addition to the fighting genre. Despite a high level of difficulty, I find this game entirely accessible to casual gamers. I can understand if you want the price to drop below $70 after some time, but the game still has amazing value. That’s all for now! A couple of the games on this post weren’t my cup of tea, but it was actually a really good start for the year. Hopefully, it will be a strong indicator for the rest of 2024. I’m still working on a backlog of games for the next round of reviews. It’s hard to believe the beginning of the year was so packed. Early 2024 started with many layoffs in the gaming industry, rumors about the next Nintendo console, Best Buy eliminating physical movies from their inventory, and Xbox rethinking their business strategy for the future. We still have a long ways to go this year! On that note, have fun watching the Super Bowl, enjoy your Valentine’s Day, and I’ll see you again next week.
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May 2019
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