HIGH The atmosphere is superb, and the puppets are comically feral.

LOW Some severe frame rate drops. Plentiful healing dials the tension down.

WTF Have you ever seen a depressed puppet?

Many survival horror titles thrive off of unexplainable cosmic horrors, the aftermaths of outbreaks, and other unpleasant events. My Friendly Neighborhood challenges the norms of the genre with a setting that’s less than threatening — a TV studio for a children’s program. Hardly scary, right? But that’s where most players will be wrong.

In My Friendly Neighborhood, players assume the role of Gordon J. O’Brian, a handyman sent to a studio to stop the broadcast of the titular show from playing over the news and other programs. Upon entering the studio grounds, he finds that not only are things amiss technically, but almost all the puppets are moving around on their own and attacking anything that gets near them.

In typical survival horror fashion, Gordon has to navigate numerous areas from a first-person perspective while scavenging for limited supplies, weapons, and keys to open new paths. What sets MFN apart is that almost all the weapons are something other than ordinary firearms — they’re typically shaped like a normal firearm, but they fire letters instead of bullets. These give Gordon’s adventure a lot of charm, as it’s comical to watch letter B’s and X’s getting shot at the puppets.

The tokens I found during play were also interesting — they could function like an ink ribbon used to save the player’s game in classic Resident Evil, but they could also be used at healing stations to refill my health completely. They also acted as currency, being exchanged at vending machines for various boosts. This made these me have to use my one item for saves tactically. If I was low on tokens, I’d have to choose between being able to save and being able to heal if I was low on items.

As for the main antagonists, these manic puppets would chase me down the moment I got too close. If they caught me, I’d receive a harmful hug and then be tossed violently to the ground. In a nod to the subject material, the violence here has been scaled back.

While I wanted to avoid those hugs, the real threat came from the fact that puppets often reanimated after leaving an area. Thankfully, I could permanently restrain a downed puppet by using tape. However, tape was pretty rare, so I had to use it strategically — and within this scarcity lies MFN’s smart design.

With such so many puppets around but no way to permanently remove all of them, a threat remained. Even ammo was limited, so I had to take into account where and when to use items and weapons. For example, I could easily juke some of the slower puppets, but could spend my precious tape on those that were faster, and therefore harder to get away from.

Even when disposed of, the puppets would still chatter to themselves about topics ranging from the innocuous to the insane. This scripting gave them lots of character and juxtaposed them with the Sesame Street Muppets that they’re obviously based on.

Something else I greatly appreciated about MFN were its numerous secret items weapons and areas. Apart from these things, there were also hidden ways to permanently and peacefully deal with puppets, and this usually involved finding specific items or backtracking through previously explored buildings. For example, in the earliest area, a large Big Bird-like puppet will prowl an area and stomp on me if I got close. When I found an item that they were looking for, they stopped moving around and were no longer hostile, removing their threat to me. However, in some cases, I had to wait to help them until I was able to explore an area further with new items from other locations.

For those that finish My Friendly Neighborhood, there are cheats that can be used in subsequent playthroughs, enhancing replayability. One gave the player a one-hit kill weapon that violently jettisons puppets into the nearest wall. Another unlocked “Neighborhorde” mode which focuses on arcade-style score attack. There were also a number of unlockable characters with their own loadouts. Including a chicken man with grenades.

In general, MFN is well-designed and well-made, though there were a few issues.

The biggest offender was a drop in the frame rate in a couple of smaller, crowded rooms. Thankfully, these instances were extremely limited. There was also no way to auto-sort items in the menu, leading to me spending time rearranging things to make space — annoying.

Another issue is that healing items were a little too plentiful. I constantly had bottles of healing juice stuffing my already-crowded inventory. While having access to heals isn’t a bad thing, survival horror thrives when there are limitations. Between those items and a machine that could heal me to full health in safe rooms, I felt like the potential tension was dulled a bit.

Overall, MFN is an excellent survival horror title that attempts to, and mostly succeeds at, changing up the standard survival horror formula. While it could stand to have a few more teeth, I was still pleasantly on the edge of my seat the entire time. In a genre with too many developers copying each other’s homework, My Friendly Neighborhood offers a break from the norm with color and charm, and I suspect that fans of survival horror will want to play along.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Buy My Friendly Neighborhood — Steam — PlayStation — Xbox

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by John and Evan Syzmanski, and published by DreadXP. It is currently available on XBO/X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher, and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 10 hours were devoted to the game, and it was completed with the true ending. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of E for Mild Fantasy Violence. Most of the weapons are some sort of typewriter-like instrument that shoots out letters, rather than bullets. The characters are never killed, but temporarily incapacitated. When attacked, the player is shaken and thrown about. While the rating states that this for everyone, young children (particularly viewers of Sesame Street) could become scared by the content. The puppets will also occasionally talk about wanting to commit violent actions. There are also cigarettes and bottles of alcohol in one area. As such, I would say that this is a game better suited for older kids, possibly teens.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game does offer subtitles, but only for cutscenes and dialogue from Gordon. Subtitles cannot be resized. There are no closed captions, which can make it hard for players to know that a threat is in the room. For example, all the puppets chatter when they’re conscious, and they’ll speak or vocalize differently when pursuing the player. This is a potential tell that could be missed by players with hearing issues. This game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

The post My Friendly Neighborhood Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Some of the locations are visually stunning…

LOW …But the game engine makes parts of them look terrible.

WTF There’s an extremely pixelated SpongeBob sticker in one map.

While it’s common to find a photo mode in big budget or picturesque experiences these days, there aren’t many titles focused solely on photography. So, when I heard about Lushfoil Photography Sim, I had to check it out. Thankfully, it mostly delivers.

In Lushfoil Photography Sim, players are tasked with taking photos from specific viewpoints within various locales, starting with a lake in Italy before moving to scenes in Japan, the French Alps, the Himalayas, and more. However, photography isn’t limited to the “quests” and shutterbugs can often take whatever pictures are desired in this first-person mini-vacation.

