Benjamin Guthrie's Reviews
God of War goes above and beyond with its storytelling and gameplay to not only become the game of the year, but quite possibly the best PS4 exclusive to date.
Surprisingly fun combat and an incredible world makes Control a game that is hard to forget.
Hades is the best rogue-lite I have played to-date. It manages to weave a great story through its run-based gameplay effortlessly, and its combat is an absolute blast. More than anything, though, it manages to stay engaging at high hour counts, which is something I cannot say for most singleplayer games I have played.
Return of the Obra Dinn is a great blend of style, story, and unique puzzle solving mechanics, creating an experience that is both incredible and unforgettable.
More of the same can be a good thing, and Hitman 2 does that by offering more of what makes the first game so incredible, with some extras added on the side.
Metro Exodus is the best in the series, offering a perfect blend of old and new gameplay mechanics as well as a much more grounded story diving deeper into the people that inhabit the game's post-apocalyptic Russia
Resident Evil 2 is a great example of how to remake an older game by keeping enough of the original game's core while implementing enough new mechanics to modernize it. The end product is everything I wanted out of a Resident Evil game and more.
Supraland is a melting pot of mechanics and inspirations, and all of them blend together into one great package with great level design and fantastic puzzles.
Half-Life: Alyx is a full VR experience the platform needed years ago. Its great story and interactive environment shows what you can do with virtual reality and a larger budget, and I hope this game blazes a path forward for more high quality VR experiences in the future.
Hitman 3 is another one of those in the best way possible. It wraps up the World of Assassination trilogy nicely by keeping to what makes the series great while also diving deeper into the story. Now is the best time to visit or revisit this trilogy, and the future is bright for IO Interactive.
This isn't going to be a new game for most, but Ghost of Tsushima is the best checkbox open-world game to-date. While it struggles with some story issues, the combat, world, activities, and characters are incredible, and this game's beauty is like no other.
Deathloop is a highlight of 2021 releases and a great time loop adventure with solid combat abilities, a gripping story with fun characters, and smart systems that bypass some of the restrictions of its narrative form. There are some issues with the game in regards to the ending, enemies, and how hand-holding the game can be, but I think the game’s competent blend of inspirations can make some of those points easy to forget.
You may think the apocalypse is the end, but Sunset Overdrive does something unique by making it the beginning with clever and funny writing, a punk rock mixed with comic book style, and fun traversal abilities.
Black Ops 4 is the biggest change to the formula in recent Call of Duty history, and in large part is for the better. Blackout is a suitable replacement for the single player campaign, zombies has seen meaningful changes to its meta-game, and multiplayer is more of the same great thing.
The Tomb Raider reboot trilogy finishes off strong with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the darkest game out of the three.
Shakedown: Hawaii combines a fun top-down GTA world with a business sim to good effect; and although the game falls flat towards the end, my time on the island was a blast.
Void Bastards is a fun romp through space, mixing rogue-lite elements with a surprisingly smart shooter.
Remnant: From the Ashes is a game that wears its inspirations on its sleeve while at the same time being unique. The story falls flat and bosses rely too heavily on common enemies, but this game is still a blast to play and something I can get a lot of hours out of.
Blair Witch goes beyond being a cheap movie game by delivering a thoughtful character and unique game mechanics, making this a solid horror game worth remembering.
The current version of this game is lacking in content, but what is currently available is a solid evolution of Hotline Miami into a slower, tactical experience.