With Dead Island 2’s development history, it is a pleasant surprise to see the game release in as complete and stable of a state as it is. It ran flawlessly on Xbox Series X and looked beautiful to boot, especially its incredible new gore system. While it may not deliver the interesting stories or new concepts of its genre contemporaries, its sharp humor and satisfying combat help make up for it.
"Pokémon Stadium" still holds up on Nintendo Switch, and is still well worth checking out for fans of the series and newcomers alike.
Some fans will surely miss the roguelike structure of the original, but for fans looking to further explore its world or to spend more time in the game’s splendid combat, Everspace 2 delivers in spades.
There is fun to be found in "Crime Boss," but its issues bog down the experience enough to keep it from keeping you invested for very long.
"Resident Evil 4 Remake" is the strongest of the modern remakes in the franchise, staying pure to the heart of the game while modernizing it for 2023.
Octopath Traveler 2's changes manage to uphold what made the first game enjoyable, while adding some new bells and whistles to make it feel like a step forward.
It is no exaggeration to say that Company of Heroes 3 is a triumph of the RTS genre…It offers an amazingly deep strategic experience, fantastic onboarding for newcomers, and plenty of content to keep fans playing for dozens of hours.
Even as the story of "Atomic Heart" fails to keep you engaged, it's well worth playing only to see what strange concepts and areas await.
Overall, The Settlers: New Allies is a solid starting point to reboot the RTS franchise. While its campaign is dull enough to be ignored, the game’s bones are strong enough to support solidly entertaining online play. Despite its issues it has the potential to breathe new life into The Settlers as a franchise, which would be great for all RTS fans.
Blood Bowl 3 is undoubtedly the best new way to experience Blood Bowl. It is filled with character, brimming with options, and has plenty of depth for players to explore and toy around with. However, it is unfortunate that it doesn’t give new players the proper tools to break through its outer crust. For those that are hungry for more brutal sports action, however, you’d be hard pressed to find anything better.
It makes numerous improvements in how it onboards new players, adds layers to its core combat loop that are difficult to imagine going without now, and does so while staying true to what makes the series so special.
"Lone Ruin" hits the important notes of the rogue-like genre, but it ultimately suffers from stripped-back features and a barebones experience.
Anyone who isn’t thrilled at the idea of having Roiland constantly chattering in their ear for a dozen hours straight will likely find the game’s incessant need to force itself on the player annoying. With the addition of uncompelling combat, frustrating exploration, and a lack of anything else to offer players, High on Life is one of the most annoying, derivative, and slogging experiences in years.
Fans hoping to return to a game they are already familiar with will likely be very satisfied with Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered. It does an admirable job of remastering the game’s visuals and adds a considerable amount of new content for fans to engage with. However, it doesn’t do quite enough to make the game accessible or interesting enough for most newcomers.
It is hard to translate just how satisfying it feels to tear through a horde of heathens in Darktide as its thunderous soundtrack plays to words. The best way to do so seems to be simply saying that it is spot-on enough to surely please any fan of Warhammer or horde shooters. Darktide is a Primarch amongst Warhammer games, and it serves the corpse emperor admirably.
Pentiment is a game that will stick with you for a long time after you play it. Its unique blend of thought-provoking discussion, historical accuracy, and challenging a player’s morals all work to push players to consider everything going on in the game and weigh the pros and cons of heavy decisions that must be made with limited information…It takes a very special work of art to make an observer feel as much as Pentiment does, and the game manages to do so consistently throughout its entire runtime.
Player enjoyment from The Last Oricru relies heavily on what matters to them. If they are looking for a fun co-op romp with interesting build possibilities to toy around with, the game is likely worth picking up on sale. However, it does not have much to offer for players who care more about a difficult journey across a well-realized world with lore and secrets to piece together.
Despot’s Game: Dystopian Army Builder is a very interesting blending of genres that helps bring something new to auto battler games. However, its mixing brings far less to the rogue-lite genre, so fans of titles like Hades or Cult of the Lamb will only want to pick it up if they are big fans of auto battlers.
Roadwarden is a fascinating take on the RPG genre that has a lot to love. Its setting is deep and well fleshed out, and the interactions players have with it are impactful and fun to navigate. The stories it tells are often somber but handled in an undeniably human and engaging way. While anyone who doesn’t like reading will want to skip it, I cannot recommend it enough to players intrigued by the possibilities of a detailed, text-based RPG.
In the end, the main takeaway I have from playing through Circus Electrique is just how flat it all feels. Playing the game is never explicitly unpleasant but is never memorable or particularly fun, either. Instead, the game is almost liminal. So while the game is unlikely to end up on any lists for worst games of the year, I doubt that most players who try it will remember its release for very long.