Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time Review – Precision Platforming

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Publisher: Activision

Developer: Toys for Bob

Rating: Everyone 10+

Reviewed on: PlayStation 4

Also on: PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Switch, PC

The early Crash Bandicoot games of the ‘90s were partially experiments in how to navigate 3D space. Crash didn’t freely traverse an open world; he marched down tightly designed digital tunnels. The camera zoomed in and out of the action and panned around the character, which seemed novel at the time. However, Crash’s movement was limited in ways that seem restrictive by today’s standards. In some sense, Crash Bandicoot’s gameplay was a product of those limits of technology as much as it was any single creative vision. And yet, those limitations helped produce one of 1996's most memorable platformers. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time proves the classic formula still works in 2020.

With Crash 4, developer Toys for Bob sends Crash and his sister Coco on an adventure through space and time. In one set of levels, I battled seahorse-like pirates while dodging cannon fire. In another, I bounced off dinosaur heads and over creeping lava flows. In yet another, I navigated a busy skyway, miles above a futuristic metropolis. Every level is full of wacky sights and sounds that made me smile, and I couldn’t wait to see where I was headed next.

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However, this experience is more about the journey than the destination, and Crash’s platforming remains faithful to his early adventures in ways both good and bad. On one hand, the controls are more responsive than ever, and I loved bounding from one precarious platform to the next while smashing crates full of Wumpa fruit. On the other hand, Crash 4's precise platforming sequences demand practice. The thrill of mastering Crash 4’s most challenging levels is rewarding, but some of the deadliest pitfalls come out of the blue, which means you have to replay sections over and over again to memorize each level's layout. A “modern” difficulty allows you to play with unlimited lives, which removes some of the sting, but distant checkpoints still tested my patience, as they forced me to routinely jumped through a familiar hoops in order to return to the platforming section that tripped me up.

While Crash’s platforming feels like it fell out of a time warp, this bandicoot does have a few new moves. Throughout his journey, Crash collects a handful of Quantum Masks that grant him new superpowered abilities. For example, one mask allows you to invert gravity so Crash can run along the ceiling, while another lets you transform into a spinning vortex that floats over large chasms. I especially liked the Kupuna-Wa mask, which slows time, so I could platform across falling objects and dodge fast-moving projectiles. These masks pop in and out of the game at predetermined times, so you can’t access them whenever you want, but I was always excited when one showed up. Even more, I'm impressed with how the Quantum Masks add new wrinkles to Crash’s classic gameplay in a way that feels true to the spirit of the franchise.

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In addition to the Quantum Masks, Crash and Coco are joined by a few unlikely cohorts, such as Doctor Neo Cortex, Dingodile, and Tawna. These new characters have their own unique movesets, which they display in a handful of dedicated levels scattered across the game. These special levels offer a refreshing change of pace. For example, Cortex can’t double jump, so his levels center on using a gun to transform enemies into spongy platforms that launch him into the air. However, my favorite newcomer is Tawna, an alternate-reality version of Crash’s love interest from the first game. Tawna comes equipped with a grappling hook that allows her to zip across massive gaps and smash crates from a distance, and I always jumped into her special levels the second I unlocked them.

In many ways, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time feels like a game that shouldn’t work. Single-player, mascot-driven, hardcore platformers are few and far between these days. Moreover, most franchises born in the mid-‘90s have had to continually reboot themselves to match the tastes of an ever-changing market. At its core, Crash 4 remains rooted to the old way of doing things, but that’s not a bad thing. The visuals are cleaner now and Crash has a few new gimmicks, but if you squint, Crash 4 looks like the same old platformer you’ve always loved. 

Score: 8.5

Summary: Now that Crash Bandicoot 4 has arrived on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Switch, read how the game's challenging but fun platforming and entertaining new mask abilities make it a successful return to form.

