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Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Rating: Teen
<p>Kunitsu-Gami is the kind of wonderful, left-field Capcom release we don’t see often these days. Bound to be a cult classic in the future, Path of the Goddess is original and does not lean on any of Capcom’s established properties. Instead, it relies on an admittedly difficult-to-explain but well-executed gameplay loop that I found hard to put down with an art style that is equally challenging to look away from.</p> <p>Players take on the role of Soh, a masked swordsperson bound to protect the divine maiden Yoshiro as she slowly dances along the path of Mt. Kafuku to purge and cleanse it from invading demons. During the day, Yoshiro moves through a level while you explore to find experience points and villagers who can be assigned a job to help protect the maiden during the night as demons pour out from gates in all directions. The loop is intense and engaging as you rush through the levels during daylight to prepare and fight the demons under the moon.</p> <iframe width="560" height="315" frameBorder="0" allow="autoplay" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gFZZVYn1cto" width="640"></iframe> <p>Kunitsu-Gami is undeniably original, but it is not without its inspirations. If I had to assign it a genre, I would say tower defense with a heavy dose of Pikmin, but I spent plenty of time executing combos with my sword, strategically placing troops before and during combat, and even restoring each village I saved between the action-focused levels. Kunitsu-Gami never overstays its welcome or spends too much time making you repeat yourself.</p> <p>The moment I got the hang of the basics, I encountered a boss who made me re-evaluate my strategies, or I was forced to play out a scenario while making my way across a lake on a series of boats. I was impressed by how Kunitsu-Gami never let me get too comfortable and forced me to try new strategies in new settings in ways that were exciting instead of frustrating. There are even levels where all you can do is direct your villagers with no opportunity to fight yourself, and even those were thrilling and fun.</p> <p>New Game Plus options and harder difficulties will undoubtedly test your resolve, but I appreciate that the strategy and action never got too complicated or difficult. Nothing frustrates me more in comparable genres than when I spend hours preparing for an encounter, only for it to fall apart at the end and force an extended restart. I certainly had to replay certain attempts, but I never felt fully cheated, and thankfully, no level is so long that a restart became a consistent nuisance.</p> <section class='type:slideshow'><figure><img src='https://ift.tt/AQzWhEt src='https://ift.tt/5FhaD49 src='https://ift.tt/V72oaIQ src='https://ift.tt/SE5Kka1 src='https://ift.tt/VYHt6A2 src='https://ift.tt/OxbBDol src='https://ift.tt/OkNxMem src='https://ift.tt/1c2HpxL src='https://ift.tt/fLAbDQl src='https://ift.tt/ZOknh2L src='https://ift.tt/evCfM4z src='https://ift.tt/T2i9gB8 src='https://ift.tt/AbulrfO src='https://ift.tt/pZjHXS5 src='https://ift.tt/E0ZcY7D src='https://ift.tt/pJqKx9o src='https://ift.tt/Fk7PQMn src='https://ift.tt/y4sVCNu> <p>Between the Yoshiro protection levels and boss fights, you return to rescued villages and assign villagers to fix up their demon-destructed homes. Restoring villages rewards experience and other goodies that can be used to upgrade Soh and the various villager classes. That simple loop frequently made me stay up late. The quiet period between action sequences serves to excite you to try out new upgrades and is perfect at setting you up for one more try – I always fell victim to it.</p> <p>Kunitsu-Gami’s story is light but effective, with every moment delivered through simple choreography free of dialogue. I was more invested in the upgrade loop than the story and felt it ended without an emotionally satisfying conclusion, but I enjoyed making my way along the path of Mt. Kafuku. Time will tell if Capcom pushes Kunitsu-Gami along the same track as games like Monster Hunter or Resident Evil, but I would be perfectly happy for it to forever exist as an excellent standalone experiment that delivered satisfying results.</p>
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: EA Orlando Rating: Everyone
Successful rebuilds require strong foundations. After a drought, Alabama’s Nick Saban reinforced his staff with innovative coordinators like Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin. Urban Meyer urged beloved Gators captain Tim Tebow to inspire his teammates. And during his short tenure at Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher secured extraordinary recruiting classes. The road to success is paved in various ways, but EA Orlando knows football doesn’t have to be rocket science. In EA Sports College Football 25 (CFB 25), coaching chemistry is an engaging skill-tree balancing act, locker rooms come to life with unique player abilities, and roster recruitment is a tense but gratifying public relations minigame. Like a generational talent, CFB 25 possesses all the intangibles, even if some minor fumbles prevent it from snagging unanimous All-American honors.
