Balatro is an ingenious and entertaining roguelike and one of my favorite games of the year. Playing it has become a near-obsession; everything feels perfectly designed to encourage you to keep trying because that next run could be the run of your life.
The music is phenomenal and the huge and lush world of Alrest should be a joy to venture through. But with all that said, the game is plagued by a messy UI system, almost nonexistent map, weird blade acquiring system, terrible and sometimes mediocre plot.
It's tough not to consider Astral Chain something of a small disappointment, especially when you know Platinum Games' talent for beat 'em ups. We not only highly commend the fight mechanics in this latest title from Takahashi Taura, but also its universe — original and supported by a high-class artistic direction. However, the overall game is pulled down somewhat by a structure of missions that doesn't match the studio's desire to mix the beat 'em up and investigative genres, and further by large approximations and other technical problems — all of which have a significant impact on the enjoyment of the game.
Dead Space Remake is more than just a remake, it's a whole new game. Motive has done a titanic job to give a second life to one of the masterpieces of the survival horror genre. Not only its graphics are a real slap in the face and its sound design is absolutely fantastic, but he few gameplay adjustments and the work on the level design offer a real added value. Even those who know the original game by heart will be surprised. An incredible dive into horror and a real "new gen" slap in the face.
This Taiwanese indie title is so much more than just another horror game. It takes on ambitious themes in a rich point and click **** creepy artwork and soundtrack will feel tranquil once you reach the end.
Kirby and the Forgotten land is the beacon of joy we all need in these wild times. It’s pure, wholesome fun that can (and should) be enjoyed by all ages.
Z-A struggles to make up for its eternal shortcomings: dull and underwhelming visuals for the modern era, a still overly childish narrative, a glaring lack of personality, and gameplay inconsistencies that gradually erode the experience over time.
Halo 3 is fun, and its Forge and Theater modes will provide hours of multiplayer entertainment, but nothing could've prepared us for our slight feeling of disappointment. The game's far too reliant on old gameplay tricks and recycled levels, and it really lost its narrative power.
If you've been hoping for a hardcore, mega-challenging, controller-tosser, this probably isn't for you. But if you like the idea of exploring an incredibly well realised world, with loads of variety and gameplay that won't rule out the very young (or very old...), Kirby's latest adventure is a rare treat
It's hard not to come out a little frustrated with this Hyrule Warriors, which excels in some areas and disappoints in others. The combat system works very well, but struggles to shine, the fault of a framerate sometimes acceptable sometimes unpleasant as possible, especially in docked. The storytelling is fine and the cut-scenes are fantastic, but the script strays from the original material and loses in narrative power.
Even serious engagement doesn't ensure story completion without many hours of investment, and only the most dedicated players will see the full spread of what Hades has to offer. But Supergiant’s latest opus is a beautiful and thoughtful twist on Greek mythology, flipping these old stories on their head and transforming them into commentaries on modern relationships. High-octane action gameplay may pull you into hell for the first time, but I suspect you’ll stay to find out about this eccentric and fascinating family.
If you take yourself and your RPGs too seriously, then chances are you’re not going to get much out of this game. If, however, you just want to hang out with a bunch of hot anime chicks and kick some butt on the way to nowhere, Endless Frontier is your game.
Overall, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition lives up to its name. The changes are almost universally for the better by taking an excellent game and smoothing out the faults, flaws, and weak points while providing additional content. Considering Xenoblade Chronicles was one of the best JRPGs of the last console generation , this improves upon an already outstanding title. Story, world building and music were amazing.
From a technical standpoint, the game is a real darling and can compete with the best of them. And yet it’s that the game doesn’t really break away from any of the pre-existing molds that I believe hold it back from being the breakout hit of 2017. It feels almost too conventional. Whether it’s the Ubisoft style side missions, the Batman Arkham vision or the by the numbers storytelling. There’s nothing about Horizon Zero Dawn that breaks out into its own unique experience. It feels like the first game in a series that needs to discover its own unique identity to help it stand out amongst a vast array of open world games that it competes against.
By far the best game you could ever get for your PS2. This game is reason enough to buy a PS2 even if you never buy another game. Sure, it's dark and dirty, and maybe even a bit evil, but we’re all consenting adults here.