Concept: A return to the unique brand of ‘90s platforming that put Crash Bandicoot on the map

Graphics: The vibrant, colorful visuals really pop, and enemy designs are goofy in a charming way

Sound: This energetic soundtrack is fun and upbeat, which is good since you’ll be listening to some tracks on loop for a long time

Playability: Controls are tight and precise, which is necessary given the pinpoint maneuvering required in some levels

Entertainment: Mastering Crash’s aerial acrobatics is highly rewarding, but the journey to get there is occasionally frustrating

Replay: Moderately High

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Loop Hero Review – Refreshing Reiteration

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Developer: Four Quarters

Reviewed on: PC

Ever wanted to trudge through a grim, desolate landscape while slaughtering spiders, vampires, and deadly bosses? Yep, you’ve played that game before. But what if, instead of controlling combat directly, you placed all the hazards, bonuses, and environments that your hero would encounter? As you become the worldshaper of a dark fantasy simulation, Loop Hero tasks you with creating a world that won’t kill your character but is tough enough to forge a hero. As the grand designer and dungeon master, it’s up to you to break the game in all sorts of fun and inventive ways. Loop Hero is an addictive amalgamation that captivated me completely with its initial hooks, but the experience isn’t as deep as the first few hours would indicate.

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As your champion tackles the loop (a never-ending path that heals up every time you complete a cycle), they pass through dangers and boons of your own design. You have no direct control over their actions in combat, from swinging a sword to summoning a skeleton. Once you’re in battle, it’s going to play out a certain way and there’s nothing you can do butch watch. Basically, just imagine that your “attack” button is taped down on your favorite turn-based RPG. However, this isn’t a game for idle minds; effective play requires a quite fastidious attention to detail, planning, and constant tweaking. The path through each loop is filled with decisions big and small, so you are continually thinking about how to improve your current run and the ones after, which feels satisfying and cerebral.

Instead of picking character actions, you engage with simulation-style dungeoncraft by setting up villages for the hero to pick up quests, crafting archer towers to help defeat high-tier monsters, and taking in the healing tranquility of peaceful meadows. Assembling a deck full of the right attractions, environments, and enemies to go with your talent choices and loot drops is the clever challenge of Loop Hero. Building the correct set of elements for your traveler to struggle through is a creative and enjoyable endeavor as you tackle different stages as a warrior, rogue, or necromancer.

Experimenting with your toolkit of tiles and seeing how they combine in interesting ways is the best part of Loop Hero. Combine rocks and mountains to make a towering peak that provides big bonuses, but also summons dangerous harpies that land on the loop.  Turn your vampires into arcane acolytes by setting them up near a bookery, creating vampire mages that drop powerful resources. Use road lights to reduce the number of deadly foes on your carefully assembled battle track. Trying out all the possible tile combinations is delightful for double-digit hours, but once you learn the best possible choices, it drains considerable joy from the exploration. While Loop Hero appears to have a great deal of depth and complexity in tile choices, it has fewer viable options to start each run than it initially appears. After my early enchantment wore off, Loop Hero left me mired in repetitive resource runs until I was ready to take on the final boss.

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Loop Hero is a roguelite, and you unlock new tools, options, and powers and as you keep playing (and dying) via an encampment you develop outside of the loops. Think of it like building up a tabletop collection of pieces for your Dungeons & Dragons game with new monsters, environments, and treasures. The roguelite elements are quite significant, so even as you fall over and over in your looping quest, you get to keep resources to grow. If you die on a run, you only get to keep a third of the resources you were holding. But if you choose an opportune moment to escape, you get to keep it all, creating a risk/reward dilemma that’s fun to engage with on each dive into the loop. If you’re like me, you’re almost always going to risk it all and curse your judgment after getting annihilated by a boss. That’s okay – you’re still going to grow and learn but it may take a little longer to advance to the harder chapters.

Loop Hero is a creative and clever little game that should be on your radar if you enjoy strategy, RPGs, deckbuilders, roguelikes, or all of the above. While its novelty begins to wither the further you get away from your opening hours, the journey is worthwhile and engaging.

Score: 8.5

Summary: A roguelite dungeon manager simulation that keeps you coming back for more, Loop Hero makes hours fly by.

