Alessio Palumbo's Reviews
This is a game that knows precisely what it wants to be, although that doesn't mean it is balanced enough to be fun all the time. The feeling of playing a stalker thrust into this inhospitable world against seemingly impossible odds is always present, for better or worse. However, unless you're really dying to enter the Zone right away, I would recommend waiting a little longer while the developers (and possibly modders) fix and improve the game further.
From a visual standpoint, the game succeeds in providing many different biomes to explore as the party treks across Northern Thedas, fulfilling BioWare's promise to bring players to more locations than ever before. The environments generally look great, while the characters are a bit more of a hit-and-miss in that some are almost photorealistic and others look more stylized. In that regard, more uniformity would have been ideal.
Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred is a solid expansion that is perhaps not heavy on content but more than makes up for it with many systemic changes that will elevate the whole game for years to come.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an enjoyable and highly accessible Soulslite. A44 created a great entry point for the genre, not to mention an exciting fantasy setting that mixes black powder, magic, and influences that go beyond the usual European medieval style. The combat is fun and won't cause you to break any controllers. The story is also worth following, although the game perhaps end up too soon, leaving narrative and gameplay possibilities to be explored by a sequel.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II keeps virtually the same scope and structure of the independent triple-A game made in 2017 by Ninja Theory. The story is just as poignant, the visuals are stunning, and the experience is one that every Game Pass user should check out for themselves. However, those hoping for a more traditional game in the vein of the God of War reboot will inevitably be disappointed, and this is unlikely to have nearly that level of success, which is what Microsoft still desperately needs.
So far, I'm having a lot of fun with Top Spin 2K25, though there are some obvious shortcomings, like the lack of online doubles and custom matches, the very limited roster of pro players, and the too-long rallies. I'll reserve final judgment after proper testing of the 2K and World Tour modes when they go live.
There's little doubt Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is Don't Nod's finest action game yet. I would also venture to say it's one of their best games, period, and it's also a great action RPG in its own right thanks to enjoyable combat, a big world with lots of content to explore and interesting stories to experience, and particularly for the amazing couple of lover protagonists.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 feels like the perfect, albeit safe, evolution of the formula first introduced with the 2018 game. With a highly emotional story, much-improved traversal, great visuals and performance, and industry-leading accessibility, this sequel is very likely to win over most fans of the original. However, a bigger shake-up may be needed for the inevitable Spider-Man 3.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty builds upon what was an already great game to deliver more fantastic storytelling (with a spy thriller theme, this time around), exciting combat, and very high-quality side content. The perk tree overhaul is a major improvement to progression, and additions like vehicle combat and the overhauled police system are very welcome, albeit not game-changing. If you've been holding out on Cyberpunk 2077 until now, you'll find a huge game with over 120 hours of quality content and an incredibly immersive game world to literally lose yourself in.
Diablo IV is a return to form at a much needed time for Blizzard. It delivers incredibly fun hack and slash action combat, a greatly improved skill system, and a ton of things to do, not to mention the best story told in the franchise yet. It also looks awesome, sounds great, and runs well (except for rare instances of traversal stuttering).
With Redfall, Arkane strayed a bit too far from its roots and couldn't nail the landing. While the core gameplay is fun, and there are moments of brilliance that harken back to Arkane's glorious portfolio, most of the studio's strengths clearly do not mesh well with the open world genre, as exemplified by the disappointing safe house missions. Additionally, the writing is very uneven, never succeeding in making the player care about any of the characters, and the co-op mode adds little substance.
I'm not quite ready to rate Atomic Heart, having only had access to it for a handful of days, but what I've played so far points to a very well-made game that falls just one or two notches short of true greatness. Still, it's a must for any shooter fan, and it's one of the most optimized games I've seen in a long time, a breath of fresh air given certain disasters released in the past few months.
Forspoken is a fun action game that shines best when you're taking advantage of the great magic parkour to soar through the fantasy world of Athia and blast enemies with overwhelmingly cool spells. However, its content is underwhelming, its RPG systems are weak, and its visuals are less advanced than advertised. As such, Forspoken's potential is largely unrealized in its current state. It's still a decent romp for genre fans to go through, though waiting until it gets a discount or is added to one of the many subscription services is recommended.
Gotham Knights is an enjoyable action RPG that follows in the footsteps of the Batman: Arkham legacy while striking out on its own in a slightly different direction. It's the most realistic Gotham City we've seen yet, even though the story is only serviceable and the performance is disappointing. Still, fans of the genre and the characters should have fun with the game.
Outriders: Worldslayer provides an exceedingly brief albeit intense story campaign, though its meat is clearly in the vastly improved endgame experience. The Trial of Tarya Gratar, the Apocalypse gear, and Ascension and PAX systems all contribute to a better, deeper endgame. Ultimately, though, the game plays exactly the same as the original Outriders and is unlikely to win over any new fans.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands offers some new aspects of the series, with more of the classic, almost unbeatable gunplay and wild combat encounters. It is a vibrant, slightly disjointed world ripe for exploration and trouble. Although it misses a few marks, it's a spinoff series fans will enjoy and high fantasy fans will inevitably laugh or roll their eyes at.
Ghostwire: Tokyo may be the best game yet from developer Tango Gameworks. It's a great and meaty action/adventure game featuring an enticing universe, solid combat, and excellent exploration of the wonderfully designed Tokyo.
Horizon Forbidden West is a worthy sequel to Zero Dawn in every way, proving that Guerrilla is no one-hit wonder when it comes to the action RPG genre.
Dying Light 2 Stay Human is another exhilarating parkour and zombie-pummeling playground from Techland, although at times, the seams holding it all together are a bit obvious. Given the game's glitches, minor gameplay annoyances, and crudely bisected story and world, reports of behind-the-scenes issues feel all-too-plausible. That said, the foundation here is rock solid, and Techland has proven they're capable long-term builders, so I'm confident Dying Light 2's embers can be stoked to a full flame in time.
Battlefield 2042 feels like the most complete Battlefield game yet, mainly thanks to the incredible depth provided by Battlefield Portal and the brand new Hazard Mode, even though it is unclear whether it'll be enough to draw flocks of new players to the franchise.