Dan Stapleton's Reviews
Adr1ft doesn't pioneer any new types of gameplay with VR, which is a shame because it desperately needs some variety in that area. However, it does benefit greatly from blocking off the rest of the world, creating a feeling of isolation that aligns with what your character is experiencing. Floating out over the Earth and looking down from this perspective is truly impressive.
Just Cause 3 is a playground where you get to be a physics-defying force of destruction, and its loop of liberating dozens of towns across this enormous scenic world would've gotten old much quicker if the combat wasn't so full of options for free-form mayhem. Getting the most out of it requires some creativity and tolerance for performance bugs on your part, so come expecting to make at least some of your own fun. It's a damn shame so many performance problems and punishing load times keep cropping up [on the PS4 and XB1 versions], because I love what Just Cause 3 does. But for game that's so heavily dependent on action to run this poorly is no laughing matter. [OpenCritic note: Dan Stapleton separately reviewed the PC (8) and PS4/XB1 (5.9) versions. Their scores have been averaged.]
The Lost Lords neglects to advance the Forresters' story in meaningful ways as it introduces new characters.
Being Batman in Akrham VR is a great way to more intimately experience Rocksteady's universe and to search for clues in this brief mystery. However, the world and characters around you are largely rigid and unresponsive to your actions, which leaves a lot on the table for a game about a character known as much for his brawn as he is for his brains.
Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Story - Episode 1 is mechanically simple, but it does a fine job of letting you bask in Star Wars surroundings and the impressive presence of Darth Vader himself.
State of Decay 2's zombie-infested maps are good places to scavenge, fight, and survive in. Combat is satisfyingly brutal and the special zombies inspire some real fear of permanent death, even though the Blood Plague turns out to be more of a sniffle. But the bugs are just as persistent as the zombies, and after a dozen or so hours the repetition of both eventually take their toll, making the appeal of replaying feel more limited than I'd expected for a sandbox RPG.
Contrast is a game full of heart, beauty, and at least a few excellent puzzles.
Infamous: First Light gives us more of the great action of Second Son, but doesn't have the same super-powered variety.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 is flashy and loaded with complex, micromanagement-heavy warfare. Its single-player campaign is long and challenging, but feels uninspired because it rarely makes creative use of the three factions' abilities. In multiplayer it's even more demanding and intimidatingly chaotic, but with only one mode and not a lot of maps, it seems limited. Relic deserves credit for not simply remaking the same game with prettier graphics, but this hybrid approach doesn't feel as strong as Dawn of War 2's memorable tactical focus.
The Crimson Court pumps Darkest Dungeon full of disturbing blood-sucking enemies, a challenging new class, and a marathon-style new area that forces you to think differently about how to sustain your team over a long run. While there's definitely enough new content in The Crimson Court to come back to Darkest Dungeon for, it's more the kind of DLC that mixes things up for a new replay than an essential upgrade you should install from the beginning.
Based on its colorful world, beautiful animation, and source material you might expect Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle to be “My first turn-based tactics game.” But you're in for a surprise: even for XCOM vets some of its battles are challenging puzzles. Some of its tougher levels do devolve into a trial-and-error slog, but a good mix of enemies, objectives, and character abilities keep things interesting.
Alien Hunters’ battles are by far the toughest, trickiest fights in Firaxis’ XCOM games to date, and the new weapons and abilities we get expand our tactical options in interesting ways. However, where XCOM 2 initially impressed me by making the equipment upgrades it doles out unpredictable, this expansion is a move that will make every subsequent game feel more similar instead of more different.
Kingdom initially impresses with striking pixel art and minimalist design, but later it proves complexity is necessary.
Mass Effect: Andromeda only occasionally recaptures the series' brilliance, but delivers a vast and fun action-RPG.
Sir, You Are Being Hunted is a dynamic and atmospheric stealth game that'll kill you politely.
Early excitement and newfound purpose puts Telltale's Game of Thrones back on track in Episode 3.
Civ 6: Rise and Fall's new Golden Age and Governor systems add new and interesting decisions while Loyalty largely bogs it down.
An incredibly challenging recreation of the classic X-COM: UFO Defense, Xenonauts a little too loyal for its own good.
Just Cause 4 is a slightly better version of Just Cause 3's destruction-fueled action, but lacks a big new idea to give it an identity of its own.
Fallout 4 VR lets you experience the post-nuclear future in a much more intimate way. Its adaptation to the Vive's hand-tracked Touch controls works fairly well for moving and shooting, but poorly for using the Pip Boy's clunky interface, and that's something you'll need to do frequently. But it's worth putting up with to come face to face with Fallout 4's characters, monsters, and settings.