In that way, Helldivers 2 could become an important inflection point in the games business, too. And its larger implications aside, the game is an authentic co-op shooter that keeps you coming back for more. Playing Helldivers 2 took me back to some of my best online experiences in Battlefield games, where a large part of the fun feels organic and player driven. It's hard to find that sweet spot, to carve a distinct identity amidst a glut of online shooters and live service titles competing for player attention. But Helldivers 2 takes a deceptively simple path to walking the complicated ‘games as a service' tightrope without tripping and falling down. It is refreshingly funny and self-aware, in addition to being mechanically sound. It never takes itself too seriously, but also doesn't force the humour. Most generic live service games feel like clueless products trying to jump on a trend and pretending to be hip. Helldivers 2, on the other hand, consistently appears to be in on the joke.
Perhaps the most baffling fact is that it took Rocksteady, a famed developer whose past games are considered undeniable classics that are being played to this day, took nine years to make a game that falls abysmally short of the studio's own high standards. Suicide Squad isn't a terrible game — some of the negative attention could perhaps be attributed to marketing misfires, and some of the criticism is perhaps too harsh, even if not unwarranted. But it constantly pales in comparison to Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham games in every aspect that matters. There are seeds of ideas, systems, and story here that could have delivered a legitimately fun and distinctly unique shooter. But as the self-destructive game that it chooses to be, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League only shoots itself in the foot.
It is not for everyone, and it is not an easy game to pick up and casually run through. But for those who've played Metroidvanias like Dead Cells and Hollow Knight or intense platformers like Celeste and Super Meat Boy, The Lost Crown will offer more than just transferrable skills. It might also be the most accessible entry point into the genre for new players; the newest Prince of Persia is not as oppressive as some of its inspirations. And while some of its later platforming sections and mission design slow the game down, it never completely runs out of steam. The Lost Crown might just be the coronation the Prince deserved.
Activision had earlier decided against releasing a CoD title this year, opting instead for a “premium expansion” for Modern Warfare II. The publisher, perhaps scared of the financial repercussions of not sticking to an annual release cycle, later decided MW III to be a standalone entry. All the evidence from MW III's campaign, however, points at little effort to do so. With rehashed missions, lazy Warzone style sections, and a sore lack of typical Call of Duty knockout set pieces, Modern Warfare III does not feel like a full game, especially at that $70 price point. The original Modern Warfare games redefined the first-person shooter genre; the trilogy's uninspired rerun, on the other hand, represents its decay.
Honestly, if your biggest complaint about a story is that it ended too soon, you can't help but acknowledge that it did a lot of the things right. Spider-Man is an icon that has endured through changing times, living on in the pages of comic books and the grain of moving pictures. And more than any other hero, the beloved bug has found a home in video games. So, there is a considerable history to reckon with. Insomniac's Spider-Man sequel does just that and more. It tips its hat at Spider-Man stories that came before, and then turns around to tell its own. Spider-Man was swinging before; the friendly superhero is now gliding over his neighbourhood, feeling right at home.
FC 24 is new, but only skin deep. It brings cosmetic updates to the same old formula, while ignoring more important issues on the pitch. Sure, the gameplay gets refined little by little each year, but much remains missing in the core experience. EA prioritises its money-spinning Ultimate Team mode, but stubbornly refuses to bring new ideas to the Career mode. It's telling that FC 24 recycles the same cutscenes for transfer negotiations that we've seen in FIFA games for past three to four years. When the franchise had to move away from its FIFA branding, it presented EA a rare opportunity to forge a new identity for a series that's fast getting frustratingly familiar. That will have to wait. EA Sports FC 24 could have been so much more than what it is — the same dish with new dressing. It does not come as a surprise, though. In a rapidly changing football landscape, EA Sports FIFA has found success in consistency. And in its consistent, familiar approach, FC 24 remains preoccupied with dribbling the ball along the same lines, too scared to take a shot at goal and glory.
Immortals of Aveum comes at a time when games are almost like homework - they demand time and attention. They require you to almost put your life on hold and live a different, more exciting, and rewarding life in the vast virtual playgrounds they offer. This is not something to complain about — I look back fondly at the time when, for a good three months, I abandoned everything in my life to become an outlaw in the American Frontier when Red Dead Redemption 2 came out. Video games possess a transformative and teleporting power that frankly no other medium can replicate. But sometimes you don't need your games to be a full course meal. They're perfectly palatable as a snack. Immortals is that bite-sized biscuit that won't really leave a memorable flavour in your mouth, but will taste just fine, and be the exact kind of meal you need at that point. Right around the time when ambitious video games are showcasing the incredible depth they can offer, Immortals of Aveum represents a bygone simplicity and shallowness of the medium, that perhaps is just as important.
Still, it is an excellent action game with perhaps one of the medium's most likeable protagonists in recent times. Final Fantasy XVI is a worthy return for an iconic franchise — that much is clear. Whether this success can light the path for future Final Fantasy games and elevate the series to its past heights, is perhaps a trickier question to answer.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores often feels like one long side quest, but it attempts to fill some gaps left by the main game.
Dead Island 2 straddles the line between these wins and its demonstrable failures.
Hogwarts Legacy ticks all right the boxes. It could have very easily been a watered-down RPG trying to cash in on its name, but at its core there is a robust and fun video game that stands up on its own, even if one doesn't care for Harry Potter. The fun combat system, consistently surprising world exploration, and a cast of likeable and colourful characters lift Hogwarts Legacy, as if carried by a levitation spell. Avalanche Software has borrowed a popular body of work, but made sure to breathe its own soul into it.
When the excellent parkour and spirited combat mechanics work together as intended, they raise the game above its mundane peripherals. But, more often than not, Forspoken is bogged down by its by-the-numbers open-world design, its predictable story, and just a broader lack of imagination. By the end of its near-20-hour campaign, Forspoken hangs firmly in limbo, somewhere between fresh and stale.