HIGH It’s a fine franchise choice to work out to.

LOW There’s no Japanese voiceover option, and the alternatives aren’t great.

WTF Kenshiro claiming that my punches are every bit as good as his. Uh… no.

Oh God! I’m not sure if anyone’s aware of this, but NUCLEAR WAR OCCURRED AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY AND MOST OF THE PLANET IS NOW A SCORCHED WASTELAND! Oh no!

Bandits! Pillaging! Wanton slaughter! Bad words! Survivors rummaging through the wreckage for irradiated rats to feast on! It’s horrible, and only the successor to the Divine Fist of the North Star Kenshiro and his knowledge of boxing exercise techniques can save the day for all the wafer thin, malnourished victims tottering around the ruined Earth scavenging for meagre scraps of food.

Well, sort of. It’s made clear during the introduction that players are rediscovering the lost art of pre-apocalypse exercise instead of the murderously explosive art of Hokuto Shinken, so don’t expect to be able to waltz down the street blowing up passers-by at random in real life after a few sessions on the Switch.

In gameplay terms, anyone who’s played any of the Fitness Boxing titles should be able to slide right in here. Standing upright and holding the Switch’s nunchuck controllers in each hand, players will mimic the actions of their chosen onscreen instructor as they follow an exercise routine from start to finish, optionally warming up and cooling down at the end of each session. Sessions typically last between twenty to forty minutes depending on player choice, and range from “This Isn’t Bad, Actually” to “Oh Sweet Jesus I’m Gonna Die Help Me Help Help Help” in terms of intensity.

After the workout, each instructor will give out some advice or observations on the player’s performance. Kenshiro mentioned that I had an amazing jab and he couldn’t do better himself — and considering he can punch through someone’s skull and atomize the person standing behind them, I found this to be quite a compliment. Either that or he just lied straight to my face.

Players are also graded on their performance and how well they kept up with the onscreen action and given a bunch of stats showing estimated calories burned, punch success rate and the like. It all gets jotted down into a permanent gameplay record so users can track their exercise sessions over time, and each workout also doles out a little cash for buying new music, instructors and outfits along the way. Want characters like Mamiya or Raoh to teach fitness boxing instead? Go for it.

The other, more original, half of this package revolves around battles where Kenshiro works his way through multiple rounds of bad guys to square off against enemy bosses such as Shin and Southe… sorry, Thouzer. This mode isn’t that different from standard workouts as far as gameplay goes, but there are new victory conditions attached to the workout. Perform combination instructions correctly and the bad guys get defeated, get it wrong and they stay on their feet.

Bosses are slightly different, with both Kenshiro and adversaries like Shin having a health bar as well as attacking and defending phases. Hit the combos precisely during either sequence and Kenshiro’s opponent will get smacked and whiff their attacks, fail and he’ll be the one getting hammered into the ground instead.

Like I said, it’s basically the same mechanics as in the standard workouts, but there’s definitely something more engaging about ‘winning’ the workout as enemies fall by the wayside. That said, this is an all ages title. Adversaries seem to collapse in a weird sweaty explosion when defeated as opposed to having their intestines rupturing like they accidentally scarfed down a pack of military grade semtex.

The music seems mainly comprised of original pieces, though some of the more recognizable themes such as Tough Boy and Ai wo Torimodose also make an appearance… minus their lyrics, which is slightly disappointing. Songs can be set to each individual phase of the workout, so there’s also no danger of being forced to listen to a single song on repeat for more than half an hour.

Annoyingly, there’s no option to choose the Japanese audio for dialogue and the English voiceovers are inconsistent to put it mildly. Kenshiro and Raoh sound pretty much okay, even if their line delivery lacks dynamism. Toki sounds like he’s reading entries out of a phonebook and Rin’s performance simply confuses me, like it was meant for another character entirely. There are French and Italian options, but it’d have been nice to get the original Japanese dialogue given the origins of the franchise.

Included with our review copy was a code for some DLC — essentially, a few side games which can be played to unlock music and outfits for instructors. One of these minigames involves repeatedly punching Kenshiro’s rotund adversary Heart a multitude of times to blast through his blubber, then keep doing it over successive rounds until fatigue causes failure. The other event involves taking control of Raoh and punching bandits as far into the distance as possible through a combination of correct timing and swift punch speed. They’re a neat addition to the package that add some variety, but they’re hardly vital.

In summation, Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star delivers on its given premise. It’s still an exercise program first and foremost, so don’t expect the game aspect to distract from the fact that players are working up a sweat and fatigue is setting in as continual combinations of hooks and uppercuts slowly take their toll.

Even so, there’s definitely something to be said for performing fitness routines to visuals of rambunctious post-apocalyptic punks being smacked in their stupid faces to keep players engaged. And hell, if Kenshiro himself can’t get players to burn off some excess calories, who can?

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Imagineer. It is currently available on Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 15 hours of play were devoted to various workouts. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E (10+) and contains Mild Violence and Language.  The official description reads: This is a rhythm/fitness game in which players perform boxing exercises by following timed prompts along with music. Players match an on-screen character’s movements (e.g., jabs, uppercuts, dodges) to earn points and achieve fitness. In a Battle Mode, matching movements correctly results in players punching opponents (e.g., outlaws, rivals) until they are defeated. Players can also use special techniques to unleash a flurry of punches against an opponent. The word “bastard” appears in the game.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. (See examples above.) The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized. There are no audio cues needed to successfully play the game. This is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. There is no controller map. Most motions are performed using the player’s body to punch, with very little typical use of the controller outside of menus and the like.

HIGH A well-produced interactive documentary with a wealth of info and playable prototypes.

LOW A nearly 10 minute video on the music will be inaccessible to the Deaf.

WTF The “bad” ending of Karateka is pretty funny, if a little frustrating.

In late 1984, Jordan Mechner released Karateka and introduced many elements to videogames that players now take for granted, such as in-game cutscenes and musical leitmotifs.

The game became a hit in 1985, and players were amazed at the seeming blend of movie and game. This fusion led to a revolution in development and many aspects became standard in videogames that came after.

Digital Eclipse, the developers of many classic compilations such Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection and Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, decided to take Karateka and use it as the focus of a new type of interactive documentary. Dubbing this new docuseries style of historical video games, interview footage, and development materials the first in the “Gold Master Series”, Digital Eclipse has delivered The Making of Karateka.

