3 Up, 3 Down – July 2022
A lot of the high-profile games from July 2022 performed well, and none of them performed horribly. As a consequence, The Three Best (and Worst) Video Games from July 2022 is full of surprise hits, and lemons destined for obscurity. The one exception is a piece of DLC too wonderful for us to not recognize. The Three Best (and Worst) Video Games from July 2022 are:
The Good
As Dusk Falls
***click here for our review***
As Dusk Falls is an interactive story game, similar to the titles released by Telltale Games. It’s different from Japanese visual novels, in the sense that it tells a very Western story, and uses gameplay elements popularized by 90s PC games. The decades-spanning plot unfolds as an emotionally gripping drama. Only the pixel hunt sections and QuickTime events keep As Dusk Falls from being a must-play for everyone. And that it’s an Xbox exclusive. Our reviewer “always felt that [their] inputs and choices truly made a difference to the way the story unfolded”, which is what makes As Dusk Falls as great game, as opposed to novel or film.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course DLC
***click here for our review***
Cuphead is a wonderful game. It’s a perfect 2D run and gun with a gorgeous old timey cartoon presentation. The Delicious Last Course is a handful of boss encounters that complete the Developer’s vision. They’ve even promised future physical copies of the completed game, now that all content has been released. A few gameplay mechanics have been tweaked, and new attacks have been added. Our reviewer found the that the “bosses ascend to new levels of greatness and are a bench mark for the genre”. Praise doesn’t get any higher.
Stray
***click here for our review***
I have to admit that I was unaware of the hype behind Stray, when writing the Top 5 Video Games Arriving in July 2022. It’s the kind of cinematic experience popularized by the Uncharted series, where gameplay is fairly straightforward and unchallenging, but the visuals are beautiful. The strength of the game is its storytelling and cinematic graphics. Although Stray also has the novel mechanic of playing as a normal, everyday cat, which many find incredibly appealing. Our reviewer concluded that Stray “tells a story about social justice that is both clever and discreet”. Stray is another victory for narrative driven games in The Three Best (and Worst) Video Games from July 2022.