Inestimate's Game Reviews

Console: Switch Developer: HAL Laboratory Release Date: March 25, 2022 Kirby and the Forgotten Land  is a 3D platformer with a focus on finding collectibles, exploration, and fighting enemies. The 13th main game in the Kirby  franchise, Forgotten Land  is immediately a breath of fresh air for the series, shifting the main gameplay to 3D for the first time. I've essentially been a Kirby fan all my life, and I can't think of a main Kirby game I haven't enjoyed, so I was truly pumped to finally get to play this, especially after seeing rave reviews from both Kirby fans and non-Kirby fans. Naturally, since this is a Kirby game and I always do this, I fully completed the game before writing this review. NEW WORLD, NEW PERSPECTIVE Forgotten Land  finally allows players to play as Kirby in 3D, which was only possible before in a handful of spin-off games. Taking place in the New World, the game's story is simple as usual for the franchise: Kirby is sucked into a...

       Console: PS4, PS5, XB1, XSX, Steam Developer:  Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Release Date: November 10 2020 Yakuza: Like A Dragon  is a turn-based RPG with a focus on its narrative, character bonds, and variety of gameplay experiences. As the Like A Dragon  series' eighth main title, Yakuza: Like A Dragon  (which I'll refer to as Yakuza 7  to prevent confusion with both of the series' names) is a massive change from the rest of the games in the series by not only changing protagonists fully for the first time, but also switching genres, going from a beat 'em up action RPG to a turn-based RPG. I'm a big fan of the Like A Dragon  series and the previous protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, is quite possibly my favorite protagonist in anything, whether it's video games, movies or anything else. After Yakuza 6: Song of Life , Kiryu's saga came to a close (or did it?) and I was okay with it for the most part; after seven games (plus spin-offs!) featuring...

     Console: Switch Developer:  Acquire Release Date: November 7 2024 Mario & Luigi: Brothership  is a turn-based RPG with a focus on timing, pattern recognition, and some light puzzle-solving and platforming. The latest entry in the Mario & Luigi  series and the first game in the series to not be made by Alphadream (though many former devs are now at Acquire), Brothership  is also the first entry in the series to be a console game, as all the other games were on handheld systems. Brothership  is the third RPG in the Mario franchise to be released within a year, with the remake of  Super Mario RPG  releasing in November 2023 and the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door  remake releasing earlier this year. Unlike those two, however, it has the added pressure of being a brand new entry, rather than a remake. This means that while Brothership  has the freedom to try something new, it also has the inevitable fate of being c...

    Console: Steam, Switch, PS4 Developer:  Deepnight Games Release Date: October 18th 2021 Nuclear Blaze  is a sidescrolling firefighting game with a focus on water management, quick thinking, and risk assessment. Developed by a single developer, the leading designer behind Motion Twin's Dead Cells , Nuclear Blaze  started as a Ludum Dare game jam project. Created in 48 hours, this version is included with the game, at least on Steam.  While this is the fully realized concept of Nuclear Blaze , this is still a short and sweet experience in the 3-4 hour range on a casual playthrough. Nuclear Blaze  is a rare game that focuses on firefighting: with little emphasis on combat and platforming for the sake of platforming, all of the game's playtime is spent exploring an abandoned military facility and taming the fires within while uncovering its secrets. The tone is more on the lighthearted side, and the game's simple narrative is far from overbearing. The ...