Recent reviews by SectionSkyly

Gundam Breaker 4 is a single or multiplayer mecha game based around building the perfect Gunpla model. Most of the game will have you taking on various mobile suits from the Gundam universe (from the original series right up to Witch from Mercury, though apparently a suit from Seed Freedom is coming). The 'breaker' part of the name comes from the mechanic of breaking parts off your opponent's Gunpla to add to your own collection.

The combat is simple at first glance, but when you add in EX and OP skills it actually becomes very open- you can even air juggle opponents by using different weapon combinations.

The Story Mode (which I haven't completed yet) seems a bit of an afterthought, and the mission structures do get very samey (generally you'll do a wave of fighting grunts, then a 2nd area where you fight a miniboss and a final area will usually either be a rival team or a boss fight. Some of the bosses are huge and require you to target specific parts, so it isn't completely mindless.

The main reason anyone would play this though is for the Gunpla customisation. There are around 250 mobile suits in the game, each part can have different abilities and you can kitbash pieces together however you want. This means you can make pretty much whatever you want. Seeing what other players come up with can be one of the best (and sometimes, one of the worst) things about the game!

If you're a Gundam or general mecha fan, or if you like games with a large amount of customisation you'll probably like this.

The only real criticisms I have is that the missions can be samey (as I've mentioned) and the music doesn't vary much. The lobby music in particular will get stuck in your head very quickly, for all the wrong reasons.

Overall, I would recommend GB4. With AC6, Mecha Break and this, mecha is back.

Review only says I've played for 3 hours, but I've played this for a lot longer before it was released on Steam.

I'll get this out of the way now; this is basically Vampire Survivors but with Hololive VTubers. There's a huge variety of playable characters (have you seen how huge Hololive is?) with plenty more coming later. Each character plays very differently and the game encourages you to try different builds.

The general process is that you defeat mobs (which are based on the Hololive fandom mascots) to level up, and each time you level you can select 1 of 4 skills. Some are generalised and some are character-specific. Roughly every minute or so the spawns will change, and there's a main boss at 10 minutes and 20 minutes. Defeating the 20 minute boss completes the stage unless you're on Endless Mode.

Items can interact with each other (a feature called Collabs) to create crazy new items that are much more powerful. There aren't a huge amount of stages in the game yet, but the gameplay is addictive and you'll probably have no problem repeating the same ones.

The most recent update also added what is essentially a watered-down version of something like Stardew Valley, where you can harvest crops, fish, cook meals and decorate the 'Holo House'. It's a fun distraction but the main game carries itself well enough already.

The best thing about Holocure though? It's free! You literally have nothing to lose trying it!

Disclaimer: I'm only in Chapter 3 at the moment but feel like I've played enough to give an impression.

Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon (AC6) is a third-person action game where you play as C4-621, an augmented human. In reality though all you'll ever see is what you pilot; your Armored Core (AC), which is a huge mech. The AC series goes back years to the original Playstation but had been on hiatus for several years before AC6 came along.

The game is broken down into a mission-based structure. You play as a mercenary and take on jobs for your handler. These jobs will see you work for a company, then turn against them in another mission and work for their competitors. Everyone on the planet Rubicon is after Coral, a substance that is short in supply and high in demand. Missions can be a variety of objectives. They can be as simple as destroying enemy forces, but some missions introduce other factors, such as stealth and even platforming/escape sections. Missions reward a currency called COAM, which you can use to change your AC's build.

Customising your AC's loadout is a huge part of AC6. Different leg types will completely change how your AC moves, from high-jumping reverse-joint legs through to heavy tank treads that allow for huge weapons platforms. The weapons list is huge, ranging from assault rifles and gatling guns through to laser lances, pile bunkers and drones. Different enemies call for different strategies and you'll find that you need to re-fit your mech frequently, particularly for some of the boss encounters. There's also a very in-depth decal system, so you can outfit your AC with emblems of your own creation, or download ones that other players have made.

