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Senuas Saga: Hellblade II is an impressive game with numerous flaws. To start, Hellblade is graphically impressive, thanks to the power of Unreal Engine 5. From the face models to landscapes, the level of detail is almost perfect. In addition, the sound design is astonishing. For example, the voices that plague Senua are perfectly executed to the point where they can overwhelm you, accurately replicating Senua’s experience with psychosis, especially in tense moments. The voice acting is also great, primarily with Melina Juergens as Senua, and Helen Goalen and Abbi Greenland as the voices in Senua’s head. Ninja Theory invested a lot of time in developing Hellblade II, and it’s easy to see why. The graphics, sound design, and voice acting are all amazing.Unfortunately, I found Hellblade’s “gameplay” and story to be disappointing. The story was not as intriguing or as impactful and lacked any depth or complexity compared to the first game. Now this can be because the first Hellblade set such high standards for its sequel. The gameplay, however, was repetitive, which negatively affected my experience. The combat felt incredibly realistic, however, it’s super simple and largely stays the same throughout the whole game, which causes it to get stale quickly. Puzzles also felt more like a burden than a challenge, causing the game’s pacing to slow down dramatically. Finally, while I do not mind walking places, the walking segments in the game felt like fluff to make the game feel longer. I strongly believe that the game’s walking segments could have been reduced/altered. Compared to the first game, Hellblade’s gameplay and story feel like a downgrade, which is extremely disappointing. If you were to take out the gameplay and mold the visuals and story into an animated film, it would be a good film. Unfortunately, as a game, it’s mediocre, and this is largely because of its repetitive gameplay. Don’t get me wrong, it is technically impressive, especially with its beautiful visuals and realistic sound design, however it feels more like a tech demo. Considering it is only 6 hours long and free with Gamepass, I would still recommend giving it a shot. To sum up, while Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II falls short in terms of gameplay and story, its sound design and visuals are impressive. All together I am giving Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II a 6/10. I am interested to see whether Microsoft considers this a game to be a success and hopefully we won’t see Ninja Theory on the chopping block soon.

Have you ever asked to get food while out with your parents, only for them to respond with “No, we have food at home”? Then, once you get the food at home, you realize it is just ok compared to your favorite restaurant. Well, that is the best comparison I can make for Stellar Blade. It is no secret Shift Up were fans of the Nier series. However, Stellar Blade takes so much inspiration from Nier that by the time you finish it, you will realize it was just an okay game compared to Nier. I would go as far to say you might as well play Nier Automata and get more enjoyment from that. Now, Stellar Blade does have some positives. The gameplay is pretty fun, especially in its boss fights. One of the best feelings I got from this game was parrying attacks right on time to hear the satisfying sound that indicated a successful parry. The soundtrack is also pretty, especially in the latter half of the game. Finally, the graphics are beautiful, especially in its open world segments. Unfortunately, I have more negatives with the game than positives. Stellar Blade’s biggest flaw is its story. It is just boring, and incredibly predictable. Especially, with it being a retelling of Adam and Eve, that if you are aware of the original story, you can accurately assume where the rest of it will go. If you have played Nier Automata, you can also see certain story beats get ripped straight from that into Stellar Blade. It even tries to be thought provoking, but ultimately fails to do so because it does not have anything to say thematically. To make matters worse, characters are written to be so lifeless, and the flat voice acting causes any cut scene to be just a drag. I also found the world to be just uninteresting, even with a bunch of lore written about it. Overall, I found Stellar Blade’s story, characters, and world just incredibly boring. However, I should note that there are one or two moments when the main protagonist, EVE, is being badass and for a second, I would be engaged, but after that moment wears off, I lost interest quickly. Now I should address the elephant in the room, that being the sexualization of EVE. As someone who enjoys making their characters look cool or attractive in games such as Cyberpunk or Baldur’s Gate, some of the character design in this game made me uncomfortable. This problem stems from its OPTIONAL outfits for EVE, where some outfits are just lingerie. Ironically enough, all the outfits are incredibly detailed and fun to look at, but they are just too revealing. Thankfully, these outfits are optional, and you could just use the base suit which sort of fixes that problem. Of course, you will still notice some unrealistic jiggling on certain parts of her body, but thankfully it becomes less noticeable in the latter half of the game. So if you have an issue with EVE’s sexualization in the marketing or social media talk, you might have some trouble with Stellar Blade. Of course, I am probably not the right person to discuss such topics but felt that I should at least point it out. While it may have sounded like I HATED Stellar Blade, I thought it was fun. Sometimes video games do not need to tell an emotional story and it just needs to be mindless fun, which is okay. I am hoping Shift Up can learn some lessons from Stellar Blade’s mistakes because if they do, I can see a sequel being great. Overall, I thought Stellar Blade had fun gameplay, pretty music and looked amazing on the PS5, but found it lacking in quality with its story, characters, and world. As a result, my final score for Stellar Blade is a 7 out of 10. I just would not recommend playing this in front of family or significant others.

In Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth, you follow Ichiban Kasuga and Kiryu Kazuma, both of whom are ex yakuza that must confront their past. The game’s intro does a good job of establishing what would be a long emotional journey with our protagonists and friends, however it loses steam halfway through and falls flat in the end. This becomes more apparent when some of the gags and serious moments just don't land. Many plot threads that were established in the story have rushed endings which left me feeling unsatisfied. Almost all characters have no closure, with even some of their fates being unknown, with no clear signs of whether or not it was supposed to end on a cliffhanger. Thankfully, one positive that I can give is the incredible voice acting in both the English and Japanese audio. Setting aside the flawed story, the game is pretty much perfect in every other aspect. The turn-based combat is much more balanced, which eliminates the difficulty spikes that plagued the last game. This is thanks to the new jobs that are introduced to allow for your party to have much more diversity and give the player new ways to fight (or support) in combat. The game is packed with high-quality side content, with the 2 biggest mini games being the Sujimon mode and the Dondoko Island. To give an example of how big one of the two are, I spent an additional 20 hours on Dondoko Island so that I could get my resort to a 5 star rating. Of course, if you want “smaller” mini games, you will still find plenty of those around the maps. Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth is an ambitious game, and RGG studios did their best to create a game that can rival Yakuza 0 (which I believe is the best game in the series). Sadly, the story of Infinite Wealth fell apart towards the end and felt rushed, which left my 102 hour journey with these characters to feel unrewarding. The gameplay is fun, and it is potentially the best turn-based I have ever played thanks to its balanced party system and diverse jobs. The side content is debatably the best in the series thanks to the fun mini games such as Dondoko Island and Sujimon. I also encountered no bugs, and it ran smoothly on a Xbox Series S. After finishing, I strongly believe that we’ll soon get a turn-based Like a Dragon game similar to Yakuza 0. I still enjoyed Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth, and am curious to see where Ichiban’s story will go. As of now, I will give Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth an 8 out of 10.

Baldur's Gate 3 is no secret, a humongous achievement in the video game industry, especially in a busy year like 2023. Larian Studios proves that with enough hard work and dedication, you can rise to the top and grow an enormous fan base no matter the genre of game. While the strategy turn-based gameplay can be very difficult to learn, it can reward the player with a euphoric feeling once they understand the gameplay mechanics and achieve more victories after each fight. Even if you set aside the intimidating gameplay, you will still be gifted with a well-written story full of memorable characters and a branching narrative that truly captures the essence of Dungeons and Dragons in video game form. Furthermore, the game runs extremely well and looks beautiful, even in the darkest dungeons. Baldur's Gate 3's difficult gameplay is impressively addicting and super rewarding, all while the branching story and world building is an innovative achievement in the game industry. It is practically a perfect game, allowing me to bestow it the score of a 10 out of 10. Everyone should try this game once, even if the strategy turn-based gameplay is not your favorite, you might just like it!

