It starts off promising but falls off a cliff when you get to a certain point and then it's the usual Ubisoft slop that we all know so well, like the Isle of Sky arc, which is probably the dumbest and most pointless mission I've ever sat through in a game. Just stick with Odyssey.
Quantum Break has a decent story but otherwise it's plagued with unpolished and forgettable gameplay. The powers are limited due to a cool down and the system for upgrading them is weak- you are supposed to find invisible chronon scattered around the levels by scanning the environment constantly, and if you forget to look for them, which you might because it takes you out of the immersion and it's tedious, you will pay for it in the end. Enemy variety is next to nonexistent, and the platforming and puzzle parts are too dull and easy. The movies and special effects are entertaining, so I'll give it that much.
The more I played this game the more I realized how mid it really is. Yes, it's pretty cool to be able to blow everything up, and the weapons and tools provided for doing so are pretty awesome, but nearly everything else including the story, graphics, traversal, and the wonky grappling hook are just underwhelming.
The outdated jank and gameplay is one thing but why does my character have severe asthma? Seriously though, why am I out of breath after 4 seconds of light jogging, and my pawn has to constantly ask me if I'm alright? It's hard to believe how bad this game really is. Was there a time when there was nothing else to play and people actually enjoyed this sort of thing?
This game is ok but exploration is more slow and tedious than other metroidvanias. The graphics and world are somewhat bland and combined with the annoying respawning enemies that obstruct your path, the pacing was cumbersome and I really wasn't feeling inspired to explore at all. Maybe it's just me but it seems like it doesn't hold a candle to similar games like PoP: the Lost Crown or Afterimage, which do all of these things much better. I think the metroidvania genre has come a long way since this game was released.
It's ok but feels a little outdated with the gameplay mechanics. The graphics are mid and the music is bad. Overall it's still fun but only in short bursts.
As far as metroidvanias go it really doesn't get any better than this. It's got it all- great combat, exploration, platforming, enemy variety, graphics/sound, skill tree and leveling up. Even the ubislop haters have to admit a broken clock is right twice a day and this game is pure gold.
High frame rate but last gen graphics, stale and boring looking level design, disorienting camera, and the new essence and weapon swapping all kind of dragged down the experience for me. I still prefer the other titles in the series.
Extremely dark, blurry, and grainy graphics. No story, inaudible dialogue, and repetitive combat, but it does have memorable set-pieces, decent weapons, and a cool sci-fi setting. The xbox one version has the same mucky visuals at a higher frame rate, but it's not a remaster.
Nice graphics, environments, voice acting, but overall pretty boring and slow pacing compared to the movies. The game also seems to be plagued with audio bugs, especially with the back ground music cutting out. Combat is clunky and the forced open world stealth is a nuisance.
Wow, it really is as bad as all the reviews suggest, even without the MTs. It will still get high marks from the Star Wars die hards but for most others there is no need to waste your time with this poorly made slop when so many better options exist.
A unique and original game, not nearly as boring as you would think being a mail man. Superbly optimized on the Series X. Please give us number 2 on Xbox!
It's too bad they had to use generative AI to make this game and didn't bother reporting it to Steam. Also, I thought having deadlines in the gameplay loop was a big misstep. I get enough of those at work.
The Ascent is fun at first and it definitely has a great cyberpunk dystopian aesthetic that immediately draws you into its world, but it ends up being a little shallow on the gameplay side, with little to actually do or interact with other than blowing **** up. The rpg mechanics are too limited, and the unbalanced difficulty spikes that aren't really necessary can add a bit of frustration. One minute it's a little too easy and the next it's nearly impossible. All that is fine once you get the trick of it down, but still, the gameplay is too simple, repetitive, and involves far too much idle time walking around between fetch points and backtracking. Additionally, it's still riddled with bugs after four years. During my time with it I experienced numerous sound glitches, graphical stutters, crashes, and at one point my guns just stopped firing mid combat. There's also a weird sound bug where the gun sounds keep firing long after the battle has finished. I would say the only real plus to this game is the graphically stunning and detailed open world which is truly a marvel to gaze at.
Not perfect, but it's the best in the series, followed closely by 2033. The save function could be better, but the immersion and graphics are amazing. This game is also a perfect example of how to integrate stealth and gunplay mechanics seemlesly.
The only one in the series that really stumbles and misses the mark. The other two are really good though. As with the others, the graphics and immersion are superb, but the gameplay is a little off. Too many wtf moments and I couldn't really jibe with that little smurf alien dude.
Weak combat, muddy and bland open world, performance issues and load screens are all abundant like with any Bethesda RPG, so all the praise I'm hearing comes off as 98% nostalgia hype. They say it was a masterpiece 20 years ago, but I guess you just had to be there. I gave it a 5 just because it's a beloved classic that so many hold dear to their hearts, but honestly I didn't have much fun with it, and if it hadn't been groundbreaking for it's time it would be less. The load screens are annoying enough, but this thing I found out about saving the wrist chains when I already threw them away because they appeared to be useless but I should have saved them because they are important and now I can't get them back is just unacceptable.
Boring watered down repetitive combat, bland level design, limited exploration, vague sappy story, and graphics that are dark, fuzzy, and poorly optimized all kind of ruined it for me. Adding a dodge/parry doesn’t really add much to the experience imo, plenty of games out there do that better. The music and voice acting are decent, but forget about the lip syncing, it’s way off. Overall it’s not a bad effort, and I commend Sandfall for putting it on Game Pass, but it’s overhyped to say the least. I don’t recommend buying it, you’ll probably be disappointed, but try it out on Game Pass.
