Assassin’s Creed Mirage continues that run of solid games, without question. It doesn’t break new ground – by design, I would argue – but it shows that around twenty games in (counting spin-offs), there’s still plenty of story for the series to delve into. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is an Assassin’s Creed game, for all the good and bad (mostly good) that entails.
It’s strange and it’s random, which might be exactly what certain gamers are after. Personally, though, I just found Freak Crossing to be a vaguely unsettling waste of time – which may be its point, but that doesn’t mean I want to play it.
Any game that makes movement feel this cool and effortless is a must-play, as far as I’m concerned.
Eternights feels like a fairly original game. It’s always nice to see a game try out some new genre combinations – and, as this shows, it’s especially fun when the game in question mostly pulls off the combo.
Still, it gets really tiresome, really quickly to put down a letter, check to make sure that you haven’t placed it in the wrong place, then put down another letter, and then check again...and so on. Basically, the game goes place-check-place-check for about five minutes, then you’re done and it’s on to the next puzzle.
As the series enters into its third (!!!) decade, this PC port is a fine way to show that the Ratchet and Clank are still compelling characters, and even if there are a few points where it feels like the game could use a little more polish in terms of performance, they can’t take away the fact that Rift Apart is an outstanding game.
I totally get the appeal of Super Dungeon Maker if you’re the kind of person who loves building their own game worlds. It never claims to be anything more than that, and there seems to be a solid community in place to help the game continue to grow. To me it feels like there’s still some work to be done on fleshing it out, but as it stands, there’s definitely some potential here.
2023 might be the most stacked year for video games in history, with an absurd number of absolutely incredible titles available to play, and even more to come before the year closes! With all of that in mind, Baldur’s Gate 3 has captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way that few games in history have, all while being the most polished and complete, well-put-together launch experience I have seen in years (due in large part to the three years of early access, but still). This has been an absolutely banner year for video games, but Baldur’s Gate has planted its flag firmly at the top, and I don’t see anyone dethroning it for years to come.
It all feels very worthwhile. The thing is, at least as far as the Switch version goes, you need to dig deep in order to see all that – and honestly, it’s hard to say that it’s worth it, all things considered. I’ve no doubt that Skabma - Snowfall is a very interesting, enjoyable game on systems that can handle it, but unfortunately the Switch isn’t one of those systems.
Plenty of games draw inspiration from classics but never amount to much – in part because they lack the technical ability to pull off their theft. Pilfer, by contrast, was made by someone competent enough to copy Super Mario Galaxy and smart enough to not get in the way of an already near-perfect thing. It may not deliver something we’ve never seen before, but it does deliver a product that works, which is more than a lot of imitators can say.
It all feels like someone grabbed a bunch of ideas and put them into a “Create your own PS2-era platformer” generator.
Red Dead Redemption was a great game when it came out in 2010, and this proves it’s still a great game in 2023. While some classics from previous generations feel dated, that’s certainly not the case here – and if you missed it (or weren’t around for it) thirteen years ago, now’s the time to finally play it. And if you did play it? Maybe it’s time to play it again.
It’s been a long time since I hated a game as much as I hate Fort Solis. From top to bottom, there literally wasn’t a single thing about the game I liked. I’m sure I’ve played games that are more poorly made than Fort Solis, but for sheer dislike, I can’t think of many games that come close.
The fact that Immortals of Aveum is a lot of fun to play will also make you want to invest your time (and money) in it. It may not be the most original game I’ve ever played, but when it’s this enjoyable, I’m okay with that.
It really is a remarkable game, and in a year that’s been blessed with way more than its fair share of standout games, I’d put Viewfinder on the same level as any of them.
It may not be aimed at Dragon Quest diehards, but if you’ve ever wanted to get into the series, Dragon Quest Treasures is a great place to start.
When you get down to it, Ducky’s Delivery Service feels very much like a classic platformer – if not the archetypal 2D platformer. It’s obviously not going to have the same level of fame or influence, but it’s fun enough that it’s worth playing.
I really wish I could say that Hammer of Virtue is a fun game despite its many, many issues. Really, I do. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing as fun in games as making the world around you come crashing down. But Hammer of Virtue shows there’s limits to even that. You need to be fun and functional, and Hammer of Virtue is very clearly neither of those things.
It’s a pity that the football part of Legend Bowl is so underwhelming. The ideas here are good, and the developers deserve credit for making a game that feels both modern and retro at the same time, but if you’re looking for a football game where you’ll actually want to play the on-field game, this isn’t it.
While its action kind of drags, Adore also deserves plaudits for taking a well-known genre and formula and trying something completely new. It may not work enough to sustain it for a 10+-hour runtime, but there are enough interesting ideas here that it’s not hard to imagine it evolving into something fun.