Joonatan Itkonen's Reviews
A superb addition to the franchise, Ragebound is both a fantastic throwback and a great entry point to the series for newcomers.
Players should really listen to Randy Pitchford on this one and leave Borderlands 4 alone for now. It's a fun game when it works, which isn't often, and it'll probably be better in a year when it's cheaper and hopefully fixed.
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It's the kind of title that I could hand over to anyone from the youngest to the oldest members of the family, and they could understand the mechanics. That kind of deeply mindful gameplay design is not easy, and it's what I love so dearly about Nintendo's titles. When they work, they work universally and without question.
This is a fun and entirely competent action game that will find both old and new fans thanks to its dedication to getting the basics right. It's a little unfocused, a little too in love with its own ideas, and many of its mechanics are so old they could have grandkids. But no other franchise out now delivers zombie thrills on this level, and certainly not with this kind of thought to making a fun experience with a lower barrier of entry.
Ghost of Yotei is a generational masterpiece, encapsulating everything great about the open world adventure genre. This is a beautifully written and directed saga that stands tall alongside its influences without ever sacrificing the joy of gameplay and discovery at the hands of spectacle. It is one of the best games on PlayStation.
Packed with smart quality of life updates and a refined script, Final Fantasy Tactics is a gorgeous revitalization of a classic that deserves celebration as art conservation done right.
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Hades II is a sequel to one of the best games ever made, and it just might be even better than its predecessor. This is a wild, imaginative, and thoroughly captivating ride that will mesmerize for years to come.
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Claws of Awaji doesn't introduce anything new to the already terrific Shadows, but it is more Assassin's Creed, and that's just enough to warrant a second look.
Passion and ambition don't always equal quality. Lost Soul Aside has plenty of ideas, but no vision to put them together. Instead, it settles for a muddled selection of borrowed mechanics, tied together by disastrously bad writing and acting.
Sword of the Sea is a gorgeous and hypnotic arthouse epic full of incredible set pieces and stunning visuals that sets another high bar for studio Giant Squid as the premiere destination for meditative gameplay.
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Expertly designed and highly addictive, Achilles: Survivor is a fantastic addition to the bullet heaven genre.
Mafia: The Old Country is an often chaotic mess of ideas and gameplay elements, each of which were dated well over a decade ago. Yet it's also a wonderfully directed and acted linear action game that, at just a little over ten hours, feels like a refreshing throwback in this era of bloat.
Patapon 1+2 Replay doesn't reinvent a thing, but it does remind us why this charming oddity became such a beloved cult classic in the first place. The whimsy is as timeless as ever, even if the rest isn't.
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Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is an ambitious and often pretty game that suffers from poorly balanced combat, terrible design choices, and some truly awful technical glitches. This one is for diehard fans of the genre, and even they should consider replaying something else first.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
With innovative gameplay and a spectacular world, Donkey Kong Bananza is a modern masterpiece and a true must-own title for the Switch 2.
It's fun, unexpected, and challenging. Everything you'd want from a title like this. Even if it doesn't look and feel exactly like we initially imagined.
Mario Kart World re-imagines the iconic franchise into something familiar and wildly new. The result is a definitive racer for the new generation, one that might be enough to sell the new system on its own.
Dune: Awakening is a story of eternal change. In a year, it won't be the same game it is today. At the present, it has plenty of untapped potential and great ideas, none of which work together. One day, that will change, but we can't review potential. In a way, such contradictions are only fitting for this franchise, even if it's a frustrating experience to actually play.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Death Stranding 2 is the encapsulation of Hideo Kojima's ambition to marry films and games into one seamless experience. For the first time, it's not him emulating the cinema he adores. Instead, it's Kojima directing a vast, emotionally charged epic that others will imitate in years to come. It is a masterpiece of storytelling and game design. A peerless exploration of grief, found family, and all that we leave behind.
If you like thrillers, platformers, horror, or a combination of all three, you owe it to yourself to play Out of Sight. It's one of the best games of the year so far.