Hayes Madsen's Reviews
Ashes of the Singularity II is a satisfying massive-scale strategy game that gets the foundations right, even if there's not enough variety.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is one of the very few games that falls into the same category as Super Smash Bros., unabashed fun that just succinctly nails the vibe it's going for. The Godzilla series has proven time and again that it can be about something, but it's also found ways to be big, loud fun — and the beauty of Godzilla is that it can genuinely do both. Whether it's at a party or on a weekend by yourself, I promise you'll have a good time with Destroy All Monsters Melee.
Final Fantasy Resonance sports one of the best turn-based combat systems seen in years, bolstered by lovable characters and a genuinely stunning presentation. However, it's held back by a lackluster story and odd pacing.
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a fairly by-the-numbers expansion, but it still has all the challenge and wondrous exploration that made the original game so special.
Control Resonant pushes the bounds of what Remedy Entertainment's quirky formula can achieve. An action-RPG that has a few growing pains, but sprouts into something monumentally special by the end.
The original 2nd Chapter helped establish the Trails series as something special, and it truly feels like Nihon Falcom’s series has now come full circle, folding everything the studio has learned back in on itself. And in the process, it’s created an RPG powerhouse that can stand alongside the genre’s greats.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a stunning return for one of Capcom's most overlooked series, with a truly spectacular combat system and boss battles that constantly evoke the dynamic feeling of an action film.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a masterful new RPG from key developers behind The Witcher 3, kicking off a bold new series that has remarkable potential.
Wild Blue Skies shines when it deviates from the Star Fox formula with some truly phenomenal missions.
Beast of Reincarnation is a bold new title from Game Freak that liberally takes inspiration from a handful of other games, including Pokémon, but manages to twist it all into something charmingly unique.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a solid, but sometimes disappointing, transition into action-RPGs for Square Enix's HD-2D series.
Mina the Hollower is a brilliant 2D action-adventure game that takes clear inspiration from classic Zelda while building something that feels fresh, challenging, and uniquely its own. Its open-ended exploration, clever combat systems, strong sense of discovery, and flexible modifiers make every part of the adventure feel personal. While its difficulty can spike, Mina the Hollower stands out as an instant classic and one of the best games in its genre.
Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is an engrossing tale of espionage intrigue with superb writing and roleplaying mechanics, all wrapped up in a compelling reflection on the role of media in government and society at large.
Bubsy 4D is a short and sweet platformer that miraculously breathes life into one of gaming's most forgettable heroes.
Opus: Prism Peak is a remarkable, emotionally resonant narrative adventure, worthy of joining the ranks of Life is Strange or The Walking Dead.
The concept and aesthetic of Darwin's Paradox consistently shine, but its inventive wall-climbing gameplay is held back by a few noticeable frustrations.
The studio clearly took liberal inspiration from other games, but I hope that there can be something more looking toward the future. Crimson Desert has something special buried beneath its surface, if all those unneeded layers can be cut out.
Once you get over Going Medieval's initial learning curve, there's a joyously complex survival city builder to dig into.
One of the most fascinating things about Resident Evil, as a franchise, is how often these games take on different interpretations as the series progresses. We don’t think of Resident Evil 5 the same way as when it came out, or Resident Evil 6, or Village. This is one of the few gaming franchises that meaningfully uses the past, both narratively and from a design standpoint. These are games integrally shaped by their place in time, the world, and the larger series. And similarly, I think Requiem is a game that we’ll be talking about for years to come, reevaluating more than once.
PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse is yet another fantastic horror visual novel that even exceeds the first in some ways.