Now I suppose we need to talk about the elephant in the room; the 'filter' bosses. For context, there are a lot of players getting frustrated with AC6 because of (mainly) 2 bosses (the helicopter which you fight in the tutorial and Balteus which you fight at the end of the first chapter). First of all, you have to remember that this is a FromSoft game. They are not known for making easy games. Now the tutorial boss I don't see any issues with; the game gives you cover from the gunfire and its ACS (stagger) gauge builds up very fast if you hit it with melee. The end of chapter 1 boss is legitimately very difficult at first and it genuinely took me a couple of days to beat it. Again though, this is where customising your mech comes in. Struggling to get through the pulse shield? Use a Pulse Gun or use Assault Armor against it. Can't avoid the missiles? Try a better booster or dodge in a different direction instead. There is always a way.

If you're the kind of person who gets agitated at difficult games you might want to give AC6 a miss, because you will die. You will die a lot. The fun is in learning what went wrong and adapting to overcome it. However, I still hate the PCA LCs in Chapter 3

There's also a PvP mode (there is no co-op in AC6 outside of 3v3 PvP) and an arena mode where you face off 1v1 against computer-controlled ACs. These reward OST chips which you can use to add abilities to your AC.

Overall, I'm having a blast with AC6. I do occasionally need to take breaks when I'm getting steamrolled but for the most part it's incredibly fun and it's so good to see the mecha genre coming back to life again. Now if we can just get a good Gundam game that isn't a FPS?

See you on Rubicon 3, Raven.

Disclaimer: It's a positive review, but only just. Ideally, wait until it's on sale.

AEW: Fight Forever is the first game for All Elite Wrestling, and is heavily inspired by the classic wrestling games of the 90s. Matches are fast paced (most are over within a couple of minutes) and hitting a finisher is an almost guaranteed win.

First the positives:
- The actual wrestling is really fun. It's built on a momentum system where being aggressive and using taunts builds your meter. Once full, you can hit any of your signature moves, or taunt again to activate special mode (where you can hit a finisher). Failing to use a finisher within a few seconds of this will cause you to lose some of the gauge, so you do need to use your finishers carefully. There's also a ton of weapons, and the move list is absolutely massive.

- Road to Elite is a somewhat interesting mode where you play a year in AEW, going through Dynamite shows and PPVs. While it's somewhat entertaining, it does get repetitive very fast and you can probably complete a run of it in maybe 2 hours.

Now for the not so good:

- The creation suite for custom wrestlers is, to be blunt, garbage. There are barely any options for faces, accessories, clothing etc. You can unlock some, but even with those the list is tiny. Add to this the fact that there's loads of arbitrary restrictions (for example some long hair styles prevent you from...wearing glasses?) and it's just a complete disappointment. However, the customisation of your character's moves and entrance is pretty impressive. It's just the appearance that's very substandard.

- Another thing that's substandard is the match types. The only match types in the game are: 1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3-way, 4-way, ladder match, casino battle royale, lights out (basically a no-DQ match), falls count anywhere and an exploding barbed wire deathmatch. The latter is entertaining the first couple of times, but it's what's NOT there that's surprising. There are no tables matches, no trios matches, no tornado tag... One of the reasons for no trios matches is because there's a 4-wrestler limit (so no 8-man or 10-man tags either). This limitation also extends to the casino battle royale match. In AEW this is essentially a royal rumble, which can end up with 20+ wrestlers in the ring. In Fight Forever, there are 21 entrants, but only 4 can be in the ring at once. The remainder file in once someone gets eliminated. It just feels like a very arbitrary restriction that shouldn't be in a game from 2023.

- The roster is a weird one. While there are fan favourites (Moxley, Omega, Lucha Bros, The Elite etc), there are also odd omissions (Toni Storm, Jamie Hayter, Claudio to name a few). I realise we're going to get DLC, but when even FTR are added as DLC, I do have to question what Yukes were thinking. There's also only 4 recognised tag teams in the base roster (Young Bucks, Best Friends, Inner Circle and Lucha Bros). You can make additional ones like Jurassic Express, The Hardys etc, but many tag teams have half of the members missing. For example, if you want to play as Dark Order, you can only choose from Mr. Brodie Lee or John Silver. There's no Evil Uno, Stu Grayson or Alex Reynolds. Overall it's just a very strange roster choice that isn't necessarily terrible but could've been a lot better.

- There's no commentary at all in matches. In fact, voice overs are extremely limited. It would've been nice to have Excalibur, Schiavone, JR and Taz calling the shots.

- Entrances are very short, like some older wrestling games. I would've liked longer entrances but with an option to use shorter ones, as I feel the existing ones are way too short. On the plus side, you do get to control the pyro which is a neat touch.