There’s nothing quite like the pageantry of college football, and EA Orlando’s reverence for gridiron spectacle is apparent from the jump; pirouetting cheerleaders make way for mascots followed by armies of energized players, helmets sparkling brilliantly in the sun. Whether it's Chief Osceola galloping toward the 50-yard line or Smokey leading the Volunteers’ iconic charge, CFB 25's fanfare never disappoints. This deep immersion also extends to the impeccable on-field presentation. After breaking from the huddle, my fidgety linemen await the snap as a trio of hulking linebackers turn to the sideline for cues. The world vibrates with “Mo Bamba's” menacing bassline, and when Penn State's Nick Singleton shoots the gap toward daylight, Beaver Stadium’s white sea erupts. Thankfully, these awesome atmospheric moments dazzle in every face-off, from big-time rivalry games to routine conference matchups.
The sleek visuals are paired nicely with speedy gameplay. Agile halfbacks beat defenders to the edge, elusive wideouts catch bullet passes in stride, and powerful rushers tear through pockets in the blink of an eye. Throw a vast array of abilities into the mix, and every play call or pre-snap adjustment has the makings of a memorable highlight. Lobbing balls to tall receivers with the 50-50 physical ability always feels like an exhilarating risk worth taking. And masking coverage shells to force picks with lockdown corners is so gratifying when met with zany celebrations. Improved ball-carrier movement is the cherry on top as simple stick adjustments make slipping through the trenches, turning upfield, or breaking free from pesky backs satisfyingly flashy. CFB 25’s frenetic tempo and big-play potential might lead to a frustratingly disproportionate number of nail-biting shootouts, but fluid controls alongside vibrant on- and off-field animations make playing to the whistle worth all the sweat and tears.
The game's modest selection of modes, however, is less consistent. Dynasty shines as several emergent systems – namely, coaching archetypes and recruiting procedures – keep the campaign interesting long after winning big. The D-coordinator of an abysmal Coastal Carolina team, I decided to invest skill points in both the motivator and recruiter archetypes, marveling at my team’s respectable XP gains while building rapport by DMing prospective players and their families. I love Dynasty’s slow burn progression; from targeting low-star recruits to finally landing a four-star player years after restoring the program’s athletic reputation. Eventually, my starting lineup of hard-nosed underdogs earned a playoff berth. And even though I never deliver Coastal Carolina a national championship, it's particularly cathartic to witness my motivator-recruiter philosophy pay off when LSU hands me the keys to Death Valley.
Road to Glory, a solid alternative to Dynasty, touts an impressive catalog of gear customization options, but managing a short list of static meters throughout a three-to-four-year career is not engaging. When I’m not perfecting RPO handoffs in training or taking a knee to ice epic regular season games, I’m allocating a limited supply of “energy” points to maintain high academics, leadership, health, and brand ratings. On paper, cramming for an upcoming midterm while also finding time to enlarge my fandom seems like a fun weekly challenge. In practice, Road to Glory's off-field loop is akin to completing chores for negligible gameday gains; why attempt a 4.0 GPA if the correlating buff is a lackluster composure increase? Becoming a starter through successful drills and rare in-game opportunities feels like meaningful and dynamic progression, but navigating status bars to flesh out forgettable player attributes just makes me want to quit on the team.
College Ultimate Team (CUT) is nothing new to the EA Sports landscape: Complete challenges (or spend money) to earn points, purchase packs with accumulated points to amass an unstoppable roster, rinse and repeat. CUT attempts to break the mold with interesting challenges that range from learning the basics of the sport to playing historic moments from recent seasons. Its grind will exhaust casual players, but the bite-sized trials mixed with exhilarating PvP play should serve as a welcome reprieve from Dynasty or Road to Glory. Unfortunately, Road to the CFP feels shockingly shallow in comparison to its counterparts. Playing a season against other competitors for mere bragging rights might warrant a few attempts, but with no real incentive or reward beyond leaderboard placement, Road to the CFP will likely remain a short detour.
