The Starfield Shattered Space expansion leaves a lot to be desired. While it introduces a more focused and engaging story compared to the base game, the average map and quest design, along with the lack of new features, turn the adventure in Va'Ruun'kai into a bit of a slog rather quickly. Although the tighter focus is welcome, the Starfield experience as a whole needs something more substantial to reach its full potential.
Disney's Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is a solid remaster that enhances the original experience with some nice improvements. Unfortunately, the experience is still carried by the setting exploring Disney's forgotten history, as the remaster does little to address dated level design, lackluster combat, and underdeveloped features like the morality system. Despite these shortcomings, Mickey's journey in the Wasteland remains enjoyable, especially for hardcore Disney fans eager to see some of the company’s long-forgotten characters brought back to life.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a solid remaster that enhances the original game with some welcome gameplay and quality-of-life improvements that go a long way to make the experience more enjoyable than ever. However, the remaster falters in the visual department, with dull colors that pale in comparison to the vibrant visuals of the original. Still, there's plenty to like in the Deluxe Remaster, as Frank West's journey to Willamette remains as engaging as ever, though the mostly faithful recreation of the original gameplay feels a little dated compared to its sequels.
The MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a fantastic celebration of the series, showcasing some of the best fighting games released by the Japanese publisher in the late '90s and early 2000s. Although the lack of cross-platform play reduces the collection's appeal, the additional options and extras are welcome enhancements that make playing these timeless classics on modern hardware even more enticing, especially on consoles.
The Casting of Frank Stone is yet another hit from Supermassive Games, delivering an engaging horror story deeply rooted into the lore of Dead of Daylight equally enjoyable by fans of the original game and those with no knowledge of the multiplayer game created by Behaviour Interactive. While its short length and limited gameplay may slightly hinder the experience, the game remains a worthwhile purchase for those who appreciate well-crafted supernatural horror stories.
Black Myth: Wukong stands out as one of the strongest debut games released in recent times. While not groundbreaking in any way, it masterfully blends elements from several popular franchises to deliver an engaging action RPG experience that ranks just below the very best in the genre. Although stuttering issues and minor gameplay flaws hold it back slightly, these shouldn't deter any action RPG or action game fan from picking it up. The Journey to the West has rarely been this enjoyable.
With welcome improvements, quality of life changes, and new content, Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand enhances the game developed by Deck13. However, the update mainly improves the game's existing strengths and fails to address the core issues with its combat system. As a result, the update delivers only partial improvements, leaving those dissatisfied with the game's floaty and unsatisfying combat still wanting more.
While Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess may not be the best action game or the best tower defense game around, Yoshiro and Soh's journey is undeniably compelling. Thanks to great map, scenario, and enemy design, along with plenty of viable tactical options and a wide arsenal of abilities, this new IP from CAPCOM stands out as one of the most surprising titles of the year, held back only by minor issues, such as a shallow narrative and a low challenge level.
With its three entertaining scenarios showcasing Remedy Entertainment's narrative and visual design prowess, the Alan Wake 2: Night Springs expansion is a more than worthy DLC for all fans of the base game and the Finnish developer, provided they can keep their expectations in check. The expansion's short length, a little over two and a half hours, and its stripped-down gameplay will inevitably disappoint those looking for something more substantial.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree expands the base game by offering more of what made it one of the best open-world games ever. It features a well-sized map dense with secrets to discover, new masterfully designed dungeons, and introduces new, fun tools to help the Tarnished tackle some of the most challenging enemies in the game's dark and brutal world. While the lack of new gameplay mechanics may disappoint some, don't let this deter you. Shadow of the Erdtree is every bit as good as the base game, and it is an essential purchase for all those who loved FromSoftware's amazing action role-playing game.
Given how MultiVersus has only just been released, and things will obviously get tweaked in the future, it is difficult to score the game in its current state. While the free-to-play trappings are unlikely to change, tweaks and additional content could deeply improve the experience in the long term, making it a worthy rival to Super Smash Bros. and other popular platform fighting games. As of now, however, I feel much of the potential of MultiVersus is still untapped, and it will be up to Player First Game to let the seed they have planted bloom.
Even in its early state, The Rogue Prince of Persia masterfully blends the best of Prince of Persia and Dead Cells in a solid package offering a more involved narrative, excellent platforming, dynamic combat and a lot of death, as is tradition for a proper roguelite. While there's still a lot of work to be done, regarding content and balance, the game's strong core mechanics have the potential to make it one of the best Metroidvania roguelites ever made.
Solid core mechanics are not enough to make Die by the Blade the compelling spiritual sequel of the Bushido Blade series fans have been waiting for a long time. Bland character design, clunky animations, horrendously slow progression system, extreme lack of content and mediocre visuals are only some of the issues that mar an experience that is very difficult to recommend to anyone in its current state.
V Rising may not have the deepest survival game mechanics around, but that is hardly a problem. The experience crafted by Stunlock Studios manages to masterfully weave together mechanics from very different genres to provide an experience like any other on the market. While solo players may find the experience becoming a little stale over time, everyone else will find plenty of reasons to remain in this world, whether it's to perfect their characters or build the most haunting vampire castle ever seen.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU proves that innovation isn't always necessary to craft a compelling experience. With its heartfelt story, compelling protagonist, and solid metroidvania gameplay featuring excellent pacing, Zau's journey is one that resonates, especially for those grappling with similar grief to the young shaman.
While its premise, story beats and main characters echo Suikoden II a little bit too much, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes manages to stand on its own with a compelling tale, excellent characterization, classic JRPG gameplay and great presentation, which make it easy to look past some of its shortcomings, such as balancing and minor gameplay issues. The world of Allraan may never get into the spotlight again due to the unfortunate departure of its creator, but it is undeniable that it couldn't have been introduced to JRPG fans in a better way.
Outcast - A New Beginning is a missed opportunity, abandoning the unique elements of its predecessor for a conventional open-world design that doesn't work well. With uninspired open-world exploration, clunky movement, lackluster combat, and mediocre quest design, it's a hard sell for everyone but Cutter Slade's biggest fans who wish to know how the character's story continues, as there are far superior titles on the market that have executed similar concepts much more effectively.
With its excellent level design, challenging gameplay, and twists on the classic formula, Contra: Operation Galuga offers a compelling reimagining of one of the most beloved arcade games ever made. However, despite its strengths, the game's short campaign length, limited amount of content and lack of online multiplayer may deter some players, especially considering its price. While the inclusion of extra characters and a Challenge Mode adds some variety, they fail to provide a good reason to continue playing the game after having gone through the eight stages multiple times.
With a unique twist that gives it a puzzle-game feel, Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is a solid title that definitely stands out in the hack-and-slash genre. The emphasis on combat, the absence of RPG-like mechanics, and reliance on trial-and-error impact the experience slightly, making the game a worthwhile purchase only for die-hard fans of the genre who are tired of the constant grind for better loot.
Featuring cutting-edge visuals for fighting games and exceptional learning tools, Tekken 8 stands out as one of the best releases in the fighting game genre over the last few years.