Overall, Fight Forever is tough to recommend in its current state, but I will based purely on how fun the actual wrestling is. If you play with a few friends it'll be a blast, but there's no doubt that the rest of the game is pretty underwhelming. I hope Yukes continue to work on the game and improve it over time, as it has a lot of untapped (tapped, get it?) potential.

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega Mix+ is essentially a PC port of the Switch MegaMix game. It's a rhythm game featuring songs from virtual divas called Vocaloid. For those unfamiliar with Vocaloid, it's basically a voice synthesising software that can be used to make songs. Miku has been hugely famous in Japan for years, but Vocaloid as a whole has become more widespread in recent years.

Mega Mix features a huge setlist of songs (250 songs if you buy the VIP version!) which cover a variety of genres, from piano ballads to rock. It should be noted that despite the game's name, not every song is performed by Hatsune Miku. There's a wide selection of songs by other Vocaloids such as Len, Rin, KAITO, Meiko and Luka.

The game is simple to understand; outlines of buttons will appear on screen and the icon for the button will approach it. When the icon overlaps the outline, press that button. The game uses a combination of button presses, holds, slides etc to vary the charts up. Each song has a few difficulty levels, ranging from Easy all the way up to EX Extreme. Everyone is catered for, whether you're completely new to rhythm games or someone who's played them for years.

There's also a customisation aspect to the game, where you can unlock outfits and accessories for the singers. Note that if you buy the VIP pack, everything is unlocked automatically. There are literally hundreds of outfits, it's borderline ridiculous!

Overall, Project Diva Megamix+ is a great rhythm game with a huge amount of songs. The port seems to run well for me (some people are experiencing stutters in-game, so YMMV). The price if you get VIP is pretty steep, but the base game is good enough and still has over 100 songs. If you're a rhythm game fan, go for VIP.

If you already have the Switch version, there's not a great reason to buy this as well, except for much faster loading times and higher resolution.

Edit: Capcom have added Enigma DRM to the game (replacing Denuvo), no mention of this in update notes. I would be very cautious about buying this at the moment and I expect this will also be added to other Capcom games. While I can understand Capcom's stance on cheats, tarring all mods with the same brush is not the way to go about things, especially when the DRM you add completely breaks the game for some people and gets cracked in hours anyway?

I love your games Capcom but please, stop these anti-consumer practices. You are negatively impacting the experience for paying customers of your products.

Review updated after Stia region added.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis (PSO2 NGS or NGS for short) is a multiplayer online RPG. I should quickly note that NGS also includes the original Phantasy Star Online 2, which is an entirely different game (though characters are shared).

NGS takes on the typical Phantasy Star story of Dark Falz appearing and taking a character as a host, in this case the father of one of the main characters. Most of the story revolves around how to defeat Dark Falz and save the planet Halpha from the hordes of 'DOLLS' enemies. The story is still ongoing so I can't comment too much on it yet.

For gameplay, the game currently features 9 classes (Hunter, Ranger, Force, Fighter, Gunner, Techter, Braver, Bouncer and Waker) with more to be added later. Each class plays completely differently, with their own weapon types and skill trees. Combat in NGS is very action based and isn't like a lot of other online RPGs. In NGS you can string combos together, air juggle enemies etc. Honestly the combat is pretty fun, but is generally pretty easy. Outside of a few exceptions (Gigantix, some Veteran/Ancient enemies) nothing really hits that hard. Worse is that some DOLLS feel like damage sponges and take a while to defeat while not posing a threat. Overall though, the combat is probably better than most other online RPGs.

Lack of content has been a big problem for NGS since launch, but I now think that with the latest Stia region update that's less of an issue. I won't deny that the current loop is repetitive (farming Recon Gigants in Dreisen Plant, running Urgent Quests when they're on, doing Daily Quests), but the game does respect your time and you feel you can get good progress even if you just play for an hour or two a day.

One of the huge advantages of NGS (and PSO2 in general) is the character creation. It has to be one of the most in-depth creators I've ever used, and you can add to it after creation by adding accessories,new hairstyles and so on. A lot of the new items are from the paid gacha, but you can buy most of it from other players in their shops for in-game currency too. The gacha is something I can't avoid talking about, but I actually feel it's one of the fairer gachas in terms of cost (especially as you can sell items you don't want in player shop and earn some in-game money back).