EA Sports College Football 25 makes the gridiron feel new again with stellar visuals that heighten the gameday intensity and smooth controls that evoke the high-octane moment-to-moment action that makes college football so beloved. I enjoy the painstaking, time-consuming process of revitalizing weak programs in Dynasty as well as competing against teammates to earn that coveted starting spot in Road to Glory, but some skin-deep progression systems and game modes are concerning; beyond the campaigns, there simply isn’t enough to see or do. Nevertheless, CFB 25 is a confident spiral throw in the right direction, and I’m excited to see how its strong foundation evolves in future releases.
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC Publisher: Kepler Interactive Developer: A44 Rating: Mature
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn does its best to provide an epic adventure despite clear limitations. This semi-open world action game’s bright spots include an exciting premise, a unique tag-team spin on Souls-inspired combat, and an entertaining exploration mechanic. Unfortunately, it falls short of providing a wholly satisfying or polished adventure, resulting in a respectable but flawed revenge quest.
Developer A44 has crafted an intriguing world that blends a colonial aesthetic and technology (think 18th or 19th century) with magic and fantastical creatures. Soldier Nor Vanek embarks on a mission to kill all gods after they and their armies of the dead have broken into the mortal realm. She finds an unlikely ally in Enki, a small fox-like deity with mysterious reasons for helping Nor slay his kin.
As the two gather a small band of allies to take on their divine foes, Flintlock spins an adequate yarn backed by stronger performances. Meaningful character development could be more consistent, however. While the evolution of Nor and Enki’s uneasy partnership feels largely earned with a few decent revelations, the rest of the supporting cast doesn’t get the same love, making it hard to care about them. The pantheon of primary antagonists feel equally uninteresting, as little time is spent establishing their personalities or purpose in this world; they’re just cool-looking punching bags who occasionally taunt players en route to them. When I did find the narrative interesting, uneven sound mixing meant that the soundtrack often muffled dialogue.
Flintlock’s combat consists of decent melee combat emphasizing small combos while keeping distant foes at bay using a range of firearms. Hacking away at foes using Nor’s axe feels passable at best. Parrying feels equally mediocre and occasionally unreliable due to questionable timing windows that are tricky to nail even hours deep into the adventure. The action functionally works, but a thin layer of jank holds it back, including dumb-as-rocks enemies that often won’t detect you even when passing well within their view.
Hitting a button allows Enki to lend a hand by bestowing debilitating curses that weaken, stun, or poison targets. It’s a neat assist that bears greater fruit after unlocking several cool upgrades. Eventually, Enki can restrain or distract enemies, imbue your melee weapons with his power, and curse multiple foes simultaneously, among other valuable abilities. Firing Nor’s pistol from the hip to interrupt or counter an assault is a fun strategy that made it my favorite sidearm. Other ranged weapons, such as a rifle, grenade launcher, or flamethrower, don’t stand out or feel good enough to encourage regular use.
Though described as a Souls-lite and sporting familiar genre tropes, such as having to retrieve lost experience points (called Reputation) upon death, I wouldn’t call Flintlock a challenging game. Most threats can be torn right through, and none of the boss fights took more than a few attempts; the final boss, most surprisingly, is the biggest pushover of the bunch. The most interesting and effective combat twist is an experience points multiplier that builds as you execute different attacks and actions, encouraging players to creatively vary their assaults. The catch is you must manually add these points to your XP pool by holding a d-pad button; if you don’t, taking damage resets the counter to zero, meaning you can finish a full encounter and walk away with little to show for it (though bigger enemies still drop a guaranteed large amount of XP). I like how this system added more tension and intentionality to combat.
Flintlock mostly unfolds across two medium-sized landmasses sporting a small number of boilerplate sidequests (with worthwhile rewards) and collectibles such as various XP and upgrade items and lore notes. It’s not the most thrilling world to explore, save for an unlockable network of magic warp points called Rifts that let players soar through the sky to expedite travel. Rifts serve as great shortcuts and sometimes create fun platforming segments, making them one of my favorite mechanics in the game.
Flintlock’s presentation is nothing to write home about, with only a few creative creature designs piquing my interest. With two graphical options, you’re better off sticking with the default Performance mode, as Quality offers a negligible bump. Animations can be stilted and sometimes have an unfinished quality, such as the bad-looking slow-motion kill cam that saps the satisfaction from rifle headshots.
Despite my hangups, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn never plummets to being actively bad. Instead, it coasts along a solid line of mediocrity that results in a moderately good time. It often feels like it wants to say or do more but is held back by its scope and execution, not to mention some technical hiccups. Though it occasionally shows flashes of brilliance, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn falls short of achieving true godhood.
