Donovan Erskine


157 games reviewed
78.9 average score
80 median score
75.8% of games recommended
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Dec 1, 2022

The Callisto Protocol is a deeply immersive sci-fi horror experience that firmly grabs you at the start and doesn’t let go. While this immersion shows its cracks during the transition into new areas, it’s not enough to ruin the overall experience.

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Jan 26, 2023

Scavengers Studio delivers a beautiful and poetic narrative with Season: A Letter to the future.

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Mar 23, 2023

Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game presents a neat take on the popular sci-fi universe that’s easy to understand and challenging throughout. It’s satisfying gameplay loop was enough to keep me moving through Sectors and upgrading the Aurora, but I’m just not sure it warrants being an exclusive VR experience.

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Mar 31, 2023

MLB The Show 23 is another solid addition in what is the best annual sports sim franchise. San Diego Studio continues to show a deep knowledge and understanding of baseball and the culture surrounding it. The addition of The Negro Leagues is a massive improvement to the overall product, and the ability to scan your face into Road to the Show is a fun new feature as well. Outside of some minor league woes, MLB The Show is another grand slam.

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Apr 11, 2023

Tron: Identity weaves an interesting detective story that expands the franchise mythos. While those invested in the lore will enjoy diving deeper into this universe, newcomers would have benefitted from a bit more exposition. Despite that, Tron: Identity’s branching story, puzzles, and visuals make it quite an enjoyable visual novel.

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Apr 14, 2023

Minecraft Legends is definitely one of the better Minecraft spin-offs to be released under Mojang and Microsoft. The teams at Blackbird and Mojang deftly take the memorable aspects of Minecraft and make them work in a brand-new genre. The strategy elements run deep, and the Campaign features enough variety that no two players will have an identical experience. Minecraft Legends’ biggest sin is that its open world and crafting elements – two signature traits of the source material – are unremarkable. Luckily, it delivers on everything else it’s trying to do.

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May 2, 2023

Mr. Sun’s Hatbox is charming and funny as hell. As silly as it is, the game is quite clever in the way it melds systems together, constantly introducing something new to juggle or consider when planning a mission or expanding your base. Its roguelite elements raise the stakes of every heist and make every success feel all the sweeter. While some balancing issues led to early frustrations, Mr. Suns’s Hatbox is an impressive little package.

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8 / 10 - Bread & Fred
May 22, 2023

Bread & Fred has solid platforming mechanics, and the introduction of the rope opens the door to brand-new frustrations and gameplay elements. It succeeds greatly at producing a co-op experience that’ll either have you at the throats of your friends and loved ones, or laughing uncontrollably, even if it feels like there isn’t much more substance beneath the surface.

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8 / 10 - Crime O'Clock
Jun 30, 2023

Crime O’Clock is an enjoyable throwback to hidden object games, with modern visual and mechanical design elements that eliminate the frustrations of the genre. Its art style and level of detail make each level a visual treat in addition to a challenging puzzle. I look forward to seeing if Bad Seed is able to expand on the experience with additional levels and puzzles down the road.

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Aug 14, 2023

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a splendid new entry in the asymmetrical multiplayer family. Its recreation of the characters and locations from the 1974 movie is deeply impressive, as it’s abundantly clear that authenticity was a top priority during development. It helps to enhance the exhilarating gameplay, though I do worry about its approachability given the deep systems and mechanics. Regardless, it’s one that I look forward to playing both casually and competitively with friends whenever I want a good scare.

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8 / 10 - Highwater
Mar 14, 2024

Highwater is an excellent adventure game that puts a magnifying glass up to the growing issue of climate change and the ambivalence that humans can have towards the state of the environment. While the story is bogged down by inconsistent writing, I found plenty to enjoy in its combat system and its ancillary storytelling.

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8 / 10 - Open Roads
Mar 27, 2024

Open Roads is the quintessential Annapurna Interactive video game. There are prominent actors giving authentic performances in a story that’s beautifully written, there’s a unique approach to art direction, and the music is top-of-the-line. I didn’t vibe with all of the design decisions, but it’s impossible to walk away from Open Roads without feeling at least a little contemplative about your own life journey and relationships.

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Apr 5, 2024

MLB The Show 24 is another very good baseball game from San Diego Studio. It suffers from a lot of the same pitfalls as other annual sports titles, but The Show is so clearly head-and-shoulders above those games. The Negro Leagues Season 2, inclusive additions to RTTS, and the introduction of Impact Plays show that this series hasn’t quite lost its fastball.

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8 / 10 - Stellar Blade
Apr 24, 2024

Not only has SHIFT UP successfully established itself as a formidable console game developer, but it has provided PS5 players with a worthwhile AAA action game in a year that’s set to be exceptionally quiet for Sony’s first-party studios. Stellar Blade might not pack a narrative punch, but it’s a competent soulslike with satisfying combat and mechanics that make it an exciting challenge from beginning to end.

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May 15, 2024

Lorelei and the Lasers Eyes delivers challenging puzzles alongside a mystifying narrative. It successfully trains your brain to overanalyze, experiment, and ask questions. All hallmarks of an excellent puzzle game. I was frustrated by some technical design decisions that slowed the pace and led to unintentional errors, but still had a thoroughly good time working my way through this otherworldly puzzle box.

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Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game is a detailed asymmetrical horror game that gives a lot of love to its cult classic source material. The weird and wacky nature of the film is a perfect fit for the genre, and the gameplay design gives purpose to just about everything you do. I had frustrations with the locomotion and match length, but it didn’t ruin what was overall an enjoyable multiplayer experience.

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Jun 25, 2024

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is a treat for fans of the original game as well as those who were introduced to the franchise with Luigi’s Mansion 3. It’s been properly modernized with beautiful lighting and improved features, though there are some growing pains in the jump between platforms. Still, it provides the excellent blend of spooky and silly that makes the series so endearing.

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Jul 15, 2024

Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is an extremely charming metroidvania thanks to its rich use of Japanese folklore in its world and character design. Not only is the world nice to look at, but a delight to explore. There are some rough edges when it comes to the platforming, but there is immense fun to be had if you can work past them.

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Jul 17, 2024

EA Sports College Football 25 succeeds at setting itself apart from Madden with new mechanics and systems that change the way you play the game. Wear & Tear forces a new kind of strategy, and the changes to passing and player movement open the door for unforgettable plays. There are some cracks in the presentation, the game needs more songs, and Dynasty could use a tad more polish, but College Football 25 has delivered a level of fun that I haven’t gotten from a football sim in years.

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7 / 10 - Rain World
Dec 21, 2018

Rain World is a formidable experience to fans of the survival genre, and one that you can now take with you on the go via the Nintendo Switch.

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