Weak, overly-simplistic combat, muddy and bland open world, performance issues and load screens are all abundant like with any Bethesda RPG, so all the praise I'm hearing comes off as 98% nostalgia hype. They say it was a masterpiece 20 years ago, but I guess you just had to be there. I gave it a 5 just because it's a beloved classic that so many hold dear to their hearts, but honestly I didn't have much fun with it, and if it hadn't been groundbreaking for it's time it would be less. The load screens are annoying enough, but this thing I found out about saving the wrist chains when I already threw them away because they appeared to be useless but I should have saved them because they are important and now I can't get them back is downright stupid. Hard pass.
Weak, floaty combat, muddy and bland open world, stuttery performance issues and load screens are all abundant like with any Bethesda RPG, so all the praise I'm hearing comes off as 98% nostalgia hype. They say it was a masterpiece 20 years ago, but I guess you just had to be there. I gave it a 5 just because it's considered a beloved classic that so many Bethesda fans hold dear to their hearts, but honestly I didn't find its performance issues charming or amusing and I really didn't have much fun during my time with it, and if it hadn't been groundbreaking for it's time my score would have been lower. The load screens are annoying enough, but this thing I found out about saving the wrist chains when I already threw them away because they appeared to be useless but I should have saved them because they are important and now I can't get them back is a super vomitty way to start ****. Hard pass.
South of Midnight delivers spectacular visuals, intriguing lore, superb voice acting, and a fantastic soundtrack. It's good looking, well made, and nicely optimized at release. The traversal is somewhat linear with decent platforming, while the combat feels a little out of place how it's confined from the rest of the game and it's possibly a little too reliant on the dodge mechanic, but that hardly detracts from the overall fun and enjoyment to be had with this creative, captivating, and meaningful experience.
Amazing graphics aren't enough to make up for the mediocre gameplay. Most of the challenge comes from running around looking for hidden paths and fumbling with janky combat mechanics and it eventually just becomes unenjoyable tedious dread that doesn't respect your time at all. When you have to look up a tutorial just to get past a fan it stops being fun. Most of the moves and skills you learn look cool but are pretty useless, and you have a grappling hook but you can only use it at certain points where prompts tell you to. I gave it a 6 because I played it on game pass but if I had bought it the score would only be a 4 or 5. Not good enough for an AAA game.
I was lead to believe that the story of NieR: Automata would be life changing, and although I didn't quite have that experience, I still thought it was overall a very good game. I found the melancholic undertones of the story and music emotionally impactful in a way that you don't often get in western games and I appreciated that part of it. The cinematic spectacle of boss fights are captivating but often feel detached as the combat is simplified and the camera angles are constantly shifting in a slightly jarring manner. As others have noted the game has not aged well visually (aside from maybe the explosions). I like the minimal style of the scenery but some of the distorted textures have a distinctly PS3 era vibe. This would be the perfect Switch game if it was well optimized on that platform but it kind of looks bad on a Series X when compared to other games from the same era like Witcher 3, RDR2, Dying Light, Mad Max, etc. The multiple endings are cool if not slightly repetitive, but what is up with that little Pacman game they make you do over and over again?
I had a blast with the campaign, and I would say the updated visuals totally make it worth playing in 2025, unlike Gears 2, which looks awful if you try to play it now.
Bulletstorm is an intense action linear fps with some added depth thanks to its innovative gameplay mechanics that allow room for creativity in the way that you use your weapons and the environment for combat. Does it overstay its welcome with repetitive gameplay? Yeah, probably. Towards the end you sort of just wish it would be over. There is a huge difficulty spike in one particular chapter that makes it feel unbalanced. Another thing that drags its review scores down is the cringey and questionable dude-bro humor, but I think you have the option to filter that in the settings if you find it too offensive.
It may have looked good by 2008 standards but in 2025 it is difficult to enjoy Gears 2 with its extremely ugly visuals and outdated gameplay. The remaster of the first one greatly improved the visuals and made it fun to play, but with this dark gray and blurry mess you can't even tell what is happening on the screen half of the time. It has a lot of frustrating and questionable mechanics throughout the campaign that make it unenjoyable. Hopefully it will get the treatment that gears 1 got someday and I can revise this review, but as it stands this game is a big disappointment and definitely the worst in the series.
Atomfall is an average survival game with AA graphics/gameplay, mostly borrowed and half-baked design elements, and a few performance issues that need to be sorted out in future updates. Combat and traversal is slow and clunky. The Devs say the stealth is not forced but in reality it is, which is fine but it's not done as well as other games like the metro series, because the combat is super sluggish and running is pretty much as slow as walking. It's overpriced for a small and short game but I would say give it a shot on gamepass if you like games like fallout or metro, just don't go into it expecting it to be in the same league as those that it tries and mostly fails to copy.
This is a really solid action RPG. Combat, open world, exploration, looting and skill tree/upgrading are all top notch. Ignore the bad reviews from the haters. Try it out for yourself and see. Too many people with weighted expectations stuck in the 360 era wanted it to be the next Skyrim, which it most definitely isn't. It's something completely different and unique. We should be so lucky to have a fully functioning and fun game on release, and I would say it's a big win for game pass.
