New Super Lucky's Tale
New Super Lucky's Tale is a second chance for a game that originally launched on the wrong platform at the wrong time. While Super Lucky's Tale was just fine the way it was, unfair comparisons to the newly released Super Mario Odyssey would destroy its reputation.
While the game wasn't without flaw, New Super Lucky's Tale serves the same exact purpose the original did, being an entry level platformer for children while being engaging enough for adults who might appreciate the nostalgia of playing a game not unlike what they played in their childhood.
However, the "New" in the title is not just a gimmick either, as there is a lot that is new this time around. Visuals have been improved from its original Xbox One counterpart, movement and animations have been tweaked and altered, hub worlds have been completely restructured, and some levels have even gotten major overhauls, making this one of the weirdest games to categorize as it's different parts a port, a remaster, and a remake.
The fixed camera was never an issue for me in the original release, but this version has full 360 camera control which if I'm being honest, I found more disorienting than before. But this is still by far the definitive version of the game for newcomers since it features all the DLC content, fixes what didn't work before, and enhances and reworks what wasn't even broken the first time to further flesh out the experience.
But as someone who enjoyed the original game as it was, it's hard for me to completely disregard it because in some ways, it just feels like a completely different game rather than an inferior one. At its core, it's still the same charming 3D platformer with a wide variety of fun levels and challenges. I don't say that to knock New Super Lucky's Tale either, but to reinforce how solid and overlooked the game always was, and I couldn't be happier to have played this on my Nintendo Switch, where it always belonged.
7.9/10
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Platinumed Horizon: Zero Dawn and got all the trophies for The Frozen Wilds DLC. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this game. I wasn't a big fan of a lot of the characters and stories within the game. There were many reasons why it fell flat to me, from the constant droning of the bland NPCs who are often poorly animated, poorly acted, and lack any sort of charm, to the "feminist" agenda that became more and more apparent the longer you play. But what kept me engaged was the excellent world building and the intriguing main story.
I still remember the first time I came across what appeared to be skyscrapers, street lights, and cars that were all taken over by the elements and it left me in awe as I started to piece together the setting and time period. It was a really clever juxtaposition setting the story in a future that mirrored early civilization, and just as I'd start to question how improbable it would be for civilization to regress as much as it did post modern day, the story would gradually offer explanations to my exact gripes the more you uncover what caused this apocalypse.
The gameplay was also extremely fun for me and never got boring. It feels like a cross between Tomb Raider and The Legend of Zelda, which is awesome for me as those are 2 of my most favorite franchises. Aloy even controls very similarly to Lara Croft, down to the primary weapon being a bow and arrow. Combat is very engaging and fighting against the machines is always satisfying. It always feels good getting criticals and tearing off pieces of their armor. The general gameplay loop and what you do in the huge world never felt repetitive or boring, which can be typical for these type of games.
While I have yet to play games like Red Dead Redemption II and Ghost of Tsushima, this is by far one of the most gorgeous looking games I've ever seen with such a large scope. Everything is so finely detailed and vibrant, and the spectacle can be really amazing. I'll never forget the first time I came across a gigantic thunder jaw T-Rex machine and how it just completely blew my mind when it started shooting rockets from its back and blasted through the environment with a huge laser, making me feel completely defenseless but in awe of the epic encounter that was about to ensue.
But for as great as the game is, I found there to be lots of little things that could have drastically improved the experience for me that are pretty common in games today. Climbing for example feels very underutilized and could have been better implemented throughout the entire game world. Only the most specific of spots throughout the environment can be used to climb and it's usually marked in yellow, but I say usually because other times, there just isn't any kind of indication that you can grab onto ledges. It sounds a lot worse than it really is as it's one of those things you just get used to and isn't really all that needed, but there have definitely been a number of times when I just wished she could cling onto a ledge or I just couldn't make out where I was supposed to climb from. Aloy's jumps towards ledges can also be really annoying because her jumps feel like they're being pulled back and you're gonna miss your jump, only for her to grab onto an out of sight ledge down below.
The focus ability, or as it is more famously known as, detective mode, forces Aloy into a walking position, meaning you can't really use it during combat which could have been really useful against human enemies as they are much smaller targets and hard to spot in the dark. The game also has stealth mechanics, but I feel like the bandit camp designs and enemy A.I. don't really let you take advantage of using stealth too much.
And like I mentioned before, I found the obvious pandering to feminists very forced and unbelievable. Aloy is already the leading character, so you already buy into the fact that she will outdo everyone and save the day because it's her story and you're the one playing as her. But as I kept encountering "strong" female character after "strong" female character, I started to notice the lack of strong male characters, as men were either mostly antagonists, flawed, or 2nd to another female character.
There were very few strong male characters and of the abundance of strong female characters, very few were actually believable leaders in this savage world as this game would have you believe that Miley Cyrus and Rose Tico would be in charge of anything in a post apocalyptic world. But my biggest problem with this agenda pushing is that it actually has the opposite effect of what's intended.