I had never played the original Karateka, as it debuted on old hardware that was tough to access by the time I had gotten into playing videogames in the ’90s. However, through The Making of Karateka, not only was I able to play the game for the first time, but I also gained appreciation of what Jordan Mechner’s work brought to the medium. As such, it’s good to give players like myself an appreciation for not only this game, but also for other titles developed during the ’80s.

What helps this documentary is the sheer quantity of historical artifacts — particularly the video footage. The clips are comprised of interviews between Mechner and his father, Francis, but also from former personnel at Broderbund Software (Karateka‘s publisher) and industry leaders like Raph Koster, lead designer of Ultima Online, Tom Hall, co-founder of id Software, and John Tobias, a designer for Mortal Kombat.

The more intimate conversations between Jordan and Francis were my favorites, as they help to flesh out how important Francis’ support was to his son. Francis was the composer of the music, using his experience as a classical pianist to create a score reminiscent of Wagner’s operas, particularly The Ring Cycle. This helped to cement the cinematic quality of the experience Jordan was hoping to accomplish. Francis also assisted by being the target of the rotoscoping capture footage used to give the game its fluid animations. This is fascinating, since Jordan’s use of rotoscoping was a primitive form of motion capture. The drawing, rotoscope footage, and spritework can also be viewed in the Rotoscope Theater in Chapter 3 to see how all of this work translated to the game itself.

The presentation style of the documentary is laid out so that players can experience it in any way that they like. For example, I focused on the videos first, then the images, and finally the games. Besides these options, the staff at Digital Eclipse also released a remastered version of the original Karateka, with optional commentary that will stop the action and Mike Mika will narrate on various aspects of the development and why certain design decisions were made to replicate the experience of the original, and why that was important to the team.

However, this remastered version of the game is not the only way to play Karateka. There are three official versions (Apple II, Commodore 64, and Atari) plus various playable prototypes. These are important for preservation, but they also help paint a picture of the development cycle of older games like this. It’s not often players get to experience these early versions, so these are a nice treat.

Also included are several prototype versions of an arcade title Mechner never released, Deathbounce, as well as clones of Atari’s Asteroids he developed, Asteroid Blaster and Star Blaster. There’s also an option in nearly every game to watch a playthrough of each title, which is helpful to players who may not be good at older, and often more difficult games such as these.

The overall package has to be commended for its value to videogame history. By choosing to focus on the documentary, a fuller picture of the Karateka’s development and success is allowed to be told, and it’s also incredibly helpful to have the wealth of preserved development documentation, as these are things we generally don’t see from this early stage of gaming history. The footage also insures that everyone has a chance to relive a piece of gaming cultural heritage, particularly since the lessons from Karateka were later applied to Jordan Mechner’s next and most popular work, Prince of Persia.

One downside to this collection is that there is a nearly ten minute section of the documentary focused on the music that may be inaccessible to hard of hearing and Deaf players. The narrator does try to discuss visualizations of the musical notations and shows them on screen with an oscilloscope. This can only do so much, however, so this one section can leave some players feeling left out. (The video can be skipped.)

It’s a bold strategy to focus on the documentary aspect of a game or series, specifically the features normally used as bonus materials in many game compilations. However, due to the nature of the subject matter, this is an excellent blend of movie and game, much like the topic of the documentary. The collection is packed with hours of video footage, images, documentation, a gushing fan letter from John Romero of DOOM fame, correspondence, early art, and even early prototypes of Mechner’s original versions of Karateka, as well as fully playable versions of other games Mechner developed, but never was able to publish. This is easily one of the best and most complete historical documentaries of a videogame, ever, and should be held up as an example for future collections.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

— Justin Grandfield

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Digital Eclipse. It is currently available on PS4, PS5, mobile devices, Xbox One, and Xbox Series consoles, as well as PC. This copy of the game was obtained via a publisher code, and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 5 hours were devoted to the documentary, and the game was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of T for Fantasy Violence, Language and Mild Blood. There is no official summary from the ESRB, but the games and videos included in the documentary feature a fan game called Karateka II, which featured over-the-top violence and blood. The speakers will speak profanities rarely.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles and closed captioning. The text size cannot be changed. (See examples above.) Captions can be added in the video documentary section. There is one section of the game that greatly focuses on the music of the games and may not be easily understood by hard of hearing or Deaf players. This game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game’s controls are remappable. This can be done in each game.

HIGH Shodan is an outright creepy antagonist.

LOW The lack of guidance isn’t inviting to new players.

WTF There’s a gorilla-tiger hybrid!

System Shock is a remake of the 1994 first-person sci-fi classic of the same name. I had never played the original, but I was familiar with some of its spiritual successors, such as Bioshock. What I discovered when visiting this source material was that it’s a wonderfully moody experience, but one that also was confusing to navigate.

In System Shock, we play as an unnamed hacker meant to disable the ethical controls on a space station’s AI (named SHODAN) in exchange for an operation on said station. Predictably, this is a bad idea, as six months after recovering from the surgery, the hacker finds themselves face-to-face with the results. SHODAN has released a bioengineered virus which has either killed or mutated the station’s crew, and also turned the station’s robots against humans.

The experience is a lonely one, as the only interaction with other characters is via sparse comm chatter, and most of it is SHODAN antagonizing the player. Otherwise, the only company to be had comes from the legion of mutants, cyborgs, and robots hunting one down at SHODAN’s behest.

In combat, there are a variety of weapons to challenge the ever-increasing opposition, such as a wrench, an assault rifle, and even a rail gun. Most have alternate ammunition that can be switched in with the press of a button, dealing more damage to either biological or robotic targets as appropriate. However, System Shock imposes strict inventory limits on the player, so it becomes important to manage limited space — I had to be strategic with what I could carry. Thankfully, if players need to drop ammo or other items that aren’t useful at the moment, there’s a storage bin that can be summoned, or they can simply be dropped on the floor — they’ll still be there later.

System Shock has other gameplay elements besides combat to contend with, such as puzzle-solving, and hacking.

One task that players must usually complete on each floor is to hack a computer via a first-person, free-form shooter offering a full 360 degrees of movement. These hacking sessions challenged me to keep an eye on every possible direction while advancing forward and destroying connections that would open doors or bypass security in the physical space.

There are also puzzles to solve on each floor, such as rearranging pieces on a grid to make them form a pipeline between two nodes, or using wires to provide just enough power to a junction box.

