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Bleak Sword DX falls short of greatness due to its questionable adherence to minimalism. It comes close to being interesting, but the lack of variety keeps it boring. Bleak Sword DX‘s strengths are its low barrier to entry and how it pushes the player forward with its casual design.

The Crown of Wu has a lot of problems and most of it is due to the complexity of the concept that a small team was unable to realize. Some aspects would have been more effective if they were simplified, like the combat and magic systems. The platforming is hopelessly underdeveloped and the character design needs a drastic overhaul to be more appealing.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 came and went like a wet fart in a dark rainy night. It was the last new Castlevania game made, and its not hard to see why. It’s an expensive and bloated mess of ideas that don’t mesh well with trite gameplay.

 MercurySteam would learn from their mistakes in later games and would eventually land a bull’s-eye with Metroid Dread. With Mirror of Fate, gamers can get an idea where the developer was heading and can see the beginnings of where their best ideas were coming from.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was the last of its kind and while it isn’t perfect, it is one of the better examples of its kind from a console generation that was hopelessly creatively bankrupt.

Can Evil Dead: The Game be as big as the Dead by Daylight juggernaut? If the developers maintain a steady pace of substantial updates and additions that keeps the game interesting, Evil Dead: The Game could easily usurp the pretender.

Aeterna Noctis does deliver a satisfying metroidvania experience, but that is all it does. It won’t stay with you or leave a lasting impression other than fatigue. It might have been a better game if it were 25 hours instead of 60; that way it could condense its best aspects into a reasonable package.

Even without post-game rewards, Metroid Dread is a thrilling entry for the series, and for the Metroidvania sub-genre. It may not have the biggest and most cryptic world, or the best soundtrack, but it’s one of the best paced and varied examples on offer. It introduces new ideas to the series, while putting a new spin on tired concepts; pulling it off confidently with a beautiful presentation.

Etherborn is a game I’m not entirely sure I can recommend, because by the time it was really starting to get going, it was already over. The abstract and bizarre levels are pretty, and you could probably get some nice screensavers out of the game’s environments.