Review Round Up: Death Stranding, Destroy All Humans, And More
That right there, that’s a bridge
We are halfway through this accursed year. With that, we are nearing the dreaded summer months, with hay fever, the sun, and all other kinds of horrible things in the air. While it might not be for everyone, it is nice to think that maybe next year will be better. Anyway, that’s not what we’re here for, we’re here to talk about some of the games that came out this month. It’s been a good one for Switch games, so check this out.
Death Stranding
Death Stranding is an indie game, I’m writing about it on the Indie Game Website, ergo, it’s an indie game. That’s not the point though, this is a review. Death Stranding is an undeniably Hideo Kojima game, if that sounds good to you, then you’ll be happy to hear that, if you’re not happy about the idea, then you should avoid it. It’s got an interesting gameplay loop and some legitimately cool bits of connectivity, but given how important the story is, your enjoyment of it will entirely come down to how well you can stomach Hideo Kojima.
The game kicks off with a flurry of jargon so intense that it’ll make you feel like you’re lost in another world. It’s a way of making you feel uncomfortable and confused, there’s mystery everywhere. There is, but it’s not as complex as it would like you to believe, nor does the story flow as well as it could. While the wonders of hiking around the beautiful world never really wear off, there are a lot of issues with how the game portrays women, how on the nose it is with some of its messaging, and there’s an overriding feeling of there being simply too many messages for one game. That all being said, the music is incredible, and it’s undeniably fascinating, even if it is marred by its story-telling failings.
[Reviewed on PC]
7/10
Rogue Summoner
Roguelike tactics games are an odd one, but this isn’t really a tactics game. It’s closer to being something like chess, at least in my mind. In Rogue Summoner, you can see what the monsters you’ll be fighting are going to do, and it’s your job to predict that as far as you can. It’s like trying to predict the future based on basic behaviours, but also getting to summon dragons to fight on your behalf, cast spells, and occasionally come out on top thanks to your magnificent foresight.
It’s not much to look at, but it’s a huge amount of fun, and the satisfaction you’ll get when you can successfully predict the entire fight is euphoric. It’s a truly fascinating game, and it’s definitely worth your attention if you like chess, tactics, roguelikes, or dragons. It’s very different and it works very well because of that. The difficulty might put some people off, but there’s a very specific market for this game that’ll love it.
[Reviewed on PC]
8/10
Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans! isn’t flashy, it’s not trying to reinvent anything, it just wants you to get a little bit of catharsis by yeeting humans around with your brain powers. If that’s not for you, then maybe you’d rather electrocute them with a zap gun, or throw a chicken at someone to kill them. It’s silly, but it’s the kind of simple old-school fun that really feels good to play at the moment. As you fight your way through the hordes of puny humans, you’ll earn upgrades, and then you can continue on through the humans but with even more power.
It’s just pure gameplay, and sometimes, that’s all you need in a game. Unfortunately, it does suffer a little bit from repetition. While it’s nice to see this style of game back again, it’s a shame it wasn’t a full remake, as the technical limitations of the older consoles can be felt in some of the level designs.
[Reviewed on Nintendo Switch]
7/10
Hellpoint
On paper, Hellpoint sounds like a game made for me and a certain subsection of people who are like me. It’s a soulslike set in space around an event horizon where you fight off against cosmic horrors. That could not be more my jam. I would spread that on a thousand pieces of toast and consume every single one voraciously.
Alas, it the game does not deliver on any of this, not really. The hitboxes are atrocious, the game is janky, laggy, and messy, and it’s all just way too derivative to be enjoyable. I really wanted to like Hellpoint, as I want to like all games, but especially soulslikes, but it’s just not going to happen.
[Reviewed on PC]
5/10
Heroes of Hammerwatch
I’ve been playing Heroes of Hammerwatch on Steam a lot. Now, that version came out back in March 2018, but a full version of it just launched on both PS4 and Nintendo Switch, and that means I can review it. Let me tell you this, Heroes of Hammerwatch is one of the most innovative and intelligent roguelike games around.
Aside from the fact that you could legitimately play it forever, it also happens to have a plethora of ways to incentivise you to play as every single character, complete every dungeon, and keep playing in NG+ 200 if you can stick with it that long. If you like roguelikes, you need to play this, and you need to play it now.
[Reviewed on Nintendo Switch]