Digimon Survive is one of the best visual novels to come out so far this year, with plenty of heart and tension to carry you through to the final act. Fans looking for an engaging story with well-written and presented characters that deal with life-and-death situations will enjoy the ride, while players focused on the combat will probably find that the game comes up short. Despite its sluggish, padded start, Digimon Survive is well worth the long wait.
Mixtape's greatest accomplishment is that it more than lives up to its name. This is a thoughtfully curated collection of music, sure, but before that, it's an exciting, sentimental, funny game. Rather than simply twiddling your thumbs while the licensed music plays, you're living life with a soundtrack – the only way Stacey Rockford would have you do it.
LEGO Marvel's Avengers is a mixed experience on Wii U. In solo play there's plenty of content and typical LEGO-style fun to be had, with the extended Avengers cast well used for a variety of gameplay styles, combat moves and environmental puzzles. The Wii U version suffers from poor performance in co-op, however, with some dips and rough edges also to be found in solo play; these factors take some of the shine away. Fans of LEGO games and the Avengers movies will find plenty to like, but technical shortcomings mean it falls short of its full potential.
Despite some clunky controls and some glitches, Level 22 is an fun stealth game that adds some quirkiness to a genre that can feel stale at times. It's just the right length to avoid overstaying its welcome, and humorous aspects help the player see past what - at the end of the day - is a fairly elementary, albeit relatable, story.
Kung Fu Panda: SLL has many strong qualities, including a great amount of loyalty to the franchise and real thought for how the characters would fight and move, but suffers from an overall lack of gameplay content. The fact that it draws so heavily from the Super Smash Bros. series is both a blessing and a curse. It would be easy to think of this as a negative; if you want to play a fighting game of this type then there is no reason to choose this over Super Smash Bros. itself. But Kung Fu Panda: SLL isn't trying to compete with a genre defining game – it's bringing that style of play to a brand new audience. Fans of the film franchise that want this game purely because it has their favourite panda in it will be treated to an experience way beyond what is usually expected for a movie tie-in, and one that can provide a fun time.
There is a never-ending supply of drudgery to keep you flying in straight lines forever; in fact, there's very little to recommend here - as a simulator it fails by not being sim-enough in both physics execution and pilot involvement, but equally it's not arcade-y or fun either. With very little to actually do and way too much repetition we'd advise you to look elsewhere. To end on a positive note, the loading screen is quite nice.
The Perplexing Orb is an interesting concept, but it doesn't feel like a finished product. While what's there can bring brief moments of enjoyment, a typical playthrough should only last an hour at best, and there is no real incentive to return after that point. A short story mode, borderline useless multiplayer and a challenge mode that's far too easy make this one hard to recommend. If you truly miss this type of game it may be for you, but the vast majority of players will be better served saving their hard-earned cash.