TheGamer

Masters of Albion’s little quirks and British humour make it endearing and funny, adding some much-appreciated details to what makes it stand out, like its crafting and odd building mechanics. The humour is a throwback to old-school Fable, so it can be shockingly explicit, but in the best ways. However, overall, if Masters of Albion wants to keep players enthralled, the nightlife needs to calm down a little so I can go back to enjoying making rat pies. [Early Access Review]

Although the story mode lets itself down a bit and the offline offerings are slim, I still had a great time with Invincible VS and expect to lose even more hours to it when the servers go up. The excellent and welcoming mechanics, well-developed roster, and tons of fan service not only make Invincible VS a stand-out tag fighter, but also the game that the series has deserving for a long time.

After spending a few hours with 007: First Light, I’m more confident it can and hopeful it has everything it takes to become an action blockbuster with nuance, spectacle, and flair that we just don’t get anymore. [Hands-On Impressions]

Vampire Crawlers is a tremendous achievement. Everything here works almost flawlessly, with a gameplay loop that is quick, sharp, and smart. Genre transitions within the same game series rarely work so wonderfully, but Luca Galante and Poncle have created an incredible experience that will make you crave more, even if it overstays its welcome a tad for completionists.

While I had a blast embarking on this journey to Persephone with Ariane and Thomas, I do wish it were on the longer side. Even at seven hours long, there seemed to be room for the narrative to venture to deeper, more interesting places. Who knows, perhaps we’ll see that in the future. For now, though, this is a sci-fi epic well worth your time.

Aside from those infrequent technical issues, this is a smooth, comforting, and narratively rich experience. Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth's balance of warmth and depth is everything I want from a cozy game in the modern era. I can already anticipate that I’ll be returning to the charm of Moominvalley in a few months, when the Lady of the Cold visits me as well.

It feels like one big adventure, and you’re only privy to one piece at a time. Delving into the depths of a foreign planet would usually be off-putting to me as a cozy gamer, but the world of Carcosa drew me in. Who is the mysterious voice lingering in Arjun’s head, what happened to the colony and the crew, and how in the world am I supposed to beat the tutorial boss on my next run?

Lord of Hatred understands what Diablo is supposed to feel like, and then spends a surprising amount of time giving you something else entirely. Bright skies, calm waters, and a version of Sanctuary that hasn’t collapsed yet. So when it inevitably does, when Mephisto tightens his grip, and everything starts to crumble, it lands with more weight than it otherwise would.

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is, crashes and caveats aside, an excellent game. Key is a triumph, the puzzles are imaginative, and the final chapter earns everything it demands of you. I’ve spent about 12 hours with it and I find myself wanting to talk about it with everyone who has ever shared even a flicker of an interest in Lovecraft with me. It’s a cosmic horror that brings classic tropes into futuristic dressing and manages to do that well. What’s not to like?

Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream is a bizarre delight with unlimited potential, but you must be willing to unearth that brilliance for yourself instead of expecting the game to guide you. It surrenders to repetition far sooner than I’d like, but the sheer amount of things you can make your Miis do, say, and the relationships they gradually develop are so wonderful that it’s easy to overlook some otherwise notable flaws. The more you put into this game, the more you’re going to get out of it. For me, it already feels like it has all the ingredients to become another cult classic masterpiece that will go down in history.