Ryan Meitzler's Reviews
With an expanded world and deeper systems, Metro Exodus breaks out of the tunnels without losing the series' signature survival elements.
Though it may not have the same luster as it did over six years ago, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is still a platforming gem for Nintendo Switch owners.
In the first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season since the end of Telltale Games, Clementine's journey picks back up towards an emotional finale.
With a massive roster, tons of customization, and more fan service than you can ever imagine, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the series in near-perfect form.
While some parts of Luigi's Mansion may be beginning to show their wear, by and large the game is still just as much of a quirky, experimental romp as it was 17 years ago and a completely fun experience for players new and old to enjoy. Releasing just in time for Halloween, Luigi's Mansion captures the essence of the season in a delightfully creepy way that will make it enjoyable for younger players, while also giving older players a chance at rediscovering the GameCube cult classic. With Luigi's Mansion 3 on the way for Nintendo Switch next year, 3DS owners now have the ability to play the series' first two titles in one place, and even though it has a few blemishes, Luigi's Mansion is still worth a return trip…just don't mind some of the residents while you visit.
Red Dead Redemption 2 may just signal the dawn of a new era for open-world games, and it's an experience that I have no doubt players will be investing tens (if not hundreds) of hours into its immense, deep world and completing its story full of action, suspense, and deeply investing character moments.
While this is just one small moment in the whole of the first episode, to me it demonstrated just how far that Dontnod has come in delivering a story that truly speaks to the emotional and human drama that Life is Strange explores at its best.
As an installment that mostly revolves around setting up Clementine and her group for a dramatic confrontation that would have unfolded in the next two episodes, Episode 2 of The Final Season doesn't quite deliver the same thrills that the first episode of the season provided, but is still an entirely worthy entry in the story so far. However, the question now is what “the story so far” really looks like.
As a title that I would consider a bit "under-the-radar" compared to the heavy-hitting games coming this fall, The Gardens Between is a wholly unique experience that you shouldn't let fade away from your memory.
Combined with genuinely shocking moments that I would have the heart to spoil here, The Walking Dead: The Final Season is already off to an incredibly promising start, even when I know that its ending will surely be hard to swallow. The Clementine that I know and loved from The Walking Dead's first season is very different now, and I can't wait to see how her story ends.
Like closing the final chapter on a thousand-page-long fantasy novel, The Banner Saga 3 delivers a dark and thrilling conclusion to remember. Though at times it might prove to be a bit more of a challenge than some might expect, The Banner Saga 3 is the culmination of Stoic Studio's four-year-long journey through a tense and memorable world that's entirely worth seeing through to the end. While I'm sad to see The Banner Saga series come to a close with its third and final act, The Banner Saga 3 finishes it all in a brutal and brilliant fashion. The story may be over, but The Banner Saga‘s world is one that I will surely yearn to come back to.
While Jurassic World Evolution sometimes can be a bit unwieldy from the number of systems it is balancing at once, Frontier Developments mostly finds a nice middle ground in Evolution between depth and accessibility. As long as I get a few moments to zoom down in and marvel at the wonder of dinosaurs now and then, I'd give careful consideration to endorsing this park.
Much like Stories: Path of Destinies before it, Omensight is a title worth admiring for its bold storytelling approach and unique take on the action RPG genre. Spearhead Games had a lot of ambition in bringing together a tale of mystery and suspense and combining it with investigation elements, though much like The Harbinger's time travel abilities, there might have been some aspects of the gameplay and structure in Omensight worth rewriting.
Thanks to its rich suite of characters, maps, modes, and more to enjoy alongside substantial improvements to the game's technical performance, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition earns its namesake as the best way to play one of the most unusual Zelda titles yet. While it may not stand up to the likes of last year's Breath of the Wild (or many other Zelda titles for that matter), Hyrule Warriors is still an enjoyable, fast-paced, and frenetic way to play this remixed take on one of Nintendo's oldest franchises, Musou-style.
I don't think it's overstating it that players should definitely go bananas over the Switch version of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
I enjoy catching hundreds of Pokémon and collecting gym badges as the next person, but I wouldn't mind more diversions from the main Pokémon series if they come packed with as much hilarity and oddball humor that Detective Pikachu provided me at my side.
As a game devoted to the art of storytelling itself, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine shines with its powerful writing, exceptional voice-acting, and its visual and aural elements that bring players back into the time of tall tales and endless stretches of road to explore. While its gameplay structure might be a bit loose for some players, the tales and characters that Where the Water Tastes Like Wine introduces make the journey to the promised land that much sweeter, even if there is no telling what is on the horizon.
Even though both games are coming well after players enjoyed them on several other platforms, the Bayonetta games remain near-perfect examples of pure, unfiltered action and spectacle. Both Bayonetta games seamlessly blend escalating action with imaginative design and a combat system that toes the line between accessibility and making you feel like a true badass, and rewarding players with careful timing and experimentation. Bayonetta‘s over-the-top action and style may not be for everyone, but for Switch owners looking for a bit of blood-pumping action to have on-the-go, it's easy to recommend having Bayonetta show you a good time.
Aside from having an incredibly solid fighting game structure at its core, Dragon Ball FighterZ is a title that Arc System Works clearly treated with respect and love for the franchise that it is inspired by, and it stands toe-to-toe with the iconic anime and manga because of it.
In the same way that Counter-Strike‘s early days led to it dominating the competitive scene and Minecraft‘s years of beta access led to it becoming a game that defined a generation, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds isn't necessarily the first “battle royale” game out there, but it is the one that's leading the charge on making players fight to survive, and it's thrilling in every way.