Simon Ordell’s journey through the Scottish town of St. Amelia in 1996 is not without its shortcomings, but the experience is an affecting one buoyed by the first-person perspective.
Simon Ordell’s journey through the Scottish town of St. Amelia in 1996 is not without its shortcomings, but the experience is an affecting one buoyed by the first-person perspective.
Building on the already-great remake of the first game, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter masterfully updates the gameplay and timeless story, adding up to what is now the Trails series’ defining entry, and one of the best RPGs of the year.
It’s evident NHL 27 is a leap year for the franchise as it doesn’t innovate on the modes and immersion already present. Instead, it soft-launches patches that barely pass as a winter update.
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.
Much like a perennial contender, even when it’s not the best the franchise has looked, MLB The Show 26 is once again lined up for another winning season.
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.
Controlling Kratos, fighting, and exploring just isn’t particularly fun on a basic level. A just below perfunctory genre experience alongside characters and in a setting I admit I like spending time with.
Nioh 3's consistently rewarding approach to open-world design, combined with its entertaining Ninja gameplay style, cements it as the best entry in the franchise.
High on Life 2 is the kind of game that you can put on, laugh at for a while, and forget what's troubling you, even though reminders might slip in through the pointed social commentary.
