DeVuego

In an attempt to mitigate preconceived annoyances found within the point-and-click genre, A Rite from the Stars ends up feeling relatively barebones when compared to its contemporaries. There's a strong sense of identity and the non-linear approach to progression adds a degree of novelty to each playthrough, but there's a distinct lack of an identifiable difficulty curve, alongside some rather hit or miss puzzles. A Rite from the Stars is worth playing through at least once, if only to appreciate how rich Makoan culture is, but it fails to improve upon the point-and-click genre in any substantial way.

Dynasty Feud has everything it needs to be one of the most original takes on the arena fighter genre yet, which makes it all the more disappointing when it somehow manages to drop the ball in nearly every regard. The roster is whimsical and each team of five is fleshed out with their own quirks, but the combat itself feels wholly unbalanced. A slight delay to characters' actions and a lack of fluid mobility makes battles stiff and unnatural, combined with too many stage hazards to count. Deciding exactly where the next combatant in the roster spawns after a death is simply too easy to take advantage of and too difficult to counter. There's a fantastic game hiding inside of Dynasty Feud, but it's going to take a lot of digging before it fully comes out.