Joe Morgan's Reviews
Duskfade offers a heartfelt, emotional story, gorgeous visuals, excellent boss design, and plenty of hidden goodies to keep you scouring its beautiful locales for a couple dozen hours. The voice acting can occasionally feel a little awkward, and combat timing can take some getting used to, but it still remains one of the best platformers of the year.
Mistfall Hunter is a fun but flawed ARPG extraction title that won’t be for everybody. The classes provide meaningful variety, but the game handles multiple archetypes more frustratingly than its contemporaries. If you enjoy ARPGs and extraction games, you’ll definitely get $25 worth of fun out of the game, but your mileage may vary due to repetition fatigue and a list of concerns about the game and its future.
007 First Light is a top-tier game both Bond fans and stealth action gamers will love. It has all the hallmarks of a great Bond film with some of the best stealth action gameplay in the industry. I’m excited to see one of my favorite franchises in the hands of a studio that loves it as much as I do. 007 First Light is worthy of the Bond legacy and easily one of the best games of the year.
Tides of Tomorrow is a great adventure game with an excellent story, striking aesthetic, and the potential to connect players worldwide in unique ways. Like our lives, the choices you make will affect those who follow you. With a narrative that speaks to real-world concerns and the consequences of choice, Tides of Tomorrow leaves a lasting impact everyone should experience.
People of Note is a beautiful musical RPG starring Pop, Rock, EDM, Rap, and Classical styles of music with countless others showcased throughout the adventure. From witty puns of your favorite bands, engaging combat and puzzles, and even full music videos from heroes, villains, and more--People of Note delivers an adventure unlike any other. Help Cadence and friends save the world and learn about musical genres and mash-ups along the way! If you studied music, teach music, make music, or simply love music, People of Note is an adventure across genres you'll undoubtedly love.
Marathon is top-tier Bungie gunplay in a beautiful extraction shooter setting, and it makes for an addicting gameplay loop. Exploring the dangerous world of Tau Ceti IV and the looming colony ship with your gear on the line makes for some of the most intense PvP available, though the punishing early game might be too brutal for some.
Sword of the Sea is a beautiful, almost-cozy experience that, like Giant Squid’s other titles, stands as a strong argument for games as art. The game has chill vibes and a gorgeous, atmospheric aesthetic while still delivering an eloquent narrative. If you’re looking for something short and sweet, Sword of the Sea is the low-friction adventure for you.
The best thing I can say about a game of this nature is that it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It creates puzzles to be solved, gives players the tools to succeed, and then makes you feel like a dextrous genius when you execute successfully. Couple that fantastic visual design and a solid soundtrack and you have something special fans will come back to time and again. Don’t sleep on this wild ride.
While Shujinkou isn't perfect, the fusion of Japanese language learning and turn-based combat provides a wonderful title that both educates and satisfies the gamer patient enough to learn and engage with its systems.
Eternal Strands is a great action game with a vibrant world, huge monsters, engaging magic systems, and satisfying combat that establishes Yellow Brick Games as a force to be reckoned with moving forward.
An incredible nostalgic aesthetic and straightforward gameplay model are endearing in the best way but start to feel thin all too quickly.
The frustrations caused by repetitive encounters and slow traversal give way to fun combat, an exciting variety of monsters, meaningful progression, and a world built for exciting, emergent moments.
Despite technical issues and bad design decisions, Outcast: A New Beginning is a lot of fun to fly around in, saving an endearing race along the way.
Fun, addictive gameplay full of emergent moments and active developer support will have the community engaged for years with good reason.
Achilles: Legends Untold brings a character many of us have written off back for an intriguing adventure, despite overselling their combat system.
With excellent characters, great gameplay, and a fun setting, Gangs of Sherwood is one of the best beat 'em ups in recent years.
Silent Hope is a fun, mindless action RPG that mixes dungeon diving, crafting, and a variety of combat playstyle options.
Infinity Strash brings the story and visual flare of the beloved Dragon Quest manga to life with one of the most mediocre repetitive action RPGs in years.
The sequel to 2019's Souls-like shooter is a blast with polished gameplay, fun bosses, excellent co-op, and more variety than its predecessor.
The digital adaptation of the board game is faithful and atmospheric with some smart quality of live changes, but a nearly catatonic online community makes me want to sit down at a table with friends that much more.