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the most Assassin's Creed game to date, and I mean that both in a negative and positive way. While Mirage is the classic return to form everyone has been wanting, somehow Ubisoft has regressed the franchise back to 2007 and has forgotten all the lessons they had learned from all 13 games that were released since then. The story is very generic and boring that I could not stay engaged the entire time. This did not help when all but one character were incredibly dull. Of course, the gameplay felt straight from 2007, with its clunky parkour system and unrewarding combat. Thankfully, the world of Mirage is interesting enough that I still found myself enjoying the little history lessons scattered through the game. In addition, the short playtime was a pleasant change considering the enormous amounts of hours needed to complete previous titles like Assassin's Creed Valhalla. As a fan of the series I never wanted a return to form because back during the release of Assassin's Creed 3, I had found myself extremely burnt out on the Ubisoft formula, however I will admit that some part of me did miss it while playing Mirage. I only hope that in the future, Ubisoft can make another small title like Mirage, but with implementing the lessons learned over the years. Until then, this will have to do and should keep the original fans of the series happy in the meantime. Ultimately, I give Assassin’s Creed Mirage a 6 out of 10, with a wait for sale warning.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a worthy title in the long-running series. While it did not reinvent the wheel for the series, it is a great appetizer for what is coming. The gameplay feels a little watered down compared to the others, however it was still fun to beat up yakuza in a cinematic fashion. The open world activities were very hit or miss but I am thankful that the goofy Like a Dragon game modes were still included. In the beginning I had a rough time being interested in the story, however RGG flexed their writing skills and pulled me in halfway through. This allowed me to be emotionally unstable when the game reflected back on Kiryu’s journey, displaying his growth as a character. The game seamlessly merges Kiryu and Ichiban's storylines and sets up the next game. Overall, this game was an enjoyable experience. I will be honest, I think the price for this game is ‌‌a tad too much but if you have gamepass it is worth the visit. As a result, I give Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name a 7/10.

Alan Wake II is a terrifying mind-bending experience that had me scared the entire time. It had perfectly timed jump scares and disturbing settings that I never felt safe even while in the light. The story of Saga Anderson and Alan Wake was amazing, as it was full of memorable set pieces that by the end I could not believe what I had played. Every voice actor's performance was phenomenal, and this is thanks to the amazing writing and fully detailed face models. The game was absolutely beautiful, even in the harder to see areas. Alan Wake II is the BEST survival-horror game that I have ever played and I have to congratulate everyone who worked on this amazing game. The team at Remedy did a great job and I cannot wait for what they will do next. In the end, I give Alan Wake II a 9/10! Please check this game out if you can!

Alan Wake II is a terrifying mind-bending experience that had me scared the entire time. It had perfectly timed jump scares and disturbing settings that I never felt safe even while in the light. The story of Saga Anderson and Alan Wake was amazing, as it was full of memorable set pieces that by the end I could not believe what I had played. Every voice actor's performance was phenomenal, and this is thanks to the amazing writing and fully detailed face models. The game was absolutely beautiful, even in the harder to see areas. Alan Wake II is the BEST survival-horror game that I have ever played and I have to congratulate everyone who worked on this amazing game. The team at Remedy did a great job and I cannot wait for what they will do next. In the end, I give Alan Wake II a 9/10! Please check this game out if you can!

Insomniac has once again set a new standard for how superhero games should be in a post-Arkham world. Spider-Man 2 lives up to the hype of the previous games and gets me excited for what the third Spider-Man game will look like. Spider-Man 2 has some minor issues such as a weak third act, however the game exceeds in every other aspect. The story is reminiscent of the comics, with a cheesy and lovable feel. It successfully balances both Spider-Men storylines and has excellent performances from Kraven and Venom. New York in Insomniac's game is now more vibrant, with emotional side quests and engaging activities to enjoy alongside the main story. Finally, the gameplay perfectly simulated what it must feel like to be Spider-Man thanks to its fun combat and addictive traversal. With all its new additions, I have no clue on what Insomnaic might do next, however until then, I will proudly say that this is the BEST game to play as Spider-Man. As a result, I give Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 a 9/10.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is definitely worth playing, whether you are new to Cyberpunk or a returning player. The expansion delivers an emotionally tense story about espionage and betrayal that will keep you glued to your seat. This is thanks to both the writing and acting coming from the talented cast who all give their absolute best performance. The new sub-district of Dogtown is a worthy new addition to Night City, even with its small size. Even though it is a free update and not officially part of Phantom Liberty, Update 2.0 fulfills the game's promises to new and returning players. If you are a fan of the James Bond franchise, this expansion will definitely be for you. You will even be treated to a theme song reminiscent of music similar to Skyfall. If you are a Cyberpunk fan, this expansion is a must play as it adds to the beautifully crafted world. The future of CDPR is looking bright thanks to this expansion and update. As a result, I give Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty a 9/10.