As the requested pictures were taken, more areas opened up, and not only were there all-new areas to explore, there were also new variations of maps I already had accessible. For example, the first location had a later ‘winter’ version to explore, and each unlock provided me with new weather and lighting conditions for photos.

The locations are all well-chosen, giving a variety of environments to suit any aesthetic. The Castle Rock Beach and Fushimi Inari Taisha were among my favorites, due to how gorgeous and vibrant they were.

The main camera I used was the digital SLR (single-lens reflex) and I was impressed with the options included. Photo modes in video games generally offer basic features, such as aperture and shutter speed, but Lushfoil goes all-out and offers many options found in modern professional cameras, such as ISO brightening and darkening tools. This made my photo safari feel far more realistic than expected.

There were extra tools to find, such as a camera drone, which could allow me to take photos from a higher elevation. Beyond that. There were some neat ‘throwback’ items, such as a film-based SLR camera and a ’00s era point-and-shoot camera. I only wish I could have found a disposable camera!

Completing a single map’s requests unlocks a GPS that helps locate any remaining collectibles. For those who leverage it to 100%, taking every requested photo and finding every collectible unlocks a ‘god’ mode, which essentially allows players to change the weather and other settings.

While this is a great foundation for a photography-focused experience, there were quite a few issues with Lushfoil that hold it back.

For a title that’s all about the visuals, it was a surprise to find that the graphics tended to be iffy. For example, the map in France had many background areas that were flattened images, or that offered jagged textures when viewed from afar. Some textures also had some unintended effects, like artifacts on objects that moved around. Reflections on water would also not appear on taken photos. Further, bloom and fog tended to make things too washed out, and there was some smudginess on finished images.

While there were plenty of great scenes, there were also some locales that were boring to photograph, such as a decrepit house, surrounded by a sense of lifelessness. Also, throughout the experience there were never any people in any of the areas, and even animals were rare. It sometimes felt like I was photographing dioramas, not real places.

The menus also gave me issues. Glitches would occur regularly, such as selecting one image, but then seeing another appearing on-screen, especially when deleting images. While exiting and re-entering the menu did help, this was tedious and annoying.

Speaking of images, I could only save around thirty photos. This is an absurdly tiny number of images for a photo game, especially when some have to be kept while progressing toward unlocking new locations. Photos also act as one of the fast travel systems between locations, so I had to be selective with what I kept.

There were also a number of performance issues to contend with, the biggest being frame rate drops and stutters occurring when traveling. It was a consistent stutter every few seconds, and very annoying. Long load times also meant I had to waiting 20—30 seconds every time I transitioned to a new map.

Lushfoil Photography Sim has a lot of rough edges that need work, and it’s rather unfortunate, as many of the areas offer stunning views and photo titles in general are rare. There’s definitely a vision here, and I can’t deny that this photo safari has charm. However, for a title that only aims to do one thing right, that thing needs to be perfect — and it’s far from it.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Buy Lushfoil Photography Sim – Steam – Epic – PlayStation – Xbox

Disclosures: This game is developed by Matt Newell and published by Annapurna Interactive. It is currently available on XBX/S, PS5, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 9 hours were devoted to the game, and it was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of E. The ESRB website states: “This is a simulation game in which players assume the role of a photographer taking pictures of various environments. Players explore locations around the world, photograph places and structures, and search for collectibles along the way.”

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game does not offer subtitles. There is no spoken dialogue. Text cannot be resized. This game is not fully accessible because text for tool tips and tutorials can be too small and difficult to read.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

The post Lushfoil Photography Sim Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH I never knew a chainsaw leg power slide would be everything I needed in life!

LOW The grappling hook can be aggravating to use.

WTF You can fight a vending machine, because reasons!

Ryan initially covered Turbo Overkill in his main review, and I tended to agree with many of his points. However, there were some additional aspects of this title I wanted to cover. While I also think the game is great, it’s not without some minor flaws.

As the cyborg Johnny Turbo, players explore the cyberpunk and neon city of Paradise, mowing down enemy after enemy in pursuit of the renegade AI Syn. Along the way, he has to traverse the city’s many dangerous sectors and roadways, dispatching the hordes of goons and monstrosities Syn has in its thrall. Over the course of three episodes, Johnny shoots, dices, and burns his way to closer to the menacing AI.

The combat, overall, is incredibly solid, and every level is frenetic. Using a variety of guns he finds along the way, Johnny has many options for decimating enemies, but he also has another secret weapon — a chainsaw leg (the Chegg). That’s right, Johnny’s leg is a chainsaw, and he can use it to power slide into numerous enemies. This saves ammo, of course, but it also looks cool as hell when he does it.

The Chegg isn’t the only cool weapon, though — every weapon has an alt-fire mode that expands its capabilities. The chain gun, for example, becomes a flamethrower. One of the shotguns can become a grenade launcher. It’s this kind of versatility is something I liked about Turbo Overkill. Having tons of great options for tackling waves of enemies is always a good thing.

Another cool feature is that in certain combat arenas, Johnny will become corrupted, which limits his weapon choices and initially seems bad. However, he gains infinite ammo for the entirety of the corruption’s duration, a neat trick that forces the player to learn all the weapons, rather than their favorite handful.

Maps are also interesting, colorful, and diverse. Many take place in Paradise’s city streets, but some add unique and interesting designs. My favorite was a section where I had to get out of my car in a busy highway and jump from car to car while pursuing a train.

Movement is super fluid and felt great for the most part. Johnny can double-jump from the get-go, dash, and after a certain point, slow down time. Like the versatility in weaponry, this agile quality gave a ton of options for getting around and avoiding getting trapped by enemies.

Without turning this review into a laundry list, there are a lot of things to like about Turbo Overkill — a great upgrade system also allows players to customize their Johnny, bonus items in each level that can grant upgrades, tapes that unlock secret levels, game mode modifiers, and an awesome soundtrack full of synth-heavy tunes that matched the atmosphere.

However, while all of that is great, there are a number of issues that hold it back, as well.

