Daniel Kizana
Despite Onimusha: Warlords’ individual elements looking good in isolation, the game amounts to less than the sum of its parts. Its systems aren’t inherently poorly designed, but they fail because they’re given no time to develop and are rendered arbitrary because the game lasts only a few brief hours. If, however, you can brush these concerns aside, as I imagine long-term fans of the series will do, there’s certainly some nostalgic value to be had here. The world and inhabitants of Onimusha: Warlords are as charming as they were on the PS2, and those who grew up on the game will surely enjoy revisiting Inabayama Castle after so many years. The one hope to hold on to is that this sells well enough to warrant a remaster of the significantly improved (and longer) Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire knows its audience and understands their focus, delivering its best content where it matters most; the story. The world of PoE2 is alive and breathing and teems with hundreds of characters ready to pull you into their own plot threads. Though it is let down a little by its reverence to ancient combat mechanics and an attempt to tack on new systems, the game shows off the love and care of its creators in the complex, interwoven class systems that allow for incredible diversity in combat approaches, as well as the beautiful design and graphics work that sees the Deadfire Archipelago glowing as few settings have done before. PoE2 is a title that every serious RPG fan needs to spend some time on.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an enthralling RPG experience that deserves your full attention. It's not a perfect game, but neither was The Witcher 1 and look where CD Projekt Red are now. Not only is this a game worth playing today, but I also hold strong hopes that, with a little trust and support, Warhorse Studios can blossom into the next role-playing juggernaut.
There's no doubt that Civilization VI: Rise and Fall is a superior experience to the base game. Having said that, these mostly subtle changes add only a fine layer to the gameplay rather than overhauling the experience or providing a large amount of new content. It feels more like a major patch than an expansion, and the price tag feels a little steep for such minimal change. If you've decided not to try Civ VI in the past, this won't convert you. However, if you're a diehard, you'll probably want to suck it up and shell out for this wisp of fresh air in your Civ runs.