Brandon Marlow

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Brandon Marlow·Jul 11, 2017

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Toby: The Secret Mine has plenty of great ideas that could make it a great game, but it quickly plummets down a mineshaft thanks to a number of missteps. It generally succeeds as a puzzle game, but the heavy focus on platforming doesn't work well and hampers the overall experience. By following the basic visual style and gameplay from such a highly regarded game like Limbo, The Secret Mine sets itself a standard it's never able to reach.

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Brandon Marlow·May 27, 2017

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Portal Knights brings some interesting new wrinkles to the crafting genre that has become so popular recently. The increased focus on combat works well, particularly with the boss battles and having a clearly defined end goal is a great way of keeping you invested. Unfortunately, some of the other additions like the poorly thought out stats system and the reliance on random drops for creating crucial portals keeps the game from ever fully achieving knighthood.

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Brandon Marlow·May 11, 2017

Critic70/100

Agreement—

NBA Playgrounds is a good modern take on the old-school arcade basketball game genre. It brings enough new ideas to the court to keep things feeling fresh, but at heart, it still retains the charm and accessibility that made NBA Jam such a beloved franchise. There are a few kicks with the shooting mechanics and rebounding is less than ideal, but the gameplay is strong enough in other areas to ensure it's still an overall slam dunk.

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Brandon Marlow·May 6, 2017

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Super Rude Bear Resurrection is a fun and unique entry into a genre that is practically as old as gaming. The use of corpses to help make things easier is executed well, although less skilled players may find themselves fatigued by the constant death. The game actively shakes things up with the obstacles it throws at you, and with a great soundtrack it's easy to recommend this game.

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Brandon Marlow·Mar 17, 2017

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Atelier Firis makes huge strides forward with its lively open world, but it also takes several steps backwards in other areas. Reintroducing the time limit forces you to play the game at breakneck speed, which means that much of the world is ignored until over 20 hours into the game. Once you break away from the time limit, however, you'll discover a brilliantly diverse world that you can get lost in for countless hours, where you'll be free to properly enjoy what is ultimately a solid, but neglected battle system.

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Brandon Marlow·Feb 28, 2017

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Ghost Blade HD is a brilliant entry into the shoot-'em-up genre for both newcomers and veterans alike. It strikes the tricky balance of offering a reasonable challenge to anybody who picks it up, but makes sure that the difficulty never gets out of hand. The deep gameplay and strategy allows for a variety of playstyles, and while the two-player co-op is a let down, the score attack mode will leave you coming back for more after you've bested the main game.

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Brandon Marlow·Nov 1, 2016

Critic70/100

Agreement—

The LEGO Harry Potter Collection is just as good, if not better, than it was back on the PlayStation 3. Having both games bundled in a collection makes it feel like you're playing one lengthy game rather than two relatively short ones. There are still a few niggling mechanical issues present and the boss battles are disappointing, however fans of both Harry Potter and the LEGO games will find something to enjoy here.

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Brandon Marlow·Sep 21, 2016

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Slain: Back from Hell has one of the very best pairings of stunning visuals and amazing audio that you'll find on the PS4. Unfortunately, it's let down by a dull combat system and a horribly unfair level of difficulty, meaning that the game never picks up the momentum that it should. Wolf Brew Games had an awesome idea here with stacks of potential, but the complete package is hell to play through.

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Brandon Marlow·Aug 29, 2016

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Hue is a puzzle game rarity. It manages to be both fun and challenging, meaning it confidently accommodates the hardcore puzzle fans as well as those that are usually completely hopeless. The colour wheel mechanic gives the game a unique angle, while the level and puzzle design is incredibly clever with puzzles never becoming stale or repetitive. Fiddlesticks' charming puzzle platformer has coloured us impressed.

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Brandon Marlow·Jul 28, 2016

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Moon Hunters is certainly an ambitious idea from Kitfox Games, and for the most part it hits the right notes. There's an interesting world and story on show that complements the unique, randomly generated areas, enjoyable combat, and personality trait mechanics, so it's unfortunate that its constant attempts to promote replayability cause things to fall a little flat. And, with only four different endings to discover, it's quite possible that you'll only be spending four or five hours with the release, which is disappointing, as the title's universe feels ripe for immersing yourself in.

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Brandon Marlow·Jun 23, 2016

Critic50/100

Agreement—

N.E.R.O. intrigues as an interactive visual novel, but it fails in its attempts to be a game. The puzzles here are laughably easy, and they subsequently get in the way of the storytelling. There are some beautiful cutscenes and an interesting story here, but they're too often impeded by unenjoyable gameplay.

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Brandon Marlow·Jun 20, 2016

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Mighty No. 9 appears to be caught in two minds about whether it wants to make a Mega Man-style game for novices or veterans, and that indecision unfortunately prevents it from being anything close to mighty. Combine the release's well-meaning but misguided attempts at accessibility with sub-par graphics, puzzles, and an insane difficulty spike towards the end, and you end up with a title that's not very mega at all.

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Brandon Marlow·May 22, 2016

Critic60/100

Agreement—

While Soft Body initially strikes a nice balance of difficulty, the later levels become far too complex, which is a serious problem as being able to solve these puzzles comes down to your physical attributes. Without the necessary reflexes or hand-eye co-ordination, there's no possible way for you to progress through these levels, even if you understand what you're doing wrong and what you need to do to solve it. Fortunately, we found the game's first set of levels to be a very enjoyable challenge and a unique spin on the puzzle genre.