One of the most aggravating elements in Turbo Overkill is the grappling hook. It’s tricky to activate it correctly, and I had to have my reticle placed too precisely to use it. This was fine when I was stationary, but there are numerous climbs that require tight and consecutive uses of the hook. It’s too easy to miss in a tight spot and get sent hurtling into a pit.

There, are also a few UI elements that can are hard to see. The grappling hook activation icon is one of them, but the amount of armor Johnny has is also fairly tricky to see at a glance.

Levels can also be too long, many padded out with combat gauntlets. While it can be enjoyable to blast away at enemies left and right, these sequences made some levels last upwards of an hour at times, which turned them into a bit of a slog. The third episode of the game is particularly egregious with this.

In terms of production, I encountered some bugs. One kept trapping me under objects and in weird positions. Another prevented from progressing because some events wouldn’t trigger. In one instance, I had killed all enemies in an area, but the required door wouldn’t open, and I became unable to progress until I reloaded a save.

Despite these grievances, I still enjoyed my time with Turbo Overkill. It’s a reminder of the shooters we used to get on the reg back in the day, and it’s a great homage to those classics — it’s a must-play for fans of old-school fragging, for sure.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Buy Turbo Overkill – Steam – Epic – GOG – Xbox – PS5 – Switch

Disclosures: This game is developed by Trigger Happy Interactive and published by Apogee Entertainment. It is currently available on XBO/X/S, PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 18 hours was devoted to the game, and it was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, and Strong Language. The Rating Summary states: “This is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of a futuristic bounty hunter (Johnny [Turbo, initially written as Nitro]) trying to prevent a powerful AI from taking over a city. Players infiltrate building/facilities and use a chainsaw-like weapon, pistols, and electric shotguns to kill enemies (e.g., cyborgs, street punks). The frenetic run-and-gun combat is accompanied by realistic gunfire, large explosions, and frequent blood-splatter effects. Some attacks result in dismemberment/decapitation, causing bloody chunks to stain/litter the environment. Cutscenes depict additional acts of violence and blood/gore: a cyborg thug’s entrails used as a tool; a first-person view of a character’s hands blown off. The word ‘f**k’ is heard in the game.”

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles cannot be resized. The subtitles do work when playing audio logs, however, there is no closed captioning. This omission can make it difficult to understand some character logs and detect incoming enemies. This title is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

The post Turbo Overkill Second Opinion appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH The enhancements improve the creepy factor of an already-eerie game.

LOW The first two titles have numerous bugs and crashing issues.

WTF Burers, man…

I never got a chance to play the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games back in the day, so I was happy to try the Enhanced versions that recently came to new platforms, and I was delighted to find that they held an intriguing and dangerous world of outcasts, monsters, and treasure.

For those unfamiliar with the series, this S.T.A.L.K.E.R. package features three FPS titles with survival and horror elements set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine — Shadow of Chornobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Prypiat.

This fictional version of the Zone is a highly irradiated area filled with strange anomalies, horrifying mutants and numerous mysteries, and Shadow sets up the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe. Clear Sky acts as a prequel to it, answering questions players may have had about the Zone’s origins. Finally, Prypiat is a direct sequel to Shadow, with a new area of the Zone to explore and new mysteries to solve.

For owners of the original versions on PC and console, there’s great news — they’ll get the updated versions for free. On top of that, new owners will also the original versions as well. The one exception was Epic Games Store, which I couldn’t confirm. On top of that, saves from the older versions of each title can be transferred from the main menu, allowing players to start where they left off.

In this updated everything-in-one-package, there’s also a new Ukrainian voiceover option, which allows anyone to have a more immersive experience while playing these titles if they wish to experience the language of the country it’s set in.

Of the three titles, Prypiat was the best. Its world was the most fleshed out and lacked many of the problems the other two had (more on that in a bit.) Also, the side quests were the best in the trilogy. Overall, it was the most realized version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s ideas, with a world that delivers on its premise thanks to updated mechanics like the ability to pass time while sleeping and better gear customization. Niceties like his helped make the experience more engaging, and the world easier to interact with.

There’s also a commitment to realism that I found added to the challenge of these titles. Every object has weight, so I had to be strategic with what I carried at all times. I could only carry so many weapons, ammo, and healing items before I would start to be affected by encumbrance. For example, if I exceeded my carrying capacity by a little, I wouldn’t be able to run for long before tiring out, and even walking could become taxing. If I exceeded my carrying strength by a lot, I couldn’t move anymore.

Also, the pause menu doesn’t stop the game like a proper pause. Things still happen in the world while looking through menus, which meant that I had to be on my toes. Critters and other stalkers could sneak up and destroy me quickly if I wasn’t attentive. It gave the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy a great sense of realism and identity that I haven’t seen in many other titles.

On the PS5, the new features are smartly implemented. If I missed an on-screen popup, the adaptive triggers would help me know that a weapon was jammed. The rumble feature also gave great tactile feedback, letting me feel thunder and rain on my characters. The controller’s speaker would crackle when the Geiger counter would start up, alerting me to radiation. In one area of Clear Sky, it even played a song from an encampment that increased in volume as I approached it, like it was on a radio.

The lighting effects were also nice, and enhanced the ambiance. Daytime was accentuated with ‘god rays’ and other wonderful lighting effects. Dark areas, however, were very dark, and made things a bit scarier (even with the flashlight on), which I enjoyed.

Multiple endings in Shadow and Prypiat provide great replay value, and the first title features at least seven endings, depending on various gameplay factors and quests completed. The third title, on the other hand, provided only slight variations on the ending cutscenes/

While Legends Of The Zone is clearly a great way to catch up with these cult classic titles, there were a few anomalies throughout my time with the trilogy, particularly with the first two installments.

Bugged enemies were common in Shadow and Clear Sky — some would get stuck behind something, or some would attack and hit me from behind cover. Sometimes, enemies would also spawn right next to me after loading into a game despite not being there when I saved, leading to some unfortunate deaths.

Crashes were also common, with the first two titles crashing several times each during my playthroughs. Prypiat had a single crash, but otherwise ran well.

