Brandon Adams
Black Mesa may show its age in some areas, but that doesn't detract from what is an otherwise stunning achievement. It's not only Half Life at its best - it's one of the finest shooters available today.
Wolcen could have been a contender in the ARPG arena, but it can't get out of it's own way for more than two seconds. Perhaps in time WOLCEN Studio will patch everything up and allow the game to shine as it deserves, but right now the game fights you at every turn. Wolcen is game that is as fun as it is frustrating. I like Wolcen; I simply wish I could love it.
Dauntless offers up a pleasant alternative experience in the monster hunting action genre that focuses on the battles without sacrificing the core appeal. If you've ever wanted to take down larger-than-life beasties to wear their hides and take down even nastier foes, but felt intimidated by Capcom's more deliberate design, then Dauntless will prove a great, enjoyable way to finally see what all the monster slaying fuss is about. The fact that it's a fair free-to-play game makes it all the easier to experience for yourself.
Disco Elysium is perhaps one of the best role-playing games of all time, and I don't say that lightly. I haven't played a game that has been able to so masterfully flex to my actions as well as ZA/UM's freshman outing. The writing is sharp, the characters genuine, and the choices possess true stakes.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is an imperfect game. It makes a terrible first impression, but given time proves itself a belligerently fun experience.
Had Terminator: Resistance released in 2008 it may have been considered one of the better licensed games of its time, but we've come a long way in ten years. In 2019, with excellent licensed titles becoming more common, Terminator: Resistance is mediocre at best. Fans may like it, but they deserve better. Maybe they'll get that game in an alternate future - who knows - but they certainly didn't today.
Respawn did nothing to reinvent the wheel, but instead married a bunch of popular gameplay genres together into a cohesive whole, wrapped up in well-crafted Star Wars story. It may not be KOTOR levels of greatness, but it’s good.
When everything clicks, Red Dead Redemption 2 for PC is a solid port, just not a perfect one. Largely carried by the fantastic quality of the game itself, the port does at least provide prettier visuals, additional content, and a fantastic new Photo Mode.
Don't buy this port until the performance issues are addressed. I can't recommend it as it currently exists to fans of the game, or those with only a Switch in the house: I can't recommend this port to anyone. Skip Vampyr for the Switch; there are better ways to play a bloodsucker out there.
If you don't care about portability and have Overwatch elsewhere then give the port a pass. Maybe once cross-save, cross-progression, and/or cross-play are added this port will be more compelling to existing fans, but for those that believe Overwatch isn't Overwatch when the competitive side isn't at its best then this port will only drive them mad. Overwatch is a great port for new fans and casual fans of the game, and no one else.
Destiny 2 has never been this accessible, and the foundations Bungie has laid for the future are largely solid. The core "new" content of the expansion may be a bust, but Bungie has proven that by going independent to better pursue their own creative vision they could make Destiny 2 a far better experience for everyone. Destiny 2: Shadowkeep stumbles over itself in spots, but the faults are not enough to put a damper on what is an impressive update to game as a whole.
If you have yet to play Frostpunk and enjoy city-builders you should absolutely give the console edition a look. It's a worthy port of a phenomenal game, and I hope to see more games brought over from PC given this sort of love and attention in the future.
In returning to form with this sequel, Frozenbyte has doubled down on what made the franchise great prior to the mishap that was the third entry.
Dead for Daylight for the Switch does the bare minimum you'd expect from a competent Switch port, but performance issues make the asking price hard to swallow.
The Surge 2 is an exceptional Soulslike, with top of it’s class combat, stellar level design and a crafting system that makes experimenting fun and simple.