Starfield is far from a perfect game, even as a Bethesda fan I can admit that. The game will not land with everyone, but it is definitely worth a try. Issues such as lack of tutorial, no local map, a low inventory weight limit, and many other problems can ‌ruin the experience for anyone. However, it would be wrong to say Bethesda did not do an amazing job laying out this brand new universe with so much to do and learn. Starfield's captivating story, endless side quests, and mysterious locations guarantee hours of immersive gameplay. I did two full playthroughs in ‌eighty-seven hours and there are still plenty of things that I missed and can not wait to go back and see. With Starfield, you can be anything you want, whether it is a space pirate, a planet explorer, or a corporate employee. Your playthrough will be specially tailored to you, with events that no other player will go through in the same manner. After many delays and years of hype, I can officially say that Starfield was worth the wait. In the end, I give Starfield a 9/10.

Mortal Kombat 1 is a successful reboot that allows for new players to join in on the long-lasting franchise. Unfortunately, the game does suffer from a weak start, occasional bad voice acting, and an ending that while fun does not give us a full conclusion to its story. The fun gameplay and campy writing make the experience enjoyable for new and returning players. This game has a wide range of characters, so everyone can find one they enjoy playing, regardless of skill level. Even with a few bugs, it does not overshadow the fact that Mortal Kombat 1 is easily one of the most graphically impressive fighting games to date. As said before, this is the most accessible Mortal Kombat game. If you are seeking a serious, high tier story, well, this game is not it. However, if you are seeking a “it’s so dumb but fun bloody blockbuster experience”, well Mortal Kombat 1 is definitely for you. As a result, I give Mortal Kombat 1’s story a 7 out of 10.

Stray Gods is an enjoyable visual novel/RPG, however, it will take some effort to ‌be engaged. One must go through the slow pacing of the beginning, but in doing so, it will reward them with a much more enjoyable experience in the second half. Songs in the second half are memorable and even allow the voice actors to show off their incredible singing on top of their phenomenal acting. The game has endless replayability thanks to the branching gameplay that allows for different story beats and music. The game is very simple and is an open experience for everyone to play. Technical issues such as bad audio mixing and input lag are largely present, however, waiting a few patches should resolve these problems. As a former theater student, this game was a nice little trip back to the musical world, however it will not be for everyone. If you love musicals and the stacked voice cast, you must play this game. If you are skeptical about the game, I would recommend waiting for a sale. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical may have some faults, but it has more strengths that help it stick out in its genre and I would be interested in a sequel. I give Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical a 7/10!

Final Fantasy XVI is easily the best entry point into the franchise for any newcomer. It has amazing performances from pretty much the whole cast, who knows how to make a scene tense or lighthearted and fun. While the games' writing and presentation of the story takes a dip in quality at times, ‌the action set pieces, in addition to the jaw dropping soundtrack, make for a perfect power fantasy to experience. Valisthea's world has many side quests, but they are given at a good pace, so you will not get tired as quickly. You will also have a chance to learn about this lore-filled world when doing those side quests. Even if you are just playing just the story with no side quests in mind, thanks to the PS5, the walk to each waypoint will always be scenic, even if in the harshest of environments. While the gameplay can look repetitive, the player is given the ability to mix and match their powers to ensure that every fight will always be a fun one. Of course, we cannot forget the helpful Active Time Lore mechanic that will inform players on subjects relevant to the plot, if confused. Hopefully, more mechanics similar to this will be more common moving forward in gaming. The engaging story, god like gameplay, and bug free gameplay, makes Final Fantasy XVI worth the seventy-dollar price tag. I personally give Final Fantasy XVI a 9/10.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an impressive game even on Nintendo's six-year-old console. While the performance may have issues ‌and combat can get a little repetitive, it is no match for the amount of content that is filled in the game. With side quests that will take you across all the maps, you will always have something to do. In addition to the amazing story that is lifted even further up by the extraordinary voice acting, and memorable music, Tears of the Kingdom’s story will be one that people will look back at as a classic. Not to mention, the unique gameplay mechanics, such as fuse and ultrahand to help each player have an experience that is specifically unique to them. With so much to do in this game, the seventy-dollar price tag is definitely worth it and is a must for the Nintendo Switch. That being said, I am rating The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom a nine out of ten.