Resident Evil Village earns a spot right up there as one of the very best Resident Evil games in the franchise’s 25 year run. Village is an amalgamation of what made Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 7 fan-favourite entries. Though it also delivers on it’s own ambition with new breeds of terrifying enemies never seen before in Resident Evil. The Village is a desolate, decrepit, dolorous setting but undeniably beautiful thanks to some of the best art direction ever seen in the series.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an ambitious revamp that successfully revolutionizes the defining Pokemon experiences of catching and battling, but is unfortunately set in a drab, empty, and at times tedious world.
It's extraordinary, really, that after all this time a new Mario game can feel as fresh as any that preceded it. Cappy is a revelation, exploring Kingdoms is bliss, and Super Mario Odyssey is a masterpiece. Nearly on par with Galaxy.
A bizarre attempt to celebrate the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the most boringest way possible, with a limp collection of unentertaining minigames made even duller by suffocatingly clinical presentation.
Without giving anything away as far as the plot goes, Nirvana initiative is quite a bit worse than the first game. A lot of the mysteries are unsatisfying and have logical inconsistencies that make it hard to enjoy without suspending your disbelief a tremendous amount. The pacing of the story is also much worse, with there being so much wasted time and many instances where you investigate locations with little justification or results. The story also focuses a lot on the personal struggles of each of the new characters which isn’t necessarily bad in and of itself were it not for the fact that it forcefully pulls you away from the murder investigation in a way that feels like filler rather than naturally exploring the characters by integrating them into the narrative, or having those parts be optional like Persona’s social links and Fire Emblem’s support conversations. The humor is also repetitive and relies too much on referencing or outright quoting word for word jokes from the first game which are no longer funny the second (or even third in some cases) time. Nirvana also tries to stand separate from the first game but the way it does this is by retconning details from the first game, ignoring/undoing established character arcs that were central to their development, and otherwise pretending the first game didn’t happen in an effort to seem disconnected despite very much being connected.
When the story hits some of its high points, AI: The Somnium Files is really good, and feels like the same kind of high 999 gave… but it is largely crippled by just how slow and repetitious it all is. Random slapstick and outright unrealistic scenes draws players out very quickly from the attempt at being a serious plot. It goes nowhere fast, and the whiplash between attempts at humour and serious moments are too ham-fisted. The overall plot could easily be cut by more than half, and the overall experience would be better for it.
Mario Strikers: Battle League is a mediocre game with some fun to be had, but a lack of single player content and some lackluster roster variety means it's one that won't stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other greats in the Mario sports catalog.
The improved visual, combat and predator systems are worth the cost of entry, and a lot of the core combat mechanics are still the best in the genre. Unfortunately, it's held back by a somewhat weak Batmobile mechanic and a lackluster plot.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider improves every element of the previous games. Tomb design, jungle setting and the natural disasters complete the definitive Lara Croft adventure.
Viewed as a single-player experience, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a sizable addition that does relatively little to advance the Assassin's Creed story or gameplay. The multiplayer, however, is a unique and fascinating offering, a truly refreshing alternative to the plodding iterations of the market-leading shooters.
Ezio feels complex and human. This virtual version of Florence feels vital and real. From the ashes of the overwrought, flawed original comes one of the few videogames that truly qualifies as an adult, mature experience.
There is a thin line between telling the player a story and letting them experience it, and it's one the previous games parkoured along with only the occasional misstep. Assassin's Creed 3 however, falls flat on the side of telling you its story - and it would be unforgivable if it weren't for the billion other things you can do in the game.
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut feels like the truest, purest way to experience this title, so much so that I'm willing to go through it once again from the top, when Jin rode into battle with his uncle and almost died. I want to ride through the grass, stumble into duels, climb mountains and battle Mongols for another few dozen hours while making a stop on a freaky island to fight a crazy woman who likes poison and the color purple. I want to do it all, and I would recommend that anyone with the time should look into doing the same.
When I reached the end of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, I didn't feel like I'd had a rewarding experience. I was relieved it was over. With some side-meandering, it took around 30 hours, and I didn't enjoy a lot of them. I'll admit crunching a Souls-like in less than four days is an unnatural and gruelling experience: I imagine if I'd played Fallen Order over several months, I would have been less frustrated, but probably still bored. It's such a shame, as Fallen Order has an incredible gameplay experience at its core, with fantastic environments and well-directed action sequences. Yet it's unable to sustain this thanks to some fundamental design problems.
Bastion makes a good case for the idea that simple gameplay, straightforward design, and a clear guiding vision for art, music, and story can go a long way to making a good game great.
