Layers of Fear 2 is a brief, electric bolt of terror, a game that begs to be played in the dark and on the biggest screen possible and with a pair of sound-canceling headphones.
Complaining about Outer Wilds inscrutability is a little like criticizing Rome because you don’t know which sights to see. Do a measly Google search. Mobius Digital has, at times, erred on the side of giving players too little information. But, as a result, they have created a world that casts you as Isaac Newton. They are eagerly waiting for you to discover its gravity.
The Blackout Club isn’t perfect. As a fan of immersive sims, I want more lore and more tools to play with. But, it is a unique and compelling mash-up of genre horror and systems-driven gameplay. I can’t wait to get back to the maze.
At times it feels like playing around with a chemistry set. Except it can only produce fun and harmless explosions.
What I find most remarkable about Sea of Stars is that, despite not caring all that much about its characters, the gameplay was good enough that I was invested throughout. Managing the meters of each battle, and exploring the colorful landscapes and dungeons that connect them, is so entertaining that my quibbles about other aspects couldn't bring the experience down. The story isn't especially compelling, but it perfectly serves the purpose it needs to: getting you from the fun of A to the fun of B without any real hiccups in between. Howard Hawks once said that a movie needs "three good scenes and no bad ones" to be great. That's what Sea of Stars has going for it. Nothing that'll bother you too much, and plenty of good.
That said, The Church in the Darkness is a smart stealth game that impressively warps to reflect your actions. It lets you get in and break out as you see fit. While failure still feels like failure, success is sweet and varied. Once it gets a hold of you, you may not want to break out, at all.
It almost feels like the ending gets further away the closer you get to it. Maybe that's fitting for a game about time travel. Scarlet Nexus' strange structure has somehow bent the laws governing time to its will.
The Falconeer boasts an intriguing story and a hauntingly beautiful setting, but is hampered by repetitive missions in an empty open world.
Technical issues and tired tropes aside, Serious Sam 4 is a largely successful synthesis of the series' disparate identities.
The Solitaire Conspiracy deals out excellent solitaire with a weak layer of FMV window dressing.
With Doom Eternal's The Ancient Gods Part 1 Part 1 DLC, the best and worst of id Software's latest are on full display.
Twin Mirror's solid character work and strong environments are shortchanged by pacing problems that undermine much of what it does well.
Little Nightmares II is a delightful follow-up to developer Tarsier's 2017 horror platformer, but it's sometimes weighed down by gameplay frustrations and inaccessibility.
The Big Con is a unique take on video game nostalgia that takes players to the '90s, but not the video game '90s.
In short, nothing collected here is as good as the best this series has to offer. But, Assassin's Creed III Remastered is a welcome glimpse into an era that would define much in the years to come.
My hope is that BioWare, too, will be able to overcome the ways that their game is broken. Since that demo, Anthem has steadily grown more stable. Some issues, though—like the repetitive mission structure—run deeper than glitchiness. But, Anthem’s core mechanics are satisfying, its world is enticing and its characters, by and large, are charming. With this review done, I will continue to play it. I want Anthem to get better, and I only hope that EA will give BioWare the time and resources to make this game as good as it can be. As it stands, it’s still worth a shot.
Void Bastards, unfortunately, stifles creativity at times. No matter how you approach the game, much of your time will be spent rifling through drawers. It succeeds at evoking the best of comic book art, but will need some work before its emergent narratives approach the heights of explosive comic book storytelling.
It doesn’t have any radical ideas (or much to say about the radical idea of its inspiration). But, fans of old LucasArts adventure games will find a lot to love (and laugh at) in Stuck in Attic’s debut.
Most of what this game has to offer hasn’t changed since 2012. It’s more Borderlands. Decide how you feel about that.
Generally, though, The Park is an effective experience. It avoids the first-person horror genre’s worst habits while conveying an engaging story. It leans hard on horror tropes (and fails to interrogate well-trod stereotypical presentations of mental illness) but manages to unearth something potent in the process. Your mileage will certainly vary; roller coasters are thrilling for some, nauseating for others. I enjoyed this ride.