These games could also be quite frustratingly hard (especially Shadow) at times. Enemies could be bullet sponges at times, especially in later areas, while I could go down in just a few shots. Some needed tutorials are sparse. While the original release may have had a manual, these don’t and that makes tutorialization more necessary to include. Thankfully, changes to Call of Pripyat helped make things a bit more manageable.

There were numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the Shadow’s text, which definitely made this Enhanced edition not feel so updated.

Auto-saves, only happen when loading into a new area, and after some events and dialogue. Could have used some for safer areas. Again, Prypiat adds in some auto-saves after some events to help prevent players from losing progress.

The “Quality” mode didn’t really change all that much, and the FPS ended up being a bit unstable as a result. In fact, using it can cause blurriness when rotating the camera. Performance mode, thankfully, ran better and delivered a stable 60fps while the graphics still looked fine.

While this trilogy’s first two games suffer from issues that should have been fixed, they’re still worth playing. Call of Prypiat is clearly the standout experience, but all three as a package represent extraordinary adventures filled with lore and monsters that FPS, horror, and survival fans alike should all try — even if the “enhancements” aren’t quite what they needed to be.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Buy S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends of the Zone Trilogy En. Ed. — Steam — GOG — Epic — PlayStation — Xbox

Disclosures: These games were developed and published by GSC Game World LTD. They are currently available on XBO/X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. The original version of the trilogy is also available on Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 66 hours were devoted to the trilogy, and it was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language and Use of Alcohol. There is no ESRB summary for this collection. All three games feature gratuitous violence from gunfire, explosions, demolition, and the like. Profanity, such as “sh*t,” “c*cksucker”, “fa**ot”, “a*shole,” and “b*tch” can be heard in spoken dialogue in all three titles. In many instances, characters will partake of various drugs. The player character can also consume alcohol. In Call of Prypiat, players can take steroids.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles cannot be resized. This game is not fully accessible. While the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games have subtitles on by default, they can be small and difficult to read at times, especially with no option to add a background to them. This can cause the white text to blend in with some background elements, making reading even more difficult. In addition to this, there isn’t any closed captioning, so the lack of visual cues is a challenge. Lastly, some characters will chatter outside of communication with players. However, there aren’t any subtitles for this ambient dialogue, which can be especially frustrating since they speak in Ukrainian.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. However, there are a couple of alternate control schemes.

The post S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends Of The Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH The world is incredibly fleshed out.

LOW Some overly tight timing on puzzles grated on my nerves.

WTF The whole story is one giant WTF moment after another.

One day, Trevor Mills is living another day in his rather boring, but comfortable existence. The next, he’s running for his life. How did he get in this mess? By being the most unpopular resident of the city of Arcadia… Or, more accurately, by being the most unpopular character in the American Arcadia television and streaming program.

For his entire life, Trevor has been living a life constructed, not just for him, but for the millions of viewers of the titular program. Now, in this 2.5D puzzle-platformer, he has to flee an execution squad determined to bring him down. Along the way, he’ll have help from a mysterious benefactor going by the alias of “Kovacs”. As he flees, Trevor has to navigate obstacles, with Kovacs often intervening from afar by controlling electronics and machinery to assist Trevor.

At certain points, players control Kovacs to navigate the behind the scenes, while avoiding detection from Walton Media, the business that broadcasts “American Arcadia”. The company has basically created a legal groundwork to keep the citizens of Arcadia ensnared in the city, while broadcasting every moment of their lives to viewers around the world. It’s the reality TV show from hell.

The worldbuilding, writing, and commentary are all excellent, and the contrasting viewpoints of Trevor and Kovacs give a sense of what was going in both “worlds”. The ’70s aesthetic of Arcadia really pops and gives the dystopian nature of the program its citizens are enslaved in some weight — they live in a gilded cage while having every human right destroyed, all for the entertainment of people they will never see or meet.

The story and gameplay were compelling, and I wanted to know more and more about this world. At times, I almost felt like a viewer of the show. This was definitely helped by smart action sections that required me to think about both Trevor and Kovacs. One excellent scene was when I had to guide Trevor through a stealth section, while also playing as Kovacs getting interrogated by Walton security. It was moments like this when the genius of American Arcadia shines through.

The commentary about the parasocial relationships that the viewers of the program have with the Arcadians was also well-thought-out. Especially later, during the climax, when viewers begin to watch Trevor in droves. Most are still driven by the need to be entertained, even though they know Trevor’s pain and suffering is real. Only a few begin to realize that the show may not be as benign as they thought, and cheer on Trevor’s escape. However, regardless of which side of the fence they’re on, they all continue to watch.

While American Arcadia shines in many parts, there are a couple of bits of static in the feed.

On the PS5 version, there were some shimmering effects that looked a bit ugly. This always happened during the cutscenes, so at least it was limited. However, it was still distracting. There are also a few puzzles and chase scenes that have strict timing — they were difficult to figure out at first, and the time limits led to numerous (and annoying) restarts.

American Arcadia manages to tell an incredibly compelling story that makes its world feel a bit too close to our own, accompanied by smart gameplay and an incredibly well-written story, along with a stellar cast of characters. Trevor’s wild and suspenseful escape from Arcadia is guaranteed to give him (and the show) a much-needed ratings boost.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Buy American Arcadia – Steam – PlayStation – Xbox – Nintendo

Disclosures: This game is developed by Out of the Blue Games S.L. and published by Raw Fury AB. It is currently available on XBO/X/S, PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 8 hours was devoted to the game, and it was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of M for Strong Language and Violence. Throughout his adventure, characters will swear. Trevor can also be shot by drones, as well as by his pursuers. At one point, Kovacs, another playable character, will shoot an NPC with a stun gun.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles can be resized with three levels of font size, and a black background can be added to subtitles. In addition, closed captioning is available for sound effects from characters and environmental effects. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game’s controls are remappable.

The post American Arcadia Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Fantastic improvements and modernizations.

LOW There are still some rough spots, despite said changes

WTF The music track that plays in the nightclub level slaps hard.

