Sam Machkovech
Animal Crossing games have always delivered a compelling version of self-quarantine, and this one overflows with quantity, without sacrificing quality, to do so at a scale series fans have never seen.
I struggle to recommend SC5VR to anybody who owns PlayStation VR. The worst part is that the game's solid core gameplay is a clear sign that its dev team could have made an excellent and unique VR rhythm game instead of rushing this scant disappointment out for [money]
An absolute VR mess - yet somehow momentous
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has incredibly good elements, and they play out exceptionally well in its first three hours. Force-power diversity, combat animations, beautiful opening zones, clever puzzles, and Jedi-salvation stakes could lead anybody to believe they were in for a Star Wars single-player epic worth investing in. The trouble is, the game begins to run on fumes after those three hours.
PC-VR headset owners should buy. Quest owners might want to wait for a performance patch.
Luigi's Mansion 3 revolves around your bond with the triumphant vulnerability of the company's most maligned mascot. The result is a Pixar-caliber hero that you'll want to spend a full 18 hours exploring with.
It's not perfect. It's not for everyone. But it's probably for you.
Great if you like tough tactical games; a harder sell if you're merely a fan of the films.
You won't find more pure whimsy in a 2019 game.
I came out of Eliza with the sense that I'd been on a journey of juggling grief, hope, and joy through the existential dread that is living a modern, tech-filled life. And for that reason, I recommend this visual novel as a must-play experience.
No Nintendo remake has ever combined the beautiful and the familiar like this.
Buy it if you have an ideal co-op partner, want a simpler co-op alternative to MMO-like shooters, or just really, really like newer Wolfenstein games. Otherwise, proceed with caution.
All VR headset owners should own at least one Owlchemy Labs game, and this is the company's best yet.
Neither gameplay nor contraptions are enough to save uneven, uncomfortable package.
Should you have read this much of a Gears of War-related review, I imagine at least one of the above four modes sounds up your alley. Just because Escape is currently wonky in action doesn't mean it's not a unique and satisfying co-op action experience. The campaign's herky-jerky start is likely worth enduring for a certain brand of shooter fan. And both Horde and versus are likely to delight fans old and new for entirely different reasons.
If you like Suda51, there's enough here to keep you hooked. Otherwise, tread cautiously.
Wait until EA finishes the game, if that ever happens.
Tetris Effect doesn't skimp on the modes. The game ships with a grand total of 16 selectable modes, though we can whittle that down to roughly 10 discrete ways to play—which, hey, is still a crap-ton of Tetris.
The modern-aesthetic upgrade more than makes up for the game's lowest lows. Horror fans should immediately buy.
Do you like a game whose combat and discovery mechanics are entirely divorced from stop-and-wait delivery of lengthy, meandering dialogue, always spoken by over-eager actors with thick Eastern European accents? If so, you're in for some genuinely likable moments of character development; they're just firmly nestled in the kinds of overlong stories that might have you saying "get on with it, man" after a while. The spoilable plot beats, on the other hand, feel like fine B-movie cheese. Sometimes, these are full of scare-quote "important" messages freighted with fromage. (And sometimes filled with comically intense evil, too.)