Fortunately, the developers have included menus that can set the difficulty of all of these systems right at the beginning, which can help new players from getting overwhelmed by specific aspects. Similarly, veterans can custom-tailor their desired experience to be as difficult as they’d like it. I enjoyed being able to tinker with these settings, particularly with hacking, as it can be disorienting when moving around in all directions.

However, despite being able to set combat difficulty, the enemies in System Shock were still punishingly hard to deal with, even on the easiest combat difficulty.

Ammunition is plentiful, but as mentioned above, enemies require specific types of ammo to be brought down faster, and they simply became bullet sponges as the game went on. As such, I always found myself at a disadvantage, since health items were few and far between, and resurrection stations (which act as respawn points) were even more sparse. A poorly-timed death can result in both massive backtracking and an unskippable game over cutscene.

Another thing that disappointed me was how few quality-of-life measures were implemented in this title from nearly thirty years go.

For example, much of the text is difficult to read at times — particularly in menus — due to its small size.

Each level of the station is also a labyrinth, and it’s tough to reliably find one’s way through the twists and turns. Trying to find a specific location is even tougher. As such, the map should be better at helping the player understand where they are, but virtually nothing is labeled.

Another serious issue is that no objectives are available, even in the menu. With no obvious goals to pursue and only a few clues from audio logs, I found myself aimlessly wandering until I stumbled upon an elevator to the next level or into one of SHODAN’s many traps.

Controller support felt like a secondary concern. There are many minor issues with it, such as such as incorrectly-labeled button prompts — a button press meant to go back one screen pushed me out of the menu entirely, while it worked perfectly with the mouse.

System Shock is haunting and lonely, has an expertly-crafted oppressive atmosphere, intense combat, and a strong sense of immersion. Unfortunately, the obtuse nature of the campaign makes it to navigate and generally understand what to do. Returning vets may appreciate the upgrade, but I suspect that new players like myself will feel excluded and put off by the steep difficulty.

Rating: 6/10

— Justin Grandfield

Disclosures: This game is developed Nightdive Studios and produced by Prime Matter. It is currently available on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 24 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: This game is rated M by the ESRB rating with the descriptors Animated Blood and Gore and Animated Violence. There is no description of the subject matter on the ESRB website, but this game contains numerous dead bodies, human viscera, body horror, and other disturbing imagery, as well as some discussions of suicide by some characters that will not be suitable for young audiences.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles, and can be toggled off or on in the options menu. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized. Subtitles are toggled on by default. In-game menus and text can be difficult to read at times. No closed captioning is available for audio cues in the environment. This game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game’s controls are remappable for the mouse and keyboard controls, as well as the controller bindings.

HIGH Leon’s highly expanded moveset leads to tons of ways to approach each encounter

LOW It’s all so darn dour

WTF Am I the only one on Earth who actually likes well-done QTEs?

Darren, in his excellent review of the recent Resident Evil 4 Remake, labeled the game a “compliment” to the original release. I agree with his meaning, but disagree with that being a positive. Heads up, as this is a Second Opinion, readers looking for a thorough breakdown of the game’s nuts & bolts should click the link above and read our Main Review.

Successful remakes fall into two categories — games that make the original completely obsolete (IE: Mafia: Definitive Edition, Shadow of the Colossus, Yakuza: Kiwami 1 & 2), and remakes that completely reinvent the game, which may keep the original release relevant to those chasing nostalgia but are generally usurped by the newer, definitive version made available to a wide audience. Capcom is familiar with the latter approach, as they’ve done that successfully with the remakes of Resident Evil 1-3.

Resident Evil 4 (2023) does not accomplish either of these positions. The thing I kept thinking of while playing the RE4 remake was Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Both titles significantly improved graphical fidelity. Both added modern controls and mechanics. Both have worse music and voice acting. Both have strange shifts in tone that compare poorly to the original. Neither have the spark of the title it’s based on.

The biggest problem, though? The original RE4 is still awesome.

Sure, it’s not what anyone would call modern, but the 2005 release is still infinitely playable and doesn’t feel anywhere near as dated as, say, 1998’s Resident Evil 2 did compared to its remake. For an 18-year-old effort, the first Resident Evil 4 is still an outstanding thrill ride that anyone can pick up and have a good time with. It just didn’t need a remake in the same way Resident Evil 2 or 3 did, and we still haven’t gotten an update for Code Veronica. A remaster that enhanced resolution, cleaned up a few assets, and made a few necessary quality-of-life enhancements like the recent Metroid Prime: Remastered would have been a perfectly serviceable and well-regarded release.

To be fair, there are plenty of legitimate improvements here. The parrying mechanic is fantastic and helps make up for the nerfing of the roundhouse kick. It’s also legitimately inspiring how Capcom was able to take the knife-fight QTE cutscene with Krauser and seamlessly integrate it into actual gameplay.

Also, the graphics are tremendous. Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine has been an exceptional canvas for their developers, and it shows its versatility again here. The character models are outstanding, weather effects are well implemented, the lighting is sharp, and it’s an exceptionally good looking game.

On the other hand, there are changes that don’t enhance things.

Yes, it was frustrating that Leon couldn’t walk while shooting in the original release, but that was a mechanic that added so much tension. There were constant split-second decisions being made as the player was either going to stand their ground or stop shooting and regroup elsewhere. This lack of mobility also factored into the level design perfectly. Now Leon is a full-on action hero far more capable of acrobatics, and the devs made the enemies more annoying to compensate for this. There were multiple situations where I was stun-locked into oblivion, and there seems to be a significant increase of enemies sneaking up behind the player with no explanation as to how they got there. The original was a difficult title, but I was never as frustrated as I was here.

Other attempts at ‘improving’ from the original land with a thud.

For the record, I never found Ashley’s presence annoying in the original release. It’s easy to tell her to stay put or hide at the start of an area, then go wreck fools and call her back. Now she has two settings — stay right behind Leon or… just kinda meander around the vicinity? This is unpredictable and led to Ashley frequently getting captured because she was somewhere I didn’t want her to be. Otherwise, keeping her close means she’s often fodder for various explosives.

In regards to Ashely hiding, she can only take cover in a few lockers strewn about. This is hardly a mechanic, as I counted three lockers in the entire game. If I saw the locker, I knew to stuff her in there because I knew some jerk with a chainsaw was coming, and it took all tension out because it was so obviously telegraphed.

