from Reflector Entertainment and Bandai Namco is not the prettiest game in the world. In fact, its character models lean into the uglier side, giving wide-eyed blank expressions and stiff mouths that have a lack of sync with the game’s voice track. Its combat is also fairly unimpressive, with a baked-in repetition that makes later stages bland.
But even with these criticisms, I have a lot of love for this game – and I firmly believe we need more games just like it. In recent years, we have seen the games industry relying too heavily on homogeneity, for reasons of safety. Games are becoming more expensive and complex to make, and the path of least resistance is the most familiar: single player open world adventures, multiplayer co-op skirmish games, and so on.
Perhaps there’s some microtransactions in there, as well. Games need to make money, after all. But is defiantly different.
It feels like a game derived from the golden age of the PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 era, in that it has a unique late 2000s or early 2010s flavour to it. It feels like a game that would fit right alongside and . There’s a nostalgia to it that’s difficult to fully describe – it’s in the vibes, the graphics, the simplistic but extremely enjoyable gameplay.
There is a real sense of adventure and discovery in , and it’s strange to realise that sense of novelty has disappeared from other modern games. In lieu of dazzling graphics, which may trick a player with illusions of prestige, relies mo.