The Last of Us Part II has always been a polarizing game. I was part of the public that let my curiosity get the better of me and saw the disparaging leaks before the game released. Despite this, I soldiered on and enjoyed the game’s attention-to-detail, combat, and atmosphere in spite of its shortcomings elsewhere. I also subscribe to the fact that this series having more remasters than original entries is ludicrous – but I’m complacent in the fact that the addition of No Return makes this particular remaster so worth it.
I’ve been a colossal Spider-Man fan for 20+ years now, and I can confidently say that from all of the games I’ve played, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 evoked all of the warm, fuzzy feelings that Spider Man 2 gave me almost 2 decades ago. The web-swinging is supreme, the fights are an absolute joy, the presentation is superb, and it all culminates in a video game that I sunk an entire three days into and never wanted to take a break from.
It is far from a seamless transition from any other previous Bethesda game into Starfield, and that’s perfectly fine, because with all that Starfield has to offer, it’s worth it to learn how the game works; I was scared this game wouldn’t click for me, but four hours in and I was hooked like nothing else I’ve played to this point this year.
When you reach the checkout screen for a game like Atlas Fallen, you know exactly what you’re signing up for. You know that this isn’t the hyper-polished, AAA experience, but instead, a game you can sink a ton of time into and flex your gaming skills with. To answer the question I posed in the introduction, Atlas Fallen may not be a $50 game, but it’s one that’s going to be worth your purchase when it inevitably, swiftly hits a sale soon. You’ll not regret your time exploring, delving, and completing everything you want to in this great action RPG.
Dave the Diver is an easy first-ballot game-of-the-year contender for 2023. It’s that rare game that checks every box, does something fresh, and is a shoe-in to recommend to just about anyone. There’s no pain points, nothing that sticks out like a sore thumb; on the contrary, it’s hard to say what Dave the Diver does best because it does everything so well. I will be delving the depths of Dave the Diver for dozens of hours to come.
If you’re looking to get the same experience you got playing Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life 19 years ago, you’re going to mostly get that in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. Plenty has been touched up and improved, but there are also some jarringly-different character models – so much so to the point that my partner didn’t recognize some characters. Newcomers like myself who’ve dipped their feet into this type of game should still have a good time, as there’s no shortage of content and there’s a lot of satisfaction to be had in making your farm as strong as it can be.
As a lifelong Star Wars fan and one that’s partaken in dozens of the video game iterations over almost three decades, I can safely say that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sits at a close number two in the best of the best, number one going to 2005’s Star Wars Battlefront II. This is a Star Wars game that not only honors and expands its canon, but delivers a rewarding combat experience that will make fans of the source materials’ imaginations go wild.
I dove with both feet into the turn-based strategy genre with Showgunners and came out pleasantly surprised. This is a mechanically-sound, polished experience with a strong blend of challenge and gratification. It also never managed to be stale, as it introduced new enemies and upgrades at a steady rate.
If you’re wanting to stay up-to-date with your WWE video gaming roster, are looking to delve into the two-decade career of John Cena with an autobiography flair, or just want to experience WWE on your own terms with no questions asked, WWE 2K23 can do all that and more.
Crossovers can be hit-or-miss, but this one makes more sense than the majority of them – the difficulty, tone, and slow approach to fighting is positively seamless and ensures this game will not only appeal to fans of each/both franchises, but will serve as a nice entry point to those even slightly interested.
Deciding if purchasing the Remake is worth it is a point of contention that players familiar with the original Dead Space franchise will have. The case that the 2008 game still plays fantastically today is undeniable – I had a rollicking good time getting frightened by it just last year. Luckily, Dead Space Remake does just enough to be a cruise down memory lane, whilst perfecting the formula and expanding the universe where it has room to be expanded.
GRIS is a moving, excellent trek through processing grief and battling inner demons. It’s presented in such pristine fashion and is as worth it to pick up for those who played in 2019 as it is for newcomers. It’s marketed as “free of danger, frustration, or death”, so don’t expect a massive challenge aside from nabbing every collectible, but expect to feel some strain when the plot comes together as it concludes. GRIS is an easy recommendation for anyone in the market for a touching experience to sink your teeth into.
Evil West isn’t going to be for every gamer, as it caters to the hyper-action-savvy players that want everything turned up to 11, and not for those who want to sail through and experience just the story. While it isn’t impossible, it’s a worthy challenge to play through Evil West on Normal or higher, as you can be taken out in a few hits, but the game warrants high-risk-high-reward players with wiping the floor with these enemies once they get a handle on how the game plays.
I knew I’d be a bit biased going into Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PC – not only because I’m a fanatic of the web-slinger, but because I already experienced it in full last winter on my PS5. That being said, there’s never a bad time to revisit a game that you love, and doing so on a beefy PC made for an amazing time during my PC playthrough. Spider-Man: Miles Morales PC runs like a dream, is full of gusto, and is just a joy from start to finish. While some may decry it for being shorter than Marvel’s Spider-Man, it’s more of a case of never overstaying its welcome.
Temtem is a perfectly-playable game; there’s no pesky bugs or glitches, or anything glaring that the QA team didn’t catch before the game saw its 1.0 release in September. But when it comes to the fun factor, it’s evident what went wrong for me to not get the same enjoyment that I would out of a Pokémon title. While Temtem executes all of its systems to the T to entice fans of Pokémon, it needs to do more than that to make it stand out and reach the immensely-high bar that Pokémon has set.
Not everyone is going to love Gotham Knights – it caters to an audience, but is so tailor-made for those individuals that it’s a worthwhile game. For those that love DC, powering through open-worlds, and have fond memories of the Arkham series, Gotham Knights is going to be a blast. I was glued to my screen just about the whole time, and can’t imagine how much more fun this would be if I had someone to blaze through the entire campaign with.
Session: Skate Sim is the Dark So- I’m not going to use that analogy, but I will say it is a game where you will fall tons of times before you nail the landing. Hell – I was legitimately holding my controller sideways half the time to best pedal and steer. But, like most difficult games, when you finally get the hang of it, it’s a rewarding experience like no other in its genre. Skate fans have been foaming at the teeth for more content, and this is exactly what they’re looking for.
It’s impossible to recommend Lost Epic to everyone, but it certainly has an audience that will enjoy it. I certainly would have warmed up to the title more if I weren’t stuck for a half hour, but that may not happen to everyone that plays (even if there were multiple forum posts about it). If a difficult combat challenge, a vivid art style, and a sense of progression is what you seek, Lost Epic should be up your alley.
There’s quite a difference between loading up a friendly 50cc Mario Kart 8 race and zooming into a RedOut II 2000kmph free-for-all with no room for error. Whether you’re good at it or not, RedOut II can get your blood pumping and serves to immerse you well. If you don’t mind struggling, losing, and not feeling yourself improve at the game, RedOut II is definitely not for you.
If you’re as rabid for roguelikes as I am, you’ll surely enjoy TOKOYO. Sitting at a nice $12 price tag before sales, its replayability is well worth the entry fee. If the aspect of only attacking in short bursts sounds intimidating, I can assure you it’s a novel concept that adds a layer of suspense to your runs as opposed to impeding your survivability. It’s definitely worth trying out each character to find your favorite, too.