Matt Bianucci
Evil Dead: The Game is another solid product based on a movie license that offers a good time for fans of the series and newcomers alike, but don't expect it to knock your socks off beyond that.
I found myself more enamored with the idea of playing Source of Madness than I did with the game itself.
What works about Winter Ember is almost entirely overshadowed by the frustrating moment-to-moment experience that never settles into a true, precise stealth game.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands doesn't stray too far from the Borderlands series, but it doesn't need to when the consistently funny characters and familiar yet satisfying gameplay are this enjoyable from front to back.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is yet another reason Bungie’s epic living world has this type of staying power, and new and existing players alike have every reason to jump in here.
Assetto Corsa Competizione is a game made only for those seeking a full, unquestioned simulation, and its inconsistencies and lack of structure leave little room for error and a lot of room for frustration, even with the upgraded performance on the new consoles.
You might want to play CrossfireX to understand what’s so popular around the world or have a dash of mindless fun in the campaign, but there’s little else here.
The King of Fighters XV is a huge upgrade over its predecessor in its visuals and presentation, and its minor tweaks to gameplay make an already stellar franchise even better.
With every aspect of Blackwind comes a new laundry list of issues big and small that make it feel like it should have been incubated a while longer.
Rainbow Six Extraction has some good foundational ideas that aren’t able to flourish in their own game due to its extensive repetition and misaligned progression system.
When Battlefield 2042 hits the mark with its enormous, gorgeous, destructible maps in All-Out Warfare, it’s good, but it sometimes tends to crack under the weight of its own massive scale.
What you know to be true about Call of Duty continues to be true in Vanguard, though there are some surprisingly earnest characters in the campaign and an expectedly addictive suite of multiplayer maps and modes.
There’s an immediate familiarity for House of Ashes in the Dark Pictures catalog, but this entry is as thematically complex and consequently engaging as any game in the series so far.
Back 4 Blood wastes no time trying to divert your attention from its obvious influences, but it doesn’t need to when it nearly lives up to the expectations its spiritual predecessors set so high.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is a faithful, meticulous remaster that shows just how well the original has aged.
NBA 2K22 makes some appreciated improvements to on-the-court gameplay and tries some refreshing, if not entirely successful innovations in MyCareer that make this year’s version feel like a bit more than just a roster update.
While not a monumental upgrade over past installments, WRC 10 makes some welcome changes to the formula that continue to make it a must-play for fans of the sport.
Madden 22 has begun to address some major issues, and while it hasn’t fixed or updated everything, the dynamic on-field abilities and improved game modes make the future look a little brighter for the franchise.
Based on its premise, Foreclosed should be a lot more interesting, but it doesn’t have the balanced gameplay or nuanced story to even crack that conversation.
Much of F1 2021 builds on the high-class foundation from previous games that make the series one of the best racing games out there, but new additions, especially Braking Point, are both great pieces of content on their own and optimistic foundational pieces for the future.