Michael Leri
- The Last of Us
- God of War
- Mortal Kombat X
Cult of the Lamb is a twisted and successful balancing act. Even though its combat lacks some nuance, the game balances its roguelite dungeon crawler and management sim halves quite well.
Metal: Hellsinger’s leanness isn’t wholly damning since it is an impeccably paced shooter that cuts everything down to its essentials and hones in on its musical gunplay, which is what matters.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope expands on almost everything else Kingdom Battle did much more successfully. Its tactical combat is more open and customizable, which leads to engaging battles where player resourcefulness is always rewarded and rewarding.
Wo Long carves its own path because of its distinct and rich combat system. Parrying is always fulfilling and the game’s many new systems are built around that rock-solid foundation. And while not quite the sharpest sword Team Ninja has crafted, it’s still as deadly as ever.
Dredge is a remarkable blend of polar opposite genres that benefit greatly when mashed together like this. It’s not the deepest fishing game nor is it the scariest horror game, but it blends these two distinct halves well enough so that it doesn’t rely on one tone or style for too long. And because of this, much like the aberrational fish that plague its sea, Dredge is unique enough to be quite the catch.
Coincidentally, Shadow of the Tomb Raider looks content living in the shadow of the other Tomb Raider games, which is good enough in most respects. It's just at its best when it crawls out of that shadow and ventures into uncharted territory.
Toys for Bob’s recreation honors Spyro’s roots by using Insomniac’s style as a template and naturally expanding upon it without losing sight of the franchise’s soul. The result is a trio of titles that have brighter visuals, smoother controls, and more expressive animations while retaining the easygoing platformer nature that surprisingly fits quite well in the modern day.
Hitman 2 was obviously meant to be attached to the previous Hitman game as both are nearly identical on the surface. The commitment to replayability, thorough assassinations, and large, packed environments are parallels that worked then and work now.
It's almost there in many respects which make the prospect of a sequel awfully alluring but it's executed well enough to make it a good game in its own right.
There's an elusive elegance to The Gardens Between. It's short, charming, and shows its rewarding puzzle mechanic in just a couple hours without stretching the game to its breaking point. Some people might think it's too short but it's a start contrast to a solid chunk of big budget games that boast nebulous amounts of content over shorter, more authored experiences.
Its reluctance to properly evolve keep it from being the king of its genre, but its commitment to its stylish and responsive mechanics still makes it one of the best hack and slash games, crown or not.
Spider-Man's first episode is fantastic in almost all the same ways that the main game is.
Project Warlock's speedy gunplay, rockin' soundtrack, and armory of slick weapons combine in a way that make it a bit more than a repeat of past Dooms and results in a game that's bigger than the sum of its many recognizable parts.
Silver Lining ends The City That Never Sleeps with grace but its grander ambitions make it more than yet another Spider-Man chapter.
While the gear system is full of unwanted fluff, Trials Rising is not. Its collection of well-designed tracks are wonderful playgrounds for its familiar yet still addictive physics-heavy biking gameplay. Familiarity in this case is not a bad thing because of how satisfying it is to improve your technique and overcome new challenges throughout its bevvy of additional modes.
There simultaneously needed to be a lot more of Rage 2 and lot less; a lot more depth in its driving, story, and missions and a lot less repeated content and long stretches of empty landscape
This episode may sometimes sprint on the way to that conclusion but it’s just going to be a few months until we find out whether or not the odd rush had a greater purpose.
Despite those bumps in the road, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is both a respectful reimagining and a superb, modernized kart racer in its own right. It accurately borrows from its inspirations and enhances their qualities in ways that feel true to what Naughty Dog would have done if it had the hardware.
Blood and Truth’s minor story issues don’t overshadow its widespread successful commitment to VR.
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath is a strange game that still sticks out because of its unusual but fantastic tone.