Has everything that fans could have hoped for: More stages, balanced characters, smarter computer intelligence, and plenty of different modes to choose from... What it doesn't have, however, is innovation.
A surprisingly disappointing story and a fairly short single-player portion are noticeable shortcomings, but there's just so much breadth of content in Halo 2, and the action itself is so outstanding, that there can be no denying its quality.
Gave an 8 due to Arkham City and Knight in retrospect. Regardless of whether you're getting **** into the Story mode or competing for high scores in the Challenge mode, Batman: Arkham Asylum does an outstanding job of letting you be Batman. Everything about this game--the impressive visuals, stirring soundtrack, superb voice acting, fiendish puzzles, hard-hitting combat--feels like it has been lovingly crafted by a development team that's both knowledgeable and passionate about the source material.
So if Arkham Asylum was defined by its limits, Arkham City is a careful, considered exercise in stripping those limits away. Its open city lets players be a different kind of Batman to the stealthy predator of Asylum – this is the Batman of dropped smoke pellets and theatrical getaways, the Batman with an ear to the ground for the strong picking on the weak, and the Batman who floats above the city with a gothic majesty.
Hogwarts Legacy is the Wizarding World game that fans have dreamt of for years. It offers a dense and rich open-world to explore complemented perfectly by a surprisingly robust and engaging combat system unlike anything else. While the story does live in the shadow of its predecessors, and managing gear can be repetitive, Hogwarts Legacy is a truly magical experience and utterly bewitching from beginning to end.
Captain Toad isn’t the deepest game in history, but it’s filled with charming graphics, clever design and a bunch of fantastic puzzles. The camera is annoying, and it tends to be a bit repetitive after a while. In any other way Captain Toad is a good choice for the puzzle fan.
Overall though, Metroid Dread is excellent. MercurySteam has more than proven themselves to be a worthy steward of the 2D Metroid games. They understand the genre and what fans are looking for from Nintendo’s bounty hunter extraordinaire. Metroid Dread is simply a must-play title for newcomers and fans alike.
Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise is a fun little puzzler. It has fairly simple puzzles, but the real challenge is connecting the dots and figuring out what you need to use and where. I may be stuck in chapter 5, yet I can still happily recommend it. The visuals may be a little underwhelming, but it’s more than serviceable for the type of game this is. I would heavily recommend that you play it in handheld mode, too, though using a controller is not inhibiting. However you choose to play it, Agent A will take you on an adventure and make you use your brain along the way.
Great story and world building. If only the mechanics matched the atmosphere. If only Rapture was a less linear world to move through. If only BioShock was the wholly brilliant experience you know, from your moments within it, it could have been.
It takes great strides to outclass its previous entries because it knows there won’t be another chance. From the opening moments to the credits rolling, Uncharted 4 is built from the ground up to close the curtain on the series with its most well-rounded, personal, and fine-tuned entry. With its new and polished mechanics, unrivaled technical prowess, human story, and thrilling action, nothing in Uncharted 4 is less than top tier. In saying goodbye, Uncharted soars to its highest heights, and bids farewell to an icon with a finale befitting of the history that preceded it.
Tombs are the best thing RotTR has to offer. Compared to the previous Tomb Raider, there really are more of them, but not quite as many as we’d want. Plus, unlike the stealth/combat sequences, most of the tombs can be skipped – although the game would’ve been much better off if it was the other way around.
While Guns of the Patriots boasts lashings of in-game invention and creativity that's largely wrapped up in superb style and execution, it's all so unforgivably tainted by jaw-dropping gameplay brevity that it's truly difficult to raise the many, many good points above what is, for the most part, a succession of cut scenes that leave the player with an overwhelming sense of disconnection from one of gaming's most compelling characters and interactive franchises.
This is the best version of Alan Wake you can play - but it’s also pretty much identical with the original game and the gameplay definitely feels a bit dated.
Alien: Isolation is a terrific survival horror game with high production value that has an extremely compelling setting that captures Ridley Scott's original film vision incredibly well.
As brilliant as it is bloody, Resident Evil 7 doesn't just give the franchise a refreshing reboot, but also raises the bar for future survival horror **** we had to nitpick, we'd say the campaign's a bit short and the enemy variety slightly lacking. Those are small gripes, however, for a game that consistently gave us goosebumps the size of golf balls.
Snipperclips requires thought, co-ordination and timing in a combination that means friendships/marriage will be tested. Had a blast with my wife though.