The one thing I legitimately hated about the new release was the removal of laser sights on the guns. This, to me, was such an integral part of the original and how it felt to play. Yes they do have a laser sight attachment that one can buy, but it’s both expensive and only available for a couple of the starting pistols (it does come standard on one of the late level magnums). I find this fairly antithetical to the idea of a faithful remaster to Resident Evil 4.

Much has been made of the cut content in this release. Certain setpieces (and even a boss!) have been removed, but they were supplanted with bombastic moments of their own and I never thought I was missing anything integral. The Mercenaries mode came soon enough so that its omission at launch wasn’t bothersome, but the inevitability of Ada’s campaign being paid DLC is disappointing.

With that said, there is one thing from the original I miss that nobody else on the internet might agree with, but I miss the Quick Time Events. QTEs are something I’ve never hated, and they can be a fine addition when implemented well. Resident Evil 4 had awesome QTEs, and while the previously-mentioned Krauser knife fight is now better from a gameplay perspective, it also makes deciphering its exposition dump significantly more difficult because players will be too busy parrying to pay attention to what’s being said.

It’s easy to see that QTEs were likely removed because they’re associated with the goofier parts of RE4, like untying Leon’s leg from Del Lago, backflipping through motion sensors, or running away from a giant mechanical Ramon statue.

Of course, removing these bits brings us to the issue of a more serious tone, which now lines up better with the remakes (as well as the modern Resident Evil games), but it just isn’t the slap-happy good time the original is.

Leon has gone from quippy action hero to brooding and overly serious. It sticks out like a sore thumb from the start — the developers kept the absurd “Where’s everybody going? Bingo?” line as a nod to the original, but it now comes off as very out-of-place. I also miss the bad guys hijacking the radio signal to start a smack-talk session with Leon on occasion. Some characters do improve on their original iterations, though. Ashley’s mannerisms and tone better match someone who has been held hostage by bug-infested, backwater Spaniards, and they’ve given Luis a bit more screen time to better flesh out his motivations while toning him down from being a total perv. He’s still a perv, but not a total perv. Progress, I guess?

I want to stress that I didn’t hate my time with Resident Evil 4 (2023). Quite the contrary, actually, as I had a good time re-experiencing a true classic with a modern sheen. However, I don’t find it as impressive as any of Capcom’s previous RE remakes. The revised versions of Resident Evil 1-3 all took big swings and weren’t concerned with how they compared to the original. However, it feels like the devs played it safe here, and that’s disappointing. It’s not so disappointing that I wouldn’t recommend it, but seeing so many people call it the best remake ever compelled me to write this.

At the end of the day, ten years from now when I’m feeding on memberberries and looking to replay Resident Evil 4, there’s a good chance I’ll choose the original. That, to me, makes this remake not as successful as it could have been.

RATING: 7.5 Out Of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Capcom. It is currently available on XBX/S, PS4/5 and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via purchase and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 19 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language. The official description reads as follows: This is a survival-horror game in which players assume the role of a government agent (Leon Kennedy) sent to rescue a character from a religious cult. From a third-person perspective, players explore a rural environment while searching for clues and fighting zombies and mutated creatures. Players use pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and explosives to kill enemy creatures in frenetic combat. Some weapons/attacks result in decapitation and/or dismemberment of enemies, along with large splatters of blood. Enemy attacks (e.g., chainsaws, tentacles) can also result in Leon being decapitated, blown apart, or impaled. Eviscerated animals and mutilated corpses are depicted in some environments. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” appear in the game.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are present.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered and/or resized. Furthermore, Capcom have gone above and beyond to make this game accessible to as many players as possible, with closed captioning often warning of nearby sounds such as beeping explosives, squeaking collectibles or the demented mutterings of nearby villagers. Excellent job, Capcom.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls. Well, at least on Keyboard and Mouse. Controller support has various presets available.

HIGH Leon’s new defensive knife skills are an inspired addition.

LOW Some of the craziest moments of the original campaign are no more.

WTF Leon evading a dual chainsaw attack in the most bizarre and dangerous way possible.

When Ashley Graham, the daughter of the President of the United States of all people, is kidnapped by a weird group of deranged cultists with a penchant for murder in a backwater European village, the USA responds in the only way it knows how — by sending a single floppy-haired agent to get her back, uncover the despicable plan behind her disappearance, and save the world in the process.

Fortunately, the agent in the awesome bomber jacket is no ordinary man — he’s Leon S. Kennedy, one of the few survivors of the devastating Raccoon City zombie outbreak six years earlier, and he’s not taking any nonsense from these villagers. When one of them tries to axe him in the face after he asks a few polite questions… well, from that point it’s freaking on and he’s bringing Ashley back, even if he has to depopulate all Europe in order to do so.

Despite all of this preamble, Resident Evil 4 doesn’t really need much of an introduction given that it’s popularly considered one of the best games of all time. However, almost twenty years after its original release, Capcom clearly felt it was time to spruce it up with modern graphics and an updated control scheme utilizing twin analog sticks in a sensible manner, and they’ve done a fantastic job of doing so.

The feel of Resident Evil 4 has changed quite a bit since the 2005 edition, with more of an emphasis on moment-to-moment atmosphere. Whether breaking out a torch in dark areas littered with the corpses of victims or slowly creeping through a forest full of slavering lunatics, it’s more of a traditional survival horror experience this time.  Thankfully, though, when the action breaks out, it’s a hell of a lot more chaotic, violent and downright awesome than the term “survival horror” might suggest and there’s a blessed lack of loathsome puzzles stinking things up. Puzzles still exist, of course, but they’re generally simple and don’t clutter Leon’s inventory with useless garbage.

Whether being swarmed by parasite-infested villagers with bladed tentacle heads or being accosted by a boggle-eyed madman wielding a chainsaw, Leon’s more than capable of holding his own in a fight thanks to an appropriate amount of guns, ammunition and assorted variables like hand grenades and healing items.

Speaking of, the guns in RE4 are an absolute joy to use, delivering destruction and bloodshed with incredibly punchy sound effects. A shotgun blast into a crowd will not only blow these ne’er-do-wells off their feet, but also shear huge chunks of their body off in the process. Even comparatively low-powered pistols sound like the crack of doom and pop heads like pumpkins, especially as Leon progresses through the story and tunes up or replaces his guns with ever-more-lethal instruments of carnage.