Last year, Lara Croft’s earliest adventures were given a chance to shine again in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. These classics featured numerous improvements, such as a new optional control scheme and a photo mode that allows players to capture moments from Lara’s classic adventures. Now, a second collection has arrived offering Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered, which contains The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and The Angel of Darkness respectively, and iterates upon the first compilation’s tweaks.

TR 4—6 are action-adventure puzzlers that were published between 1999 and 2003, and they were the last titles developed by Core Design before the franchise was passed on to Crystal Dynamics. However, many at this time believed that Lara’s adventures had become stale, so these latter three changed up the gameplay.

As with the previous collection, players can toggle between a set of classic and modern visuals. In TR 4 and 5, the visual changes are sharp and gorgeous. In TR 6, the changes are a little more subtle, but many character models and background elements are still greatly improved.

While all the last collection’s improvements are applied to these titles, there are also new features like the “Retro FPS” toggle, which allows for a new first-person view at either 30 or 60 FPS. In addition, players will find many small quality-of-life tweaks, like being able to see hotkey shortcuts for the controller without opening the menu.

Additionally, the FMVs in this collection look mush better this time around. TR 1—3 Remastered’s new visuals had a ‘smeared’ look when the movies would play. In TR 4-6, however, they’re great.

However, the most important changes in this collection are found specifically in the sixth installment, Angel of Darkness. The original content was pretty bare, and it was hard to figure out the plot at times, resulting in widespread critical pans on release. Now, it’s better than it’s ever been, mostly due to the restoration of the original’s cut content.

For starters, a missing portion of the tutorial area has been added back in, covering a section for the commando crawl move. This gives new and returning players a choice in how to get through that specific section, each route giving its own rewards.

Additionally, the pawn shop and herbalist in Paris will now sell items to Lara for the first time. Before, she could only sell valuables or ask for info. This change is incredibly helpful, since it provides players a way to stock up on healing items and ammunition early on.

The later sections of the adventure where the player controls a character named Kurtis have also been updated. This includes a new throwable weapon and a psychic shield to help make his sequences a little easier, and helps preserve his scant resources.

All of these changes and expansions make AoD feel more complete and give players a glimpse at some of the elements the original development team had originally wanted to include.

As for other extras in the collection, there’s a bonus level for TR4 that’s available right away — The “Times Exclusive Level”. This was a collaboration between Core Design and The Times of London. Using the discovery of another section of Tutankhamen’s tomb as the catalyst for the adventure, Lara is tasked by then-senior editor, Peter Strothard, to track down and recover objects from the tomb. It’s a rather unique (but brief) adventure, lasting only around 15—30 minutes. Despite the brevity, it’s an interesting cultural snapshot of how popular Lara was. So popular, in fact, that a major newspaper was willing to take part in the creation and distribution of a videogame level.

Unfortunately, it’s the only bonus for this collection. While I understand that there weren’t any other expansions released for TR 4-6, there are certainly other Core designed games that were made during this period. There are two Game Boy Color TR games, for example, that would’ve been a welcome treat, and a fantastic way to experience some of Lara’s handheld adventures.

Another gripe I had with this collection was the remastered visual mode’s lighting engine, which was also a problem in the last collection. It’s often so dark in certain areas that I’d have to switch to the original visuals to see — a big issue when looking for switches, especially those on the ceiling that Lara has to grab. I’d contend that if a new lighting engine is going to be made, it should match how the original was lit. However, that isn’t the case here — it’s commonly too dark to see anything, with Lara’s flares or without.

While I’m glad all the original Tomb Raiders are available on modern platforms, there were plenty of problems with these titles back then that a simple polish-up can’t really address. Chronicles’ shorter collection of stories meant they can’t make a big impression before it’s time to move on. Angel of Darkness is still fairly janky, even with improvements. I also encountered numerous bugs as I made my way through, such as unintentional clipping and fiddly movement, even using the modern controls.

The last issue — and it’s a big one — is the lack of auto-saves. Tomb Raider titles can be difficult thanks to various traps, hazards, and enemies. If a player dies, they have to backtrack from their last manual save, if they remembered to save. While the new, modern convenience of being able to save at any time is nice, the lack of an auto-save feature feels like a relic today.

Despite some baked-in gameplay issues, the lack of auto-saves, and sparseness in the collection’s content, this remains a fantastic way for modern players to enjoy Lara Croft’s classic escapades. While this trio may not be everyone’s favorite, the efforts to smooth them out are excellent overall, and modernize these titles in a meaningful way.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Buy Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered: Steam, Epic, GOG, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo

Disclosures: This game is developed by Aspyr and published by Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics. It is currently available on XBO/X/S, PS4/5, Switch, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 21 hours were devoted to the collection overall, and it was not completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of T for Blood and Violence. There isn’t a detailed description from the ESRB, but the content features the player fighting monsters, animals, and humans who shed blood when shot. The player can be killed in a variety of ways including impalement, falling, gunshots, being crushed, set on fire, animal attacks, and more. In one instance, a man engages in an act of self-sacrifice by using a truck full of explosives to kill a monster.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles cannot be resized. There are no closed captioning options for sound effects, such as enemy sounds or environmental effects (like noises for traps) so this game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game’s controls are remappable.

The post Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Sniping the head clean off an orc’s shoulders! With a wrench! Somehow!

LOW The ‘thrill’ of grinding for a -0.2 second reset time to grind more efficiently.

WTF 99,999 Skulls to wear the color PURPLE. Are you serious?

Editor’s Note: This review was conducted before the “Arcane Update” on March 23rd. Though the update does provide some quality-of-life improvements, two maps from prior games, and an additional playable character, the same foundational issues persist.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is the fifth tower defense/third-person shooter orc slaughterfest from Robot Entertainment, and I’ll answer the obvious question for fellow fans — no, it’s still not better than Orcs Must Die! 2. What does this mean for everyone else who hasn’t played these games? Well, Orcs Must Die! is built on a deceptively simple premise.

Players, as a Warmage, defend magic rifts across various maps from incoming orcs with skillful shooting, brawling, and tactfully deploying defensive traps. There are a ton of physics elements at play too! The sequels added optional two player co-op, and what made it sing was the wonderful attention to detail — sound design, animation, and vocal performances of the two leads. It was all just so good… once upon a time. 

