Alessio Palumbo's Reviews
Firaxis managed to improve upon the already great Enemy Unknown in almost every way, with the exception of multiplayer. Unfortunately, the shockingly bad performance prevents XCOM 2 from reaching the status of a true masterpiece.
It's fair to say that Far Cry New Dawn is 'more of the same', by and large. But when it's more of the same of the good kind, it's hard to find any serious complaint. The game is a ton of fun to play, looks great and runs even better than that. Just don't expect to find much of a post-apocalypse in this version of Hope County.
Control features Remedy's most original setting yet, the studio's most open-ended game environment yet and great action combat that makes you feel like a badass. The game also stands out on PC as one of the finest examples of real-time ray tracing to date. It shouldn't be passed upon by any action/adventure game fans, even if it's not quite a masterpiece.The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Wccftech.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a highly enjoyable action/adventure romp that never strays from the beaten path. You won't find any major experiments or innovations here, but you will experience a great adaptation of the beloved dysfunctional team of galactic superheroes. The story and characters are well written, the combat is fun (if perhaps a bit too easy), and the audio is excellent.
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.
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.
The Outer Worlds is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from Obsidian. The first-person action RPG features a great setting, fantastic writing and remarkable, complex characters to meet. The moment-to-moment gameplay isn't as exciting, though, failing to measure up with the best in the genre. Still, there's plenty to like here as long as you know what you're getting into, not to mention the potential to do much better in a sequel, particularly if the developers had a higher budget to work with.
State of Decay 2 is every bit as fun and rough as the first game was in 2013. It feels like a game that would have massively benefited from additional resources during development given its numerous technical shortcomings, but even so, its core (improved in this sequel) remains unique and fun to play, especially with friends. It's one of those titles that can be described as being more than the sum of its parts.
GreedFall is the best game made by Spiders yet and a worthy RPG in its own right. While definitely not without faults in some areas, it delivers great writing, arguably the most refreshing setting seen recently in a fantasy game, and solid combat.The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Wccftech.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Outriders is a fun looter-shooter game where both the action and RPG parts of the formula are exceedingly well done. It does falter at the endgame, though, and it comes with a myriad of technical issues, not to mention an antiquated world structure; bear all of that in mind if you're looking to purchase at full price.
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.
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.
Warhammer: End Times Vermintide is a new take on the Left 4 Dead formula. It brings enhanced combat (particularly melee) and some RPG elements, but it loses the PvP aspect and user generated content, both critical to longevity in this genre. Still, if you have a group of friends this game can definitely provide lots of fun.
The Technomancer is a well made action-RPG and the best title released by Spiders so far, thanks to the additional polish and increased size of the game's content. Just don't expect to be able to explore a massive world like those in Fallout 4 or The Witcher 3 or you may be disappointed.
Peril on Gorgon, the first DLC released for The Outer Worlds, maintains all of the pros and cons we've already seen in the base game. The plot is intriguing while the characters remain the true highlight, but combat is a bit lackluster and optimization underwhelming.
Murder on Eridanos provides an intriguing story to follow thanks to its murder investigation premise, even though the DLC otherwise maintains all of the pros and cons of The Outer Worlds and its previous DLC, Peril on Gorgon.
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.
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.
It is frustrating to rate Anthem. The game looks great, plays even better and has an intriguing setting to boot. However, the fragmented world design, overabundance of loading screens and severe lack of content considerably drag down the experience, at least for the time being. Still, this is a live service game after all and the folks at BioWare have the chance to right this ship by adding enough content in the upcoming months, though it won't be easy.
ELEX is pretty much the gaming incarnation of a mixed bag. While exploring the massive world of Magalan is an enjoyable experience and the lore easily pulls players in with lots of interesting quests, the mediocre combat, poor companions AI and severe balance issues prevent it from securing a spot in the ever more crowded RPG limelight.