Matt Paprocki's Reviews
Bothersome microtransactions aside, NBA 2K23 delivers a nearly flawless sports sim.
Axiom Verge is familiar, homely, and far too simple, but those turn out to be its greatest qualities. This homage to 2D adventures is smartly and carefully done.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is not only essential, it's poised to be endearing snapshot of America's battle over religious freedoms.
Brisk and almost effortlessly pleasing, WayForward's Shantae returns in her richest adventure to date, with all of the personality intact.
A long-overdue audio-visual upgrade finally lets NHL 23 take full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X so that the revamped franchise mode can look as good as it plays.
A solid home-run hitter, but not the baseball revolution we were hoping for on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Still surprisingly swing-and-miss online, but for long-lasting and moreish solo play, NBA 2K22 is its only competitor in a two-horse championship duel.
NBA 2K17 is a worthy if subtle upgrade
The sky hates you. Plants hate you. Saws hate you. And evolution? It's trying to eliminate your fluffy, winged existence as a species, and yet, it's quite enjoyable.
MLB 15: The Show's level of perfectionism is obsessive, making it a necessary pairing for baseball traditionalists.
Sony's creativity suite returns, bursting with color, smiles, and cleaner platforming overall.
A journey of purpose and consequence is sidelined by glitches, but is ultimately too powerful to ignore.
Play golf on thousands of created courses, enter tournaments, and better yourself through practice. It's golf. Just. Golf.
Splatoon offers little, and yet the melding of color, punk rock, and nostalgia create a winner.
Uncharted's flubs are many, but the series is keen on narrative and character - enough to see it through three games.
Rare Replay is a compilation with selective eye sight, but portrays the studio for what they did best: Character.
Of course, it's no surprise that NBA 2K18 looks good; the series has looked the part since its advent on the Dreamcast, staying relevant visually and staking out its own part of basketball culture. NBA 2K18 continues the trend, capturing the feel of basketball's urban centers in The Neighborhood.
In the end, Yonder isn't inventive, exactly, as the multitude of ideas and cross-media inspirations converge somehow into something infinitely familiar. Missions are cut down to absolute basics to fulfill an open world quota, but it's possible to forgive this when traipsing through this aesthetically pleasing land and helping these delighted folk. And as importantly, there's bravery in eliminating things like combat and leveling, allowing Yonder a rare, distinctive brevity.
Geometry Wars returns, but without the original developer and plenty of changes which alter the basic formula, rendering this sequel almost unidentifiable.
Forza continues to be part of Microsoft's dwindling core of exclusives and while fun, it's beginning to lose its grip as sequels blend together.