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http://www.defunctgames.com The latest articles from Defunct Games. http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/269 It has been nearly a full month since the last Nintendo Switch Online announcement, and if you’ve been spending those weeks practicing Ultra Combos, then boy do I have good news for you. That’s right, at long last, the Nintendo 64 fighting game Killer Instinct Gold is finally available on the Switch. That’s cool news, but is this game actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Nintendo Power and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when it first came out. Get your c-c-c-combo breaker ready, because it’s time for another brutal episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew. Fri, 16 May 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1809 Speed around thirty-two similar looking stages in Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC, the year’s most forgettable racing game. The textbook definition of barebones, this is a single-player-only game with barely any content and no modes to keep you going for more than an hour or two. Worse yet, the computer opponents are far too easy and almost all of the stages have strangely misleading names. The lengthy title suggests you’re getting a much deeper racing game with tuning and customization, but there’s nothing like that here. Instead what we get is yet another poorly executed throwback that fails to justify its existence. There’s no reason to buy Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC. None at all. Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/covercritic/85 This week brings action fans Doom: The Dark Ages, the newest first-person shooter in a series that dates all the way back to 1993. In that time, we’ve seen good, bad and absolutely wild magazine covers featuring the long-running franchise on publications like Electronic Gaming Monthly, Hyper and Game Informer. These are just a few of the magazines we’re going to be looking at today when we rank the Best & Worst Doom Magazine Covers! Wed, 14 May 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1808 Moving Houses is a lot like Portal, only instead of being funny and clever, it’s repetitive and boring. This is one of those games that will lull you into thinking it’s one thing, only to subvert expectations with a wild ending you won’t see coming. While I love the darker, scarier tone found in the second half, I just wish that the core gameplay was more fun and engaging. It’s also extremely buggy, making you question why you’re even playing this game long before anything interesting happens. It’s worth checking out the ending (and the funny song), but I cannot recommend Moving Houses. Tue, 13 May 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1807 If you’ve been waiting for the return of weird fighting games, then Mostroscopy has you covered. With a mix of ghouls, ghosts, monsters and masked luchador wrestlers, this throwback fighter is overflowing with personality. Thankfully, the easy to pull off special moves and cheesy backgrounds help sell the 1950s aesthetic, and the music is so catchy that it’s almost scary. Fight fans will be disappointed by not only the limited modes, but also the lack of online multiplayer battles. Mostroscopy is easy to get into and full of charm, but your fun may be limited if you don’t have a lot of friends to play with. Mon, 12 May 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1806 Two decades after it was first announced, Captain Blood is finally out. And you know what? It’s pretty good. By mixing pirates and God of War-style action, this throwback is a reminder of how much fun this style of brawler can be. Yes, it’s a little clunky, the levels are painfully linear, the character models look outdated, the sound mixing is atrocious and some of the plotting is a mess, but none of that is going to keep you from having a great time in this long-awaited swashbuckler. After all these years, it brings me great pleasure to be able to recommend Captain Blood, but make sure and keep your expectations in check. Thu, 08 May 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1805 If you’re the type of person who wants to cut out all of the filler and get straight to the good stuff, then NanoApostle is for you. By ditching the usual stage designs, this thrilling new action game focuses on the one thing you’re here for – the boss fights. With a surprising amount of depth to the gameplay and stylish enemies with two different forms each, NanoApostle is a rewarding experience. That said, it could use a few more bosses and more interesting stages. Those complaints aside, this is a solid action game with a fun science fiction setting and at least two of the best bosses of the year. Just don’t expect to “rush” through this boss rush game. Wed, 07 May 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/268 Last year, when the Lunar Remastered Collection was first announced, I posted an episode of Review Crew that looked at the two Sega CD installments, as well as Lunar: Dragon Song on the Nintendo DS. Now, eight months later, the collection is finally out and ready for people to play. With everybody replaying these classic adventures, I thought that this would be the perfect time to see what the critics said about Lunar: Silver Star Story – Complete and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue – Complete, the first ports of these classic role-playing games. Did the critics rekindle their love for the series or were these PlayStation re-releases too old school for the 32-bit generation? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Next Generation and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. I know it looks familiar, but I assure you that this is a new episode of Lunar Review Crew! Fri, 02 May 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/covercritic/84 April 1990 was the month when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dominated at the box office, Sinead O’Connor went straight to number 1 with a cover of Nothing Compares 2 U, David Lynch changed television forever with the debut of Twin Peaks and issues of GamePro, Zzap and Nintendo Power took over the newsstand. These are just three of the magazines we’re going to be looking at today when we rank the Best & Worst Magazine Covers of April 1990. Wed, 30 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1804 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a perfect reminder of why movie fans fell in love with the Hollywood hero in the first place. This is a return to form for Dr. Jones, who is once again on another globe-trotting adventure, complete with memorable side characters and one of the franchise’s greatest villains. This is a game that not only looks and feels like a classic Indiana Jones movie, but it gives us all kinds of fun reasons to use his iconic whip. Do I wish I could switch to a third-person perspective? Yes, but the first-person hand-to-hand combat is visceral and the perspective helps to set it apart from the Uncharted and Tomb Raider games. If you missed out when Indiana Jones and the Great Circle hit Xbox and PC, get ready to dig up its secrets on the PlayStation 5. Fri, 25 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/267 Proving that we always need to be on our toes, Nintendo surprised everybody by dropping a Nintendo Switch Online game on a Monday. That’s right, Expansion Pack subscribers, you can play Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones for the Game Boy Advance right now. That’s super cool news, but is this game actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Edge and more classic magazines that reviewed The Sacred Stones back when it first came out. I hope you’re ready to go to war, because this is going to be a very strategic episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew. Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1803 Take a trip back through a life full of mistakes, regret and self-doubt in the compelling new puzzle game Leila. While it won’t be for everybody, this all-too-brief adventure is ready to show you parts of the human experience we rarely see in video games. Sure, some of the puzzles are a bit obtuse and I wish there was a little more to it, but there’s no doubt that first-time developer Ubik Studios has created the kind of special game that will resonate with certain players for the rest of their life. In a world where every triple-A game has to appeal to a broad audience, I love that smaller, personal stories like Leila can exist. I want to see more games like this. Mon, 21 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/266 Need something to do when everybody is out enjoying Easter? Then I have good news for you, because Sony just added two classic games to PlayStation Plus, including the PlayStation 2 kaiju fighting game War of the Monsters and the survival horror scare-fest Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack’s Revenge. Okay, so maybe Sony forgot the Easter theme, but I still need to ask: Are either of these games worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer & Video Games, Next Generation and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. Get ready to huddle in the corner, because this is going to be an extremely destructive episode of PS Plus Review Crew. Fri, 18 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1802 It’s man vs. machine vs. monsters a post-apocalyptic fight for survival in AI Limit, a new action/adventure from first time developer Sense Games. While it borrows liberally from the Dark Souls playbook, AI Limit finds its own voice with a compelling new hero and a whole bunch of world building. Sure, the combat is a bit simplistic and the bosses kind of suck, but the levels are fun to explore and I’m a big fan of the enemy designs. AI Limit may not be in the same league as Elden Ring, but it’s an entertaining stop-over as you wait for the next big adventure game. Thu, 17 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/265 While you were busy throwing birthday parties for Steven Seagal and Haley Joel Osment, Taito was quietly uploading full-motion video games to Steam. You heard me right, both Time Gal and Ninja Hayate (also known as Revenge of the Ninja) are back, and now with an HD makeover. While American gamers missed out on the LaserDisc versions in the arcades, we did get Sega CD ports in the early 1990s. With these new versions available to buy, I wondered what the reception was like back in the day. To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Hyper and more classic magazines to see what the critics said when these games first came out. Prepare to jump through time and be a ninja in this episode of Taito Review Crew. Mon, 14 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/264 Did you know that it has been 134 days since a Genesis game was added to the Nintendo Switch Online service? Thankfully, that drought ends today with three classic 16-bit games straight from Sega’s vault, including the shoot ‘em up sequel Super Thunder Blade, the action-packed ESWAT: City Under Siege and the seminal two-player beat ‘em up Streets of Rage. That’s exciting news, but are any of these games actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Mean Machines Sega, Mega Play and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. Get ready for another love it or hate it episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew! Fri, 11 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1801 Karma is an intriguing new adventure game that sets up a lot of compelling questions and one hell of a twisted mystery. It’s visually sharp, taking us from one surreal moment to the next, each more memorable and exciting than the last. Although it’s clearly inspired by 1984, Twin Peaks and maybe even The Cell, this debut release from Pollard Studio rarely feels like a rip-off. It paints its own dystopian world and offers a story that is appropriately over-the-top, given the outlandish set-up. Best of all, the voice actors manage to sell all of this with complete conviction. It could use a few more puzzles and there are times where it’s being surreal just to give us a cool visual, but I’m not complaining. Karma: The Dark World takes us on a roller coaster ride unlike anything I’ve seen before on a game console. Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1800 Games like River Towns make the job of being a critic extremely easy. While it is certainly influenced by classic titles like SimCity, Tetris and maybe even Rampart, this addictive new puzzler manages to stand on its own with a clever premise and a wide variety of challenges. Easy to pick up and learn, this is the kind of game that invades your thoughts and dreams when you’re not playing. And even when you complete the lengthy campaign, there’s still user-generated stages to tackle. You wouldn’t know it by the unassuming look and name, but River Towns really is one of the year’s best games. Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/263 If you watched Nintendo’s hour-long info dump about the Switch 2, then you already know that GameCube games are coming to the Nintendo Switch Online. That’s genuinely exciting news, but we’re going to save those games for closer to the system’s launch. For today, we’re going to look at a couple of oddball 3D platformers from the 1990s that are being re-released on modern consoles, namely Glover and Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. Yeah, those are a bit unexpected, but are either of them actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Computer & Video Games and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. Look, I know you were expecting me to talk about SoulCalibur II, but try not to be too disappointed by this episode of 3D Platformer Review Crew. Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1799 Atari’s newest Breakout update flips the classic brick-smashing game on its side. Literally. Breakout Beyond uses the wider screen to create longer and more complicated stages, complete with new obstacles and a nice variety of power-ups. Through 72 increasingly difficult levels (as well as a new infinite mode), this reboot takes what worked fifty years ago and updates it in some fun and clever ways. While a little repetitive and not quite as good as Shatter, Breakout Beyond is a must-have for fans of this style of action game. Recommended. Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0800