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Michael Leri


Favorite Games:
  • The Last of Us
  • God of War
  • Mortal Kombat X

182 games reviewed
72.2 average score
75 median score
47.5% of games recommended

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge still hits that slightly lowered target quite well because it is able to effectively channel its nostalgia and become more than a shallow remix that solely leans on fan service. It is the antithesis of 2009’s oft-forgotten TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, a game that just slapped new paint on the old Party Wagon and failed to fix its rusted engine.

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8 / 10.0 - Ghostwire: Tokyo
Mar 21, 2022

Ghostwire: Tokyo isn't Bethesda Softworks' best first-person shooter, but it still earns its spot within that publisher's peerless shooter pantheon through the sheer ingenuity found in its mechanics and world.

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8 / 10.0 - Far Cry 6
Oct 6, 2021

Far Cry 6 is ultimately a safe sequel that doesn’t aim to redefine what Far Cry is. However, it is still the well-tuned entry that does improve upon the formula in key areas, mainly the upgrade paths, gunplay, and cutscenes. It disappointingly doesn’t take that formula into a new direction or modernize it and can feel antiquated as a result, but it can still be mindlessly addictive even amongst its familiarity. Its narrative may posit revolution as the only possible answer, but its overall presentation posits that a solid evolution can still be quite effective.

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8 / 10.0 - Last Stop
Jul 27, 2021

Despite its scope, Last Stop is a wholly captivating tale. Its grounded and fantastical halves work in harmony to create a narrative that has enough humanity to draw players in while also having a supernatural mystery at its center to keep players on the hook. It may not be the most interactive game in its genre, but it’s certainly one of the most charming, intriguing, and British.

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Jul 22, 2024

Developer Bureau 81’s ability to file The Operator down to its best components and focus solely on what works is its biggest asset. It’s not a bloated campaign with an equal balance of tacky and tactful puzzles. Instead, it’s a taut collection of cases that work in tandem to create a gripping adventure that encourages savvy problem-solving. It’s all cushy desk work, but The Operator makes examining phone records and enhancing grainy security camera footage just as exciting as tiptoeing through an enemy base with a silenced pistol.

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Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 does not have everything that a modern collection should have. Its inability to ubiquitously implement modern features like save states and rewinding only keeps players from fully celebrating the history this compilation seems intent on celebrating. But the extras paint a decent portrait of its accomplishments by delving deep into its lore and speaking to almost every entry’s significance within the medium. And even though the actual games haven’t seen many improvements, they are still unique marvels generations later that lovingly balance quirky jokes and deadly serious diatribes about nuclear proliferation. The bundle largely captures what makes the franchise so beloved, even if some useful quality-of-life features have sneaked on by it.

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8 / 10.0 - Mortal Kombat 1
Sep 16, 2023

Mortal Kombat 1 has some of the most liberating combat mechanics NetherRealm has ever made, but some of the peripheral features fall a little short of what the studio has achieved prior. Being able to access more tricks and dig into the Kameo system gives fights more depth than they’ve ever had. That ingenuity clashes with the vague unlock system, repetitive Invasion mode, and inconsistent campaign that strangely don’t match the heights of previous NetherRealm games. Mortal Kombat 1 is a victory in many ways, just not a flawless one.

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8 / 10.0 - Lies of P
Sep 13, 2023

Lies of P is wearing Bloodborne’s cloak, but it has its own heart, one encased in metal and powered by ingenuity. It sometimes transfixes on tropes of the genre to its detriment, yet still overcomes by the sheer quality of its boss fights, combat mechanics, and world design. Lies of P’s steel heart may not be born of blood and flesh, but it still pumps heartily enough to be a worthy substitute for the real deal.

