Elex II is Perfect for Fans of Jetpacks, Jank, and Euro Poo | FIRST!

Elex II is not a good game. It's buggy, full of jank, and not particularly fun to play; however, if you enjoy yourself some Euro jank--I've been known to dabble--you'll likely find plenty to enjoy in Elex II. It has a weird charm, terrible voice acting, and writing so creative, there's literally a creature called, "Annoying Critter." I can't recommend paying full price for the game, but if you go in knowing what you're gonna get and pick it up during a sale, you'll probably have a good (enough) time with Elex II, even if it is the gaming equivalent of poo. 

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Gear.Club Unlimited 2: Ultimate Edition Should Have, Ultimately, Stayed on the Switch | FIRST!

Let's get one thing out of the way right at the start. Gear.Club Unlimited 2: Ultimate Edition is not a bad game. In the grand scheme of things, Gear.Club Unlimited 2 is a solid entry in the racing genre. That said, it's clear from second one that Gear.Club Unlimited 2 is a Switch game being ported and it can't compete with what the other consoles and PC have to offer. It's also a three-year-old game. Now, none of this would be a problem if it was agreeably priced, but at $40, it's hard to recommend what is ultimately a three-year-old Switch game to owners of significantly more powerful devices with many other options out there. To summarize, Gear.Club Unlimited 2: Ultimate Edition is not a bad game, it's just an old, overpriced one.

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My Humor May Be for Dummies, But PowerSlave Exhumed is Fun for All, Not Just the Mummies | FIRST!

Despite playing and loving many games like PowerSlave, I never played PowerSlave until now thanks to the new and shiny Exhumed edition, which takes aspects from the Saturn and PlayStation versions and mashes them together. I don't know what's from what, but what I do know is I had a really good time with PowerSlave Exhumed and wanted nothing more than to keep playing after I put it down in order to try another game [for FIRST!]. It feels good, looks good, and is just a good time all around. Is nostalgia a factor? Probably, but, more so than that, PowerSlave Exhumed is just a good game, a game well worth your time if you enjoy classic shooters and don't mind getting lost on a somewhat regular basis.

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Castle Morihisa Should Have Been Moriginal and Less Slay the Spire-y | FIRST!

This is going to sound weird. Castle Morihisa is a good game and I had fun playing it. Weird, right? That said, I would recommend Castle Morihisa to no one. Why? Because what Castle Morihisa does is it takes Slay the Spire, changes very little, and delivers a lesser experience. Sure, it's still a good game and imitating one of the best deck-building roguelikes out there--hell, one of the best games period--but it stays too close to the original and what changes it makes are for the worse. Because of that, there's no reason to play Castle Morishisa over Slay the Spire or other games that do a better job of being their own thing (unless you've played every other deck-building roguelike and you just want more of the same with a fresh coat of paint, because that's all Castle Morihisa is).

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Call of Juarez: The What the Hell Were They Thinking One | Attack the Backlog

On this episode of Attack the Backlog, Marc puts on their best Obama mask and gets high as a kite while burning fields of dreams in Call of Juarez: The Cartel, the kind of dreams that only weed can make true, especially when playing a game that's worst that poo. The Cartel is a bad game in so many ways and the kind of game that leaves you constantly asking why as you play. Call of Juarez: The Cartel originally came out on July 19, 2011, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, with a PC release a few months after that. Marc played the Xbox 360 version of the game on an Xbox Series X via backward compatibility and highly recommends not doing the same.

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My First Impressions of Beyond a Steel Sighhhhhhhhhhhhh | FIRST!

No matter what you think of this episode, you can't deny my commitment to a bit. Speaking of bits, the little bit I'll say about Beyond a Steel Sky is that I played it for an hour and a half, enjoyed none of it, and was bored by most of it. I never played the first game and have no idea if that matters, but, ultimately, Beyond a Steel Sky left me wishing I liked it more than I did, but, sadly, not every wish comes true (and now I shall prepare for the abundance of comments comparing me to poo).

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Kungfu Kickball Is Like a Kung Fu Kick in the Balls | FIRST!

What do you get when you take a ball, kicking and punching, and scoring goals by hitting your opponent's bell? Kungfu Kickball, of course! With a great first impression thanks to fun, colorful art and good (at first) music, Kungfu Kickball seems like a good idea; however, despite solid controls and the aforementioned great art, in practice, it fails to come together into a satisfying experience. I tried and tried and tried, but in and hour and a half of play (against only the AI because no one is playing online), I never had a single second of fun. I want to believe it can be fixed with a few changes here and there, but given how poorly the game appears to have sold, I imagine we'll never know.

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The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna Isn't Dead, But It Is a Little Meh | FIRST!

This one is a bummer. A bummer because I've enjoyed past games from Tonguç Bodur, a single developer who's made some incredibly imaginative games, games so creative and full of heart that, even while rough around the edges, provided me with some of the most memorable experiences I've had in the last five years. The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna doesn't appear to be that. The heart is still there and it may get interesting near the end, but based on what I played, it was just a standard walking simulator in a "seen it before" environment with a story that failed to grab me. It isn't a bad game, just a forgettable one, and, coming from the mind of someone who's made some of the most memorable games I've played, it's hard not to be at least a little disappointed.

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Propnight is a Surprisingly Good Time and 100% Better Than Fortnite | FIRST!

I don't usually play asymetrical multiplayer games like Propnight, especially not horror-themed ones, but, you know what, I had a good time with Propnight. I may have only played it for a hour, but it was an enjoyable hour and, as far as first impression go, Propnight made a good one and one that has me wanting to go back for more. There's no telling if I'll still enjoy Propnight once the honeymoon phase is over, but it's already provided me with more good times than expected and, if nothing else, I think it deserves props for that.

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Propnight is a Surprisingly Good Time and 100% Better Than Fortnite | FIRST!

I Played Dysmantle All Wrong...And I Loved Every Second of It! | FIRST!

Dysmantle is apparently a very me game. I say this because I spent two hours doing what likely took every other player only 15-30 minutes to do. What was clearly the starting area, cemented by the appearance of the title card and opening credits upon leaving said area, took me two hours to get through (and I would have taken longer if I wasn't streaming the game and had a schedule to uphold). I spent two hours because I took the title to heart and dismantled everything. Every fence, every vine, every dog house...everything. Because of this, I can't say much about the game as a whole, but what I played, I absolutely adored. If my first impression is anything to go by, I am going to love the entirety of my time in Dysmantle. I can't say my first impression means you'll feel the same, but me-ness aside, I still think Dysmantle is a great game and 100% worth your time.

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