Hayes Madsen's Reviews
It’s been nine years since Saints Row 4, and this new entry feels like a back-to-basics reboot. But technical issues, bugs, and many more little frustrations conspire to make this a middling experience at launch. It’s unfortunate because when Saints Row fires on all cylinders, it’s an absolute blast with some truly lofty high points.
Two Point Campus is an A+ management sim that lets you build the wacky school of your dreams, then watch it run in all its glory.
When Xenoblade Chronicles 3 wasn’t bringing a smile to my face, it was breaking my heart over and over again.
As someone that thoroughly enjoyed my 200 hours with Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I never expected Three Hopes to meet, let alone surpass that experience — but it does. Three Hopes’ systems all coalesce into something truly special, and the war-driven story allows the world and characters to shine their brightest. Though it could do with less padding, Three Hopes represents Koei Tecmo firing on all cylinders, and it’s easily another title to add to the growing list of essential Switch games.
Floppy Knights is a charming experience that brings something unique to the table, even though it doesn’t reinvent the wheel for either of its genres. I do wish there was a little more meat to the experience, and despite the charming writing the story simply lacks a strong core. Despite that, however, it’s a journey that’s well worth taking, especially if you’re a fan of tactical games or deck builders.
Chaos Gate Daemonhunters is an intensely challenging XCOM-like that fully embraces the aesthetic and tendencies of the Warhammer 40K universe.
It’s an utterly unique title that boasts astounding production values, supported by a cast of actors that do an incredible job of playing multiple characters. There are a few niggling issues with the various gameplay systems, but it’s an incredible experience that easily stands out as one of my favorites of the year.
Skywalker Saga is easily one of the best Lego games ever made, but I hope to see the franchise’s core gameplay loop evolve a little further in the future.
Babylon's Fall is a baffling game that lacks any distinct vision, both in terms of gameplay and artistic design.
Self-aware humor permeates throughout 'Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin, 'and by and large, it works really, really well. Any fears I had about 'Stranger of Paradise' were dispelled after a dozen or so hours with its phenomenal combat system, strange but genuine story, and a surprising commitment to celebrating everything Final Fantasy — all through the eyes of an angry edgelord named Jack.
Chocobo GP feels like a game that wants to be Mario Kart with Final Fantasy, but it simply doesn’t have the creativity or mechanical chops to back it up. There are certainly worse racers out there, but unless you’re the type of Final Fantasy fan who’s really into games like Theatrhythm or Dissidia that celebrate the franchise at the expense of quality gaming, you’re not going to get a whole lot out of Chocobo GP.
Monark is a game filled with great ideas and themes, and it manages to deliver on some of those in spades. Unfortunately, Monark is also its own worst enemy, and many of the gameplay elements simply get in the way of making it something truly exceptional. Still, if you can manage to get through the slog of repetitiveness, there’s a fascinating and thematically engaging story underneath.
Reverie Knights Tactics feels like a run-of-the-mill strategy game that isn't quite bad but fails to do anything particularly memorable.
The overwhelming feeling I had in my time with Expeditions: Rome is that it's perfectly average.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is the game's most ambitious expansion yet and feels like both a fitting ending and a new beginning all at once.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a quaint game that doesn't bring anything exceptionally new to the genre, but is undeniably charming.
Volume 1 of Gundam Battle Operation Code Fairy is a fairly strong start, but it feels like a small snippet of the overall experience. Hopefully, the next volumes can develop on it in a meaningful way.
Bright Memory Infinite's tight gunplay is simply spread too thin to make up for an otherwise uninspired experience.
Age of Empires 4 is a bold and ambitious evolution of the series, and quite likely one of the best RTS games ever made.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a surprisingly compelling single-player adventure that packs in some real emotion, despite a few shortcomings.