While absolutely paying homage to the likes of Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie with its simple visuals and style, it’s sorely lacking in comparable charm and originality
For anime fans, in particular, there’s something special about this melding of episodic content and action, but for everyone else its mechanics may be a bit too cumbersome to ignore
While deserving some credit for trying to tackle the WarioWare formula, too many of its micro games are unintuitive and have controls that are too wonky
Offers a mix of simple techniques and action to allow you to race along and work to win, but it’s ultimately a bit too repetitive and grindy for its own good
While it may be slow burn in nature, and take quite a while to really develop, this is a visual novel that looks gorgeous and has some choices that carry consequence
While it has some good ideas like your ability to combine magic for different effects, its execution isn’t up to the task of making it reach its potential
While I may not be familiar with any of the anime the game is based around, there is no question that its gameplay is gorgeous, and its storylines are utterly bonkers
Having been away from the series for a decade or two, this edition impresses, and is overwhelming, but is also obviously a lot of game for football fans to enjoy
Undeniably weird, but also incredibly simple, and doesn’t ultimately take very long to burn through, but it gets credit for being different and possibly poignant
By adding a grounded story, and recipes you complete built around a wide variety of recombined patterns you can get used to, this series takes a big step forward
While not without some irritating flaws that exhibit themselves at times, if you’re looking for a co-op challenge this is a solid roguelike take that’s worth a look
While the concept, essentially playing the part of a chestburster trying to survive in a space station, is cool, the general mechanics and controls don’t always feel helpful
For competitive puzzle action fans, the combining of these 2 iconic franchises is still a treat, but people who already have earlier versions may not get enough value out of the upgrade
While there’s some fun to be had with its unpredictable chain of moments and mini games, it could have benefitted from more focus and refinement on fewer elements
The team behind Mario Odyssey have really upped the ante with Donkey Kong Bananza, creating what feels like an open world orgy of discovery and destruction
While there may be some nostalgic value to it, and there’s no question of the tabletop-honoring bona fides it shows, this still feels pretty aged and can be tough to love
Undeniably odd, and perhaps a little too quirky when it comes to precision jumping to be truly great, this odd mix of Metroidvania and Pac-Man is daring and weird, but does work quite well
While from a preservationist’s point of view it would be important not to lose track of these more obscure and mostly games that are poor clones of other more popular ones, it struggles to deliver fun