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8 / 10.0 - Synapse
Jun 29, 2023

Synapse’s roguelite elements are too light, but it’s a well-designed shooter that empowers players in ways only a VR game can. Developer nDreams has taken PSVR2’s eye-tracking and adaptive triggers and built them into the game’s mechanics without turning them into gimmicks. Snatching a barrel and detonating it over a group of hostiles is as gratifying as instinctively throwing back an incoming grenade while dumping submachine gun rounds with the other hand. It all combines to make for a thrilling VR shooter that excels for how it takes advantage of the hardware

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8 / 10.0 - Humanity
May 15, 2023

Humanity’s presentation only augments the satisfying puzzle mechanics at its core. Leading around an array of humans through a series of shrewdly planned commands is open enough to lead to many different types of brain-teasers that consistently challenge players. A handful of these ways can be a little frustrating, especially near the end, but they’re outnumbered by the copious amount of stages that push players to think creatively as the most important Shiba Inu to ever live.

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8 / 10.0 - Street Fighter 6
May 30, 2023

Street Fighter 6 is a redemptive sequel that’s more complete and has a distinct style. Street Fighter 5 did eventually get better, but Street Fighter 6 has come out the gate swinging with a suite of deep mechanics with more intuitive ways to learn and master all of them. The single-player modes are lacking, and, in World Tour’s case, disastrous, but it’s a strong fighting game that packs quite a punch.

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The Ancient Gods Part 2 is the least impressive segment in Doom’s rebooted trilogy with its stages, level of difficulty, and slightly off-kilter story beats that all come in just below the previously established baseline. But it’s still one heck of a high baseline since the strategic, blazing-fast gunplay and ever-growing lineup of unique demons still have no equal in the first-person shooter space. The Doom Slayer was directed to rip and tear until it was done and now that it is indeed done, he has earned his rest even though his final showdown wasn’t his finest ripping and tearing.

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The First Samurai is a lovely, if bloody way to wrap up the Nioh 2 saga. From its vibrant levels to its imaginative yokai to its crushing difficulty, this DLC does almost everything base Nioh 2 did but better aside from the superfluous storytelling. Team Ninja may have been honing its craft to get to this level for the final expansion, but in doing so the developer has saved the best for last.

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Dec 15, 2020

Getting Doom on a new platform is inherent to the series’ DNA as people find more oddball hardware to run the classic game on. Playing Doom on a pregnancy test is not the most optimal way to play it, but it is possible. And Doom Eternal on the Switch is similarly possible but not optimal. The Switch port is still thrilling and has an addictive combat loop with incredible pacing yet it’s inherently held back enough by the platform’s weaknesses to make it the least appealing version. It’s a novelty to rip and tear on the go, but it’s questionable how, well, novel that novelty really is. It runs Doom… sorta.

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Darkness in the Capital may seem like a typical expansion and it is in some sense, but that phrasing gives a short shift to how it builds on top of an excellent experience and remains a clawed fist that’s as sharp as it ever was. Its combat is fundamentally fantastic so adding new variables that maintain the same level of quality is only going to make that loop even more engaging. Darkness in the Capital’s array of bosses bring in another set of challenges and its new weapon encourages both thoughtful play and fast action. And in a game full of challenges and fast action, meaningfully building on top of that is still an accomplishment.

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Aug 17, 2020

Mortal Shell’s scope ends up being a more significant net gain as it offers a brisk Soulslike experience without trying to overwhelm players with content for content’s sake.

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It’s not a revolutionary piece of DLC, but, much like the armor and weapons it adds to the game, it enhances an already-strong and relentless warrior.

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Jul 3, 2020

Catherine: Full Body is one of those rare full-bodied ports that’s just as enjoyable when poured into a to-go cup.

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Mortal Kombat 11’s blemishes have carried over to Aftermath yet they are far outweighed by the accompanying strengths that have also made the jump. NetherRealm’s extraordinary cinematic techniques are on full display in Aftermath’s three-hour campaign and provide an appreciated touch of darkness to the game’s overall narrative. RoboCop, Sheeva, and Fujin also all earn their place on the character select screen even if none of them were topping out anyone’s most-wanted list. Aftermath’s premium additions, in conjunction with the free content, demonstrate that Mortal Kombat 11 is more than capable and deserving to survive far into the future; a true but welcome irony for a game famous for its gruesome depictions of death and dismemberment.

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Will of the Wisps doesn’t jump as high as Ori and the Blind Forest and falls in a few extra pits yet it is still a worthy enough successor.

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