Essentially, I'm going to spend a few more days in the trenches to get a better handle on what appears to be, at the time of writing, a promise-filled yet obviously imperfect sequel.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is quite a bit better than I thought it was going to be, on the whole. Despite some half-baked mechanics and ideas, I still had a blast shredding outposts in this overwhelming, sumptuous sandbox.
This sequel raises the baa, but I just wish the silliness was a bit more stable.
Sniper Elite VR misfires almost as much as it bullseyes
Basically, Gotham Knights got pushed out of the belfry when it was only barely, kinda, sorta ready to fly.
I'm a diehard fan of the GTA series, but I'm of two minds about this up and down port to the Unreal 4 Engine. The initial wow-factor of the visual upgrade is undeniable, but the more you play it, the more cracks appear in that pretty veneer. Some of those are legacy fissures that have not been repaired. Others are eyesore imperfections wrought by a new team of less-than-master craftspeople.
Providing Team Ninja iron out some of the creases in a post-launch patch, this could still be seen as a retainer—possibly a worthy companion piece to anybody hooked on the Shogun miniseries.
When it comes down to that final eulogy, I have way more fond memories of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden than I do regrets.
There’s a more than decent racing game thrumming underneath this hood
As a spin-off, Gears Tactics has strong core gameplay, but unfortunately surrounding areas in the design hold it back from being greater.
At the end of the evaluation, Armored Core VI may stand as the best at what it does in its particular arena, but that’s largely due to a lack of stiff competition. From could have assembled something truly S ranked here, but didn’t.
At the end of the day, Far Cry 6 successfully conjures the alluring tropical beauty of FC3's sandbox, FC4's verticality and mountaineering, along with the weirdo weaponry of New Dawn.
Whichever way you look at it, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is another fine entry in the modern-era Metroidvania renaissance. It absolutely deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as games like Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and Metroid Dread.
Despite its rough edges, Aliens: Dark Descent has my thumbs up as the sleeper hit of 2023. It’s an addictive, unabashed love letter to one of the greatest action films of all time.
Sackboy delivers some damn good jumpy-jumpy material.
Ghost of Tsushima isn't perfect but, like a summoned objective on your touchpad, it's a breath of fresh air that'll send a warm chill down the spine of any Samurai aficionado.
Horizon: Forbidden West is still a top-tier game that’s well worth emptying one’s pouch of metal shards to purchase.
Ghost if Tsushima Director's Cut isn't as revolutionary as its invasion-thwarting subject matter, but it's still a damn nice slice of samurai escapism. If nothing else, Sucker Punch has secured a solid new-gen beachhead to (hopefully) launch a multi-sequel assault.
Returnal makes an important, evolutionary (house)marque on the arcade shooter landscape.
Bottom line; this isn’t a huge reinvention, but it sure is a damn solid sequel.