After two divisive, gimmick-filled sequels, the series is pivoting again to be a four-player roguelite. This pivot is also a convenient excuse to abandon the story mode and cut down on the maps, now less than a dozen maps. A new map is unlocked after defeating each of the four bosses, but that can take dozens of hours of grinding for better stats, perks (Threads) and debuffs (Distortions) so that players can maybe have a chance.

Each round, players choose from three maps, each coming with some Distortion — basically, a negative consequence — something like tougher enemies or enemies no longer dropping power-ups upon death. Every wave survived grants a new Thread that adds a positive perk, like a temporary discount on a trap type, an elemental damage boost, or doubling some useful aspect of a trap.

What breaks the experience is how barricades (once an optional obstacle players could use to redirect enemies) are now required to have a hope of victory. They’ve been patched to allow up to twenty-two barricades by default, which is more than I had to work with during the embargo period, but that’s still not enough. Maps are too flat and open, and cluttered with debris that serves no purpose — it’s like half of every map isn’t done yet. There are also notable visual errors and collision glitches. As it stands, there are maybe one to two viable layouts on each map, causing notable feelings of repetition.

I could maybe look past this if everything else was polished, but that’s not the case as there’s loads of bugs and weirdness — things like enemy ragdoll animations consistently failing to trigger, AI of melee enemies being easily evaded by standing on a slightly high ledge, almost every map having misaligned assets, getting into places I wasn’t supposed to was surprisingly easy, my chosen Warmage spouting the wrong character audio in the heat of battle, the absence of a real tutorial, and more. Between the promise of future content updates and the obviously incomplete state of things, I have to wonder why this isn’t an Early Access game, because by all appearances, it is one.

Unfortunately, the aspect that receives the most attention in Deathtrap is… grinding.

To be fair, it’s reasonable that most tower-defense games have some grinding, yet I can’t think of one with such tedious costs for minimal improvements. Across my fifty hours playing, I was barely able to upgrade more than five traps to maximum stats, I unlocked barely half of the Warmage skilltree, and there’s apparently a whole slew of Threads left to unlock. These aren’t exciting upgrades either — they’re boring, minimal stat boosts that only the sweatiest players will care about. The devs even removed the ability to respec a loadout — a series hallmark that encouraged experimentation.

Worst of all, the endgame after beating all four enemy bosses in Deathtrap is… keep playing rounds endlessly until defeated on the same few maps with the same traps. I’m starting to think this content wasn’t well-thought-out.

The core gameplay is still enjoyable, it’s just not as good as it’s previously been because it seems actively opposed to the idea of player expression. Also, balancing is fluctuating with every patch so I can’t reliably comment on it. At the time of writing, enemies get 50% more health with every subsequent map, which is currently soft-locking certain playstyles.

Or course the devs are patching the game, which is good, but in the time it’s taken since launch, fans have already created PC mods that address fundamental issues faster than the developers. I’ve tried some of the mods and they make for a much better time. The repetition is still a major issue though.

I don’t know who Orcs Must Die! is for, and I’m not sure Robot Entertainment does either. Anyone new to the series is at a massive disadvantage, and existing fans are going to be scratching their heads. This series might’ve put Robot Entertainment on the map, but what they’re doing here isn’t their future. I used to love these titles — I still love the first two — but even if this mess is the result of an unfortunate series of mistakes made with the best intentions, that still doesn’t mean it’s a good experience.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Buy Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap: Xbox – PC

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Robot Entertainment. It is currently available on PC and XBS/X. This copy of Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap was provided by the publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 45 hours were dedicated to the single-player campaign, and it was not completed.

Parents: This game is rated Teen by the ESRB, and like previous series entries, contains Violence, Blood, and Mild Language. This one is going to come down more to a matter of preference. Overall, this is a very lighthearted affair. The gore (which is strangely not included by the ESRB rating) and blood are extremely cartoonish nonsense, but they are almost to the level of a DOOM game at points, particularly with headshots. However, in the gameplay settings, it’s possible to disable all gore. This does result in more glitching ragdolls, but if gore is the deciding factor here, you can disable it.

Colorblind modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are some visual prompts doubling for audio prompts, but not enough in my opinion. Subtitles cannot be resized or altered. Overall I would say that it’s not fully accessible.

Remappable controls: Yes, this game does offer remappable controls and there are a wealth of additional customization options in settings.

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HIGH Superb atmosphere and aesthetic — it creeped me out!

LOW Some of the spotlight placements felt unavoidable.

WTF What is it with survival horror games trying to make us put our hands in toilets?

Lately, there have been a ton of survival horror titles experimenting with old-school formulas. Some have adopted aesthetics reminiscent of past eras, while others try to nail down older gameplay themes. Fear the Spotlight attempts both, and succeeds wonderfully.

Fear the Spotlight is a survival horror experience where players control high schoolers Vivian and Amy, who get caught up in alternate worlds after a séance gone wrong. Each character will navigate the world while looking for items needed to progress to the next area. At the same time, they’ll dig into a unique story in each chapter (two total) related to either the school itself or Amy’s past.

As I traveled throughout the high school and other areas, navigating these places felt both familiar and strange. For example, a gym decorated for an anti-bullying fair suddenly felt very hostile as it was abandoned, and some objects had been strewn across the room. This was symbolic of the reasons events like these are held, as discovered in many of the notes in the school — they’re a hollow attempt by officials to evade the responsibility of taking care of students properly.

Graphically, I loved the filters that let Spotlight feel like an undiscovered VHS tape playing on an old CRT television — it definitely feels like a forgotten gem from the PS1 era. However, for those who don’t care for it, the filter can be reduced or turned completely off, ideal for players who want greater visual clarity.

The titular spotlights are indeed things to be feared, and one of the worst is the roaming Spotlight Head — a walking monstrosity both of man and stage light. It excels in dialing up the horror and keeping encounters tense. As neither character has weapons, I had to evade Spotlight Head and hide from the other moving, sentient spotlights that would appear from ceilings to patrol the area. This meant taking refuge under tables or behind walls and objects — such as trashcans — and, importantly, being wary of open spaces where I could be caught.

