I think Monster Hunter Rise looks better than Monster Hunter World. Not technically, but I find it artistically superior than Capcom’s last outing with the franchise. I didn’t finish Monster Hunter World, but I had my fun with it before putting it down. It’s one of the few games my fiancee and I played co-operatively. Monster Hunter Rise looks to a very promising instalment and one that I might actually pick up once it goes on sale digitally.
Apex Legends landed very hot. It drew me into its orbit and I haven’t left it since. However, its proliferation to other platforms has been very slow. Porting the game and the Source engine over to ARM is no easy task so it’s not surprising on a technical front, but this is Electronic Arts. I figured one the biggest publishers in the industry would move Heaven and Earth to get the game out to as many platforms as possible. The Switch version runs at half the framerate that I would like, but it’s finally available on an ARM device so that’s impressive progress, I guess.
When Activision Blizzard are motivated to pull out all the stops and just execute, they do it. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is, by many accounts, a quality platformer and a worthy sequel to a franchise that I’ve only ever played as a nostalgia piece in Uncharted 4. I can fix this oversight with the the N’Sane Trilogy which Sony included in their PlayStation Plus Collection for PS5 owners, but I’m just not that into bandicoots.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon will finally get its free PlayStation 5 upgrade after several months of exclusivity for Microsoft’s Xbox Series X|S consoles. I want to play this game, but I feel like I should be Judgment first. I know they’re only related in a tangental manner, but still. It’s gone on sale a couple of times and I can pick up the Xbox Series X|S version for about $50, but I think it’ll drop a bit more. Hell, it may even make its way onto Game Pass sooner rather than later at this rate.
I’m a fan of the look, the art, and the style of the Bravely Default on the Nintendo 3DS. However, the reviews and impressions of it left me cautious and wary of diving in at full price. By the time it went on sale, I lost interest entirely. I didn’t even bother with the demo of Bravely Default II and judging by the impressions and reviews of the sequel, I don’t think I’m missing out on too much.
Xbox One
Xbox 360 & Xbox One
PlayStation 5
PlayStation 4
Atlus enjoys testing the limits of their fans’ adoration of Persona games. Buying the game again for extra content, buying fighting games to get additional story, or how about a rhythm game? Persona 5 Strikes is a Dynasty Warriors X Persona 5 collaboration that I just don’t have the energy for. I’m sure it will find its fans and I’m certain the developers will do a bang up job with infusing the Dynasty Warriors DNA into Persona 5. I just don’t think I will like it very much.
Nintendo always manages to do this to me. They always manage to entice me to pick up games I already own again and again. I have a copy of Super Mario 3D World on the Wii U. It works. Sure it’s not as pretty as the Switch version, but it works and I’m sure I would have a blast with it. But then they add a large chunk of worthwhile content and I’m pining to grab a copy for myself.
I said before and I’ll say it again, I should play Nioh and its sequel, Nioh 2. I already own Nioh via PlayStation Plus’ Instant Game Collection! Before even contemplating that, I need to setup my gaming stuff all over again. We moved houses and everything is a right mess at the moment.
Dynasty Warriors and Ys are two long running game franchises that I noticed from afar, but never really engaged with. There’s a ninth instalment of Ys coming out on February 2nd for North America and I didn’t even know the Japanese version already launched in 2019. I recognize that Ys has its fans and is well liked by said fans, but there’s something about it that just doesn’t even pique my interest enough to try it.
Xbox One
Xbox 360 & Xbox One
PlayStation 5
PlayStation 4
The Yakuza Remastered Collection is making its way to Xbox Game Pass which means my chance to Yakuza 5 has never been better. I think we have it on the PlayStation 3’s Instant Game Collection, but now I get to play it at least 1080p60. It’s the only mainline Yakuza title featuring Kiryu that I have yet to play.