Jesse Norris's Reviews
At $30 US it is a steal, but it’s also available day one on Game Pass. Stunning graphics, excellent music, innovative gameplay, and so many other factors come together to not only make one of the best releases of the year but one of my favorite games of all time. (score updated after launch, console version is far behind/buggier than the Steam version)
I know on the Xbox platform at least there is always a “well I’ll wait for Game Pass” mentality for many, but this game deserves success. It is a remarkable achievement by a very small team, and I simply loved it.
The story is fantastic in this game. Do not investigate it beforehand and you will have one HELL of a time. Developer Team Salvato made something truly special. A game that elevates a genre in a way nothing really had before it, at least for me.
As this is on Game Pass the only thing you’re spending extra is your time. If you have a few friends to play with there are worse ways to go about it, but if you’re looking at this game solo then I’d say it’s a hard pass, free or not.
Going back through the campaign for this review has reminded me of just how much I love this game, and I hope it inspires at least a few of you to finally give it a go, and with Game Pass Ultimate offering it up at no extra cost…. Why not?
If you’re looking for something that can last you hundreds of hours as you slowly and sometimes surely search through the wilderness and deliver much needed supplies then this is a Game Pass game that should be right up your alley.
For $40 at launch there is more than enough content here to satisfy anyone interested in the premise. If the thought of chopping off heads, picking them up, and running around with them as you scream like a maniac sounds good to you, then go seek help, that help being playing Chivalry 2 of course.
Update September 21st: The game is finally fixed on Xbox! After having to wait an extra two months for the same performance fix the PS5 received this game is infinitely better on console than it was at launch. Performance and aiming are both rather good now, after being completely broken for months. Thus I have updated my review for the game on our website and open critic to a 7.0
This is an excellent video game and it’s $15. I have had a blast with my time so far thanks to its tight controls and great difficulty curve. If you like 2D bullet hell shooters with an absolutely ridiculous premise, tons of charm, clean graphics, and phenomenal music, this game should be right up your alley….. cat
As a $60 title, this one is a hard sell. There is enough content here, but I found it so repetitive that I wouldn’t imagine most would go through it. The story is decent, the gameplay can be quite fun at times, and supporting smaller developers is never bad if you feel so inclined. I enjoyed most of my time with Biomutant, and I can’t wait to see what developer Experiment 101 has coming next.
I really love Halo Wars 2. It’s not the deepest RTS, and it really is best for fans of the Halo universe. As it is available for Game Pass there is no harm in trying things solo or even better, with a friend in co-op. Add in the excellent expansion Awakening the Nightmare and you have yourself a genuinely awesome game.
I purchased Remnant for $40 when it was new, and I really enjoyed it. It’s tough, a bit slow, and kinda ugly; but now that it is on Game Pass for both Console and PC it’s an easy recommendation for anyone looking to murder a bunch of creepy-looking monsters either alone or with their friends.
For either $25 or played through Game Pass on PC, Console, and Mobile this one is a no-brainer for almost anyone. If you have any family member that likes to mobile game and has access to this through any means tell them to give it a try. It’s deep, fun, fair, and I absolutely love it.
This is one of the best racing games of all time. Both offline solo play and online co-op and competitive are at the top of the genre.
The story is good, most of the time the gameplay is fun, but the constant loss of control over things can be grating.
Dead Cells is an all-time classic. As part of Xbox Game Pass it is one of the easiest recommendations I’ve ever made on this site/channel. It is tough but fair. It finds that perfect balance of teaching you as you fail, and you will find yourself thinking “Just one more run” time and time again as the hours pass by.
At $50 US if Sherlock Lovecraft Private Assassin sounds like a good time to you then this one is an easy call. The story is solid, the acting is surprisingly good, the detective part of the game is intriguing, and the combat gets the job done.
Few things in the world of video games are as fun as killing Nazis and shooting Zombies. Zombie Army 4: Dead War does a damned fine job of combining the two.
I had hoped that the time spent in Game Preview would lead to Darkflow fixing the movement and aiming systems. I never had much hope for how the squad system would work with the free-to-play nature of the title, but if the gameplay were solid then I could still recommend giving it a shot. In the end though this is a bad playing, poorly set up, mediocre-looking game that you should avoid unless you’re desperate to go murder a bunch of poorly scripted AI with some friends. Though only since it’ll be free to play.
Overwatch is a special game, and as Overwatch 2 is essentially a complete rework that will carry your progress over there is no reason to not give it a try if you haven’t already. It goes on sale for $20 in the US quite often and solo or especially with friends it will be well worth it. The mix of frenetic PvP and PvE content, wide variety of modes, and excellent roster of heroes have made this one of my favorite games of all time.