Embark Studios has given us a game with massive potential, and one would be confident that enough will be done to meet it eventually. THE FINALS is an extremely exciting, immersive, creative, and fast-paced first-person shooter. Moreover, with its impressive gameplay mechanics, game modes, features, completely destructible environments, and more, it’s no wonder it’s growing and will surely continue to do so in the future. Again, it has to be reiterated that it’s free to play, and I strongly recommend any FPS gamer install this game.
The magical and emotional story, along with the puzzles and the Christmas-themed designs, is something that any child will love. But as an adult, Tin Hearts can definitely make you feel like a kid again. But I’m not so keen on that. It looks like once you’ve started the story, you cannot start over the game until you’ve finished the entire campaign. This isn’t necessarily a problem worth stressing, but for a few reasons, you might want to start from the beginning, regardless of how far you progress.
The new rogue-like gameplay of God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla took a little time to get used to. But after getting used to it, it’s no question that it incredibly adds much more to the DLC, let alone the combat, and overall, an enthralling replayable experience in Valhalla, and would welcome this new type of gameplay in future God of War projects. To top it all off, again, it must be said the DLC is totally free. This is a DLC you’d be happy to pay for, but you don’t need to. Imagine something this great doesn’t require you to reach for your credit card.
Despite the few glaring issues, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) surpasses Modern Warfare II in every possible way. This is Sledgehammer’s redemption arc for the multiplayer of their last game, Call of Duty: Vanguard, which had plenty to be desired. Clearly, going old school with the maps was the juice needed to finally replenish the franchise. Additionally, as the gameplay and content are much more exciting, immersive, and engaging, this feels like the traditional Call of Duty we all know and love. So, is Call of Duty back? You bet it is. Great job, Sledgehammer.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is an excellent addition to the series. You have an outstanding story, great characters, vibrant graphics, sizeable content, and, most importantly, the phenomenal combat and newer mechanics proving to be the best in the franchise. Switching between two unique fighting styles and struggling to decide which one I like more is a problem worth having.
The flaws of EA SPORTS UFC 5 are outweighed by the fact that it provides the greatest, most authentic, challenging, and satisfaction-guaranteed MMA experience ever. Constantly encouraging you to think about what moves you’re going to make before making them inside the octagon. The enhanced and increasingly refined mechanics, a great roster, amazing atmosphere and visuals, fine content, and more have created a true knockout king installment the MMA fans deserve.
Alan Wake 2 will completely astonish you with its phenomenally written and mind-altering story, creativity, level designs, transitions, art direction, photorealistic visuals, eerie atmosphere, haunting audio, brain-challenging puzzles, exciting but nervy combat, and much more. Alan Wake 2 is simply a must-buy; you’d be crazy not to get it, and you’ll be missing out on something special if you don’t. It was worth the thirteen-year wait, but hopefully, the next sequel won’t take nearly as long to arrive.
The story is short, but it’s amazing, and it features the best features in a Spider-Man game ever. But if you’re too fussed about the story’s length, you’ll also be very impressed with the exciting side quests and activities, combat, stealth, and plenty more, giving you the most actual experience of being Spider-Man. This is, hands down, Insomniac Games‘ most outstanding project.
Valhalla is simply a thing of the past. Assassin’s Creed Mirage has brought the fine art of stealth back to the franchise in a great fashion. And with many exciting ways, including the brand-new focus mechanic, you have more than enough tools to accurately portray the ultimate assassin. Although the story isn’t perfect, besides that, the developer has done splendidly to take the franchise back to the top by moving to the more traditional side, and that’ll surely give the fans hope for projects in the future.
Wild Card Football is a blast from the past, and it’s great to take a break from a realistic simulation like Madden and simply enjoy an old-school arcade sporting title with a unique wild card system. Whether playing solo or with others, you’re guaranteed an incredibly fun-packed, content-compelling American footballing experience with some of your favourite NFL ballers. And for more incentive, you’ll love how much the game costs.