Each time I did get caught, Vivian or Amy would lose health, and they can only take a couple of hits before hitting a game over. Each character can restore health with healing items, but these items were always in short supply. This scarcity increased the tension and made me feel extremely vulnerable. Don’t fret, though — Spotlight features a pretty generous save system, so players generally won’t lose much progress.

While there’s no combat, there are puzzles, and they can be tricky to solve, but never obtuse — most can be figured out with a bit of thought and some clues, such as finding a diary entry or an item to help decipher something. The developers aren’t interested in bringing the proceedings to a halt with brain-busters, so the pace is good overall and there’s never much backtracking. It’s a fairly short experience, but this is not a bad thing. Each chapter lasts exactly as long as it needs to, and they’re both about the length of a classic horror film — Spotlight never overstays its welcome.

As for the story itself, it’s fantastic. Each of the two chapters focuses on different traumas, either those that occurred in the school many years ago, or in Amy’s messy home life. Each excelled in creepiness and dread. For Vivian, it was the dread of navigating a high school hellscape, alone and scared. In Amy’s case, it was exploring a long forgotten former home, punctuated with sour memories and trauma.

Both settings are twisted, and they created a sense of anxiety that hit home for me in a lot of meaningful ways. I had a similar experience to Amy, moving around from house to house as a kid. The sense of the familiar and comfortable suddenly becoming alien and hostile, not knowing where any friendly faces or voices could be, was too real a feeling and thanks to this, Spotlight nails its sense of dread.

While what I’ve described is a fantastic horror experience, I do have a couple of small nitpicks with Spotlight, however. One was that in a couple of instances, spotlights activated quite suddenly, giving me very little time to react. As such, I would frequently take damage that felt unfair. This was a pesky annoyance in only a couple of areas, so thankfully such occurrences were limited.

There were also times when the visuals would get ‘fuzzy’ after taking damage. This could make it difficult to see some things when examining them closely, especially if the TV Filter in the options is set to max (which it is by default). This can make it tough to read notes that contain clues to puzzles, so it may have been better for the devs to set the default filter lower for the sake of readability.

Fear the Spotlight is a brilliant take on survival and psychological horror, instilling a real sense of vulnerability and dread in me — the developers took good lessons from classic titles and made something unique and fascinating. Players who love classic and retro-style survival horror absolutely must check this one out.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Cozy Game Pals and published by Blumhouse Games. It is currently available on PC, PS4/5, XBO/S/X and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 5 hours was devoted to the game, and it was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of T rating for Violence. There is no official description provided by the ESRB. However, the game has a monster that will violently toss the player if discovered. There are also themes of bullying found in discovered notes. Finally, the story focuses around unraveling the past of a major tragedy that killed a number of students prior to the events of the game. There is also evidence to suggest one of the characters was a pedophile who filmed and killed innocent students.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles can be resized. However, closed captioning for environmental and sound effects are not present. This game is not fully accessible.

Remarkable Controls: Yes, this game’s controls are remappable.

The post Fear the Spotlight Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH A colorful and vibrant art style.

LOW The combat system feels off.

WTF Gaining XP but not being able to spend it until finding the upgrade

The metrodvania genre has a long history, and it’s one I have an affinity for. The name is a portmanteau of two seminal titles in the genre, Metroid and Castlevania. These experiences are typically in 2D and have extensive maps that are gradually unlocked by exploring and learning new skills that open the way to previously-inaccessible places.

The sense of discovery lends a sense of reward, particularly in how the worlds often fit together, and this design style is both popular and has had a broad influence on videogames in general. There are many, many metroidvanias out there, and given the competition, sometimes being a bit too derivative can be an issue. However, a unique hook or being an exceptionally smooth experience can make one stand out. Sadly, Mars 2120 lacks either of these.

As Sergeant Anna Charlotte, players crash down onto the eponymous planet near a colony where no one appears to be alive. Instead, the facility seems to be overrun by mutants and other enemies. Once the action begins, Mars 2120 makes a decent first impression. It sports fairly attractive visuals with a clean, vibrantly-colored style and a soundtrack that does a good job of building atmosphere, though it’s typical sci-fi fare.

However, it’s not long before feelings of overfamiliarity set in, since Mars stars a female character in a metroidvania who happens to be wearing a combat suit. It’s impossible not to immediately think of Metroid, and given the general look of things, specifically Metroid Dread. This is also clear in the combat, which comes in two variations – shooting and melee.

Shooting is done with a rifle that has different states but lacks power, further let down by no discernable visual feedback. Enemies don’t react to being struck with gunfire — they just stand there or continue advancing as a tinny audio sample from the gun plays. Combos are more effective than firearms, but they’re repetitive as Anna will be doing the same combos over and over again. Additionally, most bosses maintain the same boring pattern throughout — stagger them by shooting and then use a melee combo, repeat ad nauseum. 

The other side of the expected experience is, of course, exploration, and again there’s nothing exceptional here — the environments are well-designed, with some nice graphical details such as shimmering ice in an ice cave location, but it offers the typical environmental tropes typically found in games of this type, with few exceptions. 

Ironically, Mars 2120 lacks the interconnectivity in level design that the best metroidvanias boast, yet but I still often found myself lost due to a lack of a clear indication about where to go next. There are times when Mars 2120 switches from a 2D perspective to a 3D one — which looks interesting and shakes things up — but can also lead to some confusing platforming. It already feels a bits floaty and imprecise, so this lack of clarity and direction only adds to the overall sense that this key aspect of play is unsatisfactory.

There are other issues as well. Early on, the narrative drive is absent, though this does improve later in the campaign thanks to audio logs. Additionally, the developers have chosen a perplexing level-up system, where the player accrues experience points but can’t spend them until a skill is found in the world. It turns the experience system into a pointless exercise, as I frequently racked up huge amounts of experience but couldn’t use them to customize or make choices for huge stretches of time. It was hardly different than simply finding a skill and moving on without any EXP involved, much like most metroidvanias.