Planet of Lana was not a game I had planned on playing mostly because it had flown under my radar. However, someone had recommended it to me so I had to give it a shot and it was quite fun. I knew nothing about the game besides the fact it was a platformer, which is a genre I have not played in a long time, but a few things surprised me. First off, the art style was absolutely stunning. It is probably one of the prettiest games I have played in a while. Combined with its beautiful music composed by Takeshi Furukawa, it felt like a product similar to Studio Ghibli. The protagonist and their cute companion explore the world on their rescue mission, which is exciting to watch and learn the history of the planet alongside the character. The gameplay is quite simple and almost bare bone, which is something that caught me off guard. You solve puzzles and sneak by enemies, but it is done in ways where I was stuck in certain areas and had to think hard to solve. While I had fun, I have 2 critiques for the game but one is dependent on the person. My first critique is that the controls felt very clunky for me, an example is that the jumping did not feel right and when I did jump, it did not go in the direction I had aimed for. I am assuming it was done intentionally to add realism because my character felt like she had weight to the jumps or to my speed. My last critique, which may only apply to certain individuals, is that towards the end, it gets very repetitive. While yes, the game is very basic, only minor differences are added to the gameplay, which causes most of your journey not to change much, which could be a problem for people playing in only one sitting. If someone plays this game in more than one sitting session, this problem might not occur, however I had played for approximately 5 hours straight and felt like nothing had changed besides location. Again, this may only affect some people, especially inpatient people, but if it does not, then that is a huge win. Overall, Planet of Lana is a fun little indie game that people should play if they want to play platformers or just need a nice short game to play. It’s free on game pass and about at most 6 hours of playtime, which helps if you do not have time to commit to a bigger game. Besides its clunky controls and repetitiveness, the art style, music and story do a great job of keeping you invested. In the end, I’d give Planet of Lana a 8/10.

Hi-Fi Rush was a wonderful surprise and probably the most unique game I’ve played in a long time. I played and finished the game in 8 hours because I was so focused on Hi-Fi Rush’s rhythm-based combat. To explain the combat, I’ll do a quick explanation of its story which is something that feels like a cartoon show that would be played on a Saturday morning. Not only does it act like a cartoon, but the art of Hi-Fi Rush also takes inspiration from other art styles such as comic books and anime during specific segments. In Hi-Fi Rush you play an inspiring rockstar, Chai, who goes through a cybernetic surgery that accidentally merges his music player to his heart. With his heart now being the music player, everything in the world around him goes to the beat of his music and because of this, he is now labeled as a defect by the corporation responsible for his surgery. With the power of friendship, Chai and the friends that he gains along the way must defeat this evil corporation to the beat of the music. Now with the world going along to the beat of the music, that means Chai and the player must defeat enemies and time combos to the beat of whatever song is playing. While this might sound difficult, the combat and timing are quite easy and fun. Even if you manage to not hit enemies on the beat, it is still balanced so that you can still do damage and is still fun. Of course, you can level up your abilities so that certain abilities do even more damage on and off the beat. If you’re like me and are tone deaf you might have a hard time hearing the beat, but thankfully not only is there a bar in the UI to help you find the beat, but the world around you literally goes to the beat. Enemies walk and swing on the beat, lights, and doors go to the beat, and so on. At one point you might learn the rhythm and will find yourself tapping your foot or nodding your head causing you to get better level by level. While I did have fun, there were 2 issues I had during my 8 hours. The game can get very repetitive, and this is because of the level's very formulaic design. When going through each level, you mainly do 2 things, which are platforming and fighting. While there are some minor puzzles and some collectibles it doesn't help change the formula. This might start to affect a player but only near the 3rd quarter of the game, which is either good or bad because it might stop someone from actually finishing it. If we ever see a second game I hope they change up the level formulas so that it stays interesting all the way through, but thankfully for such a unique game, it might not affect a player. Hi-Fi Rush may have a formulaic level design which causes it to get a little repetitive, the game's cheesy Saturday morning cartoon art style help give life to a game that could've easily failed if not done correctly. Being able to fight enemies to the literal beat of the game's amazing soundtrack, the player can feel like a rockstar, which brings something new to the rhythm-based genre. If a second game does ever gets announced, I will be excited about what Tango Gameworks will bring to the table and hope they give us the show of a lifetime. In the end, I’d give Hi-Fi Rush an 8/10.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is now my favorite Star Wars game since Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. There are so many things that this game does just right that you could argue that this game is the best Star Wars game to date. An example that I’ll use is Jedi: Survivor’s excellent combat system and the number of directions you could go with it. You’re given 5 different stances that you can use in combat which consist of single, double-sided, duel wield, blaster, and crossguard. Each one is meant to help you feel like a Jedi Master, as you traverse through each planet. Speaking of which, each planet is filled with so much content that you can practically get lost exploring for hours. I once spent 10 hours just exploring and leveling up my Cal Kestis so much that I also had a huge wardrobe of cosmetics for him after. Even when I thought I explored every corner of the map, there was always a bigger mystery I had not discovered. The cast of characters in Jedi Survivor is written so well that it can be hard to choose a favorite. Of course, we play as Cal Kestis, our main protagonist from the last game, however, he’s not the only returning character. Characters like Cere, Greez, and Merrin return, and lots has changed since the last time we’ve seen them in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. We do get new characters like Bode Akuna and Dagan Gera who both play a huge role in Jedi: Survivor’s plot. I won’t be discussing it for spoiler reasons but this story is a huge step up from the last game that it raises the bar for where Cal might go in his inevitable third game. With the addition of the many different stances and new game plus, you could get multiple playthroughs with this game, almost justifying the 70-dollar price tag. One big complaint I have with this game is how badly it runs on console, with constant problems dealing with low frame rate, pop-in issues, and textures not loading. I had my game crash 4 different times, one particular one right after a boss fight that ruined any tension the scene had. Even after all the patches it still ran bad and sometimes even worse than before. Hopefully, this gets patched so that future players can experience this amazing story with no bugs. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a perfect example of cinematic translation from movie to game. With an amazing soundtrack, action set pieces, and writing that it makes other Star Wars media look lower tier. With its amazing lightsaber combat system that allows you to be your own Jedi that you always dreamed of being, this game gives what any Star Wars fan would want. While the technical issues can be bad, the game itself does a great job of allowing you to overlook the issues and continue playing. In the end, I give Star Wars Jedi: Survivor a 9/10 score.