The combat is immersive, engaging, and devoid of any glaring flaws to spare you from obtaining the ultimate action-packed experience. Again, this can be said for almost every aspect of the game. It’s no surprise that the newest entry to the Souls genre would borrow many mechanics from the likes of Bloodborne. However, at the same time, it still manages to keep its own identity. With that being said, whether you’re a Souls fan or not, Lies of P is definitely worth playing.
NBA 2K24’s introduction of the ProPLAY and Crossplay systems are simply the future of the NBA 2K series. Along with the abundance of enhancements and improvements to furnish the most authentic basketball experience ever. On the other hand, microtransactions have become increasingly problematic, and one would wonder how much damage they could have on the franchise. It’s like one step forward and two steps backward. NBA 2K24 ultimately became a promising young NBA talent that never reached its full potential.
Starfield is an interstellar masterpiece, has all the facilities to restore faith in the Xbox gaming community, and has well and truly risen Xbox from the dead. When it comes to the story, you won’t get the good stuff until later in the game, but the enthralling story, equally engaging side quests, overwhelmingly praiseworthy and immersive features, and much more will give you an outstanding RPG experience. The visuals might not be too great, but with far too many great things Starfield has to offer, it’s not to be all and end all.
Thunder Ray is indeed lacking content, and the gameplay is extremely short. Nonetheless, this was still an incredibly fun arcade boxing experience and a game that would catch the eyes of gamers from any generation as long as you’re not too fussed about the biggest drawbacks that were discussed. Thunder Ray definitely has something going on here, and hopefully, this is the starting point that’ll lead to updates, more features, and possibly a sequel in the future.
Fort Solis has so much potential, and not enough was done to meet it. It’s definitely not close to perfection, and it’s far from a game I would tell others to avoid completely. However, despite the low price – for what you’re getting, especially the very short and limited gameplay and content, I’d highly recommend to even the most science fiction fanatics to hold out until the game becomes free.
This goes without saying, but the many improvements, enhancements, and additions for Madden NFL 24 are exactly what the doctor ordered. It’s like the developer has finally listened to the fans and granted most of their wishes, and this installment will undoubtedly leave them satisfied and occupied until the next installment - including the new NFL season. On top of that, you’re guaranteed jaw-dropping and the most authentic NFL footballing experience you’ve ever come across. And if you’re a current-gen owner, you’ll truly reap the game’s benefits.
Legend Bowl is the retro football game the old heads and new breeds deserve and I’m glad it finally made it to consoles. I had so much fun playing matches and tournaments, and the game’s customisation is truly amazing and one of the best I’ve used. On top of that is the low price you’re required to pay for such a great quality video game. The only negative I can discuss is that it doesn’t have an online mode. It’s nice to play with friends, but what if you’re the only one to have this game? This is one reason why an online feature would’ve benefited greatly.
AEW Fight Forever shouldn’t have bothered having commentary if players are getting a few lifeless sentences spoken during entrances and after matches. This is especially for iconic colour commentator good ol’ Jim Ross (J.R.) deserves much more respect with play-by-play commentary. Despite some of the glaring issues, AEW Fight Forever is a well-grounded entry into the franchise and has done its job to deliver a retro-like wrestling game to adhere to wrestling fans of previous generations and even new-age wrestling fans can fully appreciate.
Whether you’re a longtime fan or a casual like myself, you’ll fully appreciate Final Fantasy XVI relishing as one of the best role-playing games ever. A masterpiece story, incredibly in-depth combat and magic, awestruck battles, lovable characters, eye gawking environment and much more formulated the ultimate unique experience. This is no exaggeration, but I couldn’t identify a single negative even if I tried. No question, this is a game of the year 2023 contender.
Despite some of the glaring weaknesses, Crime Boss: Rockay City has praiseworthy content, thoroughly had a good time playing, and it was better than anticipated. Lastly, Crime Boss: Rockay City will have more to come with DLCs throughout the year. And with Payday 3 arriving in September – one would hope that the updates bring a lot more to the table with different sets of missions, weapons, characters, improvements and more to keep their audience.