Axel Cushing's Reviews
"Pentiment" delivers a murder mystery, a period piece, and a deeply moving examination of the human heart over the course of years, all in a single game that doesn't require hundreds of hours to get through. Come for the point-and-click adventure, stay for the heartbreaking narratives interwoven into the tapestry of a small town.
Terra Invicta brings grand strategy sensibilities to the alien invasion genre in a tour de force display of technical and artistic skill. Be prepared to lose large chunks of time and love every single moment of it.
"Colossal Cave" is a nostalgia bomb of early gaming's text-based adventure past mixed with the aesthetics of 90s "slideshow" adventures, masterfully combined by the oldest and most respected names in gaming. It's a short, sweet, and expertly delivered experience for gamers of any generation.
Jagged Alliance 3 restores the glory, guts, and joy to a tactical RPG series too long abused. Realistic weapons mix with nail-biting combat, larger-than-life characters, and a challenge so good, you'll be begging for another hit.
Suikoden I & II HD Remaster gives players the chance to experience (or re-experience) a piece of gaming history long thought lost, warts and all. If you can survive the design decisions of three decades in the past, you'll come to understand why these titles are so beloved.
Remnant II gives players a brutal and beautiful odyssey across time and space. It won't hold your hand, it will barely tell you where you're going or how to get there, but the adventure is certainly one worth experiencing.
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader delivers the sort of space opera CRPG we didn't know we needed. From excellent visuals to combat and character systems so detailed it almost hurts, Rogue Trader will keep CRPG players busy for a very long time.
Updated for modern systems, Riven reminds us why it's a classic adventure game. Perhaps a bit short now, occasionally obtuse in its puzzles, but still visually stunning and engaging.
Stardock Entertainment and Ironclad Games bring us a worthy sequel which dazzles the eyeballs and challenges the tactical skills of 4X players everywhere. Only the lack of a cohesive and engaging narrative keeps this title from attaining perfection.
If you're looking to experience some truly old-school gaming, or you're curious about the evolution of FPS games, Rise Of The Triad: Ludicrous Edition provides gamers with an oft-overlooked chapter of gaming history.
Remnant II: The Awakened King gives players a new adventure beyond the Worldstone with new loot and a new Archetype. What it doesn't give is a good reason why you should play it other than the fact you bought it.
Ikonei Island fills its niche in the kids' game segment quite nicely. It's maybe a little thin for grown-ups by themselves, but it makes a great way to spend time with the kids without worrying about what they're likely to come across.
V Rising shows us that being a vampire lord isn't all about smoldering looks, frock coats, and soaring Gothic architecture. It's a lot of work, apparently. But it has its perks, such as roaming the countryside, picking fights with champions, and occasionally draining them dry for their power.
Two great games afflicted by the curse of time, and only the barest effort seemingly expended to get them functional on modern consoles, the remasters of Soul Reaver and its sequel somehow diminish these pieces of gaming history even as they bring them forward for current audiences.
"The Valiant" give players hungry for a squad-based RTS something new to chew on. Its aesthetics are in the right place but certain design choices may frustrate even fans of the genre.
While Aliens: Dark Descent adds an interesting RTS-twist to the typical tactical RPG, and nails the visual aesthetic of the film, the not-quite polished systems and underwhelming plot diminish what could have been one of the best games of the year.
Everspace 2 brings gorgeously rendered ships and a middling story, but can't quite make up its mind about being a space sim or a loot shooter RPG. Visually impressive, narratively and mechanically constrained, it could have been so much better.
Graven tries a little too hard to bring back the glories of early 90s shooters and gets the look right, but doesn't seem to realize the gameplay's retrograde complications dampen the potential enthusiasm.
Everafter Falls certainly takes some notes from similar games in the genre. At the same time, it feels oddly constrained and vaguely incomplete. If you're wanting to try a different flavor of Stardew-clone, this one might be something of an acquired taste.
Three years in Early Access has brought "Re:Legend" to a highly polished visual state, but hasn't found the right balance between the disparate game systems it's trying to weave into a cohesive whole.