DeVuego LATAM

As someone who plays horror titles as often as I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there have been few titles to truly give me a scare, but MADiSON is one that has delivered in every aspect. It’s not often you’ll find me raving about a near-perfect horror game but for me, this one may well be up there for me as one of the best horror titles available hands down, and without a doubt one of the best titles of 2022.

Overall, whilst the combat could be improved, and if I’m being picky the enemy types could have been expanded upon, the 10–12-hour playtime is worth investing if you enjoy horror and want something refreshing to give you a scare. There may have been multiple horrors to have arrived recently, but this one certainly stands up there as one of the better releases of 2022, whilst the story is one that sticks in the mind from the opening moments and continues after the controller goes down at the end of the evening.

Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is glorious to look at with an endearingly oddball approach to character design. A combat system that rewards and a story that goes deeper than the ornery main character suggests.

I personally loved playing Slipstream, it grew on me with a bit of time enjoying the art and music designs. What was even more impressive is that this Indie title is from a one-man team and this is his third game, but first on console. Sandro Luiz De Paula is the man who made this masterful homage to classic arcade style racers and should be proud. It’s a simple game, but works with no issues I found. The variety of difficulty options allow for the player to establish their playstyle letting them pick the pace. The art style of colorful exotic levels makes it fun to race through over and over switching paths up each tour finding different exits. The game doesn’t offer a lot through variety of cars or customization options; however, it doesn’t need to. The game is relatively cheap for what is being offered with stunning visuals and audio design.

Evil Wizard was a pleasant surprise to me. Taking the role of a villain, this game’s unique blend of dark humor and fourth wall-breaking antics is an absolute masterpiece. The witty dialogue and clever references had me smiling ear to ear while navigating me through this game ‘after the game’ (which will make more sense if you play it). The game seamlessly blends intense boss battles with moments of comedic relief, creating an unforgettable gaming experience. With its not-overly-complex gameplay mechanics and fun story beats, this game is a must-play for any fan of action adventure games, particularly those with a fondness of Deadpool style humor.

Kentum is an excellent combination of Metroidvania exploration and combat, and light base construction. The two genres enhance rather than distract from each other.

What Lies in the Multiverse is a refreshing puzzle platformer that takes world jumping seriously. With fun puzzles and a humorous and deep story, this game is great. Be sure to talk to everyone and have a great time with it!

Mirrored Souls is an enjoyable, surprisingly tough puzzle title with a well-implemented dual-control mechanic. The Bricks Studio make sure to make good use of the various mechanics they introduce, and for those looking for a new puzzler to see them through a few evenings this will do nicely.

Horizon Chase Turbo doesn’t come without faults, but even so, it’s easily one of the most entertaining retro arcade racers in recent memory. I take issue with the game’s unbalanced AI and its unsteady difficulty curve, collectively presenting infrequent moments of frustration. This, however, is easy to overlook in the face of its deep serving of content, its diverse track and vehicle selection, and its addictive, energetic gameplay.

All in all, Cannibal Abduction is an enjoyable, if slight, retro horror title. The cannibal gives up a bit too easily at times, but that doesn’t really deflate the shock value when he appears out  of the blue each time we start to get comfortable. Add in a secondary, trickier game mode and for horror fans this is an easy recommendation.

Despite the clear inspiration it has taken from Mario Kart and other kart-racing games, Nickelodeon: Slime Speedway is an energetic burst of kart-racing action you will find suitably engrossing. It’s not pushing any boundaries, nor does it always feel compelling to drive – but it will likely steal your evenings with the little ones, and there’s a cast of characters here that will delight those little ones who grew up in the 90s. All told this is a solid effort that will go down well like Garfield’s lasagne – just don’t expect it to get Squidward’s approval.

I am pleasantly surprised coming out of G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout after playing through the 17 story missions multiple times. Once you gather the controls it’s a simple game with decent visuals and audio that can entertain you for hours. I wish the game offered more than local co-op only but those with friends should be able to enjoy it together cooperatively and competitively.

Astor is far from a disaster; I think that it could work as an entry level game for 3D action games. However, there is so much cruft in this game that adds nothing to the core experience, and in some ways detracts from it.

Flat Kingdom Paper’s Cut Edition has made it’s way onto Xbox and while it’s not bad, it’s not great. Mediocre platforming mixed with simple yet convoluted mechanics that took my brain longer than it should to catch on made this for a very “meh” experience. At least it’s easy gamerscore though!

Apparently, Josh Journey: Totems of Darkness started out as a short cartoon, and the creators were encouraged to turn it into a video game. Whoever handed out this advice did their friends a disservice; I think they should have focused on creating a full-scale movie or show because art is obviously their strong point. The gameplay in Josh Journey is severely lacking, and with no difficulty options, it will only appeal to more advanced players. Perhaps this game is a blast when playing with four players, but without any online options, most players won’t have enough people or controllers to try that out.