Nirav Gandhi
- Death Stranding
- Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage
- Fallout New Vegas
Nirav Gandhi's Reviews
Death Stranding is a transformative experience that transcends genres to convey a message everyone must hear: we are stronger together and weaker apart.
The Nirvana Initiative improves on its predecessor in every way, bringing in twice as many interesting, layered characters that all get their time in the sun, crazy mysteries with twists i never saw coming, intelligent writing, vastly improved puzzles, impeccable voice acting and the best soundtrack of the year. I am shocked to say this, but I think the package as a whole outdoes Spike Chunsoft’s previous works.
You can’t see rhythm. No one can. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Whether you can read music or not, whether you’ve mastered an instrument or can’t manage to play Hot Cross Buns, you are a rock star. You may not know it, you probably don’t believe it. But you’ll tightly navigate those progressions, finesse those pull-offs, and slice through those harmonies until you do believe it. Hi Fi Rush is going to make you believe you are a rock star.
With one foot in the past and one in the future, the powerfully themed narrative tied to masterful gameplay cements Infinite Wealth as an undisputed all-time great.
Neversong pulls inspiration from many great works to create an equally wholesome and terrifying examination of human Guilt.
Hades perfectly blends high-octane action with roguelike randomization to deliver an exhilirating experience that never lets up.
AWE builds on the best parts of Control to deliver a gorgeous and terrifying survival horror experience.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla streamlines the best parts of Origins and Odyssey while trimming the fat, though is hampered consistently by bugs and technical problems. Still, it's a journey well worth taking.
Airborne Kingdom is a cozy, comfortable delight that mixes management and exploration flawlessly; the focus is not on keeping your citizens alive while crossing the open world, but keeping them fulfilled and thriving.
Cassette Beasts manages to iterate on Pokemon in a meaningful way. The fantastic music, A+ monsters designs, and fun characters are only slightly held back by the overly-complex combat.
Starfield is the culmination of Bethesda's 25 years of excellent RPGs and makes me feel the insignificance, humility, and thrill of exploring space. Every time I think I understand Starfield, it finds a new way to surprise me.
With beautiful visuals reminiscent of Warcraft, the smartest and most versatile city-building I've ever seen, and addictive mechanics will keep you up til 3 AM, Against the Storm is city-building, rogue-likes, and real time strategy at their heights.
Twin Mirror's concise narrative and innovative detective gameplay is heartfelt and earnest, though the small-scale, personal story is left open-ended.
Pumpkin Jack's delightful NPCs, boss battles, visuals and music outweigh the clunky platforming and uninspired combat. This is the perfect game to ignite your Halloween Spirit.
I loved Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and so I loved my time with Wrath of the Druids. But after a 55 hour base game, a change of pace would have been very welcome.
The original Doki Doki Literature Club is a phenomenal horror title, but loses a lot of the elements that made it so impressive on its translation to consoles.
There are strokes of a masterpiece in here, with excellent music, whimsical characters, starkly themed visuals, just enough narrative push, and management tools that allow for the player to really experience their own story. If you don't optimize the fun out of Cult of the Lamb, there's an incredible amount of it to be had.
The Quarry manages to, after all these years, harness the things that made Until Dawn a classic and replicate that feeling almost perfectly. Besides a few story hiccups in the last act, these characters and performances are going to keep you and your friends' eyes glued to the screen all night long.
Sonic Frontiers is a mess of ideas from other, better games. But when the music swells and Sleeping with Sirens is blasting your eardrums with a guttural scream while you plunge a 300 ft sword into a titan the size of a skyscraper, none of that will matter. The heights of Frontiers are the highest highs Sonic has ever seen, and i had more fun in this mediocre game than i had in all the many, many better games i played this year.
Harmony shows off DONTNOD's narrative chops with unconvential storytelling, unique deicison mechanics, and stellar character designs.