Code Violet is a mess. Crummy combat, tedious exploration, technical problems. The sexy costumes and horny camerawork seem at odds with both Violet as a character and the tone of the writing. Even at six hours long it's tough to recommend, because in six hours you could just watch Jurassic Park three times. And if you did that, you'd never once feel the need to justify what's currently on your screen.
Jurassic World Evolution 3 is exactly what it needs to be. There's new additions to the formula set by its predecessors that enhance the experience rather than detract from it, and it accentuates what the series did well before to new heights. Dinosaurs are the name of the game, and whether you're here to help create dino families or if you just want to see a giant lizard eating the clientele, this third instalment delivers.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is a wonderfully charming addition to the long-running JRPG series. It's a fantastic jumping in point to the franchise for new players, and has enough tweaks to the established formula to provide a breath of fresh air for existing fans. The story is a little slight, but the appealing characters, streamlined yet robust crafting system, and rewarding exploration make this a recipe for a good time.
Fantasian Neo Dimension evokes memories of classic Final Fantasy. It's got an impeccable soundtrack, beautiful locales, and a world that inspires wonder. But it's let down a little by likeable but fiercely archetypal characters and a by-the-numbers story, and it's let down a lot by wild and uneven difficulty spikes that make combat a source of constant frustration in the second half of the adventure.
The Ace Attorney Investigations games are oddities. They're Ace Attorney games without the best thing about Ace Attorney games. They're a fresh start with a different protagonist, but you need to have played the old games to get the most out of them. The wider appeal seems limited here, but for existing fans of the franchise there's plenty to enjoy.
Nobody Wants To Die is a thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi detective thriller. The gameplay during investigations can feel a little perfunctory, but the narrative unfolds at a brisk pace, and the developer makes smart use of visual trickery to convince you that the game is much bigger than it actually is, presenting you with unforgettable future cityscapes that are perpetually out of reach. It's all an illusion, but a beautiful one.
Dawntrail is another excellent expansion for Final Fantasy 14. The story takes a while to get going, but once it's finished setting the scene it takes some pretty big swings in the second half that left us captivated. The dungeons are the best the game has ever had, the new Pictomancer class is an absolute joy to play, it's got incredible art design, and a soundtrack that's gorgeous. Here's to another 10 years of Final Fantasy 14.
In the end, Until Then is a bit like a pixelated Life Is Strange. And like the best Life Is Strange games, it strikes a near-perfect balance between the mundanity of every day life and the joyous and devastating moments that occasionally perforate that normality.
While we've got issues with some of the less than adventurous gameplay mechanics, in most other regards Indika is an absolute triumph. It teeters on a cliff edge, tonally, but never goes too far in any one direction. It never becomes preachy, or maudlin, or too silly for its own good. It's a wonderful balancing act, and one that it continues right up until its final moments which will leave you unsure about whether you should laugh or cry.
Planet Zoo is, ironically, a relatively toothless park building game. It doesn't have the delicious chaos of the Jurassic World Evolution games or the thrills of building your own rollercoaster and then hoping it'll stay on the tracks in Planet Coaster. But it's a pleasant and charming game. There's an airy joy in creating a peaceful home for animals to live in, and the earnest conservationist slant of Planet Zoo is hard to fault.
There's an undeniable charm to Outcast: A New Beginning, and twenty years ago this could have been the breakout hit for an ongoing Outcast franchise, but in 2024 players are spoilt for choice in the realm of third-person action-adventure games. If you're a fan of the AA, mid-tier shooters we used to get back in the day then this might be worth a look, but otherwise, there's just not enough here to warrant your attention.
We were largely enthralled during our dozen or so hours with Pentiment. The mystery at the heart of the narrative remains compelling throughout, but it was the smaller moments that warmed our hearts; breaking bread with friends, sharing in their joy and heartbreak, watching lives play out, and generations pass, in a world on the cusp of dramatic change.
It sounds ridiculous, but as we got sucked into Immortality's tangled web, there were times we forgot the movies we were watching weren't real. It's an astonishing accomplishment, really, and one we can't recommend highly enough.
If you buy into the mystery and you can tolerate the obnoxious characters then you'll get more out of this than we did. But by the time we were lost in the maze, bamboozled, for what felt like an hour, we just didn't care anymore. We played it twice and got different endings and neither was worth it. Maybe there's an ending that's a banger and we just missed it. We suspect not.
Eternights' great success is that it manages to be more than the sum of its parts. The witty writing papers over the shakier aspects of the storytelling, the slight combat is used sparingly enough that its flaws rarely frustrate, and above all, it's got an undeniable charm despite its rough edges. We're swiping right on this one.