Jeff Grubb
Now we have this game that will produce an effectively limitless number of Super Mario stages. I'm not great at math, but I think if you multiply timeless gameplay by countless stages, you get something that is astronomically fun. But Nintendo didn't just do the bare minimum here. It didn't just scrap together a level editor and sharing system. It has put unparalleled craft and care into every element of this game because it loves Mario as much as we do. And that propels this game into a whole other realm of greatness.
Hitman is a world made up entirely of Chekhov’s guns, and it’s a blast finding out how to get Agent 47 into position to pull the trigger.
Rift Apart is a special game. And as long as Sony Interactive Entertainment has Insomniac releasing games like this for the PS5, I’m going keep showing up on day one with $70 in hand, ready for the next adventure.
And while I don’t know if I ever felt like a genius while playing Breath of the Wild, I did feel like I was 11 years old and unlocking the magical secrets of Zelda all over again.
I have found the narrative somewhat overwhelming at times — just in terms of the amount of information the game throws at you. But Arkane has accounted for that as well with one of the best mission- and info-tracking systems in a game ever. Even if you failed to pick up on a key piece of intel, the game will tell you what you need to do next as long as you found the key piece of evidence.
Its playability matched with MercurySteam doing right by Samus Aran has turned me into even more of a fan of Metroid. Even beyond the context of my own affinity toward the character and world, Metroid Dread is some of the most fun I’ve had with a game in 2021. It’s a contender for game of the year.
Consider me a Halo fan now. I was never really looking forward to Infinite. But now that it’s here, it’s so much more than what I was expecting. And I think that whatever 343 does next will be even better, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting it.
Go out and get it for your Switch, PC, or whatever, and just play it.
I love Super Mario 3D World. As a single-player experience, it's on the same level as either Galaxy game or the memories I have of playing Super Mario 64 for the first time. In many ways, it's a more refined game than any other 3D Mario.
Give me more. Let me undo what I have done. Telltale, I need to see what happens next, and I need to make sure that I can fix it.
When a game series is this good for this long, you can sometimes find yourself taking it for granted. Forza Horizon 4 once again refines its formula in a number of notable ways. But those improvements are getting diminishing returns. This is the best Forza Horizon game, and that makes it one of the best racing games ever. But that just doesn't wow me like it once did.
Firewatch is special and rare.
Titanfall 2 is a major surprise. I was expecting to love the multiplayer and to tolerate the campaign, but I love everything about it. Respawn isn’t just making Call of Duty with mechs. It has found its own way, and that has paid off with a special game.
Score: 95/100
So as long as the war between me and Noie can rage on, I'm going to keep loving Super Mario Maker 2.
When I go to give Link’s Awakening to someone else, would I recommend this version? Is this the game I want my kids to play? And yes. It is. Absolutely. Because the truth is that it does recapture its old magic. It’s just not the time machine that I thought it could be.
The best thing I can say about New Horizons is that I think it's going to win over some players who previously bounced off the franchise. And it will do so without losing any longtime fans in the process. Those players will find more to love than ever before.
I’m somewhere between neophyte and sim veteran, and Microsoft Flight Simulator has won me over. It happened when I picked a flight path from a small, grass airfield in Brazil to an airport in São Paulo. It feels so good to learn the characteristics of your plane while watching the sunset give away to a purple sheet of stars. And I’m confident that most people will end up feeling the same way if they’re willing to give the game a chance.
Telltale has put together an incredible Game of Thrones story. I've said all along in my previous reviews that I am happier with this than the television show proper, and I stand by that. I still can't wait for HBO's next season to debut, but I'm far more interested in seeing what happens with this story.
It's July, but I can't imagine that I'm going to play enough games to knock Rocket League off of my "game of the year" list. It is that much fun. It's a blast, and it's actually just as much fun to watch — which is evident by the number of popular livestreams you can watch of Rocket League on Twitch.