Does Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate successfully start a new chapter for Destiny 2 or does it falter under the pressure of its Herculean task?
The narrative is a step in the right direction by focusing on the relationship between the two leads and delivering a truly stellar final act.
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster is a good remaster that might not do much to freshen up the original experience, but it does make an already good game available to a new generation of RPG fans.
Is Assassin's Creed Shadows the hail mary Assassin's Creed and Ubisoft needed, or should this game have stayed in the shadows?
Does Aspyr recapture the magic of the original release, or does Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles belong in the trash compactor?
Is LEGO Horizon Adventures a fun-filled LEGO adventure by a different developer or should LEGO leave their game development to Traveller's Tales?
There’s a good reason why Treyarch and Black Ops are so beloved by the Call of Duty community. The sub-franchise usually delivers the stronger campaigns, multiplayer and third modes in the series. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 does all of those things, especially when compared to the more recent Call of Dutys. The campaign, from Raven Software, may drop the ball at the end with its story, but it’s filled with fantastic characters and a wide variety of missions that help elevate it into must-play territory.
Of course, credit goes to Guerrilla Games for writing a narrative and building out gameplay that remains interesting and engaging seven years on. At $49.99 for new players and $9.99 for owners of the PS4 or PC versions, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered’s overhauled visuals feel like a steal.
What truly holds Concord back is its lack of identity. A story or campaign would have been a great way to showcase the world, its characters and lore, yet all of that is stuffed into the Galactic Guide that few players will probably ever read. The Freegunners and game modes are fun and mostly balanced, though feel derivative when stacked up against the already established competition. Meanwhile, map design feels safe with layouts that don’t encourage much experimentation. Concord is a good, fun game from a brand-new studio that’s currently missing its identity. It may be a bit lost in space, but Concord checks off enough boxes to hopefully chart a path forward.
The updates to gameplay make Bounty Hunter feel modern, fluid and accessible, though the legacy controls are still there for purists. It would have been nice to see a remaster or remake that fixed additional quirks and greatly improved the presentation, but as a $19.99 port, Aspyr has delivered enough changes and updates to make Star Wars: Bounty Hunter feel like the game it always should have been at launch. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is one bounty you’ll want to bring in alive.
It’s hard to keep something going for ten years, especially a Live Service game. The industry is littered with failed attempts at building ten-year plans. Despite Destiny’s many ups and downs and lack of consistent quality through the years, Destiny 2: The Final Shape completes Bungie’s ambitious ten-year plan and mostly sticks the landing. Its story is the most focused a Destiny tale has ever gotten, opting to focus on character interactions, linear level design and heartfelt payoffs. While this route meant a complete neglect of the series’ big bad, it did culminate in an epic finale to the Light and Darkness saga.
Ubisoft’s attempt to blend two disparate genres together backfires, creating massive balancing issues and diluting both experiences. Its lack of polish on the server side leads to outright aggravating and uneven experiences. Finally, while XDefiant is free-to-play, the fact that there’s little earn and outright unlock leaves little incentive to stick with the game beyond a couple of matches occasionally. XDefiant provides that solid, fun FPS action in small doses, but is sorely held back by a lack of focus, polish and earnable content.
Team Ninja shot for the moon and delivered a fun open-world action game that, despite its faults, is an excellent experience. Rise of the Ronin provides a fantastic new vision for Team Ninja.
At their core, both Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Battlefront II remain fun to play even with the remaining jank from the era; it's just unfortunate that the collection they're in lacks polish. Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection scratches that nostalgia itch but doesn't elevate itself beyond that.
Launching a live service game in today’s environment is a risky proposition. Not only are the market leaders incredibly entrenched, but launching a brand new one without a satisfying gameplay loop, content variety and character could doom a game right out of the gate. Helldivers II bucks the trends with highly satisfying gameplay, a good variety of planets to explore and objectives to complete, unique hooks and hilarious improvised moments. Gunplay is punchy, smart and requires some thought to be effective, though it can also just be chaotic fun. Unique hooks like the Galactic War where you’re just another cog in the war effort rather than the “Chosen One” adds more stakes to every match. It’s also fun to hop into a match with friends and unleash all forms of chaos. It’s not perfect with Helldivers II unable to escape every Live Service pitfall. Progression feels unnecessarily padded with multiple currencies to juggle, the fun factor doesn’t extend to playing solo and technical issues plague the post-launch week. Still, Helldivers II delivers where it matters and leaves us excited to see what Arrowhead can bring to the game next rather than leaving us pondering if the game can be saved. Helldivers II is one galactic conflict players can happily dive into.
Finally, as a DC title, you may get to play as iconic characters, but Suicide Squad never delivers the fantasy of playing as Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League works on a surface level, but look beneath the surface and there isn’t enough for story, live service, shooter or DC fans to properly enjoy long-term.
The Last of Us Part II was terrific in 2020 and remains just as amazing in 2024 as The Last of Us Part II Remastered.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a beautiful game to look at that occasionally delivers moments of excellence, but it lacks the depth underneath to deliver a mesmerizing and unforgettable experience worthy of its technological prowess.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has its moments of triumph, but they are few and far between. There’s still fun to be had in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, but this year’s entry feels like a stopgap while we wait for the next major release.
Mortal Kombat 1 was pitched as the start of a new era for Mortal Kombat, where NetherRealm Studios had complete freedom to craft the universe they wanted, mostly free from the previous two eras.