Ali Hashmi's Reviews
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream features plenty of memorable characters you’d want to follow to the end, and its gorgeous, lived-in world is a standout. Unfortunately, the stealth mechanics never impress and feel too basic. It’s clear the game is more invested in its narrative than in giving players the freedom to outsmart enemies on their terms, making for a memorable story-driven experience but a mechanically shallow one.
The Alters is another fantastic game from 11 bit studios that effortlessly blends strong storytelling with engaging survival mechanics and base management. It explores themes of identity, purpose, and guilt in a personal and often confrontational way, as you create alters of yourself with some shared and some vastly different memories. If living alongside multiple versions of yourself sounds like a scary but exciting idea, The Alters delivers with the backdrop of a hostile planet.
RoadCraft celebrates construction in a way I’ve never seen before in a video game. It shines a light on the frankly ridiculous amount of work that goes into the process, offering a fresh and grounded perspective. If you’ve been put off by the traversal-heavy aspects of previous games, RoadCraft still includes that, but its larger focus is clearly on operating heavy machinery and vehicles.
Tempest Rising is a bold throwback to classic RTS games, with massive maps, satisfying destruction, and strong faction design. Despite a few rough edges, it offers a polished experience that captures the spirit of the genre’s golden era.
The First Berserker: Khazan is a solid soulslike with a lot to like. It has a robust combat system with plenty of mechanics to master, the bosses hit hard and are satisfying to overcome and the story is entertaining with plenty of fun moments sprinkled throughout. While the exploration is a bit uneven and the level design is nothing to write home about, The First Berserker: Khazan is an impressive action game that's hard to put down.
Overall, Sorry We're Closed impressed me with its sharp writing, memorable characters, and striking art direction. It’s a story of love, heartbreak, and acceptance that uses angels and demons as a backdrop, expertly distilled into an unmissable survival horror experience.
Starship Troopers: Extermination is a fun, cooperative shooter that's easy to get into and hard to put down. Its clever base-building mechanics and ridiculous chaos are a delight, but constant performance issues, bugs, and instability keep it from greatness.
Another solid entry in the series, Life is Strange: Double Exposure brings back a fan-favorite for a time-bending adventure that mostly delivers on the human side of things, too. It’s a welcome addition and a great excuse to play as Max again.
The Plucky Squire is an endlessly charming adventure that tells a wholesome story thanks to its likable cast and lighthearted tone. Jumping from 2D to 3D spaces is technically impressive, no matter how often you've seen the effect play out.
Star Wars Outlaws manages to free itself from the shackles of conventional open-world design trappings, but it doesn't have enough polish in its moment-to-moment gameplay to really stand out. Kay Vess and Nix are a fun duo to follow, but the overall story takes a long while to get going and provide any meaningful character growth. The combat isn't engaging, and the stealth mechanics are far too basic. Its outstanding visuals, fun exploration, and authentic world design do a lot of heavy lifting, and there is plenty of room for improvement in a potential sequel.
Anger Foot is a fantastic action game that's hilarious, frantic, and perfectly paced.
#BLUD is a gorgeous hand-drawn dungeon-crawler with some excellent animation work, fun characters, and sharp humor. The Vampire-infested streets of Carpentersville are a joy to explore and cleanse, even if the combat isn’t always consistent.
Nine Sols is a brutal action title that’s full of heart and a clear vision. Its refined combat system centered around parrying forces players to sharpen their reflexes and deflect their way to victory.
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is the perfect way to revisit the series on modern platforms. The addictive gunplay, diverse units, and level variety hold up to this day, and you can easily spend hundreds of hours in each entry thanks to multiple game modes, and multiplayer. The UI is a bit dated now, and the lack of crossplay support is holding the collection back, but if you're looking for some of the best Star Wars action video games have to offer, you can't go wrong with this.
Berserk Boy is a love letter to Mega Man X, and there's a lot to like here. Its fast-paced combat and movement system thanks to the Berserk Orbs keeps things fresh, and great animation work sells each dash and bash. Some uneven elements of the presentation aside, Berserk Boy is worth your time if you're a fan of 2D action platformers.
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game is an excellent addition to the MudRunner series that retains the core experience of trekking through hazardous terrain while adding new tools that push you to become creative with how you maneuver around all sorts of obstacles. Its scientific research backdrop lends to greater mission variety, and deeper customization allows you to make each truck your own. It's a great place for newcomers to the series, and a fantastic new adventure for veterans alike.
Slave Zero X is a fantastic character action game that's rewarding, challenging, and has clear focus. Its deep combat mechanics, paired with an excellent biopunk presentation, elevate it above many similar releases while offering a fairly replayable campaign. It's brought down by a lack of movelist section in-game or in practice, and some gameplay quirks keep it from reaching the heights of the titans in the genre.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a heartfelt love story, and both Red and Antea are incredibly memorable leads. The detailed haunting cases, difficult choices, and dense atmosphere add up to one of DON'T NOD's best narrative titles in years. Banishers gracefully improves upon the foundation laid by Vampyr in more ways than one, but it's often bogged down by repetitive combat that takes too long to get going. Despite that, it's an adventure worth embarking on, that's refined and respectful of your time.
Persona 3 Reload is a fantastic remake that cleverly integrates mechanics from subsequent entries to provide an experience that's polished, expertly paced, and full of heart. Its fast-paced combat, quality-of-life additions, and host of activities always keep you engaged no matter where you are in the story. The darker tone lends to an overall narrative that feels more consequential, and Tatsumi Port Island is a joy to explore. It's an excellent place for newcomers to the series and a must-buy for RPG fans.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a return to form for the franchise, and an excellent game that takes the series back to its 2D roots wrapped in a polished Metroidvania experience that's clever, engaging, and full of meaningful content to explore. The fast-paced combat rewards skillful play and the gorgeous art direction brings Mount Qaf to life. I just hope we don't have to wait another 13 years for another Prince of Persia title.