Paul Tassi Avatar Image

Paul Tassi


Favorite Games:
  • Super Smash Bros.
  • Halo 3
  • Mass Effect 2

46 games reviewed
85.4 average score
90 median score
81.4% of games recommended

Paul Tassi's Reviews

I write about video games full-time for Forbes, and I couldn't ask for a better job. I wasn't allowed to own a console until I was a teenager, so I've now compensated by playing them for a living. I usually favor shooters and action games, though I try to play a bit of everything. I own every console plus a gaming PC, and rarely a day goes by where I haven't written a few thousand words about video games. I also write books in my spare time, and have just finished my first sci-fi series, The Earthborn Trilogy.
Oct 16, 2023

For fans of the first game, or Spider-Man, or action games in general, Spider-Man 2 is an easy recommendation. There are about five dozen teasers and easter eggs by the end so I’m sure we’re in for more, whether that’s another Miles-sized game or another sequel down the road. But for now, yes, this is all the Spider-action you need for a good long while.

Read full review

Sep 20, 2023

Phantom Liberty is a thoroughly excellent swan song for the tumultuous saga of Cyberpunk 2077. And after playing, you will be glad that CDPR has already greenlit a sequel, despite the fact that the initial release could have sunk the entire company. It’s a redemption story on the level of No Man’s Sky or Final Fantasy XIV, and deserves to be experienced for yourself, no matter what you may have thought of Cyberpunk three years back.

Read full review

9.5 / 10.0 - Starfield
Aug 31, 2023

I really do love this game. Yes, Bethesda doesn’t match some of its peers in many places, but in part that’s because it’s trying to do everything, all at once. But if you wanted a giant Bethesda RPG set in space with better combat and a whole lot of time to level and build things and explore and find secrets, yeah, this is it. They did it. Enjoy.

Read full review

9 / 10.0 - Diablo IV
May 30, 2023

Though in theory, an “endgame” playthrough of Diablo 4 is probably 100-200 hours across a larger span of classes, I feel like I can judge what I’ve seen. My impressions are overwhelmingly positive based on what I’ve experienced so far, from the map to the gameplay to the new systems to even the story, which I was not expecting. Blizzard really seems like they’ve nailed this, and I’m going to say the only way this will be poorly received at launch is if technical issues kill people’s ability to play. But once it gets rolling? Yes, I think you’re going to like Diablo 4.

Read full review

9.5 / 10.0 - Hi-Fi Rush
Jan 28, 2023

I would recommend Hi-Fi Rush to anyone, even many non-gamers. It’s joyful, addicting and something I may play twice just for the hell of it. An absolute win.

Read full review

Nov 3, 2022

God of War Ragnarok is a beautiful, moving game, no longer purely centered on a father getting to know his son, but also about vengeance, forgiveness and attempting to change both prophecy, and the people we used to be, both of which prove to be equally difficult.

Read full review

10 / 10.0 - Elden Ring
May 12, 2022

Elden Ring is a gaming achievement the likes of which we rarely seen, and you will be remiss to not pick it up and see what the hype is about for yourself.

Read full review

Mar 23, 2022

Given that all my progress from the review build is about to be wiped, I’m not sure I’ll go through it all again to start re-grinding the endgame, but perhaps on a new class. Melee this time? That fact is what I really want to see is some substantial leaps forward for this series, as it’s starting to feel pretty dated in a lot of ways, but I also have to understand what Wonderlands is, a game Gearbox made from home during the pandemic that’s meant to be a stopgap before Borderlands 4. And I do think it succeeds at that job well enough to please most fans.

Read full review

Feb 23, 2022

I cannot call this a “return to form” for Bungie because Destiny has already been so good lately. But if you’ve been missing Halo-style campaigns with variable difficulty, gorgeous level design and impressive fights, Witch Queen checks every box. This is the best thing Destiny has produced in seven years.

Read full review

Unscored - Lost Ark
Feb 8, 2022

I am incredibly impressed with the size and scope of Lost Ark. Even some of the later storylines started to resonate with me a bit, albeit there’s a ton of throwaway sidequest content that exists just to fill space. I am less impressed with the game’s loot system so far, but I know I have not fully mastered all its finer details at this point. But in a game like this I wanted to get excited about new drops, but other than things looking cool, that never really happened in the first 40 hours here. Another complaint is that because this is such a well established game that already got a number of updates over the years, dumping everything here all at once can feel overwhelming. It’s just a whole lot of stuff and systems and things to sort through, and it’s easy to feel lost.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0 - Halo Infinite
Dec 6, 2021

Halo Infinite might be the best campaign 343 has done, but considering I didn’t love the last two, I’m not sure how much weight that carries. Halo Reach remains the gold standard for me in that department, and while I had a lot of fun here zipping around the open world, and I can see the potential of the concept, something about Infinite feels small and unfinished to me compared to both other Halo campaigns, and other open world titles. I don’t need (or want) a sprawling Assassin’s Creed map that takes 200 hours to clear, but I think I need more diversity than what’s here, and a better story with better characters told within it.

Read full review

Oct 25, 2021

I suppose we can now venture into the old “is Guardians worth $60?” debate. If you miss hyper linear story games with no live service BS, and are a big Marvel fan, then this might be the game for you. If you are hoping for Devil May Cry level combat and God of War type puzzles and exploration within a linear story, you will be disappointed. But I can safely say this is probably a better end product than most people were expecting, and that alone is a pretty big win for a game that felt like a bit of a risk and like it’s been lacking in buzz leading up to launch here. It has issues, but it gets a lot right, and pushes storytelling in ways I haven’t seen in this genre before.

Read full review

9 / 10.0 - Outriders
Apr 7, 2021

Outriders has surpassed my expectations in almost every way. Months ago, I figured this would be another looter flop, but now, it’s one of the best current entries in the genre, and even with no “live service roadmap” at hand, it’s clear you could potentially extract hundreds of hours from it regardless. I plan to do just that.

Read full review

5 / 10.0 - Godfall
Nov 18, 2020

I cannot recommend this game at full price. Again, as part of a free subscription it might be worth checking out and getting a few hours of slashy combat in. But I wouldn’t touch it unless the $70 asking price comes down by at least half, and even then, there are a half dozen other better games out this fall alone. I wanted to like Godfall. I never want to see games in this genre fail. But fail it does, and in a worse way than anything I have seen in a long while.

Read full review

9.5 / 10.0 - Ghost of Tsushima
Jul 27, 2020

It is easily one of the best games of the entire PS4 generation, and given its competition, that’s saying something.

Read full review

Jun 22, 2020

It’s remarkable, and it will stay with me a long while, just like the first.

Read full review

9 / 10.0 - Borderlands 3
Sep 9, 2019

Borderlands 3 was worth the wait and will be a fixture in this genre for years to come. And I think few fans of the last two will be disappointed when they get their hands on it at last.

Read full review

Mar 21, 2019

This is a big win for Massive, Ubisoft and players themselves.

Read full review

7.3 / 10.0 - Anthem
Mar 4, 2019

Anthem may thrive. Anthem may fail. It has the bones to be something great but I am tired of saying that about so many games in this genre and five years after Destiny 1, I can’t believe we’re here yet again. Get it right the first time, because everyone is losing patience.

Read full review

5 / 10.0 - Fallout 76
Nov 20, 2018

This is a huge, rare, total miss by Bethesda, and even if it’s improved in time, I can only judge it by the hours I’ve lost to it so far.

Read full review