![]() It's impressive that the team at The Bearded Ladies brings the destroyed world of the Ark and Zone to life, without relying on overlong cut-scenes or extensive exposition. This quest pushes the mutant twosome further outside the Ark than they've ever gone, tests their courage and loyalty, and eventually shines a light on a mythical place of safety called Eden. ![]() When Hammon, the Ark's principal engineer and a fellow Stalker, goes missing in the north, the Elder sends Bormin and Dux to find him. Two of those Stalkers are Bormin, a squat, grizzled anthropomorphic boar, and Dux, a sarcastic bipedal duck-man. Since the Ark is far from self-sufficient, the Elder sends his best mutant hunters and scavengers, known as Stalkers, out into the Zone to collect salvage and fend off Ghouls, savage humans who worship pre-apocalypse civilization. It looks a generation old.īased on the tabletop role-playing game of the same name, Mutant Year Zero takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth where mutant survivors of pandemic and nuclear fallout have found refuge in the Ark, a fortified base led by the Elder, the only human inhabitant. Despite developer The Bearded Ladies' successes in world-building, tactics, and stealth gameplay, it has allowed a huge graphical downgrade on Switch. The Switch version, regrettably, is another story entirely. At the same time, it enjoys the staff and resources needed to create high production values and up-to-date visual assets-at least on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Sitting snugly in the middle space between big-time "AAA" releases and small-scale independent titles, it's a modest, mid-range turn-based tactical experience that, not needing to sell five million units to break even, can afford to be experimental and weird. The industry needs more games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden. ![]() By Evan Norris, posted on 30 July 2019 / 4,229 Views
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![]() The second title also adds in some very 2000s 3D board-riding segments for good measure, but is otherwise pretty similar to the first. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile sees you playing as Klonoa, dashing about, hopping and hovering over chasms, blasting baddies with wind-bullets, and collecting Dream Stones and more. Klonoa didn’t invent 2.5D, but it sure as heck owned it! And in 2022, it’s amazing to look back on. It’s a harmonious union of dimensions that utilises the tried and true 2D platforming staples with a splash of exciting, new 3D technologies. ![]() The games see the player jog along a 2D plane as they twist and turn through sprawling 3D environments, occasionally spiralling back on themselves. Klonoa, on the other hand finds an elegant middle ground. As a new generation of 3D consoles came about in the mid-90s, many developers got in way over their heads as they rushed into an additional third dimension (see Bubsy 3D released in 1996 if you don’t know). Klonoa cleverly combines 2D and 3D elements, bridging the gap between the two innovatively. ![]() They’ve revitalised the duo of classic games, all while retaining that colourful quirkiness unique to turn of the century platformers we all know and love. Following a Wii-make (a remake on the Nintendo Wii) of the first game in 2008, Klonoa has been largely absent from the video game landscape, but given the current platforming and remaster renaissance, it was about time he popped back up!ĭevelopers Monkey Craft have taken the reigns on Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, the team who looked after Katamari Damacy Reroll in 2018, and they’ve done a stellar job. Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series packages and remasters the classic Namco (now Bandai Namco) games Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, initially released for the PS1 and PS2 in 19. After a mighty long time in IP limbo, he returns to the Switch looking to have some fun! Klonoa everybody’s favourite hat-wearing, dream-travelling, wind-bullet-shooting cat-rabbit-thing is back for two colourful adventures in one. ![]() That’s basically what Nep X Senran is, with more complex maps. Oh, you mean the Tamsoft-developed Neptunia hack & slash game for Vita (and later Steam)? Both fit into the Nep-Nep cast more than the Senran cast, but both are fun to play as.ĭid you play Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed? Meanwhile, there are two new characters: Yuki, the resident catgirl, and Goh the Crow, an amnesiac ninja. There are no other Senran characters in the game, even as character portraits. Yes, but only by virtue of being one of the Senran series’ leads (along with Asuka, Homura, and Miyabi). Is Shiki one of the Senran girls? You know, the actual Best Girl? ![]() To me, as somebody who prefers the Senran series to the Nep-Nep games, this was a disappointment. The Senran Kagura contribution is woefully thin on the ground. The plot, menus, new characters, quests, environments, and several gameplay aspects are straight out of Neptunia. First of all, as I said in my preview, Nep X Senran is a Neptunia game that co-stars four of the Senran Kagura girls. And I’m thrilled to say it’s exactly what it says on the tin, but nothing more. But yes, I’ve been playing Neptunia X Senran Kagura, which I’ve really been looking forward to since the announcement of a Switch port. I was really hoping you meant spring, because this has been the longest winter in recent memory. Wasn’t this one of your most hotly-anticipated games of 2022? ![]() I’m talking about Neptunia X Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars. As the protagonist of this format, I think Neptune would approve (that’s a Neptunia joke). As is now tradition, I’ll be covering this anime crossover game in the Review FAQ format. |