All of these things (and I haven’t even mentioned the performance issues!) all add up to the fact that Mars 2120 just doesn’t have anything to make it stand out, let alone stand above the rest of the competition in this already-saturated genre.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by QUByte Interactive. It is currently available on XBO/X/S, PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the XBS. Approximately 10 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood and Violence. I would definitely say that the violence depicted in Mars 2120 is on the mild side — there’s no sexual content nor any salty language. The use of violence is of the sci-fi variety and not graphic. 

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are present.   

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered and resized. I did not notice any issues when playing without sound, though the game did have trouble with telegraphing enemy attacks, but it had nothing to do with audio. Also, the accessibility options for Mars 2120 were extensive. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

The post Mars 2120 Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Prosecutor’s Gambit had some great twists and turns…

LOW …but the first entry definitely didn’t have as many.

WTF Wow! The second title’s initial case sure feels timely!

Fans of the Ace Attorney series have been asking for ports of the back catalog, and Capcom has been listening. This time, the Investigations subseries is being given its time in the sun.

While the Ace Attorney titles typically focus on defense attorneys in courtroom-focused legal battles, the Investigations Collection puts players in the shoes — and the cravat — of Miles Edgeworth, one of series protagonist Phoenix Wright’s main prosecutorial rivals. Instead of going in front of a court of law, this 2D adventure title had me investigating crime scenes myself, gathering evidence, cross-examining witnesses, and figuring out how disparate pieces of complex puzzles fit together.

What’s great about this collection is that it has both games in the Investigations subseries — Miles Edgeworth and Prosecutor’s Gambit, the latter of which was never released outside of Japan. This makes this collection a must-have for fans of the Ace Attorney series. It also provides a unique perspective not often seen in the series, that of a prosecutor and a crime scene investigator.

This new formula makes for an interesting break from the rest of the series, which most often focuses on the courtroom. This time around, it was refreshing to be the one bringing a case to the court, rather than simply working with defendants. Each scenario also features new types of areas to explore outside the usual courtrooms, such as the inside of an airplane or even Miles’ office, which was very appreciated.

Each of the two titles in this collection has five scenarios, each consisting of (typically) three acts and an overarching plot that ties each investigation together. What’s nice about this collection is the ability to select not just which episode to start with, but also which chapter. This gives players the ability to jump in during a favorite scene without having to play the entire game or episode. There’s also a generous checkpoint system that allows one to reload without losing too much progress — great if someone bungles a clue or botches an examination.

As the entry that US players haven’t seen before, the second half of the collection expands the narrative of the first by providing additional background to Miles’s motives as a prosecutor, which make him more relatable. Also, since it’s set only a couple of weeks after the first title, it builds to create a bigger story for the attorney.

The gameplay is wonderful, as it allowed me to get into the head of a crime scene investigator. There were lots of things to look at in each area, such as items found in safes, objects hidden under chairs, and the like. Some clues, however, may not be relevant or — worse — red herrings to throw one off. Ace Attorney as a whole is a logic game of putting together individual pieces of a puzzle in order to bring the right people to justice.

For those looking for a more relaxed experience, a “story mode” is available and will automatically progress through each chapter, including answering questions and presenting the evidence for players. This comes with the trade-off that specific achievements are disabled. For newer players, this may be the preferred way to play, as cases can get fairly complex — even the first episodes of each title had some head scratchers.

Longtime fans will notice that the new hand-drawn art looks fantastic. Each character is rendered with an exceptional amount of care, often highly detailed. (There’s also an option for an old-school pixelated look, for anyone nostalgic for the Nintendo DS, where the series debuted.) Thanks to this high-quality work, these versions do look and feel like definitive versions.

I’d be remiss not to provide some objections to this collection, however. I found that Prosecutor’s Gambit was the stronger of the two in this collection because the pace of delivering information to players was much slower — an important aspect that the first didn’t nail. For example, the first case in Miles Edgeworth reveals who the murderer is during the first scene of the first case. It felt like I was reading a book’s last chapter, then going back to read the rest, and it’s not my preferred way to engage with crime content. Other cases which made me work to find out the truth were more enjoyable due to the thrill of the chase, false leads and finally nabbing the culprit. It’s the more exhilarating approach, if you ask me.

Another issue is that there are some confusing leaps in logic at times. During testimony phases, there were often obvious openings to make an accusation or to present a piece of evidence, but the game wanted something else to be said or done first. In one example, I was able to match a specific piece of evidence to an accused person, but the game wanted me to go through a different prescribed step first before it would allow me to move on, even though my hunch was correct.

Despite some small issues, the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection will be a wonderful experience for any Ace Attorney fan. It shines a much-needed light on the prosecutorial side of the courtroom, and leads players through the questions that have to be answered before a case can be brought to trial. Miles Edgeworth is also strong, holding his own as both a protagonist and Phoenix Wright’s rival, and I’d love to see him get a starring role more often!

Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Capcom Co., Ltd. It is currently available on PC, PS4/5, XBO/S/X, and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher, and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 7 hours was devoted to the game, and it was not completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of T rating for Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, and Mild Violence. The official rating states: “This is a collection of two mystery-text adventure games in which players help a prosecutor solve a series of murders. As players investigate crime scenes in detail, cutscenes briefly depict characters shot (off-camera) or held at gunpoint. Murder victims are depicted with bloodstained clothing and gunshot/knife wounds; some corpses are sometimes shown lying in pools of blood. One female character is depicted wearing a low-cut top that reveals deep cleavage. The word ‘bastard’ appears in the game.”

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. (See examples above.) Subtitles cannot be resized. Since the text cannot be resized, and this title relies so heavily on reading, this may hinder a player who needs bigger text.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. There is no controller diagram. The game uses simplie one-button controls, as most of the experience revolves around dialogue. X is used to progress dialogue, L1 is used in specific sections to access clues and some profiles about the case, R1 is used to access information about evidence and actors in the case, Square is used to review the dialogue history, Triangle is used in some cases to deduce what clues meant, or to pin an accusation on a suspect.

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