One new and highly appreciated addition to the formula is the ability to parry enemy attacks using Leon’s trusty knife. Traditionally little more than a last resort, the knife is now an invaluable defensive tool capable of parrying anything from pitchforks to chainsaws, breaking free of enemy holds, and of course, the more traditional use of repeatedly stabbing bad guys in the face when the chips are down.

This level of knife-based punishment doesn’t come without cost, however. Leon’s knife will degrade over time and eventually break, requiring periodic repairs from merchants dotted around the map. Parrying most attacks or using a new stealth kill mechanic doesn’t cost much durability, though blocking a whirring chainsaw with the knife edge is going to destroy it in short order. It’s therefore important to balance using it for general convenience against saving it for a desperate last resort as it nears its breaking point.

Leon himself seems much weightier than he did in the past, leading to a more grounded and slightly less nimble control scheme. The tradeoff is that enemies also have more heft to them, so roundhouse kicking them into a wall feels incredibly crunchy and satisfying. New animations sell the sensation of combat beautifully, resulting in deliciously insane encounters against all sorts of twisted grotesques throughout the fifteen- to twenty-hour runtime.

After retrieving Ashley and having to work together to escape from the village, other design changes make themselves known. She’s less useless now thanks to a couple of selectable behavior modes that will see her staying close to the action or keeping her distance, and she’s now also able to perform basic functions like descending ladders or helping players out in unexpected ways.

Sadly, some of the goofier moments of old got cut from this release, which is unfortunate since those were also some of the most memorable. From flame-spewing dragon statues in the lava caverns to the infamously insane laser-rigged hallway, some of the most unique setpieces of the original are simply gone — yet the catapult section in the castle’s opening sequence not only remains intact, but has been made infinitely more annoying thanks to fewer opportunities to neutralize threats and more chances to get blown up seemingly at random.

Other complaints are few and far between, so it feels like I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel when I say that there’s also a weird moment when the merchant unhelpfully warns Leon how he should attend to any unfinished business towards the end of the castle area before hitting a point of no return after he’s already passed it, so that could be a mildly annoying moment for completionists like myself.

Finally, as of release there’s no combat arena-style Mercenaries mode, nor the additional Separate Ways campaign equivalent featuring Ada Wong in her banging new pair of long boots. That said, Mercenaries is already confirmed to be on its way and even without Separate Ways, there’s more than enough content in Resident Evil 4 to justify the price given that it features a wealth of bonus content such as weapons, costumes and accessories to unlock after the credits roll for the first time.

Resident Evil 4 is a truly fantastic remake of an already-stellar title. Some of the omissions, tweaks and changes do mean that it’s a perfect complement to the original experience rather than a replacement, but this is about as fine an update to a classic as one could possibly hope for.

Roll on Resident Evil 5 — Sheva Alomar’s got some Majini throats that need slitting.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Capcom. It is currently available on XBX/S, PS4/5 and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 17 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language. The official description reads as follows: This is a survival-horror game in which players assume the role of a government agent (Leon Kennedy) sent to rescue a character from a religious cult. From a third-person perspective, players explore a rural environment while searching for clues and fighting zombies and mutated creatures. Players use pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and explosives to kill enemy creatures in frenetic combat. Some weapons/attacks result in decapitation and/or dismemberment of enemies, along with large splatters of blood. Enemy attacks (e.g., chainsaws, tentacles) can also result in Leon being decapitated, blown apart, or impaled. Eviscerated animals and mutilated corpses are depicted in some environments. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” appear in the game.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are present.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered and/or resized. Furthermore, Capcom have gone above and beyond to make this game accessible to as many players as possible, with closed captioning often warning of nearby sounds such as beeping explosives, squeaking collectibles or the demented mutterings of nearby villagers. Excellent job, Capcom.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls. Well, at least on Keyboard and Mouse. Controller support has various presets available.

HIGH It’s Colossal Cave, in 3D!

LOW It’s Colossal Cave… in 3D. Also, “Orient Room?”  Really?  In 2023?

WTF Is murdering dwarves fun for you, adventurer?

Disclosure: The author is friends with a member of the Colossal Cave QA team. They did not discuss this review in any substantive way, and the score was not influenced by this friendship.

Colossal Cave Adventure, created in the late ’70s by William Crowther fascinated Roberta Williams when she played a version in 1979.  She famously pored over the hand-drawn maps based on the game’s text-only descriptions and obsessed about finding solutions to its devious puzzles.  It ultimately led Ms. Williams to create some of the most well-loved adventure games of all time.  Now, in 2023, Roberta Williams has come full circle by reimagining the very same Colossal Cave that inspired her. 

It’s remarkable to see what were originally just lines of text and a parser converted into a fully-realized 3D world.  As someone who has difficulty converting 2D and 3D images in my head (just ask my organic chemistry professor) I am blown away by the planning that must have been involved in creating an internally consistent and logically-connected series of 3D rooms and environments. 

I am equally impressed by the conversion of typed commands into an intuitive point-and-click and/or keyboard-controlled free movement system which includes a clever mechanic allowing players to “say” magic spells discovered within the cave. I fully acknowledge that it’s a marvel seeing Cave with actual graphics for the first time, but now let’s look at the rest of it.

To begin, there’s precious little story here.  The player is an adventurer discovering themselves standing in front of a building in the middle of a forest path.  There’s a cave to explore and treasure to find.  Along the way, the player encounters various puzzles, obstacles, and enemies to overcome.  The game ends when the player quits of their own volition, becomes stuck in an unwinnable scenario, or escapes the cave with all treasures and sees the true ending.  Even then, they may not have collected the ultimate total of 350 points, awarded by locating treasures and achieving other goals, which may encourage replay. 

Mechanically, Colossal Cave handles like a first-person adventure.  The player explores locations and interacts with various objects and creatures attempting to solve the many puzzles.  A handy automap feature takes the burden of remembering every location off of the player’s shoulders, although the old-school among us are free to turn this off and go pen-and-paper like Roberta Williams did. 

The puzzles range from simple (bribing a troll to cross a bridge) to impossibly obtuse (dropping a particular item in a specific spot for… reasons?) and Colossal Cave allows saving at any point and offers a healthy number of save slots, allowing experimentation without fear of losing too much progress if a mistake is made. 

Speaking of puzzles, their design has definitely evolved over the years, and Colossal Cave shows its age in this regard, particularly with its reliance on backtracking, and use of not one, but two sets of twisty mazes, one of which required players to somehow intuit that they need to drop items to help determine their place in the labyrinth.  

