The weaknesses in the combat prevent some cool ideas from ever fully taking off. The rushed ending, whether the result of running out of time during development or an awkward playthrough, means the plot trips at the finishing line. But the uniqueness of the setting goes a long way toward making the game an interesting sell and the characters are fun to spend time with.
Banishers is not quite the unqualified win I wanted it to be, but it’s easy to appreciate on its merits. While the combat overstays its welcome and the exploration leaves a lot to be desired, there’s enough here to like for those who like strong narratives with great characters.
The game has interesting ideas and only manages to land about half of them. Though admirably attempting to blend more expansive action and some cool movement options, nothing ends up being tuned quite well enough to bring it all together.
Individually, enough of its elements are enjoyable enough to engage with. The combat, particularly its shooting, feels pretty good. But so much of the rest of Starfield feels cobbled together so inelegantly that it can’t help but to get in way of the experience.
Remnant II is fortunately an improvement in nearly all respects, expanding on the the first game in interesting ways that push greater player agency and cooperative engagement while maintaining the same tight gun play. In that same breath, the problems from the first game are still present, though to varying degrees of annoyance.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is an easy recommendation to strategy and superhero fans or anyone who’s been missing the more traditional BioWare experience. Its tactical combat stands out in the genre and is consistently compelling.
Far from an unqualified win, Wo Long does manage to be an entertaining ride. When it leans into the strength of its combat it’s a joy. But much like that combat, there’s a push and pull to the changes that never quite coalesce.
For its first foray into this style of game, Spiders falls into some bad habits that never quite allow for the game to rise to its ambitions, settling into a groove that is at times competent but often uninspiring.
While clearly a continuation of the Dark Souls games, Elden Ring is a natural evolution of that style but delivered in a package that is bigger and more breathtaking than anything the company has done before.
The real reason to stick with it is the great attention to detail regarding Slavic folklore and how it weaves into the gameplay in ways that can make the player feel clever. It won’t be the flashiest game anyone plays this year, but there is a good time to be had.
As an RPG it’s a fairly light endeavor, but the workmanlike quality and some cool decisions will do enough to keep plenty interested throughout its whole runtime.
Though the deck-builder is running the risk of being overexposed, Roguebook has enough interesting ideas at play to make it a worthwhile investment of time. It’s not likely to replace Slay the Spire or Monster Train for fans, but it carves out enough of its own niche that I can see it existing side-by-side.
The game begins with its best foot forward, an under-explained puzzle that’s fun to parse out. But once the puzzle pieces fall into place, the drive to see it to the end starts to fall away too.
Earthblood unfortunately never raises itself above average, ending up as a thoroughly competent beat-’em-up bogged down in less stellar stealth gameplay and rough RPG elements.
It may not be a brand new game, but even all these years later there still isn’t anything else quite like it.
In Hades, Supergiant Games has crafted an exemplar of both the action and rogue-lite genres, while pushing narrative in a way that even non-fans can appreciate.
The lack of depth isn’t too much of a detriment as the game is short enough to ever feel tired. Better yet, what is there is good, a foundation with easy room to be expanded upon and a strong demonstration of Cold Symmetry’s understanding of core concepts that are the strength of the genre. Mortal Shell is a exemplary use of limited resources to make a tight, fun game, even if it only takes a weekend to beat.
For while at the heart of the game lies a solid combat foundation, its structure seeks to undercut it at every turn. What could have been a taut, captivating experience instead feels like too few ideas stretched too thin.
It’s not the kind of game to stand the test of time and Obsidian has made much better and more interesting games in the past, but there is a pleasant experience to be had.
Developer ZA/UM succeeded in making a game where progress isn’t tied to the defeat of, say, four hundred rats in a sewer, but to thoughtfully engaging with the world and characters it has to offer.