Redfall was a game that I really wanted to be fun but unfortunately was disappointed with the end product. I spent roughly 2 hours with it and during those 2 hours, it couldn't keep me engaged. I had played by myself on my pc and the game had a rough time running, with mostly low frame rates being my main issue. I’ll start with some pros, I do actually like the intro to the game. I like the setting of Redfall, a town full of vampires that trap the locals and now you and 3 other characters have to fight the vampires head-on and free the town. It reminds me of Far Cry 5 and funny enough some of the open world feels like Far Cry which is something that I liked. It also helped that the game itself has that familiar art style that was used in previous games like Dishonored, Prey, and Deathloop so it gives the game a sort of aesthetic. Overall the world is very cool but sadly there are too many negatives to be able to enjoy it. Now with the negatives, some of the writing in this game is just atrocious. I am not gonna attack anyone who wrote it or say that I could’ve done better but writing is just bad. Some of the characters have dialogue that reminds me of the remake of Saints Row which was just cringy. I played Layla, the college student, and as a college student, this character was the most stereotypical college student ever written in games. I liked her powers and thought she looked so cool but her writing is some of the worst, especially when she repeats lines in the open world after staking a vampire. The story had that strong start giving you sort of the lore on how the town got taken over but after that intro, the story just takes a huge backseat. There’s still a “story” but it's not engaging at all. I got to a part in a mansion where you learn some more backstory but by then I was so bored I didn’t want to pay attention and was just trying to rush the mission. The gameplay itself is alright, it can be fun at first but then gets really boring an hour in. It plays very similar to Far Cry but watered down a ton. Finally, as mentioned before, the game did not run well. I was just playing on the most basic setting but the low frame rate and pop-in texture was so bad that it sometimes would affect my actual combat. I truly didn’t want this game to fail, I loved Arkane’s previous games and I was hopeful that Xbox would have a nice turnaround and lead Xbox down a bright future but unfortunately, this game is just not good. Maybe it's better if you play with friends but I don’t see that helping a bit. Thankfully I didn't buy the game and played it on Game Pass but even for free I was still really disappointed. Maybe it might have a redemption story later on but right now it's a 5/10 for me.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]