Sword and Shield do a great job of introducing the world of Pokémon to people while pairing it with everything that makes the series comfortable and warm to most of its longtime fans. Even if it’s not a spicy, innovative curry.
The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep delivers on the faith its Kickstarter backers put into the project. It weaves combat, exploration, music, and puzzles into a game that stands out in a crowded market. It's unlike any other RPG, and with other old-school RPGs finding success these days — Pillars of Eternity, Octopath Traveler, and Dragon Quest XI — I hope InXile is able to come back to this fantastical world, just like it's doing with Wasteland.
Starlink's fighters are fun, whether you're playing with them in game mode or just racing around the living room and dogfighting with your kids or friends.
Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu is another good example of Nintendo doing what it both excels and fails at: pairing fun gameplay while introducing a new mechanic.
Above: The Sword Coast Legends team really likes oozes. One early dungeon has three different types.Image Credit: Jason Wilson/GamesBeat
For now, Dark Alliance feels like many D&D adventures: Sometimes, you gotta slog through some combat in order to learn more about the world and enjoy a good story.
When I think of games from Spiders, Cyanide, Piranha Bytes, or Reality Pump, I appreciate how often ambition overcomes limited resources. Their games (such as Gothic, Two Worlds, Greedfall, Of Orcs & Men) may have glitches and fall short of triple-A standards, but they tend to be fun, have good stories, and mechanics and systems that I enjoy interacting with. Werewolf: The Apocalypse has most of these. I enjoyed taking on an evil corporation, learning more about how the Garou fit into The World of Darkness, and tearing my foes about. I won’t hide from that.
Final Fantasy Explorers is a kinder, gentler take on Monster Hunter, and it's going to appeal to those who want to like that series — but don't care for its opaqueness or its hardcore gamer leanings. Final Fantasy fans are going to love the fan service, too.
If you enjoy lootin’-and-shootin’, check out Borderlands 3. But go in knowing that you’re going to cringe at some of the jokes and feel fatigue every now and then
I’m excited to see how Wrath of the Righteous ends, especially if that poor dwarf finds redemption or falls deeper into the clutches of evil.
One of the most encouraging aspects of Humankind is its studio. Amplitude lovingly ushers its games from launch to DLC and expansions. It fixes issues, and it provides new content. I’m excited to see what this means for the future of Humankind, and I suspect I’ll be playing this more than Civilization and its ilk for some time.
I’m impressed with Dreams Uncorporated and Syck’s maiden effort. Cris Tales charming RPG, full of color, interesting colors, and life, and I’ve enjoyed my time with it so far. Some of the monster designs are A+ as well, such as the Slimes. They are transparent, with little sea scenes inside them, and they were Donald Duck-like sailor outfits. Their bow ties also look like little mustaches. They’re cute as heck, a great example of the game’s art design.
My gripe here is I wish Tactical Adventures had thought twice about its setting and had done as much to turn the “ruined ancient empire” trope on its head as it did with Solasta’s tactical combat. Once it gets better at this, Tactical Adventures has the potential to join the ranks of Obsidian, InXile, or Larian as a top-tier RPG dev house.
I would've liked a bit more clarity on the storyline quests, and it would've been nice if Maneater would say a bit more about the imperiled state of sharks in our world. And if you don't get the joke, you're not going to get this game.
Super Mario Party's new modes offer a welcome break from what some might consider the main attraction: the board game. They're faster, and they focus on two of the Nintendo Switch's strengths that make it such a special console in the first place — good Joy-Con motion controls and fun co-op play. For me, it makes this Super Mario Party the best in franchise history, even if I don't care for the staid board game.
Civilization is at its best when it enables you to tell your own stories. But at release, Civ VI didn't do such a good job at that. Rise and Fall fixes this in many ways, giving your better ways to expand your civilization without resorting to combat. It adds a quest-like element with a significant penalty or reward, and most of its news leaders add variety to the game.
Island-hopping in a fantasy world felt new to me, and this builds upon the already engaging strategy that exits in Warlock. The Exiled gives the series something akin to a true campaign mode, and I'm eager to give it a try with different Great Mages, different leader perks, and different factions. I do hope that in further updates — the original Warlock received a number of expansions — Ino-Co crafts some truly interesting factions. But even if the developer doesn't, I trust the mod community to come up with some spectacular homebrewed content. Even giant turtle killers. Score: 82/100 Warlock 2: The Exiled is out now for PC. The publisher provided GamesBeat with a Steam Early Access code for the purposes of this review.
World of Final Fantasy will please fans of one of gaming’s longest-running series. But I think it’ll also help find new players, who’ll get a taste of what we old fogeys have loved about Square Enix’s flagship for decades. With combat that’s simple but has some depth and a story that fits in the franchise’s lineage, this ramp up to next month’s Final Fantasy XV is a great way to enjoy a story you love while also sharing it with others who are experiencing it for the first time.
Etrian Odyssey Nexus feels like the finale for the series. And it certainly is on the 3DS. I bet it’s the final game I play on that old Nintendo handheld. And for this dungeon-crawler’s swan-song, it’s a pretty good way to go out.
Almost all of my time with Dragon Quest Builders 2 has been pleasant, and I look forward to building more, either with my kids playing along or by myself, sipping a beer and relaxing after a long day.