Frustration is not limited to the labyrinths, though, as many of the puzzle solutions aren’t intuitive in any way.  Spells and items have unclear functions, and many treasures are tucked behind seemingly impossible challenges, at least to this novice adventurer.  I found myself asking “How could I possibly know to do this?” on many occasions, and in my view, some challenges are so bizarre that the answers simply won’t ever occur to players.  This kind of ‘challenge’ might have worked in the ’70s and ’80s, but it doesn’t fly now. 

The developers must have known this on at least some level, as they have cleverly created an old-fashioned Fantasy Help Hotline where players can call a real phone number and use a series of button prompts to get a nudge in the right direction.  It’s not as easy as looking up a walkthrough online, but’s it’s a great taste of what we had to do back in the ’80s, minus the colossal phone bills – sorry Mom and Dad.

It’s tough to say exactly who Colossal Cave is for.  ‘Experienced’ fans who remember it might be overjoyed to explore its passages once again, now visualized, but the novelty will wear off once they’ve blazed through an adventure they likely know the answers to — it’s possible to speedrun the game in under an hour.  Younger fans of adventure games may be curious to see a revamped version of how the genre started, but may become frustrated by the bizarre ‘logic’ behind the challenges. Ultimately, it’s a fascinating look back in time, but it doesn’t always translate to enjoyable play.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Cygnus Entertainment.  It is currently available on PS5, Switch, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 6 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed several times. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E and contains Fantasy Violence. The game exhibits violence against realistic looking humanoid creatures (throwing axes to slay an enemy).  There is no blood or gore.  There are implied deaths from falling, attacks, etc., with the game fading to a red and/or black screen.  The game is safe for children.  There are a few minor jump scares when a monster or foe attacks, and there are some screams of agony during a player death.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. (See examples above.) The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized. All spoken narration/dialogue in the game can be subtitled.  All gameplay-based audio cues have a visual component.  Ambient sounds (grunts from enemies, screams, etc.) and ambient music do not have a visual marker.  The game is therefore NOT fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

HIGH Fast, smooth shooting that feels timeless.

LOW Burying the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack in the audio mix.

WTF Being unaware of motion controls and thinking my controller needed replacing.

Quake was a game that passed me by.

Unlike Doom, it hadn’t been released on every console in existence, and by the time I played it on PC around 2000, it felt archaic in a post Half-Life world. In fact, I’ve always seen it as Doom’s less charismatic relation and the brown color palette hinted at a lack of a clear identity which the inconsistent sequels seemed to confirm. However, Quake’s influence on gaming is not in doubt, particularly due to it pioneering fully 3D graphics and online multiplayer. Its relevance is clear, and this omission from my playlist has always felt like a gap in my gaming CV, now rectified.

Originally developed by ID Software, this remaster is handled by Nightdive Studios. Players make their way through levels filled with enemies while avoiding traps and finding colored keys for locked doors, all in first-person. It includes the original campaign, the two subsequent expansion packs, another that was developed as part of the 20th anniversary, and a brand-new one developed for this release. 

Remasters like this one can be tricky to review as they need to be faithful to the original release while having enough improvements to make them more palatable to modern audiences. Nostalgia is a powerful thing and memories become distorted with age – I would say a successful remaster should offer an experience that emulates how someone thinks they remember an old game looking and playing, and Quake does a good job of achieving this.

When I think about classic ID Software games, I think about fast, smooth and responsive first-person shooting. For me, this is what makes them timeless and enjoyable to this day. Quake has these qualities in spades, now bolstered with a higher, more stable framerate. Slowdown only reared its ugly head when I moved onto the first expansion pack. It also looks how I remember Quake, with grotesque-looking enemies in large (usually brown) architecture, yet appearing sharper than ever in 4k and with subtle improvements.

This is all well and good so far, but my problems with Quake Remastered are holdovers from its original release.

While the fully-3D environments were groundbreaking at the time and added verticality to gameplay, I feel these environments lack character. There is an overuse of brown in the color palette (common to games of the period – I grew tired of this ‘look’ years ago) which results in drab, plain-looking levels. The lack of a plot isn’t really an issue, but levels seem to be randomly-ordered and there’s no feeling of a progression, mechanically or narratively, though the expansion packs rectify some of this.  

There’s also a lack of enemy variety which can be attributed to the limitations of technology back then. However, the situation is made worse by Quake pulling some of the same tricks as Doom — things like spawning enemies behind the player character after grabbing up a power-up.

However, Quake does manage to stay interesting in how each enemy provides different challenges. For example, the Ogre is deadly at short range with chainsaws, but can also shoot grenades from a distance. Some enemies (such as the Vore) cross the line from challenging to irritating thanks to spamming homing missiles, but I found Quake to be a fair challenge overall. For those looking for stiffer resistance, the expansion packs increase the amount of enemies onscreen at once, but sometimes at the cost of slowdown.

Quake Remastered sees the triumphant return of the original Nine Inch Nails soundtrack, which had previously been missing due to licensing issues. As a longtime fan of the band, finally getting a chance to hear it in game was exciting. Ironically, I was disappointed early on — it sounded basic and lacked depth. However, after turning down the sound effects and turning up the music volume, I began to appreciate it. It’s a shame the default audio mix buries it, because it really is a fabulous, throbbing soundscape of disconnected audio that gives Quake more of a horror feel than Doom. Once I was able to foreground the soundtrack, the tension rose notably.  

Quake is also famous for its multiplayer, and I felt duty-bound to at least try it, despite my disinterest in playing with others. I spent two fruitless hours dying a lot, with not a single kill to my name. I was completely out of my depth, with fellow fraggers skilfully jumping around and killing me with ease. I therefore cannot give an opinion on Quake’s multiplayer aside from commenting that it is stable and I was able to be matched with others without many issues. 

Apart from being repeatedly blasted to atoms by the pros, I enjoyed my time with Quake. It doesn’t have the same nostalgic pull for me that Doom does, which may contribute to a sense that it’s Doom’s less charismatic relative. That said, it’s a remaster done correctly, feeling like the original with technical improvements that help to showcase its timeless, quick and smooth gameplay.

