Phil Hornshaw's Reviews
A team of friends is essential to enjoying 'Ghost Recon: Wildlands,' which struggles at times, but gets open-world absurdity right.
Mass Effect: Andromeda often comes off like a giant checklist of Mass Effect–themed content, but what it's missing is the wonder and excitement that made the last Mass Effect games feel special. The previous games had their issues, but combined their elements to create a vast, interesting world full of deep characters with conflicting desires and experiences that made us feel connected to it.
'Rime' doesn't always perfectly combine gameplay with the intended emotional journey, but it succeeds more than it fails.
Pretending you're a Starfleet officer in Star Trek: Bridge Crew is great, as long as you have a crew to back you up.
'Arms' brings back the fun of the Nintendo Wii, but it's most fun if you don't take it too seriously.
"LawBreakers" is a speedy, chaotic addition to the shooter market, but might struggle to break through.
"Lost Legacy" improves on "Uncharted 4," and its fresh characters give some new life to the series.
"Absolver" mixes a deep, smart and tough combat system with unpredictable multiplayer encounters.
Smarter and more streamlined, "Destiny 2" is the version of "Destiny" fans have been waiting for.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole" struggles to capture what's made the show endure for 20 years.
Mario's first turn on the Switch is fun, but lacks the innovation and creativity of Nintendo's best.
Full of repetition, "Curse of Osiris" feels like a step back for "Destiny 2."
Veterans and newcomers alike will fall for 'Shadow of the Colossus' the moment they see it in motion.
"Metal Gear Survive" adds confusing, tedious busywork - and zombies - to the franchise.
Though it's fun with a friend, A Way Out struggles with clunky set-pieces and story clichés.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider makes a predictable journey into darkness, but it's still brutal fun.
Destiny 2: Warmind is a step up from its last expansion, but still suffers feels repetitive.
Despite its updates, No Man's Sky remains the same experience that it was at launch — just a better-realized version of it. The first five planets of your No Man's Sky experience will be glorious. The rest may leave you wanting more.
Whether a fan of Spider-Man himself, the open-world genre, or action games in general, Marvel's Spider-Man is an excellent example of each.
Changes to the core systems, meanwhile, take two steps forward and one step back. The game's long list of improvements is paired with the return for grinding for grinding's sake. Check back later this week for our final impressions.