Despite its brevity – the game should take no more than one to two hours to complete – s.p.l.i.t offers a tightly woven narrative that instills a strong sense of dread and inevitability. You enter a world where victory feels almost impossible from the outset. The only real downside is the desire for more content.
In the end, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 hits that rare nostalgic sweet spot. It doesn’t just repackage a classic in a way that feels cheap like other games – it refines it in ways that matter. The gameplay is tight, the visuals are slick and polished in the best way, the soundtrack is phenomenal, and the level design holds up impressively well. Sure, the omission of Pro Skater 4’s story elements is a head-scratcher, but it doesn’t take away from what’s here. This is a return to form that feels both like a love letter to the past and a reminder that the Tony Hawk series still has plenty of life left. It’s fun, it’s fast, and it proves that some legends never really fall out of style.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a game that knows exactly what it wants to be and it delivers that vision with confidence. Its story is heartfelt, its world is stunning, and its gameplay loop is more engaging and refined than ever. While it still may not appeal to everyone, those who connect with it will find an experience unlike anything else out there. This is current-gen gaming at its finest – cinematic, ambitious, and deeply human. Kojima has once again cemented his place among the giants of game development, and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach stands as a bold, emotional, and unforgettable addition to his legacy.
I find myself very conflicted with rating this game. On one hand, Siren’s Rest has built one of the most convincing terrifying underwater playgrounds I have seen in years. It is bleak and beautiful in the same breath and really does an amazing job at bringing you back to the events of the first game in the most depressing way possible. On the flip side, the gameplay is relatively tame. I don’t mind an “on the rails” narrative adventure, and they do a great job at that aspect of the DLC, but the gameplay and lack of many of the horror elements present in the base game are bound to make fans drawn to it’s Lovecraftian undertones a little disappointed.
Mindseye is a game that falters on nearly every level. It’s story is an interesting enough concept, but it seems to be in such a rush to get to the finish line that any semblance of character development or emotional attachment is completely brushed over without a thought. Pair the average story with the fact that the game runs awful on even the beefiest of rigs, has the most barebones gameplay loop in recent memory, and clocks in at a meager ten hours to complete and you have what amounts to a half-baked experience that should be avoided at all costs.
Overture somehow builds on the foundation of excellence the base game started. The story is emotional and connected in ways that make every decision have weight, the gameplay is as polished as ever and filled to the brim with tons of challenge and skill expression, and the world is one of the of the most depressingly beautiful setting I’ve experienced in a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the ruined streets of Krat and can’t wait to see what Neowiz comes up with next. Overture stands as one of the most fun, albeit short, DLC’s I have played since Phantom Liberty and I wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the main game, or Soulslike fans in general.
As we wrap this review up, I can honestly say I’m impressed. Fromsoft took a big gamble by pursuing a game of this caliber that is outside their usual palette and dare I say it is a great experience when it’s firing on all cylinders. Certain things such as a lack of in game chat, and weird balancing issues for anything other than the three person queue make it a little trivial, but the game plays flawlessly for the most part and retains much of what made the 2022 Elden Ring game so fun.
I think it’s no secret from my review that I enjoyed it. The graphical upgrade with the small addition of a ton of quality of life features really makes me feel a special type of nostalgia that I haven’t felt in gaming in years. The game might still have its jankiness in most aspects, but I do think that is what makes it unique. A lot of people said right off the rip that this was a remake, and I have to disagree. It is very much the oblivion of old with a very nice, be it a little stuttery sometimes, paint job that feels like something new while also keeping the same gameplay aspects and story that made it so good back in the day.