Right now you can pick up the “final” version of AirportSim, but I’m actually reminded of games like Icarus. If you look at Icarus at launch versus today, it’s an entirely different game. Each week (a cadence MS Games is aiming to match) we got an update for Icarus, all focused on features and bug fixes that were requested by the community. AirportSim could use that same approach to help apply some polish to transform the game into a simulator that keeps you coming back over and over. That said, at current state it’s still very much Early Access, no matter what the version says. We’ll see if the weeks ahead can unload some of this baggage.
Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is a great idea. Playing as a Ghostbuster recruit in VR is exactly what you’d have hoped for when you heard of this game, from the proton pack to the Ecto-1. Until a fix is discovered for the audio, however, the ghosts will continue to inhabit the streets of San Francisco, completely unrestricted.
There’s a lot to like in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, and there’s an equal list of things that aren’t as polished. It’s the very definition of midtier, with all that implies. There are better survival crafting games out there, but none that offer a chance to see what nameless primordial things lie below the Mines of Moria. Always hungry, always waiting.
Suffice it to say I’m excited for this game, and so much of me wants to recommend every bit of it. Right now, the performance issues make that very, very hard. I’m not sure why Colossal and Paradox didn’t delay all of it until 2024 instead of just consoles, but here we are. Much like other games that launched in a rough state, I’m certain that Cities: Skylines II will eventually be something to behold. For now, however, there’s a bit of buyer beware.
At the time of launch, I’m incredibly impressed with what Vertigo Games has delivered. I want to spend some time hunting zombie-sicles with my friends to really get a handle on how the game plays with friends, but this already feels like a can’t-miss entry into Sony’s PSVR2 platform.
There’s a lot to see and experience in Lost Ark, and the asking price to try it is just your time. It’s very clear that this game is a juggernaut, and even friends of mine who aren’t into the genre have had their interest piqued enough to give it a go. Here’s to hoping Smilegate, Amazon, and Tripod Studios can capitalize on an incredibly strong start and fulfill the promise buried under all these screens.
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.
Runic and Perfect World have given us everything we’ve asked for – I can’t think of a single game that can make that claim in recent memory.
I've had a lot to say for a game I'm not ready to pass judgement on quite yet, but it's safe to say that I'm absolutely blown away by what Warhorse has put together.
It's with a heavy heart that I write this review of Fighter Within. When I saw the announcement, I was excited, knowing what the Xbox One Kinect could do for a genre like this. Daoka bit off far more than they could chew, and this time it wasn't the hardware. The Kinect was purpose built for exactly this sort of game, but Daoka simply wasn't up to the task. As a fighter and a gamer, I'm deeply insulted by Fighter Within.
Overlord: Fellowship of Evil is, by a wide margin, one of the worst games of the year. I don't know what the team at Codemaster was thinking, but they've wrecked everything Triumph Studios had built. Either give it back, or let this franchise die — it has suffered enough, as have we.
Ghostbusters as a couch co-op game is a dream on paper. Unfortunately, the execution from FireForge Games is so lackluster and devoid of quality that publisher Activision should be ashamed in having released it. It’s a shameless tangential cash-in based entirely on the power of an already-maligned reboot that nobody asked for. I’ll go see the movie for the popcorn, but let’s leave this game in the Containment Unit. Light is green, trap is clean.
Syberia was a series built around amazing puzzles and unique storytelling. Syberia 3 was an opportunity to bring all of that to a new generation. Unfortunately, it has remained mired in the pixel-hunting past, riddled with bugs, obtuse controls, and an uninspired storyline coupled with head-scratching voice work. I wanted to enjoy Syberia 3, but too many issues may leave this series stuck in the frozen snow.
It's clear that Moviehouse has the passion and levers to be a worthy successor to The Movies, but this game is completely devoid of tuning. Please, put this game in Early Access and fix it? I want it to be good, but it's just impossible to recommend in this state.
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.
With a sour stomach and a lot of disappointment, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot delivers a gorgeous visual feast with more motion sickness than I've encountered in any VR game to date. Insult to injury, it's also painfully short, smacking more of AAA tech demo than meaty Wolfenstein tie-in.
It'd be easy to confuse Let's Sing 2023 for Let's Sing 2022. The same bugs, the same thin soundtrack, and the same monetization. As such, it earns the same score as it's the SAME GAME.
With lackluster modes, and an even more lackluster soundtrack, Let's Sing 2022 needs to take a beat and figure out what fans of karaoke want out of a singing game.
Real talk? I've tried for weeks to get into Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates, but the clunky controls, obtuse UI, and incomplete concepts made it impossible for me to engage. The concept and setting for Empyre is top shelf, but the gameplay came out a little water logged.
A straight port from 2005, Destroy All Humans! is not pretty to look at, but the writing has held up well over the last decade. That said, nostalgia can’t fix the repetitive gameplay of Destroy All Humans!, and technical glitches mar the fun on tap. If you want a trip down memory lane, you might catch this on a sale, but it’s hardly a must-have in its current technical state and price point.