Disclosures: This game is developed by Nightdive Studios and published by Bethesda. It is currently available on XBO, XBX/S, PS4, PS5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via paid download and reviewed on PS4. Approximately 10 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed.  2 hours of play were spent in multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood and Gore, Violence. The official description reads as follows: This is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of a soldier that travels through time to stop an evil force from destroying humanity. Players traverse through maze-like medieval environments and use shotguns, nail guns, and grenade launchers to kill various enemies (e.g., zombies, demonic forces, scorpions, humans) in frenetic run-and-gun combat. Battles are accompanied by gunfire sounds, screams of pain, and large explosions. Large blood-splatter effects occur frequently, and several attack cause enemies to explode into bloody chunks. Some areas depict mutilated body parts on the ground or falling from ceilings.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game does not offer subtitles, but has no dialogue in game. At the end of episodes, the ending is described via text. This cannot be resized and could be hard to read against the background. Playing without sound revealed that without sound cues, gameplay can be affected – for example for clues for enemy placements, being able to react to ambushes and hints at other traps. Due to reliance on audio-only cues, this game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls. Movement is left stick. Camera is on the right stick. Jumping is X and L2. R1 is weapons wheel. R2 is shoot. Up on the d-pad switches to shotguns, down switches to projectile weapons, right to needle guns and left to melee/special weapons. Clicking left stick centers the screen.

HIGH Planning out my route and eating a whole string of ghosts at once.

LOW Getting blockaded by red versions of Pac-Man.

WTF The theme DLCs.

Pac-Man is a game that, I presume, needs no introduction. It’s one of the most popular arcade games of all time, involving a yellow circle floating around a grid eating pellets, ghosts, and the occasional fruit. Players avoid the ghosts until Pac-Man is in an invulnerable state and generally try to survive until they clear the board of pellets.

Since its worldwide release in 1980, Pac-man has seen numerous iterations, many offering slight changes to the basic formula in order to keep things fresh for players old and new. Pac-Man 99 takes the basic gameplay format and turns it into a 99-person endurance battle.

The main mode (the only mode included for free, provided a player has a Nintendo Online subscription) has gamers facing off against 98 others online, with everyone trying to survive for as long as possible. The basic gameplay is the same as the original, but clearing the board doesn’t do anything – the board can be reset by eating fruit which occasionally pop up, giving players more pellets so they can continue eating and out-maneuvering the ghosts.

In order to pace the game and help eliminate players, obstacles can appear on the board to hamper progress. White Pac-man will slow down the player, while red Pac-man can appear and must be avoided at all costs, or else it’s game over.

Making it to that number 1 spot can be tough, especially when going up against so many players from around the world — the best I personally got to was rank 6.

Playing the base mode can be a great time with some real nail-biting moments when it gets down to the final 10, and any single mistake in input can be a gamer’s downfall. This is essentially all that is available for a free download, and makes for a solid pick-up-and-play experience with matches that last for 5 to 10 minutes at most.

In order to unlock more options, DLC can be purchased. The DLC includes many themes which change the character models, animations, and even give animated backgrounds for the game and menu. Other DLC includes more modes, in particular single player content such as CPU (where gamers can hone their skills against 98 computer players) and a time attack mode where gamers can test how long they can last on the board as difficulty ramps up over time.

Private matches, which allow gamers to play with their friends specifically instead of random players, is also DLC. This is the only piece of DLC I would really like to see included with the game, as it can only work if all players involved have the necessary DLC.  

Overall, Pac-Man 99 offers a solid, simple multiplayer jaunt for short-term bursts of competitive action. It’s a shame that some of the things that are locked behind DLC, but since the game itself is free (with Nintendo Online) it’s hard to complain.

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Bandai Namco. It is currently available on Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 1 hour of play was devoted to the single-player modes. 3 hours of play were spent in multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E and contains Mild Fantasy Violence and In-Game Purchases. The game is safe for kids, it’s all very pixelated and involves a yellow circle “eating” various things.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game does not offer subtitles, but there is also no dialogue. The only text is related to menu options, such as “Start” and “Game Over.” No sounds are necessary for gameplay. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

HIGH Clever uses for items. Battles can be intense.

LOW Starting over really means starting over.

WTF  Tom Nook has nothing on the scamming tanuki here.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate (just “Shiren” from this point on) is a well-made turn-based roguelike that features an interesting story, varied enemies, innovative inventory usage, and a clever ‘multiplayer’ system.  It also failed to captivate me with its old-school insistence on (almost) completely negating my progress after a failed run.

When silent protagonist Shiren and his loquacious companion Koppa the ferret enter a new town, they learn of a woman with a mysterious illness and her fiancé’s desire to change her destiny by tackling the Tower of Fortune.  Once he reaches its top, the god of Destiny there may be able to alter the future for him.  Shiren and Koppa decide to aid the ill-equipped lad in his quest, and thus a new adventure begins. 

Shiren’s adventures play out from a third-person isometric perspective.  All movements and actions are turn-based and actions pause when an item, trap, or enemy are encountered.  Readying an item or weapon, moving, or any form of attack requires one turn, and after Shiren goes, opponents have an opportunity to counter, maneuver, or engage. 

Combat is straightforward as equipped weapons do a predetermined amount of damage based on Shiren’s current strength and the quality of the weapon being wielded but where the action really shines is in how items and equipment can be used to vanquish enemies or avoid them altogether. 

During Shiren’s journey, he’ll discover all kinds of mysterious items that can be used on himself, his items, or his enemies. Weapons may gain abilities from steady use, or they may be upgraded by or by using herbs to enhance their effects.  Additionally, certain weapons and armor resonate with one another, providing even greater benefits. 

Unfortunately, many of these benefits are extremely short-lived as traps and creature attacks may not only damage Shiren directly, but also permanently weaken weapons and armor — getting caught by well-hidden obstacles and unexpected attacks can ruin a promising run in a hurry. 

Shiren’s inventory space is limited, so learning what’s important to carry is vital to success. Pots can be collected which provide extra storage space — some also transform or enhance items, and some even allow Shiren to hide from enemies for a few turns. Honestly, there are so many clever ways to utilize inventory that I found it overwhelming. There is a robust tutorial/training system in place, but even that has a tendency to provide more information than I could comfortably handle. 

Shiren also has to contend with a hunger meter (fortunately, it’s not too intrusive), a day/night cycle which brings forth more powerful enemies and limited visibility, and the “Winds of Kron” which basically act as a timer for each run — if the winds blow Shiren out of a dungeon because he dallied too long, it’s treated like a death.

