The Quiet Place films had a remarkably simple but very effective narrative hook. A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is a pitch-perfect, authentic recreation of the movies’ tone and tension. What holds it back is the lack of variety in player input stretched over the game’s running time of eight or so hours. It’s definitely not a great game for fidgety, impatient players. For fans of the films and/or stealth-focused adventure horror games, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead effectively checks a lot of boxes.
MechWarrior 5: Clans does a good job of balancing story, combat, and the all-important time in between. Customizing the mechs and gearing up the squad are both lots of fun and the battles themselves are appropriately oversized.
New World: Aeternum’s mix of swords, magic and gunpowder is blended with a colorful world and accessible but satisfying mechanics. With a good balance between solo, co-op PvE and PvP content, Aeternum has something to offer most players. Nothing’s incredibly original, but neither is anything totally broken or missing. The most glaring faults of the original have been addressed. Whatever you call it — reboot, remix or re-skin — New World: Aeternum is worth checking out.
While I wouldn’t call Darksiders II underrated, sales notoriously underperformed in 2012. Since then, lots of players have taken the opportunity to enjoy the game on a variety of platforms in the expanded and excellent Deathfinitive edition. Any fan of recent action RPGs will almost certainly enjoy Darksiders II’s combat and world. It looks great on the PS5 and anyone with the PS4 version gets a free upgrade. It’s definitely worth diving into again, or for the first time in the new version.
Vessel of Hatred’s campaign, new region, new class, and new cooperative dungeon all significantly extend the base game’s appeal and depth. If you don’t already enjoy the near-constant, frenetic, often exhilarating, sometimes exhausting combat, Vessel of Hatred isn’t going to win you over no matter how impressive it often is.
I really enjoy Throne and Liberty’s colorful world, detailed environments, and engaging combat. Though the story is pretty uninspired, the game is technically polished and that alone is worthy of praise. But as a primarily solo player, the game isn’t for me in the long run. That’s not really a criticism, because being built for groups isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. That was true back at the dawn of MMORPGs and sometimes it’s still true. I think Throne and Liberty has a lot of promise to succeed at launch and grow beyond it.
I review a lot of games and I’ll admit that diving into another roguelike isn’t always immediately appealing. But Ravenswatch does enough clever things with its mechanics, art, character design, and premise that I was intrigued and engaged. Ravenswatch demonstrates again that in the hands of talented developers, there’s still a lot of untapped potential in the roguelike genre.
Ara: History Untold doesn’t totally reinvent the grand strategy genre, but the changes it makes help create a fresh, engaging, and fun experience. All 4X games are dense with mechanics, decisions, and weighty outcomes. Ara: History Untold does a good job of navigating the player through its many options and paths to victory. Ara: History Untold beats the upcoming Civilization VII to the finish line, but the two approaches are different enough to sit side by side.
There’s no getting around the feeling that Funko Fusion springs from the same genre gene pool as the Lego video games. Visually, the game is a treat and the levels effectively reference their source material. Funko Fusion isn’t without humor or clever touches, but its combat is excessively repetitious and fused to some awkward, fun-killing mechanics. Underneath those bobbleheads are the bones of a good game that never quite reaches the surface.
God of War Ragnarök is an amazing achievement and it remains a must-play game for fans of action-RPGs. The port to PC is a model of technical polish, smart changes, and generous content. If you haven’t played God of War Ragnarök, and have a moderately powerful PC, it’s time. If you’ve played it on PS5 and have a good to high-end rig, playing it on PC is not only worth your time, but an even more impressive experience than on the console.
While not everyone agrees that Final Fantasy XVI is the best entry in the series, it was certainly one of the standout games of 2023. With its absorbing narrative, memorable characters, great acting, and engaging real-time action combat, Final Fantasy XVI brings to the PC a thrilling experience that does nothing but improve an already stellar game.
There are two ways of looking at Hollowbody. As an homage to a bygone gaming era, a conceptual love letter to an influential time, it succeeds pretty well. Without the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, Hollowbody is a pretty unsatisfying experience.
Enotria: The Last Song’s delightful setting, theatre-infused narrative, and mechanical depth help it stand out from the very crowded Soulslike landscape. On the flip side, that depth translates to sometimes poorly explained, unnecessary-feeling complications. Strip all that away, and Enotria: The Last Song is still an enjoyable action RPG that should appeal to almost every fan of the genre.
Frostpunk 2 broadens the scope and deepens the mechanics of the first game, adding even greater complexity to puzzle-like city building that remains addictive and unique in the genre.
Puzzle-platformers are nothing new, but Squirrel with a Gun’s sandbox approach and jumping-shooting mechanics help it transcend the absurdist title. The game squirrels away a lot of fun and engaging gameplay that will surprise players not expecting the game’s variety and depth. All I know is, I’ll never look at our neighborhood squirrels quite the same way again.
Thirteen years is a long time in video game history and technology. Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 obviously looks and plays much better than the 2011 original. Fans of the first game will appreciate the continuing saga of the main character and the seamless integration of Warhammer lore. Action gamers without a moment of prior Warhammer experience will enjoy it, too. Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is operatic, visceral, violent and unrelenting. It can be repetitive, too, but that’s best balanced by the creativity and camaraderie of human players blasting bugs by your side.
The Casting of Frank Stone takes a more measured approach to storytelling than The Dark Pictures Anthology, Until Dawn or The Quarry. It spends a long time getting to know its relatively small cast. When the scares and horror really kick in, they pack a punch because we’ve come to care about the characters. Excellent cinematic visual direction, an engaging mystery and top-notch voice acting are the stars of a game-slash-movie easily worth the price of a ticket.
In its day, Age of Mythology introduced some compelling new ideas into the real time strategy genre. While I think it’s overdue for a complete remake, Age of Mythology: Retold is an excellent way to reacquaint players with a genuine classic, and a perfect introduction for gamers new to the title.
For fans of the franchise, Gundam Breaker 4 is a successful reward for the patient faithful. For casual Gundam players not deeply invested in the series, Gundam Breaker 4 is a surprisingly good introduction to the experience. After a few hours in its virtual battles, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll want to start building a collection of Gunpla. Clear your shelves and enjoy.
Thanks to its art direction and genuinely creative use of Sims-like mechanics, Closer the Distance gets your attention. What keeps you enthralled, emotionally engaged, and frequently discomforted is its pitch-perfect exploration of some very difficult subject matter. It’s a heavy game but absolutely worth your time.