Aloy herself already serves as the likable strong female lead who no one would question could do the things she can do. But within the context of everything else, I couldn't help but question the fact that whenever Aloy came across an antagonist, told someone off, or challenged someone, they were male. Had they portrayed much more equal or realistic characters, Aloy would have had a much stronger impact. Luckily, this is mostly the case in side missions and it never truly beats you over the head with it, but it's definitely something that you just notice the more you come across it.
But there is one benefit to meeting all the side characters as it has an excellent pay off at the end of the game. The way everything and everyone comes together at the end was fantastic. Like a series finale to a TV show where you're greeted by returning characters you haven't seen in so long. I even got that rare Master Chief feeling where suddenly, Aloy's presence just felt larger than life and gave hope to those around her, except it was earned and so much more rewarding.
The Frozen Wilds DLC offered a nice chunk of content that felt different enough from the main game and actually had a pretty good story between some of the new characters that felt better realized than the majority of those seen in the main game. My only gripe however are the new machines, which are just incredibly cheap.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is definitely a must have for any Playstation owner and in my honest opinion, is one of the better open world games I've played. The game never devloved into the same thing for too long, even when I was just going from collectible to collectible, there was always something more to it than just grinding or collecting that always kept the game engaging and fresh all throughout, which is ultimately the game's biggest saving grace as I had a hard time connecting with the characters and tribes who you'll often be engaged with for various missions and quests, but it was never long before I was hooked back into the story or out in the wild doing something fun.
9/10
Streets of Rage 4
Streets of Rage 4 has been long overdue, and it hasn't missed a beat. After years and hundreds of playthroughs of Streets of Rage 2, Streets of Rage 4 has satisfied my appetite for a modernized Streets of Rage experience that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel and still remembers why the series worked in the first place, as it heavily draws inspiration from the 2nd game in its level design, combat, and progression, but with a fresh coat of paint, a host of improvements, and plenty of new ideas.
Combat for example is as crunchy and impactful as ever, but it's vastly improved by new details, such as enemies no longer walking or being thrown off screen and the ability to attack and juggle enemies in the air, keeping combat flowing as you build massive combos. Special moves are treated differently as well, as you are given a chance to earn back depleted health by attacking enemies successfully without getting hit, turning it into a more strategic risk/reward system.
Item pick ups are also assigned to their own button, meaning you no longer have to worry about accidentally picking up health while fighting, making co-op play much less frustrating. You can even toggle partner damage off if you're looking for an even smoother co-op experience.
The new hand drawn visuals are absolutely stunning and the cutscenes offer neat transitions from level to level, giving the story a proper flow reminiscent of 80s/90s action movies. The level design takes major beats from Streets of Rage 2, but they're mixed into new stages, and there's a variety of segments that can change up the pace, like sliding on wet floors, avoiding environmental hazards, jumping over oncoming obstacles on top of a moving train, interacting with environmental traps, and even brief moments of fighting on a traditional 2D plane.
There are a total of 12 levels this time, which is more than any of the previous titles, but the game is only slightly longer. Some levels can move pretty quickly, but even some of the longer stages don't feel that long because it's so well paced by the constant variety of enemies, succession of unique locations, and brand new boss fights, so you never feel like you're doing the same thing for too long.
As if the game wasn't fun enough on its own, replay value is exponentially increased by the addition of an arcade and boss rush mode, as well as the returning battle mode. You're also given a grade ranking at the end of each stage if you so wish to improve your technique and skill and master each level.
But it also wouldn't be Streets of Rage without an amazing soundtrack and boy does it deliver. Like everything else in the game, the music takes inspiration from Streets of Rage 2's iconic soundtrack, as you can hear some of those classic beats remixed into brand new retro-sounding tracks with a modern twist. The game even has an option to replace the new music with music from the first 2 games, but the new stuff is so good and fits the ambiance a lot better that I'd rather not bother with the old music.
You can unlock all the previous characters from each game, old school sprites and all through accumulated points from all your playthroughs. But my biggest gripe is the lack of current unlockable characters. Adam is unlocked through story progression, but there are at least 3 more characters in the game who felt like they could have been unlocks, but maybe due to their role in the story, can't be playable, even though two of those characters are modern versions of older playable characters you can already unlock.
Text dialogue in cutscenes is also way too fast and the ending is a bit abrupt. I've beaten the game several times already on each difficulty and there doesn't seem to be any special ending like Streets of Rage 3 either. Gameplay wise, I think fall damage and explosive damage can be really cheap, knocking off a huge chunk of health which can be really detrimental to your success on harder playthroughs.
I also did just play the game after a major patch that apparently fixed 150 issues, mainly to do with balancing and online play. So I haven't really had any issues with character gameplay and enemy balance that people may have had in the past. Just certain damage the player can recieve which can still be improved. I also played cooperatively online and had 0 issues with it.
Streets of Rage 2 has always been the pinnacle of 2D beat 'em ups for me. The first didn't quite grab me as much and the third was unnecessarily too hard to enjoy. At least the American version. But Streets of Rage 4 hits that same sweet spot Streets of Rage 2 did, and in a lot ways, outdoes it. This is definitely a game I'm going to keep coming back to for years to come whenever I'm itching to jump into some quick yet satisfying action.
9/10