Shiren encourages methodical, thoughtful play.  With proper preparation and some decent protective items, it’s possible to have early success. However, a run ends when Shiren completes an area, returns to a hub location, or when he is slain.  The penalty for a death is the loss of all equipment he was carrying when he fell, including that prized sword I’d been steadily upgrading…

I usually have no problem with item and progress loss in my roguelikes, but Shiren’s irritates me. I feel like making me start from level 1 with all new gear back at the very first dungeon is not respectful of my time.  Had the game provided a slightly friendlier checkpointing system, I would have enjoyed it far more. 

Shiren does allow players to store items in warehouses to prevent their loss upon Shiren’s untimely demise, but that made me spend more time worrying about what gear to use when rather than just getting on with the dungeon-delving. 

For runs that go horribly wrong, there is a possibility of resurrection —  upon death, players can “ask for aid” from the Shiren player base.  A sub-menu from the main screen allows others to revive fallen players by performing a “Wanderer Rescue” sub-game.  It’s a clever implementation of asynchronous multiplayer and I enjoyed rescuing others, but I was never patient enough to wait for someone to help me. 

There’s a lot to like about Shiren.  There are plenty of places to explore, there are intricate puzzle rooms that provide extra challenge, and the loot flows freely and generously.  I’m just not sure I’ll get back to a place mentally where I’ll see Shiren’s travels through to the end — I became weary of the repeating gameplay loop much earlier than I thought I would. 

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.  It is currently available on PC and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 15 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E10+ and contains Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, and Language. The official ESRB description reads as follows: This is an action role-playing game in which players assume the role of a wandering samurai through a fantasy world. From a 3/4 perspective, players explore dungeons, interact with characters, and battle enemy creatures (e.g., giant insects, wild animals, monsters). Players use punches and swords to defeat enemies in melee-style combat. Impact sounds, slashing effects, and cries of pain occur during battles. The game also contains references to alcohol (e.g., “The plant is famous for the liquor that is made from nectar extracted from its core.”). The words “a*s” and “bastard” appear in the game.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered or resized. All dialogue is presented via text.  All audio cues have an accompanying visual cue. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

HIGH Seeing Larry back in action.

LOW Having to exhaust all dialogue with all characters to proceed

WTF Weirdly dated pop-culture references.

Many years ago, I was way into point-and-click Adventure games. While I still enjoy them, I’ve mostly let go of the nostalgic feelings I have that are typically associated with the genre — these days, I don’t need my point-and-clicks to feature classic characters or continuous references to the genre’s heyday in the ’90s. However, that doesn’t mean that developers still making Adventure games are ready to let go. Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice is a perfect example.

The original Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (1987) didn’t use a mouse, but featured a verb interface via keyboard. Five other titles followed, all designed by Al Lowe, a man in love with double entendres and lewd jokes. The last entry in the series with his direct involvement was 1997’s Love for Sail. Since then the series took a left turn into forgettable minigame collections starring Larry’s nephew, and was quickly abandoned.

Several years later, Larry went back to his point-and-click roots with 2018’s Wet Dreams Don’t Dry, and the subject of this review, Dry Twice, is the direct sequel. While it’s not mandatory to have played WDDD, it sure does help in enjoying the plot, since the two games are strongly connected.

In Dry Twice, Larry finds himself stranded on an unfamiliar Mexican-themed island and forced to marry a girl he hasn’t even met while still in love with Faith, his love interest from the previous game. The plot of Dry twice  revolves around Larry’s desperate hunt for Faith’s whereabouts while finding himself in the usual absurd situations like being captured by lesbian cannibals.

Being a classic point-and-click, all the traditional rules of the genre apply — players pick up everything that isn’t nailed down, they use objects with/on everything to solve puzzles, and they must exhaust every possible conversation in order to move forward. In keeping with its Sierra roots, it is possible to die, but death is just a temporary setback and the player can resume right away.

The puzzles are decent for the most part, with only a couple of instances of what is commonly known in the genre as “moon logic” — puzzles with such weird solutions that no ordinary human would be able to naturally solve them. Newer entries in the genre have (generally) made an effort to phase this kind of design out, but in this case it might be excusable as I feel like Wet Dreams Dry Twice is aimed at ‘classic’ fans, and that’s backed up by references to seminal entries like The Secret of Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle.

Graphically, Wet Dreams Dry Twice sticks to the previous installment’s strengths, featuring some nice hand-drawn 2D backgrounds and decent animation, even though the way Larry interacts with the world feels low budget since no objects are ever shown in his hands. The voice actors manage to do a good job with the material and use a vast array of accents in the process.

Like many Adventure titles, much of the value rests on the script and the writing, and players who crave the risque style from days gone by might be happy here.

Larry is a likeable protagonist ripped directly from the eighties and he has a lot to learn about modern sensibilities, but he’s mostly left free to say a lot of double entendres while trying his luck with every girl he meets. Larry also has an artificial intelligence on his smartphone that tends to butt in and chastise him, which makes for some amusing banter. Unfortunately, most conversations with the AI or other characters tend to go on forever, which would have been easier to swallow if there were better jokes or a some character development.

In another attempt at humor, there are at least three penis-shaped objects (along with a couple of vaginas) for good measure in every room. It’s been a while since I played them, but I remember traditional Larry humor to be a bit more sophisticated than what’s on display here. There are also a few pop-culture references that feel weirdly dated now — remember Korean rapper Psy from Gangnam Style?

Wet Dreams Dry Twice is an okay sequel to the reboot of a genre-classic series and its faithfulness to old-school sensibilities is both a strength and a weakness. While the humor is a bit too juvenile for my taste, it does manage to elicit some laughs every now and then. On the other hand, players wanting a fresher take on design and writing might want to look elsewhere.

— Damiano Gerli

Disclosures: This game is developed by CrazyBunch and published by Assemble Entertainment. It is currently available on PC and MacOS. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 6 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: The game is rated M for Nudity, Sexual Content and Strong Language. Given the sexual nature, Wet Dreams Dry Twice is not really a game for kids, hence it is recommended that the player be at least 17 of age.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available in the options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: it is playable without sound, there are subtitles for every dialogue in the game, along with objects and interactions. The text can’t be resized or altered in any way. (See examples above.)

Remappable Controls: The controls are not remappable, on PC, Wet Dreams Dry Twice is controlled entirely via the mouse to point and click.