The Monster Hunter Stories remaster is a very faithful rendition of the original game. It adds a fresh coat of paint, better performance and English and Japanese voice acting. With the core experience still very much intact, this could well be the definitive way to experience Monster Hunter Stories going forward.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin continues what was started in the first game, and elevates it to new heights. What was once a side attraction could well become the staple, as Wings of Ruin is simply an excellent RPG.
If a dark revenge fantasy tale of destroying an evil cult sounds like your kind of thing, then Children of the Sun is everything you could want.
WWE 2K24 may be a big investment, but considering this is the best that this series has ever been, that may just be worth it to you. 2K24 is just as undeniable as the American Nightmare on its cover, and a capstone for several years running for great wrestling and great wrestling games.
Suffice it to say, Infinite Wealth has everything good about the Like a Dragon series going for it. The previous game was a revolution, a total change of what a Like a Dragon game is. Infinite Wealth is evolution, the ideas of the past polished and perfected.
It almost feels clinical to say, like it's a technicality, but this is the best Tekken game I have ever played. Tekken 7 was the best, and this one is better. It gives you more of everything, bigger, louder, and better. I don't say that with one ounce of begrudgery, I am wholeheartedly in love with Tekken 8. It earns the top spot by being undeniably brilliant.
Despite some gameplay issues that hold the game back from greatness, it is the evident love and care that has been poured into Realms of Ruin that carries the game high up the list of the best Warhammer games. While it probably won't win over hardcore strategy fans, the Warhammer community will feel right at home in the wastes of Ghur.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a throwback and a step forward, putting a potential end to what came before on the way to something new. As it does so, it is a shorter, but still truly excellent example of everything that has made the Like a Dragon series so great for so many years.
For hardcore competitive players, the gameplay improvements might be enough to coax them across. As for the regular fans who want the next evolution in UFC games, I'm not so sure they will find enough here to justify the purchase. If you have been away from MMA games for as long as I have, UFC 5 is a fantastic way to jump back in - but UFC 4 might be just as good.
While Hellboy Web of Wyrd is not the strongest example of a roguelike, the depth of its combat and themes more than make up for it. As perfect a representation of the Hellboy comic art as you could get in a 3D video game, Web of Wyrd is the best Hellboy game ever made, and an excellent entry point for new fans.
Mortal Kombat 1 is the most complete package I have ever seen in a fighting game. It is an excellent new chapter for returning fans and a great jumping-on point for new players. In this new golden era of fighting games, where more people are playing them than ever before, Mortal Kombat 1 is exactly what we need. A fighting game for everyone, and a beautiful reminder of why we play.
Jagged Alliance 3 brings back the franchise's classic blend of strategy and RPG gameplay, with a distinctly millennial aesthetic and feel. All the while, the game plays like a modern game, incorporating the best elements of the past and the present to make a worthy successor that fans will love.
There are things to love here, and there is visible potential within reach. A lot of the major problems with this game could be fixed. That said, with combat as poor and as prevalent as this, Stray Blade is very difficult to recommend to anyone.
In a time when retro graphics have been done to death, Warhammer 40K Boltgun still manages to impress with its visual style. Better still, it feels amazing to play. Your Space Marine feels weighty, but also extremely quick. You get to be just as deadly as an Ultramarine should be, and you will need to be to take on the horde of classic Chaos monsters this game throws at you. Many fans regard Warhammer Space Marine as the gold standard of games from this setting, and I can say wholeheartedly that this game belongs in that conversation. The upcoming Warhammer Space Marine 2 will have to fight to get my attention away from Warhammer 40K Boltgun, because I cannot imagine it having as good a Boltgun as this game does.
Redfall tries to bite far more than it can chew and delivers a package with a middling presentation, a lack of interesting mechanics, and some pretty woeful performance. Despite its issues, and perhaps like its cultists, I want to love it - it just won't love me back.
There is plenty of quality in the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, but it is stretched over a lot of quantity. Ten games for the price of one sounds great, but if those ten games are almost identical, that changes things considerably. To reuse that Pokemon comparison, this is like buying a bundle of ten older Pokemon games, which seems like a bargain, but those ten games are spread over just two or three generations. That quantity is what you are really paying for, so you should be aware of that going in. If a heck of a lot of Mega Man Battle Network is an appealing prospect to you then by all means, jump right in. If that water looks a little deep, then you might want to hold off for now.
With Lightfall, and everything else happening in the game right now, Destiny 2 is reaching the scope of Bungie's ambition. I had a blast with Lightfall, I am continuing to have a blast with Lightfall, and I truly cannot wait to see where this story goes next.
I have been a fan of Warhammer for a bit, but my knowledge of Blood Bowl has been practically non-existent until now. I wasn't sure what the appeal of a tabletop football strategy game was, even less as to why there are three video games based on said game. Having played Blood Bowl 3 for this review, I get it now. I went in optimistic, but I did not expect this game to open my eyes to its appeal as much as it has.
The love and charm of the Like a Dragon franchise is at the core of Ishin!, a fact alone that makes this one of the best games you will play this year.
Many games have launched in nowhere near as bad a state as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and have been rightly lambasted for it, Pokemon should be no different.