The remade “Resident Evil 4” feels more vibrant and present than just another rerelease of a technical product. It’s like reliving a fond memory. It’s like coming back to your childhood bedroom after all these years. Fittingly, the original series started as a remake, of the 1989 role-playing game “Sweet Home.” And even if some of the pieces are moved around, the new version still feels like home, sweet home.
Ultimately, the lore isn’t the main attraction, and isn’t the reason the Zelda series has endured for almost half a century. What’s more compelling is the game’s nod to the collective story of how human imagination pushes us through our toughest challenges, and sometimes sends us soaring to heights unseen.
The technology may fail, but the human experience as a messy, impetuous thing remains. Because of that, “Starfield” makes the right sacrifices.
In a sea of exemplar video games released in 2023, “Alan Wake 2” is the work most interested in pushing the boundaries of its franchise, its genre and even its medium.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is so good, it nearly wrecked my life.
The PlayStation 5′s ecstatic new platformer matches childlike wonder with high-fidelity visuals and physics
While I’m playing “Death Stranding 2,” I keep thinking how it is the latest in a proud tradition of art that expands horizons and helps you identify with the beauty in life and living things, even as the truth of it all eludes us. If you care about that, consider this review an urging but friendly recommendation. Trust me, you’ll love this.
“Donkey Kong Bananza” is a perfect crystallization of Nintendo’s game design philosophy. As the debut big adventure for the new console and its increased computational power, Nintendo wants this belief to punch through: Technology for the sake of play, not just for visual pleasure, is king.
Here, true horror isn’t in the fog, the blood or the monsters, but the shedding and rebuilding of the self until you no longer recognize who remains.
Living up to its name, “Silksong” spins a taut lattice, almost every thread in its right place. You may get stuck in its trap. Wrestle mightily against its binds, however, and you will be wrapped in shimmering brilliance.
Its world is deceptively large, too, with dozens of side adventures and locations to explore. “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” is a must-play for anyone who appreciates turn-based RPGs, and it’s an immediate entry to the upper echelons of the genre.
Final Fantasy XVI remains an eloquent, sturdy work that achieves almost everything its creators hoped. It is not the most innovative Final Fantasy ever made. It’s just one of the best.
The problem arises when you may realize what I did: I’ve felt all this before.
To get a game this innovative, charming and polished just over a year after the remarkable “Tears” is miraculous. I can’t wait to see what the next Zelda game learns from this one. Its echoes will ring long after the credits roll.
Mortal Kombat doesn’t need to and probably shouldn’t “grow up.” Eternal adolescence is the point. But to stay young, it just needs to shed the old.
Here is “Stellar Blade,” an authentic slice of Korean cyberpunk, like Eve, beautiful in its own absurd way.
A strong reminder why the Ubisoft formula became so influential, so reliable and so popular.
At $50 and about six to eight hours of play total, “Hellblade II” is worth a peek if you’re interested in what games could look like in the future. Imagine an “Elden Ring” that looks like this! Will I live long enough to see it? So I’m grateful “Hellblade II” exists today to give me a glimpse. I just wish it had a little more to say, and gave us a little more to do.
Available on Xbox Game Pass, “Trek to Yomi” is a no-brainer download for anyone wanting a simple yet cinematic action game that harks back to classic PC adventures and 2D blade-action titles. At a $20 asking price, it’s a more debatable purchase, especially considering the short clear time. But at the end of the trek, I didn’t regret a minute of it, once I got over the fact that the combat was never going to be the real hook. It’s a gorgeous visual feast, and once I started it, I found it hard to look away.
“Shredder’s Revenge” achieves everything it set out to do, and will go down as an instant classic for its genre. No matter what era, whether it’s 1987, 1989 or 2022, it would be one of the finest, most exciting video game experiences of the year, honing an arcade formula as ageless as Turtles in time.