For the most part, I feel NGS is finally starting to find its feet after a very rough launch. There are still issues, but its a definite improvement from where it was a few months ago. Remember that even if you don't like NGS, there is 8 years worth of content crammed into the original PSO2 as well! The original PSO2 definitely feels like a more complete game (because it...is), but it is looking very dated now.

Hopefully NGS keeps improving, as it has the potential to be great.

So to play this on Steam now, you need an Epic Games account. Yeah, er, no

Helltaker is a short puzzle game whose levels take the form of block-pushing puzzles. It starts out pretty easy, but some of the later levels are genuinely pretty tough. Honestly, the actual mechanics of the game are solid but take a back seat to the story.

The general premise is that you decide to visit Hell with the sole intention of amassing a harem of demon waifus. The writing is really funny, especially when you're trying to 'pull' the girl at the end of a stage. Sometimes, picking the bad answer is even more hilarious. After about 9 stages of puzzles, you finish with a boss fight (which is also hilarious). There's a short epilogue and there's a few secrets in the game too (unexpected endings and a bonus waifu).

Definitely pick it up! The art style is great, the music is amazing and it's full of demon* waifus!

*May also include angel waifus

(Review says 0 hours played for some reason; I did buy Deluxe so maybe that's why?)

Iceborne is a huge expansion for Monster Hunter: World. Note that you do need the base game as Iceborne is treated as DLC.

The expansion adds a new story that follows on from the events of MHW. Story has never been a strong point of MH and it's the same here. As with World, beat the story and then focus on the actual fun of the game which lies elsewhere.

Iceborne adds a whole host of new additions:
- Master Rank difficulty which adds an extra layer of difficulty over High Rank. It starts out relatively easy, but later monsters will force you to improve your play. With new difficulty comes new weapons and armour to craft. Note that the story is entirely in Master Rank, so if the difficulty gets too much Iceborne may not be for you. Honestly it's manageable for the most part but there are a few MR fights that are pure garbage (looking at you, Namielle, Lunastra and Kushala)
- One new regular locale, the Hoarfrost Reach. This is a huge snowy tundra map that is the centrepiece of Iceborne. As with every other map in the game, it feels full of life and there's lots to explore. There is a 2nd new locale too, but it unlocks after story so it's probably a spoiler.
- A new hub town called Seliana. This is a HUGE improvement over Astera; everything is laid out well and the Gathering Hub includes almost everything you need (as opposed to Astera where everything was spread over multiple floors).
- Probably the main reason for buying Iceborne, the new monster additions. Without going into spoiler territory, there are several new monsters. Some are completely new, some are subspecies or variants of monsters that were already in World. There'll also be more monsters added via free updates. This makes the gameplay feel very fresh again, and even the returning monsters from World have new moves in Master Rank, provided they appear in Master Rank at all.

The Clutch Claw tool completely changes how hunts work; I'm personally not a huge fan of it as I feel flinch shotting monsters into walls is too good at present. This has been added to base MHW too though so it's not exclusive to Iceborne.

The game isn't perfect and there are some glaring issues:
- You STILL have to view a cutscene before you can run a story quest with a friend. It just wastes time and was infuriating in World. The fact it's still the same in Iceborne blows my mind.
- Iceborne definitely (as of this review) doesn't run as smooth as base MHW did. I have a Ryzen 5 3600 and a Radeon RX 5700XT and it runs mostly fine, but the post-game area and Hoarfrost Reach can drop frames at times. I've heard some people mention that it won't even run for them, so it may be advisable to wait until it's confirmed to be more stable.
- There were some reports of player's saved games deleting; this seems to be largely resolved now but I would advise backing up your MHW save BEFORE installing Iceborne. Make sure you remove all mods too.
- The end-game area honestly gets old pretty fast. I haven't even unlocked all the extra monsters yet and I'm already a bit tired of it.
- The aforementioned gripes with Clutch Claw.

Aside from these complaints, I think Iceborne is an amazing expansion for a game I've already sunk hundreds of hours into. The Mixed reviews on Steam at present are largely due to the CPU utilization issues the game had at launch and will hopefully subside now. Definitely worth buying, just check around to see if it's stable enough for you first.