Rebellion has returned to a good-enough sub-series with a better-than-average sequel. Better visuals, better combat and better creativity has created an enjoyable game, but it still struggles against an always-increasing sea of undead competitors. While removing local co-op leaves a sour taste, it’s not a deal-breaker, but that core feature removal isn’t replaced with any feature that feels as substantial. It’s diminishing returns.
Overpass isn’t a great looker; it’s only an adequate player – if that’s an accurate descriptive. Playing it for more than half an hour at most still leave you craving for something more nuanced, interesting, and far more polished. However, this is likely to be the only experience like it for quite a while.
No matter how you look at it, Resident Evil 3 is a stark fall from grace for Capcom. With the developer firing on all cylinders ever since the return-to-form release of Resident Evil 7, this is the company’s first blunder in years.
Little Town Hero is a very unique RPG. It’s short, unadventurous and not that grand, but its quaintness is admirable. It’s enjoyable enough, and for a budget price-point, it certainly is worth the price of admission. For players who were hoping for a grand adventure similar to Pokémon, Game Freak isn’t aiming for that. This is a smaller experience, and it’s far from perfect, but it’s at least a refreshing entry in a crowded genre.
Despite some awful balancing, repetitive environments and other niggling issues, Resident Evil Resistance is a game I keep coming back to, when the arduously long wait times to find a match allow me to. It’s not an amazing game – its inclusion as a pack-in multiplayer mode for the underwhelming Resident Evil 3 speaks volumes – but goddamn is it unique. Well, it’s Fable Legends, but then Fable Legends doesn’t exist.
Sniper Elite has only evolved since this game’s original version, but the foundations here are still strong.
Without a doubt, The Sinking City is the best Lovecraft game we’ve ever seen. It’s still not a perfect title—for some reason, none are—but it’s a damn fun time as a Lovecraftian private eye. Hopefully, Frogwares will follow up with another Lovecraft title with stronger combat. But if investigating eldritch horrors in an entirely unique game world is what you’re after, you need to play this despite its flaws.
The Division 2 feels like a full package. It isn't always as polished as we've come to expect from a AAA experience, but then it does have the expected Ubisoftisms about it. It's buggy, but never intrusive. It has some questionable microtransactions, but they don't ever really affect you. It's repetitive and utterly meaningless, but it can be an incredibly satisfying experience.
There is no way that you could say Space Hulk: Tactics isn’t a flawed game. It’s a damaged jewel that could do with a hefty amount of spit and polish but it still has a slight glint underneath all the scratches. If you’re in the mind for a console tactics game and you want a unique experience like the Genestealers campaign, then you can’t go wrong with this one.
Crystal Crisis isn't going to dethrone the kings of the falling block genre anytime soon. It's a solid puzzler with a heart of gold, but it doesn't have the decades of improvements that its peers have. With a solid amount of content, an amazing cast of characters and fantastic presentation, though, we recommend this as a fun alternative if you tire of Tetris 99.
While a few extra bells and whistles are added here and there, along with much improved character variety, it's still a Dynasty Warriors game at its heart—and that's not a bad thing. Fans of the series will still love this, despite an underwhelming narrative set in a cliché new world.
Unforgiving and tense, Immortal Planet is the essential 2D Souls-like game.
Overall, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a solid Star Wars game. A meandering narrative, weirdly-chosen protagonist, shoddy start and technical issues make it hard to recommend, especially with such technical issues on base Xbox One consoles, but it’s still a fantastic game beneath its issues.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is an absolute treat, even if it’s fairly basic.
Straight out of a time portal, Super Magic Cane Zero feels like an XBLA game that never was.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not flawless. In fact, it’s a game that proactively attempts to guide you past its flaws every step of the way, but it is still a game I’m glad I played. It’s likely to bring the ire of hardcore fans: as someone who only has a passing knowledge of original I know for a fact where this story has massively altered. However, if you play FF7R, you will fall in love. Not with the game, and not necessarily its museum-exhibit world, but with its cast. In that sense, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is pretty darn great.
If you want a smaller, condensed narrative within a unique cyberpunk world, Cloudpunk is an amiable adventure with a cast of creative, memorable characters. It could do with a proper map to allow players to fully discover everything throughout Nivalis’ varied districts, but as it stands, this distinctive sci-fi adventure is an awesome adventure on a budget.
While the rejection of these moments of Dragon Ball Z’s story is upsetting, Kakarot still plays well. It’s the Dragon Ball Z game we’ve always wanted; warts and all, Kakarot is hands-down a ballistic and powerful adaptation of one of anime’s greatest shows. Just like how CyberConnect 2’s Naruto games vastly improved by the time the fourth and final entry came around, Kakarot only requires minimal tweaking to become one of DBZ’s greatest games.
Shenmue 3 is an acquired taste, very acquired, but it’s everything I ever wanted it to be. As a Shenmue sequel it’s fan-pleasing perfection. As an actual game it leaves some things to be desired: combat is clunky , facial animations are unpleasing and there are numerous translation oddities. However, at the end of the day, it’s a game I’ve awaited for years and I’m far from disappointed.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare attempts to provide everything a CoD fan could want, albeit to mixed results. Its campaign is easily the best seven-hour experience the series has ever crafted, even if it’s political meddling of true events is particularly insulting. Combined with a solid multiplayer mode that has a mostly polished set of maps and a gun unlock system free from disgusting loot boxes or microtransactions and it should be an amazing title. Unfortunately, Spec Ops is broken and lets the game down.