Charlotte Huston
@crystar
Games Writer for Minimap & SUPERJUMP | OpenCritic Reviewer | Teacher's Aide | Poet | Gamer | TTRPG Dev | 29F
Rivals players asking "Why is there no healing?!" Meanwhile the enemy divers with the backline:
Onimusha: Warlords was a treat to play and the old-school hack-and-slash design is something I wish we had more of nowadays. Please play the port if interested, though. It removes the tank controls, which does this type of game more justice. Score: 86
So turn on this one. On one hand, Lost & Found Co has outstanding level design for a hidden object game and I love that aspect. On the other, the "I'm so quirky" dialogue is positively grating and something which is a pet peeve of mine. I wind up being in the middle. Score: 75
I played Mega Man: The Power Battle for my Backloggd Challenge 2026 and it was better than expected. A Mega Man boss rush in the format of a Fighting game's Arcade mode ended up being pretty fun. I always enjoy playing as Bass too in MM games. Score: 80
Yakuza 0 was my first foray into the franchise and it absolutely floored me. It is phenomenal in every way, though it shines most in characterization and arcs while blending the seriousness with humor in the perfect way. It's also shot like a TV Show which is ingenious. Score: 95
Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour was something I adored when I was younger. As an adult, it's still just as fantastic as an RTS, though I think a lot of things in this game wouldn't fly if it was made today. Definitely top 3 favorite C&Cs. Score: 88
007 First Light was excellent and it is very clear IO Interactive understands what James Bond is supposed to be in a video game format. Great commentary on AI is involved in this game's plot as well. Fuses together Bond perfectly for 2026. Score: 86
Scritchy Scratchy is exactly what you want out of Idle games and something I wrote about for Minimap. I like when Idle games make you earn the ability to go Idle, and have a natural way to make you prestige. Nice work! Score: 81
This is a quote which is severely taken out of context. It took me less than half a minute to find the real context. He was saying single player games aren’t the only ones which will be exclusive going forward. That’s literally it. www.ign.com/articles/xbo...
Playing Big Rigs has unleashed the wrath of Poseidon on New York apparently
He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at me because it wasn’t fixed so I fixed it for him and then he laid down all happy
Perfect Dark's remaster has a clever way of asking if you want to use Halo or COD-style controls
Sometimes you play a game which feels like someone made it in a lab specifically for you. "Oh they like Chess? And they like Balatro?" Alright, here you go:
Take it from someone who doesn't normally play Racing games - I can tell Forza Horizon 6 is excellently polished and the best possible iteration a Racing game of this sort can be. I enjoyed messing with it as a game despite the genre not being for me. Great game. Score: 85
Sorry to say, Aphelion has so much potential but it just feels really underbaked and unfinished sadly. The death animations ragdoll the player, the stealth segments feel tacked on, and the only thing saving it is Don't Nod's excellent characterization. OK otherwise. Score: 74
Unfortunately I have to add this game to my log despite not wanting to harp on it anymore. Look, if you're the target audience of Mixtape you'll like it. Otherwise, if you can't relate to it at all, it's one of the most mediocre games possible. Moving on. Score: 55
Even as someone who doesn't call themselves a fan of Platformers, I found Banjo-Kazooie to be rather delightful and a fantastic game. I don't really have any other notes beyond saying it's quite obvious why it's so beloved. So much joy and passion here. Score: 91