TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Here's a selection of some recent game releases.
NEPTUNIA: SISTERS VS. SISTERS
I have an embarrassingly long history with the Neptunia franchise having played the first game back when it came out in the U.S. on PS3 a decade-plus ago. Since then I've played a number of titles in the series and have grown a love-hate relationship with the series. On one hand, it's got a handful of cute characters I've grown attached to and generally decent gameplay that has me grinding to the credits. On the other, these games have never been more than low-to-mid-budget waifu trash that entirely depend on love for cute anime girls as the means for getting anyone to buy them. And those sales are driven by Steam sales and discounts more so than day-one purchases or physical copies.
I haven't played a Neptunia game since Cyberdimension Neptunia about five years ago. At the time it looked cheap but it played perfectly fine and was a decent distraction from whatever I was doing with my life then.
Sisters vs. Sisters is the same but opposite. Whereas this game looks cheap, nothing about that is helped by anything else. From my first moments playing this game on PS5 it looked as empty and ugly as a shovelware PS3 title. The game stutters egregiously for a modern title that looks as bad as it does, even though there is literally nothing on your screen but textureless corridors with a few stock assets thrown in. This cheap and almost insulting quality extends to gameplay where input lag combines with a lack of sound effects or any indication of an attack landing aside from a cursory damage number. I was focusing playing Uni, who utilizes guns, and I could never tell when she shot her weapon nor if it actually hit the enemy.
Where once the story of Neptunia was an obvious yet light-hearted riff on the game industry and the companies within it, the series has run out of ideas and is now focusing more on inane conversations that lack any humor or charm and serve only to further emphasize the same character traits the goddesses and goddess-candidates of Gameindustri have had since the first game. The plot is about how everyone is obsessed with their phones and have created a goddess through their devotion to their mobile devices. This idea was boring when Stephen King wrote Cell so seeing it here, lacking any wry or at least obvious humor, had me caring little for continuing just to see what would happen.
Neptunia: Sisters vs. Sisters may be the lowest the series has gotten. From the visuals to the gameplay to the story and characters, nothing about this is good, interesting, or appealing and I don't even see series diehards being able to excuse how low effort this game is.
-Sean Newgent
NESCAPE
Inspired by 8-bit games of the 1980s, the obtuse puzzle game hides joyous moments behind obtuse, tough-to-crack barriers.
Walkthroughs are out there to guide you through, but you get the most out of the game by trying to deduce the answers yourself. Freestyle exploration unearths loads of Easter eggs and various call backs to the past of gaming and pop culture that will put a smile on your face.
Originally released on a physical Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge, the game seeks a wider audience with a digital release. But its old-school ways are so vivid and striking that you half feel like reaching for a cartridge to give it an old-fashioned wipe and blow.
Boasting the feel of a virtual escape room, you're challenged to search out varied, seemingly unrelated items and discover how they work in chain reaction to solve the missions at large.
The dev team at Khan Games is steeped in love and lore of yesteryear, and the game is a passionate postcard to the charm of gamedom's past.
-Phil Villarreal
TRENCHES
Set amid the chaos and bloodshed of World War I, the muted horror game is tough to penetrate, but offers a more rewarding experience the longer you search out its dark, dank depths.
The effort from Ratalaika Games has hints of "Silent Hill" and the earlier "Resident Evil" games, blending survival horror aspects with notes of surreal walking sims such as "What Remains of Edith Finch" and "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter."
With randomized jump scares, changing settings and varied objectives, there is plenty to search out and explore.
Many of the game's joys come in quieter moments, when you discover a lost photograph or letter. Snippets of wartime angst and hopelessness abound.
Geared toward World War I enthusiasts, there are plenty of frights and chilling revelations within the walls.
-Phil Villarreal
