I enjoyed nearly every moment of the 15 or so hours I spent playing Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
New Pokémon Snap is pretty magical as well. It takes the unique formula of the 1999 original and expands on it just enough to feel like a completely new adventure, without diluting the simple joy of riding and snapping photos of impossible creatures.
For those with cleaner children than mine, Sackboy: A Big Adventure is exactly the sort of non-threatening video game that’s perfect for family game night. It’s charming, with a kid-friendly story and forgiving gameplay that won’t result in ugly tears. It might even inspire someone to one day work at a Michael’s or Joanne’s.
Don’t let the lush, colorful graphics and whimsical, xylophone-heavy soundtrack fool you. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time’s fun and frivolous facade hides a game that feels like it’s actively trying to murder mischievous marsupials. It’s about snatching victory from the jaws, bombs, fast-moving vehicles, spinning blades, laser grids, and fire spouts of death. I failed much more often than I succeeded during my run thanks to Ray West and his lackeys, but I had a great time doing it.
Marvel’s Avengers isn’t the best comic book game out there, but it’s certainly the best team-based comic book game I’ve played. It’s not simply that it gathers iconic heroes together and lets me become them, but that each one of them is equally enjoyable.
What I wanted is there, and it’s good. There’s just so much more, and I love it all.
If an animated rehash of 10 years’ worth of movies and television is the framing needed to get me an action role-playing game as rich, challenging and satisfying as Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, then so be it.
[Dead or Alive 6] strips away the tawdry trappings of past installments, leaving a fabulous fighting game with compelling characters worth caring about.
The action is faster, the controls more responsive, the visuals are sharper and the music is more full and lush. It improves on the original in every way. It’s even a little more sadistic.
I just wish there was more to do.
Or will Blizzard just give us more of the same, because I am completely fine with that at this point. Stories so interesting I've defected to the Horde to make sure I get to enjoy them all? I guess I can live with that.
The Longest Five Minutes presents its basic fantasy tale as a series of flashbacks experienced by its amnesiac main character during the game's final battle. It takes an otherwise generic retro turn-based RPG and turns it into something special—but it could have been so much more.
Arc System Works has created the most approachable Dragon Ball game ever, and one of the most accessible fighting games. Fans of either should be overjoyed to welcome newcomers to their ranks, and those newcomers get to experience two of the most accepting and supportive communities in fandom. Everybody wins.
If you're planning to venture into the magical world of Nine Parchments, heed my words: It's tedious to go it alone. Take friends. Maybe wear some fireproof gloves.
Hand of Fate 2 improves upon the original in every way.
It's another Lego Marvel game with a so-so story leading to an immensely engaging open-world experience. That's fine if you primarily play Lego games to collect all the things.
An unexpected treat of a game, one that bodes well for the future of the Lego video game series. A rapid-release movie tie-in is a really strange place for innovation, yet here it is.
Were Hob a tightly-scripted action adventure that guided the player from point to point and told them exactly what was expected of them, it wouldn't be nearly as magical an experience, and certainly not as personal. Making my own decisions (and my own mistakes) makes the impressive, world-changing moments feel like something I did.
I've got everything I look for in an action RPG right here.
Agents of Mayhem is many things, but mostly it's what happens when the development studio responsible for one of the raunchiest game series dials back the dildos and gives its heroes a little more maturity and humanity. It's something special. Like Uranus.