Dying Light: The Beast isn't a revolution for the franchise at all, but it doesn't need to be, either. This is simply Techland recognizing what fans loved most about the first game and leaning into it with the utmost confidence. We get Kyle Crane back, we get visceral combat, and pulse-pounding nights, all of which feel like a love letter to longtime players who've been asking for exactly this — more Dying Light.
For a first outing with an original new IP, Cronos: The New Dawn is genuinely a great game, even if it falls just a tiny bit short of going head-to-head with the likes of a full-blown Dead Space or Resident Evil game. Still, I have no doubt that this is a game that has come the closest to being a new-age Dead Space, and for that, Bloober Team deserves flowers.
Hell is Us is the kind of game I didn't know I'd been waiting for, and I'm glad it exists. It's raw, ambitious, and it's frustrating at times, but that's exactly what makes it that much more rewarding. The best games aren't the ones that guide you gently to the credits, and I'm certain that I'm going to be talking about this game for years to come, simply because of its powerful themes and unique approach to both its gameplay and storytelling.
Beauty alone can't carry a game, and here, it's doing the heaviest lifting. At this time, you could very well just watch a no-commentary playthrough over the weekend, saving yourself fifty bucks in the process. Like a perfect glass of wine served with stale bread, Mafia: The Old Country leaves you wondering how something so lovely can taste so forgettable.
Doom: The Dark Ages is not Eternal 2. It’s something braver — a reimagining that honors its roots while forging a new path. It’s bloodier, slower, moodier — and undeniably Doom.
Few works of art have left a mark on me quite like The Last of Us franchise. It's more than just a game — it’s a part of my emotional vocabulary, a story that has stayed with me through the years, reshaping how I view storytelling in gaming.
Ultimately, though, Shadows shows immense promise for the future of this franchise, but it also exposes the areas where it still needs to work hard to improve. While it’s an enjoyable experience, it’s far from perfect. Regardless, playing Shadows has renewed my hope and investment in the franchise, which I am now almost certain will be just as refined and enjoyable going forward, if not more.
This is a world where you walk across impossible landscapes in one of the most beautiful open worlds ever, navigate tough obstacles with certain death at every turn, help strangers you'll never meet and bask in the warmth of their kindness, run into real-world celebrities when you least expect, discover and listen to new music artists from across the world, fight towering mechs made of tar, and fly over black oceans in a ship, all while having a talking doll strapped to your hip. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a game I won't stop playing for a long time, and my second save is already underway.