Combat is the best part of Beast of Reincarnation, courtesy of a satisfying combat system filled with experimentation and tense fun. If only the rest of Game Freak's venture into the action space matched it.
Unraveling the truth behind the unsolved deaths of a group of people gathering at a mansion one stormy night is engrossing and inventive, with a tale that keeps you guessing until its final moments.
Vampire Crawlers elevates an otherwise simple but highly entertaining card game with sensations more reminiscent of a casino or the blinding blue light of doomscrolling late at night to create a retro-inspired diversion that's hard to put down.
With a solid foundation built upon approachability and personality, Invincible VS is easy to recommend to both seasoned fighting games fans and Invincible enthusiasts.
Mouse: P.I. For Hire's smart, humorous writing and enigmatic characters play into hardboiled fiction cliches in amusing ways that kept me hooked throughout the dozen or so hours it took to reach its high-stakes finale.
Super Meat Boy 3D makes a strong argument that Team Meat’s formula can work in three dimensions, but it needs to iron out some kinks before it reaches the same heights as its 2010 classic.
Thanks to superb gunplay, a compelling mystery, and terrific use of the roguelite formula, Deadzone: Rogue avoids getting lost in the crowded sci-fi shooter genre.
The goofy angle and unexpected production values help Darwin feel different, but frequent design annoyances and over reliance on bland stealth gameplay prevent it from rising to the top.
Bungie’s excellent audio design and gunplay, paired with increasingly complicated level design borrowing from over a decade of expertise designing Destiny raids coalesce into something special. Marathon is proof Bungie is still at the top of its game.
Crimson Desert is a beautiful, exploration-rich open-world game that’s a clear technological achievement, hampered by a cornucopia of little frustrations and a stark lack of narrative depth.
Fatal Frame II is frightening with its near-constant jump scares, oppressive atmosphere, difficult enemies, and arguably too much darkness. But more so than fear, the emotion I frequently grappled with was frustration.
Tribute has become skilled at creating visually nostalgic beat ‘em ups, and its return to the Scott Pilgrim franchise is no exception. It is, however, light on surprises or mechanical innovation.
