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Josh Tolentino

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Favorite Games:
  • Fallout
  • Valkyria Chronicles
  • Sakura Taisen 2

88 games reviewed
70.8 average score
75 median score
37.5% of games recommended

Josh Tolentino's Reviews

Working out of Manila and San Francisco, Josh writes for Siliconera, Destructoid, GameCritics and more.
9 / 10.0 - Outer Wilds
May 29, 2019

Outer Wilds proves there's still a sense of genuine adventure to be gained from games that commit to a set, fixed structure and design, rather than the kind of sprawling, endless expanses many contemporary titles set out to become. Playing it brought to mind my favorite bits of Dr. Seuss' Oh, The Places You'll Go...except with more of the sun exploding.

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Jun 27, 2023

Really more of a guardian angel, if you think about it.

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Feb 22, 2024

A massive game that synthesizes two distinct eras of blockbuster game design, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth feels fresh and familiar simultaneously, while forging a new path for Cloud and the crew.

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9 / 10.0 - Axiom Verge 2
Aug 19, 2021

I thought I had seen everything Axiom Verge 2 when I could jump to my maximum height while underwater, thus becoming able to reach all manner of places I couldn’t before. Then I learned to climb the walls, and the world expanded greatly. The game got even bigger when I gained the ability to turn my hand into a tiny spider drone, opening up still more possibilities. And then came the Breach.

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In terms of content and presentation, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone is less a "Greatest Hits" compilation than a near-total PS4 remaster of more than half a dozen Miku games released over the last six years. What it lacks in frills, it makes up for in staggering volume, enough to satisfy anyone that's accepted Miku into their heart (that isn't already sick of playing older songs), or serve as a playable canon of popular Vocaloid compositions to pique the curiosity of the yet-to-be-converted.

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Oct 29, 2017

Total War: Warhammer 2's inability to solve some longstanding franchise-wide issues don't really dampen the sense that this is the biggest, and one of the best, executions on the same formula. Adding that this is only the second game in a planned trilogy ends up only making me more excited to see what's in store for Total War: Warhammer 3.

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Jan 20, 2019

When it's firing on all cylinders, Ace Combat 7 absolutely soars as a return to form for a series thought dormant. It'll be interesting to see how Bandai Namco might take things forward from here on, but for now, the series is flying high and steady once again.

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8 / 10.0 - Chroma Squad
May 4, 2015

Zordon may have wanted "teens with attitude," but Chroma Squad and its unabashed, utterly geeky love-in for all things tokusatsu shows something even harder to find: A game with heart and soul. That heart shines through the rough edges, and in some ways even turns them to its advantage. It might have taken quite a while in getting here, but fans of spandex-clad superheroic finally have the videogame to help them fill that little fantasy.

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8 / 10.0 - Satellite Reign
Aug 31, 2015

Despite the gorgeously rendered city visuals and a goodly amount of text to be found by digging through random data terminals, Satellite Reign's city feel less like a world than a cyberpunk-themed playset. You direct your little squad of action figures around and play as you like, but rarely feel lost or immersed in the setting.

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Jan 15, 2016

In the end, Bluepoint deserves credit for managing to bring out the best in an already-pretty-good game, allowing PS4 owners the chance to experience the charm of Gravity Rush unhampered by the limitations of its original platform.

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Feb 12, 2016

By wrapping classical adventure writing in a thoroughly modern play experience, inkle have turned Sorcery! into a great testament to the power and place of text in gaming's canon.

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8 / 10.0 - Brigador
Jul 4, 2016

None of these niggles do much to detract from the overall experience, though, and despite them Brigador ends up a thrilling, hectic vehicle shooter that's quite a bit deeper than the forebears that inspired it.

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Jul 21, 2016

Perhaps it took a move to the home consoles and a years-delayed retouch, but God Eater Resurrection shines as a less demanding, flashier alternative to the likes of Monster Hunter. It'll never ask for the same depth of dedication, but it doesn't try to, and in (not) doing so, manages to prove that being the "diet" version of something isn't always a bad thing.

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Sep 5, 2016

Whatever the case, though, God Eater 2: Rage Burst inadvertently feels less like a sequel to God Eater Resurrection than a very substantial expansion, becoming a refinement of what came "before" than a genuine step forward. While it's impossible to deny the mechanical improvements in the game, many players' enjoyment of it will largely hinge on how much more God Eater they wanted to play, or if this is the only one available to them.

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8 / 10.0 - Sniper Elite 4
Feb 18, 2017

Sniper Elite 4 comes across as a fully-realized result of the shifts Rebellion set in motion with the previous game, and proves itself an ably constructed, often gorgeous, and thoroughly engrossing stealth-action shooter.

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Jul 31, 2017

Ten years after it debuted on a handheld a fifth the size of a PS4, Patapon remains an utterly unique experience. For the life of me I couldn't tell you what lessons it could hold for future games, but I'm glad it's in a position for more folks to enjoy all over again.

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8 / 10.0 - Surviving Mars
Mar 15, 2018

My gripes aside, Surviving Mars might be the most fun I've had with a city-building game since SimCity 2000, and Haemimont has accomplished this feat by drilling down into the details, and zooming in on the kinds of small-scale community-building that I'd always felt the that city-builders with a grander scope lacked. The promise of robust modding support from launch could also ensure that the game has legs, or even that some of my complaints could be addressed by fans soon after they get their hands on the toolkit.

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Sep 10, 2018

Ultimately, despite being the fourth game in its series, Valkyria Chronicles 4 really is the sequel Valkyria Chronicles needed, and I have to say that I'm pleased that war has never looked more pleasant.

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Nevertheless, though, Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition excels in the places that matter most to Tales game, and in doing so earns the timeless adulation lavished on it by its fans. I can't tell you if it's the best Tales game, but it's everything a Tales game needs to be, in order to be considered great.

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8 / 10.0 - Anno 1800
Apr 23, 2019

This leaves us with Anno 1800, a refined city-building game with a delectably savory approach to logistics optimization, a lovely core aesthetic, and a time-devouring rhythm. For me, that's worth the cost of a historical anachronism or two.

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