Concept: Play through roguelike time loops with different adventurers, building up a powerful assortment of options over repeated plays

Graphics: The grainy, pixelated visuals capture a CRT monitor vibe, but the aesthetic works well for the game

Sound: While the effects don’t stand out, the music is incredible and makes your many runs delightful

Playability: Loop Hero’s mysteries make experimenting and exploring satisfying, but don’t expect the game to elaborate on the mechanics and functions

Entertainment: This is a fun and intriguing genre mashup, placing the player in a management role instead of controlling the swing-to-swing minutia of combat

Replay: High

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Rogue Heroes: Ruins Of Tasos Review – Simple Pleasures

Publisher: Team17

Developer: Heliocentric Studios

Rating: Everyone 10+

Reviewed on: PC

Also on: Switch

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos places the player on a fantasy journey of progression, puzzle-solving, and adventure; a jaunt that is clearly inspired by older entries in The Legend of Zelda series, like A Link to the Past. You pick up a boomerang, a magic wand, a grappling hook, and all the other dungeon-crawling essentials. You work your way through flames, swamps, and icy peaks. But you also build up a powerful character. The result is a pleasant journey that’s a snug sweater in winter weather, but there are a few frayed threads. You can take on the trek with up to three other players, which is a nice option, but ultimately a chaotic diversion from the more streamlined single-player affair.

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As you work your way through the quest-filled overworld and procedurally generated dungeon confines, death is sure to happen. Other roguelikes might offer small boons, but make no mistake, Rogue Heroes essentially rewards the player with experience points that can be spent after each run for substantial, permanent upgrades. As you build up your town from nothing, you create various buildings to increase your health, mana, sword perks, stamina, item powers, and more.

The upgrade system is varied enough to spread your points around across multiple facets and gives incredible power boosts over time – you never struggle to get more powerful to take on any given encounter, even if you want to “face tank” it. This is both a blessing and a curse, as your potent upgrades strip some of the weight out of the final quarter of the game. Early-game tuning seems to be right on par with what could be considered an adventure, while the later boss encounters are a bit anticlimactic in nature as you explode them with a hyper-critical, max-damage sword. That said, the big lean-in on comfort is right in line with what makes Rogue Heroes a special game.

While all the systems are quite shallow, it’s quite pleasant to build up a village from scratch, complete with friendly NPCs, fishing, and farming. It’s a soothing little pixel paradise that you can call your own, and it seems perfect for a cold winter’s day with a cup of cocoa by your side. The world, with its little baby slimes and scattered secrets, conjures up wafts of nostalgia from my old-school Zelda-playing days. If you don’t harbor those enchanted memories, that’s alright too – it’s a welcoming and warm place to be, even if it is filled with monsters and dungeons.

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The otherwise pleasurable romp through Tasos is marred by several small but potentially significant bugs. On PC, I noticed that the audio would be occasionally marred by a thick crackling, and slowdowns and interference that necessitated a reset every hour or so to avoid the game becoming unplayable.

Multiplayer can be fun but chaotic, depending on how many adventurers you want to cram into a session. I found the sweet spot to be one other companion, where you can resurrect each other while dungeoneering and make light work of puzzle mechanisms together. Dead players can even manipulate the world by activating traps or possessing pots as ghosts while they wait to be brought back to life, which is a nice touch. While I had difficulty ever getting matched into a random game, it was easy to pair with a friend on Steam to play.

Rogue Heroes is simple yet satisfying, painting an enjoyable and low-stress adventure for one or a group of friends. Nothing about the experience is likely to blow your mind but basking in its comfy confines might be just the recipe you’re looking for.

Score: 8

Summary: A fun journey that taps into classic vibes with pixelated charm.

Concept: A cozy dive into the old-school of Legend of Zelda experiences with roguelite and citybuilding development on top

Graphics: While some of the style doesn’t always mesh well with the core aesthetic, much of it looks and feels like a warm homage to the SNES days

Sound: None of the sounds or tracks are inspiring and are mostly forgettable. I encountered some strange audio glitches from time to time

Playability: Don’t let the “roguelite” designation fool you. Rogue Heroes is incredibly approachable, since the RPG aspects allow you to overcome any obstacle

Entertainment: Rogue Heroes is the essence of pixelated comfort food and should put a smile on your face as you work your way through a low-impact adventure pulled from the past

Replay: Moderate

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