DLC can serve very different purposes, from filling in a missing part of a story to adding a handful of new experiences to an already established formula. These recent releases offer good examples of that range, taking players back to the criminal underworld of early-20th-century Sicily in Mafia: The Old Country, putting them behind the virtual conductor’s podium for two Attack on Titan themes in Maestro, and expanding Scott Pilgrim EX with three long-awaited members of Sex Bob-omb. None of these are massive expansions, but each has a clear reason to exist, whether that means bringing a memorable character into the spotlight, giving a familiar VR experience a striking new soundtrack, or adding fighters that can meaningfully change how the beat-’em-up is played. Here’s a closer look at what these three DLC releases have to offer. Continue reading “DLC roundup: Mafia: The Old Country, Maestro & Scott Pilgrim EX”
Crimson Moon review (PS5)
Crimson Moon arrives with an appealing combination of gothic fantasy, roguelike progression and Soulslike-inspired action, putting players in control of a Nephilim tasked with fighting back the demonic forces that have overrun Gildenarch. Published by ProbablyMonsters, the game clearly understands the appeal of charging into hordes of grotesque enemies, collecting increasingly powerful equipment and heading back out for another attempt after a failed run. It is a straightforward proposition, and that simplicity is both one of its greatest strengths and one of its most obvious weaknesses. Crimson Moon rarely gets bogged down in complicated systems or dense lore, making it relatively easy to pick up, but it also struggles to give its world or characters enough personality to make the adventure particularly memorable. The Nephilim protagonist is essentially a blank slate, while the inhabitants of the Church of the Crimson Moon, which serves as the game’s hub, remain largely functional rather than becoming characters players will care about. Continue reading “Crimson Moon review (PS5)”
Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns review (PS5)
Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns is an interesting attempt to bring one of the more distinctive strategy games of the Amiga and Atari ST era into the modern age without completely sanding away what made it unusual in the first place. Originally released in 1986, the game put players in the role of a medieval lord attempting to unify England through territorial conquest, military management and a collection of arcade-like diversions. Forty years later, Black Tower Basement has approached that formula from three different angles: the largely preserved Retro mode, the substantially more accessible Classic mode and the completely new Kingdom mode. That makes this less of a straightforward remaster than it initially appears, although the quality and relevance of those three approaches vary considerably. Continue reading “Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns review (PS5)”
Croak preview (Gamescom)
There is certainly no shortage of 2D platformers, and a new game in the genre needs more than a cute protagonist and a colorful world to make an impression. WoodRunner Games’ Croak at least has a rather compelling answer to that challenge: give its Frog Prince a tongue that can be used as a grappling tool, a launch mechanism and, when the circumstances are right, a way to turn the character into a living pinball. Combined with a beautifully animated visual style and compact challenges that reward precision without becoming needlessly punishing, Croak is already shaping up to be an appealing addition to the platforming genre. Continue reading “Croak preview (Gamescom)”
The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline review (PS5)
The Divine Comedy has inspired plenty of games over the years, but few have approached Dante’s Inferno quite like The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline. Developed by ONE-O-ONE GAMES and published by Entalto Publishing and C&R Creative Studios, this first-person psychological thriller trades conventional horror action for slow exploration, environmental puzzles and an increasingly unsettling journey into the mind of its protagonist. On PlayStation 5, the result is an ambitious but uneven experience that has some genuinely striking ideas, particularly when it comes to its interpretation of Hell, but which struggles to develop those ideas into something entirely satisfying. Continue reading “The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline review (PS5)”