In the end, Cyberpunk 2077 is an absolutely gorgeous game in search of a soul, which is ironic, given the duality of the protagonist’s situation. The developers worked extraordinarily hard on what’s here, polishing it to an absolutely gorgeous shine on PC, delivering stunning visuals…when they work correctly. They also delivered a game that is a great deal of fun at some moments, and bafflingly broken the next. With over 30 GB of updates since launch, this game needs more time in the oven. Sure, it’s better on PC, but that’s cold comfort when it’s hardly functional on other platforms. What’s clear is that this game is no more ready for release than it is for review. Major patches are already slated for January and February, and we’ll revisit it at that time to score it. Right now, buyer beware. There’s a fun game underneath all this, but only if you are playing on PC or Stadia.
When the dust settles, a year has been extraordinarily helpful to Snapshot Games. The AI is sharper, the animations are better, the fight feels more fair, and the game takes risks that make it feel fresh. While there are still some bugs to iron out, and the UI can be confusing at times, there's a lot to enjoy in Phoenix Point: Year One Edition.
With five new creatures, more than 120 set pieces, a new educational "Animal Talks" system, and a ton of quality of life improvements, this expansion pack is a must-have for any Planet Zoo enthusiast. Come for the Caimans, stay for the Penguins.
Sam and Max Save the World looks as great as it sounds. With upgraded visuals, fresh jazzy music, remastered audio across the board, this is the best this game series has ever looked. Bring on Season 2, 3, and beyond!
Immortals: Fenyx Rising is an excellent new adventure title for Ubisoft, full to bursting with genuine comedy, excellent gameplay, and devious puzzles. While there are a few technical hiccups, underutilized DualSense, and sub-30 fps Switch ports, the game is fantastic on all platforms. Come for the bizarre Greek mythology, stay for the stellar gameplay -- Immortals: Fenyx Rising is a fantastic holiday treat.
With a practiced expertise, Frontier has translated their fantastic coaster creator to the next-gen consoles without compromising the core qualities of what makes this game great. The radial menu and optional keyboard/mouse controls delivers theme park magic unlike any other, and once again claims its crown -- the king of coasters among mere tycoons.
Like previous effort ABZÛ before it, The Pathless leans heavily into the gorgeous cell-shaded world, and it does so with gameplay and story that keeps you locked and engaged for the entirety of its 10 hour story run. Comparisons to games like Shadow of the Colossus and Journey are apt, but seeing the world rush by at 4K and 60fps is a thing of beauty. Come for the frenetic gameplay, stay for the art.
From a purely technical perspective, Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition is a triumph. Delivering gorgeous ray traced lighting, blistering framerates, and high resolution, coupled with speedy load times and eye-popping visuals, Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition is the best possible rendition of the game. Returning special features like Turbo mode, Legendary Dark Knight mode, and Vergil himself is sure to keep any air-juggling Devil May Cry fan happy.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the best open world RPG this year. It's colorful locals are a joy to discover, combat and stealth feel deep and rewarding, and there's a viking hoard of things to do.
With visuals completely redesigned from the ground up, rebuilt mechanics, and even a dose of extra content, Observer System Redux delivers on the gritty retrofuturistic cyberpunk world of horror. Rebuilt stealth sections fixed the largest complaint, and the hitching in the original release is gone. The original was good, but this is great.
With flawless lighting, excellent gameplay, innovative immersion, and a fresh new story, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is the sort of game that we'll be talking about for the rest of the console generation. This is how you start a new generation of gaming.
Jurassic World Complete Edition is a technical marvel on Switch. Delivering everything in a single package, this version of the game carries with it all three expansion packs, and all of the optional dino packs, making it the most complete version to date. While the undocked version is slightly lower fidelity, it's a small concession for being able to build your own ill-advised dino park on the go.
Torchlight III feels watered down compared to its contemporaries, and worse, its predecessors. The loot is as plentiful as it is unsatisfying. The monsters are a deluge of health bars, removing all sense of threat or purpose. The characters feel so genericized that they can't transcend past whatever non-specific weapons they may carry. Betrayed by its F2P roots, Torchlight III needed a full rebuild to iterate on its origins, and clearly, that's not what happened here as it's simultaneously more of the same, and somehow less.
Occasionally obtuse and sporting a few UX/UI barnacles, Port Royale 4 could use a little more dry dock time before setting out on the high seas. AI trading bugs and occasionally unfair combat sequences discourage combat, which takes the wind out of the sails of this pirate adventure. Developer Gaming Minds can patch the hull, but they need to do so before people find another ship on which to set sail.
Hangar 13 has retouched every single aspect of the original Mafia, expanding the story, refining the gameplay, and wrapping it with an absolutely phenomenal new look and sound, elevating it to an entirely new and modern level. It's good to be part of the family once more.
With a great campaign, and engaging (albeit repetitive) multiplayer, Marvel's Avengers is a fun title with cosmetic-only games as a service components bolted onto it. The innumerable bugs hide what could be an amazing and ever-expanding universe -- I just hope the team at SquareEnix is up to the challenge. I want to "do this all day"...but right now we are in the "you hope for the best and make do with what you get" stage.
Four-player sandwich-making chaos reigns supreme in. Best played with friends, but mostly capable solo, Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale delivers hours of cooperative chaos. Now we just have to hope that this VR culinary fantasy adventure can find its way onto other platforms so I can burn bread with my pals.
There is nothing out there like Microsoft Flight Simulator. It delivers the entire world in unrivaled quality, combined with pinpoint precise controls and realism at a level that is unmatched. If you want a taste of the sky, this game is virtual perfection, and if you are learning to fly in the real world, nothing will reinforce what you've already learned more than Microsoft Flight Simulator.
With upgraded grappling and submission mechanics, better training and fewer flash knockouts, UFC 4 manages to deliver on the promise of its predecessor. Cosmetic microtransactions come across greedy, but there's nothing lacking in the main product. Framerate hitches and a few bugs remain at launch, as does persistent voice repetition, but overall if you enjoyed UFC 3, there's a lot to like about UFC 4.
Total War Saga: Troy is a step in an interesting direction. The "Saga" distinction allows the team to try some new concepts without disturbing the main franchise, and it does while remaining faithful to the historic roots of its predecessors, with a dash of the fantastical. Some technical wobbles remain, and the game can be occasionally obtuse, but there's a lot to enjoy here.