The Bad
Blackwind
***click here for our review***
Out of the three best (and worst) video games from January 2022, Blackwind scored the worst. It’s an action RPG, with gameplay styles taken from games of other action genres. A lot of its ideas are great, but it executes them poorly. Combat is clunky, and there are lots of visual glitches. The real problem lies in the fixed camera, which our reviewer has already awarded the “worst camera of 2022” trophy. They wrote “the game’s mechanics made me want to step away in frustration”. Play Nier: Automata instead, which was a clear inspiration.
Nobody Saves the World
***click here for our review***
Drinkbox Studios made two classic Metroidvanias in Guacamelee 1 and 2. Their first foray outside of that genre was pushed back and eventually released in January 2022, in the form of Nobody Saves the World. This new title is a procedurally-generated dungeon-crawling RPG, oozing with humor. Unfortunately, the writing missed a lot more than it hit for our reviewer. They also found the dungeon to be generic and uninspired, with little incentive to continue playing. Our reviewer wrote that: since there are no interesting upgrades and no items at all, there aren’t any cool combinations or builds you can make”. Nobody Saves the World’s only unique quality is its writing, and it isn’t going to appeal to a large percentage of players.
Praey for the Gods
***click here for our review***
Praey for the Gods is a Shadow of the Colossus clone, that has been in early access for years. That PS2 classic taught us that giant boss climbing and world exploring are very fun game elements. Unfortunately, Praey for the Gods copies too much, and innovates little. The game has unintuitive, archaic button layouts. Travel and combat are both very plodding and sluggish. Our reviewer wrote “in an attempt to broaden the gameplay, No Matter Studios has added a survival system that is detrimental to the enjoyment [of the game]”. All Praey to the Gods offers in addition to what we already have with Shadow of the Colossus is a snowy environment, and that is not enough.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.