For fans of the series, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong would hopefully quench your thirst until the eventual release of Bloodlines 2. However, I feel that newcomers to the series will have varying degrees of enjoyment regarding the lore, and if you’re not a fan of reading, it’ll be a bumpy start. The magic of Swansong is that succeeding playthroughs will definitely get better as you learn more of the lore and paint a complete picture of the whole mystery. If you have the patience for all that legwork, more power to you to be able to unravel every one of its mysteries. It also really doesn’t help that the puzzles are quite obtuse and the visuals aren’t as inviting as something like Vampyr or Detroit: Become Human.
Card Shark is a rather unique game with an interesting premise, but I strongly suggest you try out the demo before committing. The aesthetic and narrative are entertaining enough, but require you to learn a rather tedious mini-game system whose costs outweigh the rewards. There are a few strange design decisions that prevent the enjoyment of Card Shark, as a simple manual save could save us a lot of grief going through the journey. The tutorials are quite obtuse, but the early quests keep it easy that when it starts to combine variations of techniques, there’s no way to review old tricks to keep the momentum going.
Sifu is a definite must-experience beat-em-up for 2022, and for those who have passed on this title because of the crushing difficulty, you can rejoice in the fact that the developers have added difficulty settings that allow you to experience the game at your own pace but still keep the overall experience. While the original really pushed for the aspect of lifelong mastery through its difficulty setting, the new update really opens up the game to a fuller experience that a wider base can experience instead of being intimidated by it. There is more to Sifu than this, boasting its atmosphere and immersion to breathe life back into the beat-em-up genre that’s really been relegated to retro games or remakes of retro games.
Road 96 is an enjoyable narrative journey that makes the most of your first run to the best of its presentation. While it may not win over gamers of certain political mindsets, its strengths are more derived from how it made a narrative game entertaining enough that doesn't forget that it's a video game first. I'm always looking for creative ways to tell a story and these vignettes that chronicle a country's turning point through the eyes of its disillusioned youth are what inspire me to continue perusing interactive media as it pushes the boundaries as a storytelling medium. Long story short, Road 96 is certainly a journey worth taking.
Personally, I appreciated A Place For The Unwilling due to its atmosphere and unique way of interacting with the world. The title really makes you feel the alienation and awkwardness of being a stranger in a strange land, while always having you be on your toes for an unseen danger. However, from a gameplay perspective, it is marred with inconsistencies that rob the game of its enjoyment.
Weird West is a game that I enjoyed because of its unique take on both the Western and Weird sci-fi sub-genres, making it an impressively immersive RPG experience. What sullied my experience were the multiple glitches on top of the repetitive quest system, preventing me from completing the story because I played the game the “wrong” way. Weird West is designed to be free-flowing but these glitches are fundamentally the antithesis of what they’ve designed the game to do. I’m a patient gamer when it comes to gameplay bugs, but when glitches stop story progression because of something the game has been designed to do, it’s really a red flag going forward. It can be patched eventually but until then, minus points for now.
Overall, Ghostwire: Tokyo is a decent game that provides a surprisingly fun time with its open world and intriguing side quests, but it may not be a game for everybody as the action and open-world mechanics will expect some effort from its audience. Despite that, the game deserves a playthrough for its unique immersion and thematic elements, and I hope Tango Gameworks takes this groundwork and improves on it for future titles.
It’s pretty ironic that for a game that tests so much of your patience, our rating asks you to wait some more. That’s because, given the chance, there is some semblance of fun to be had with Babylon’s Fall, but getting to that point is an extreme test of willpower that not many will be able to overcome, especially given its $60 price point. There are some interesting ideas here, especially with its class-less and weapon-based systems, but a lot of conflicting mechanics muddle the whole product. Each of these systems taken on its own sounds solid, but they come together to form an incoherent game that requires a lot more effort from its players.
