His past games have demonstrated that Suda51 is probably incapable of making a cookie-cutter action game. Yet underneath its misdirection of wild and crazy, that’s kind of what Romeo is a Dead Man really is. Strip away the disorienting style shifts and patchwork narrative, and you’re left with a fun but limited third-person action game with Soulslike elements. The game succeeds at stylistic surprise but at the expense of polished mechanics and satisfying coherence.
Nioh has always perched between being niche and mainstream. Nioh 3 should help this excellent series broaden its audience while appealing to long-time fans as well. Lovers of Soulslikes, Team NINJA’s games, and well-made action titles in general won’t be disappointed.
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Back in 1997, Outlaws did a great job of turning classic Western tropes into a video game. Still, it’s hard to ignore that the gameplay and design are stilted and simplistic compared to modern shooters. Fans of the original will certainly appreciate the happy jolt of recognition, and there’s a bit of value in new gamers walking through the time machine to a much simpler period in technology. All that aside, Outlaws’ fun doesn’t last very long, even remastered.
Like the Roman Empire itself, the game is a perfect platform for inevitable expansion. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of quality content for fans of the genre.
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ARC Raiders is simply one of the most polished and accessible third person extraction shooters in recent memory. It has something for everyone, from solo players to teams ready to wreak havoc in the world. With a confident and coherent mashup of systems and a simple, addictive loop, ARC Raiders helps wrap up a notable gaming year in fine fashion.
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Pacific Drive had a unique hook and rightly deserved praise for its fresh take on the survival crafting genre. Whispers of the Woods offers an alternate starting adventure for new players and rich new content for veteran players returning to the game. It doesn’t radically reinvent the base game, but nails the perfect balance of fresh and familiar that makes DLC most effective.
Thanks to its modular building systems, new juvenile dinosaurs, and engaging campaign, Jurassic World Evolution 3 is the best of the series. It feels like a more flexible and more refined version of a familiar game.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is entertaining but flawed. Excellent writing, a solid narrative, and quality performances are definitely high points. Uninspired quests and underdeveloped RPG elements suck some of the fun and potential replayability from the experience.
I’ll give Painkiller props for its imaginative weapons, sharp visuals, and visceral combat. It’s a hollow and transitory experience for solo players offline, and you can see what Painkiller has to offer in very short order. As a co-op game, it fares better.
There are a few ways in which The Outer Worlds 2 doesn’t improve on the first game. It’s bigger, deeper, and more complex. The story and characters are more satisfying. Combat has been refined. It takes its time and demands players be patient and engage in all its systems, and overlook some technical issues that pop up somewhat frequently. I can’t imagine a world — Outer or not — in which fans of the original won’t enjoy this new experience.
Setting aside its sometimes sluggish combat controls and a few frustrating mechanics, there’s a lot to enjoy about The Lonesome Guild. With beautiful art and a much-appreciated theme centering on connection and communication, The Lonesome Guild should appeal to fans of puzzle-heavy action RPGs looking for narrative depth.
The arranged marriage between Team Ninja and Platinum Games has spawned a title that definitely blends what those two studios do best. Ninja Gaiden 4 is an action game that stays true to its roots while also folding in some enjoyable new ideas.
Keeper is colorful, and the makers have definitely succeeded in their stated goal of making a weird, chill game. It’s also kind of a dull experience, with too little player agency, some frustrating mechanics, and a sense of discovery muted by too many restrictions and guideposts. Keeper is a generally pleasant journey through a psychedelic landscape and it isn’t too thematically heavy handed. I just wish it was a little more fun to take the trip.