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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.
The threadbare narrative is punctuated by a disconnected mission structure that stalls for time. Full-frontal combat is realistically clunky to inspire sneaky tactics, though it might not impress fans of the RPG-style, combat driven AC titles. This back-to-basics approach truly captures the soul of an Assassin's Creed game and I really hope Ubisoft doesn't give up on this route. Despite its flaws, running around the rooftops in Mirage with my hidden blade out for blood remains just as fun as it was before, proving that the original AC formula works. Ubisoft need only breathe new life into it.
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.
Ushering a new era in the bone-krunching franchise, Mortal Kombat 1 is a worthy competitor in the teeming fighting game space and serves as a gleefully violent entry point for newcomers to the genre. The reboot doesn't reinvent its blood-lusting roots in any form but drastically evolves over its predecessors from a visual perspective, delivering excellent particle effects and more gore via shocking Fatalities that look hyper-realistic. There are some noticeable attempts at shaking things up, with the new Kameo system opening room for diverse team-up combos. And while the Invasions mode goes beyond the campaign to offer something new, it soon devolves into a boring grind fest. For a while, it seemed like NetherRealm had once again nailed its story mode, but it drops in quality in the second half when dealing with multiversal mumbo jumbo on a grand scale. Overall, though, it's a fun entry that's here to dominate the FGC scene for a good while.
Starfield is an imperfect but grandly immersive voyage into the vastness of the galaxy, rife with immaculate world-building that absorbs you in time. It's a Bethesda game through and through, featuring an immense array of side quests and a quality role-playing system that favours player agency above all else. In the few moments that it tries breaking the mould, it under-delivers through its disjointed space exploration, poor navigation, and the banality of its main campaign. By dialling up the scale, I can't help but feel like Bethesda Game Studios perhaps bit off more than it could chew here, resulting in an experience that at times gets swallowed in the cold, blackness of space. It's an enjoyable ride nonetheless and a seismic achievement that Todd Howard and team can be proud of.
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.
Baldur's Gate 3 is a masterclass in table-top-inspired CRPGs, rewarding imagination above all in a gorgeous presentation that brings the Forgotten Realms to life. Larian Studios' ambitious scope has birthed one of the most reactive worlds in all of gaming, where player choices govern both landmark events and smaller romantic flings with its delectable cast of companions. Through a nicely woven story that best represents its characters' misery and a combat style benefitted by unorthodox tactics, it has rightfully alarmed the larger AAA games industry to do better. Sure, there are some technical shortcomings in the final act, but that doesn't diminish its status as my Game of the Year so far. Baldur's Gate 3 is a certified must-play title and I can't wait to start my second playthrough — preferably as a monk Dark Urge, given how untimely and goofy his quotes are.
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.
In a faithful leap forward that's meant to kickstart a fresh wrestling game franchise, AEW: Fight Forever stumbles quite a bit. This is true for its real-life counterpart as well - a relative newcomer to the scene which will take a while before standing toe-to-toe with WWE's decades-long legacy. Much of the gameplay feels like a good start though, thanks to a fast-paced experience that isn't harsh on novices, mixed with an absurd amount of brutality and gore. Unfortunately, the game is tarnished by clunky mechanics, dimwit AI, lack of commentary, shortened entrances, and a poorly-written story mode that does not justify its high price tag. I'll admit there's a foundation for a better sequel, but for now, I find it hard to recommend this to wrestling fans.
If you're in the mood to slay blood-lusting demons with an unhealthy dose of loot-clicking, Diablo IV is perfect for you. The sequel doesn't reinvent the dungeon-crawling space in any way, but borrows ideas to offer intensely frenetic combat, robust progression, and totally knocks it out of the park with its dark, sacrilegious themes that turn its sprawling open world into literal hell. The tight enemy scaling is certainly a downside, but Blizzard evens it out with diverse classes that synergise uniquely with abilities, making encounters increasingly thrilling. The presence of microtransactions — albeit cosmetic-only — is a sour sight and the narrative would've surely improved with better pacing. Overall though, it's devilishly addictive!
Through intricate world-building and a layered combat system, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor proves to be a worthy successor to Respawn's growing tale from the galaxy far, far away. While the core narrative is fairly decent, the sequel really shines when forming memorable moments with its characters and its locales that can be used as a creative playing field. The expanded world is certainly fun to explore, albeit collectible hunters might eventually face burnout with how cluttered the items are. Unfortunately, its positives are hampered by terrible performance — even with post-launch patches — making it hard for me to recommend until a few more patches roll through. Get it on sale if you're very keen, but otherwise you might want to wait a bit.
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.
It's downright baffling how Naughty Dog went with the 'release first, fix later' mentality for its most important PC release. Even with the 14GB patch, The Last of Us Part I suffers from poor memory management, leading to a highly compromised experience fueled by stutters, sound issues, unusually long loading times, and more. Sure, underneath those problems, you've got one of the greatest post-apocalyptic survival stories ever told in gaming history, but the hurdles to get there aren't worth it. At Rs. 3,999/ $59.99, you're getting what is arguably PlayStation's first early-access PC port — a tight slap to those who avoided spoilers for nearly a decade. Unless you've got a bleeding-edge PC, don't buy this game in its current state, and pray for the issues to get resolved in time. I mean, if games like Batman: Arkham Knight and Cyberpunk: 2077 run fine and dandy now, I've got faith that The Last of Us Part I will get there eventually.
While the visual upgrade alone is a good enough draw to relive one of Capcom's all-time elites, Resident Evil 4 remake brings a wealth of new tweaks that contribute to a perfect reimagination. Even with deeper character development and extended gameplay, it still retains the original's charm through intense scares and goofy B-movie-like scenarios that never feel too old. The new knife mechanics tighten the core gameplay by adding an element of resourceful survival horror to an otherwise frenzied action-heavy affair. With the free, wave-style Mercenaries mode dropping next week, there's no better time for long-time fans or newcomers to jump in and experience the horrors awaiting in the iconic claustrophobic European village setting of Resident Evil 4.
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.