Granblue Fantasy: Versus might not fulfill your dreams of providing a deep RPG and fighter in one, but given that the bulk of the game is focused on what Arc knows best, it's easier to overlook that sin. Hardcore players might scoff at the lower ceiling compared to other fighters, but there's a lot of potential here, and the meta will only continue to evolve.
Any one of these games are worth throwing 10 bucks at, much less all six. So long as you can deal with some antiquated visuals (even with the new look) and a bit of exploration-based frustration with the ZX games in particular, you'll have plenty of rainy days squared away with the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection.
I brought up "the old Blizzard" in this review because this is a first time in a while (yes, even counting Diablo III at launch) that you can really sense a huge shift at the company in just about every sense. Warcraft III: Reforged is both the beginning and end of an era. It works to a degree thanks to the immense talent of the original Warcraft III creators and custom map fiends, but it doesn't quite feel like Blizzard, does it.
Despite some technical misgivings, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners honors the Walking Dead name: a rarity in the current climate. It's also cemented itself as one of the leading "full" VR experiences to date. It might not sell headsets, but it'll be a hell of a pickup for current VR-heads.
Like every incarnation of the game, even the Re Mind DLC is going to both confuse and excite people en masse. But now that there's "An Oath to Return" (with a future Kingdom Hearts entry), this is all we have until the next one comes along. It'll do.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is not the anime game to end all anime games. It's not going to convert any non-believers or onboard them into this decades-old classic universe. Even as someone who still re-watches DBZ, it can be grating at times — but the juice is mostly worth the squeeze.
Earlier this year Team Ninja and Nintendo spoke about "story scenario" content. Where is it? The new characters are great for the most part, but we need more zones to actually use them in. Having an extended campaign with some really out-there storylines would have been a fantastic use of paid DLC, but for now you're stuck just doing the same errands over and over or restarting once again.
Borderlands 3's first DLC is quirky and action-packed, but I was decidedly left wanting more. Hopefully the other campaigns will take more risks, but in the meantime Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot is more Borderlands, which is typically a good thing.
It takes time to really get into MechWarrior 5, which is to be expected. At first, things go by at a plodding pace and your customization options are slim. But once you assemble your crew, jump into mechs you want to play as, and the story picks up, it starts to feel like old MechWarrior again. Mercenaries still might not satisfy everyone, but I enjoyed my reintroduction to the action-oriented BattleTech world.
This is a historic moment for Shovel Knight: half a decade later, I can recommend picking up anything and everything Shovel Knight related, which is easy to do with the Treasure Trove compilation. Yacht Club Games has a lot to be proud of and has accomplished a lot in their short run, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next.
I came into Darksiders Genesis expecting nothing and got a fun little co-op dungeon crawler in return. Although the concept of a "Diablo spinoff for the Darksiders series" had the potential to just be a big bowl of wrong, the mad men and women at Airship Syndicate pulled it off. Long live Darksiders.
Arise: A Simple Story is true to its name and offers both function and form, which is why I'm so anxious to see what Piccolo Studio has next in the pipeline. It's a pleasant surprise to help cap off a great year.
I was torn writing this review as I went back and forth multiple times on whether or not Shenmue III's adherence to the past was worth the squeeze. In spurts, it's not. But as I walked back to Shenhua's cottage to turn in for the night after a hard day's work, earning back the money I had gambled away, it hit me: people just aren't making many games like this anymore. We may never even get something like this again if Shenmue IV isn't greenlit, which would be a shame.
Pokémon has always literally been give and take since the second generation. Some give more than others, and Sword and Shield has taken away quite a bit. But in the end, I was smiling on most of my journey throughout the Galar region, and 21 years later, I still have a desire to catch them all. "All of the Galar region" will do nicely for the time being, even if it feels more fleeting than past generations.
Clocking in at roughly 40 minutes, Episode 3 is a crescendo blast, but still very low-key in the grand scheme of things.
You're going to occasionally roll your eyes at a cheesy moment or groan at a technical issue, but Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order stands alone as an action game devoid of its Star Wars influence. If you grin at the mere mention of the phrase "kyber crystals," you'll get even more out of it.
Indie atmospheric adventure games are like candy to me, and I suspect some people are going to get a lot more out of Gylt than others. It's very much in the same spirit as Concrete Genie in that it's a short but mostly engaging romp that's best enjoyed by the right kind of audience.
Disney Tsum Tsum Festival is packed with stuff to do, but most of it should be left to full family households with everyone on deck. It needs to focus more on depth rather than quantity, but the few games that are deep are fun enough to play with a crowd.
The heart and soul of Disco Elysium is stumbling through success, which has a certain charm to it. Sometimes that road is bumpy and restricted, but the fluff behind those bumps is at least interesting.
I'm as surprised as you are that I had so much fun with this one. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020's retro suite is compact but it kicks everything up a notch, which is an easier sell for newcomers. Just make sure you have at least one friend to prolong the fun with once the story is over and done.