Submerged: Hidden Depths sticks to its game promise all the way in its brief 4-6 hour journey, offering a violence-free adventure that stops at just the right time before it completely loses the player. While there are many interesting mechanics involved with this game, we’re given a bare-bones experience overall and I actually hoped for more of the story over than the game I was playing.
ELEX II is a fringe RPG that marches to its own beat but definitely caters to fans of the series and its style of gameplay. It's the type of game that if you get it, you get it, and if you don't, it'll take a lot of effort and energy to force yourself to. It's very difficult to recommend this game to anyone new to the series who's used to the mainstream style of open-world games, which will certainly require a huge paradigm shift.
Despite my opinions about the creative choices of The King of Fighters XV, the gameplay remains slick and fun with its fast-paced combat and combo-centric interface. Probably the best performing SNK game in a long time, but also one of the most accessible King of Fighters game so far, bridging the gap between beginners and competitive pros. While its disappearance for 6 years didn't really amount to a full visual overhaul that sees the return of fairly flat character designs and backgrounds, King of Fighters XV makes great improvements to where it counts the most, such as rollback netcode for online matches.
Horizon Forbidden West successfully builds on the lore and story of Horizon Zero Dawn, bringing to life a world that offers exploration as a reward of its own. The vast lands are breathtaking, paired with photo-realistic designs and an epic soundtrack to boot, Aloy's continued adventures are dazzling, to say the least. There is a magnificence to Horizon Forbidden West, and despite being bogged down by some questionable choices and decisions, the game is another masterful display of talent from Guerrilla Games.
Life is Strange Remastered Collection is a curious case that begs the question – was this really necessary in the first place? Fans of narrative adventures will find much to love with the game, especially if you are a newcomer to the series that will be experiencing the games for the first time. However, if you’ve already played the original versions from years back, there’s very little reason to go back and purchase this at a premium day one price
Combining different gameplay mechanics such as platforming, rhythm game, and a personalized dialogue choice mechanic, it is a title that needs to be experienced firsthand. While the story is told from Francis’ perspective, much of what personalizes this game is your individual choices that create his superstar persona.
OlliOlli World is a fun game that lets you pick it up and proceed at your own pace. Depending on how much you want to put into the game, there’s something for just about anyone willing to give it a try. While the later levels may come across as intimidating, you’ll learn how to do tricks and advanced techniques like a natural in no time thanks to its fantastic tutorial.
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection deserves a place on your collection whether you are a long-time Uncharted fan or a newcomer who wants to see what the hype is all about. With the additions on the PS5, it really makes for an excellent port that serves up superb visuals and a soundtrack to remember. The collection turns a great game even better, with lightning-fast loading times and subtle DualSense support which honestly could have been improved.
Rainbow Six Extraction is an interesting pivot for the Rainbow Six franchise and could've easily been a great sci-fi horror co-op shooter if it wasn't for much of the preparation involved to get the best out of the game.
There is a lot of fun that could be had with Serious Sam 4, however many of its design issues make it a loud, overwhelming, and unbearable mess. There are some really great moments in this game with some entertaining cut scenes and many moments where it becomes a genuine run-and-gun fest. However, it feels like the game takes a good thing and gives you too much of it. While I appreciate all the extra content with the launch, a lot of it feels like unnecessary padding.
The Halo Infinite campaign has numerous flaws and an obvious air to being incomplete, however, despite all odds, 343 Industries delivers a serious shooter that doesn't have to rely on its brand pedigree. The groundwork of a legendary shooter is definitely present in this campaign, with hordes of unique classes of enemies, a wide arsenal of weaponry, grand vistas of the Zeta Ring, and an engaging story.
The Legend of Tianding hands down is one of my favorite indie action/adventure games for the year. It is a tried and tested concept improved by a fresh Taiwanese perspective usually dominated by Western and Japanese influences. You have likable heroes, fun gameplay mechanics, and a quasi-open world to explore and challenge, making it well worth the price of admission and then some.