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The Resident Evil Village: Winters' Expansion is a nice bundle of story and gameplay content that managed to engage and entertain me despite being a short-lived experience.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force is a bold and exciting new direction for the series with incredibly fun combat, great characters, and a gripping story. It stumbles more often than it should, but this grand return was more than worth the wait.
New Tales from the Borderlands is confusing, messy, and accomplishes nothing over the course of 10 hours. The game meanders from incident to incident hoping you'll laugh at a constant barrage of bad jokes, and lacks any heart.
BONELAB is an incredibly interesting piece of tech with a terrible shooter holding it back. The physics barely work, the mechanics are cumbersome, and the puzzles are unintuitive and frustrating. There are a few moments where the combat can shine, but that's not enough to make the game worth it.
The point-and-click genre has seen a resurgence in recent years and Unusual Findings is certainly a worthwhile successor to the games it pays homage to.
The Last Oricru just can't seem to make up its mind. Strong presentation and performance are enough to get you in the door, but lack any significant development throughout the 10+ hour playtime. Sporting a weak story, insufferable protagonist, and barebones souls-like systems, The Last Oricru does not bring anything new to the genre. Also, what in the world is an Oricru?
Asterigos: Curse of the Stars is a game composed of two different genres and not fully committing to either. Doing so makes it not reach the potential I think the game could have had by sticking to simply one. Still, with fun combat and an explorative world, it is a solid experience. One that many gamers will be satisfied with but forget after the holiday season.
Overall, this campaign brought me back to the beginning. There’s a deja-vu here, with familiar missions and faces, but that takes you off the beaten path into something more awe-inspiring than it’s ever been. I felt completely immersed in the seven or so hours I spent with Ghost, Price, Soap, and the others I grew up with, riveted to the screen, and I kind of want to do it again. Modern Warfare II is not something you’re going to want to put down, and I get the feeling this is just the start of it.
Last Days of Lazarus is a fun indie (almost) horror game with a lot to puzzle over. The game is well designed, taking much inspiration from the developer's Romanian roots. The voice acting does leave much to be desired but the gameplay and exploration were a good offset.
Gotham Knights is filled to the brim with character and nods to the Bat-Family. While the locked-in 30 FPS might be a dealbreaker for some, the flawless co-op experience Gotham Knights provides is an amazing time for those who want to fight crime with friends. A fully immersive Gotham City for you to travel in your way, either straight through the story, or complete every side mission you can; your time in Gotham is up to you.
While a bit surface level at times, the cooperative experience of busting ghosts always brought a smile to my face. Whether you're priming the proton pack or spooking civilians, fans of Ghostbusters will find a lot to love. However, fans of existing asymmetrical experiences may struggle to look beyond the simplicity.
Resident Evil 4 is a fantastic game no matter what you play it on, but the jump to VR has a few issues. The controls feel good in a vacuum, but certain options will make the game exponentially harder. If you're someone who doesn't get sick in VR, this is one of the best titles on the platform. If you do get sick, however, stick with the 2D versions.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a fantastic example of starting a long-running series off right, with lovable characters and an intricate world tied together with an intriguing political narrative. While it takes a while to get going and is very long-winded, it's incredibly enjoyable and leaves you wanting more.
Being able to play one of the best games in a generation on any platform is great, but when it's optimized to perfection it's even better. Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is one of those, a masterpiece that is a masterclass of a port. PC players rejoice, you're once again getting PlayStations greatest at their absolute best.
Persona 5 Royal makes the leap to PC with aplomb. There's a decent suite of options including rebindable controls and resolution scaling, but it's not quite perfect. Keyboard and mouse leave a small amount to be desired and the UI looks awful at resolutions below 1080. Still, if you're looking to play one of the most stylish and fun JRPGs around, PC is the perfect way to experience it.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope launches with a spark of life. There are improvements and expansion of the gameplay and performance of the first game. Three new heroes to the game including an original (non-Mushroom Kingdom related) Rabbid character named Edge. There are brand new unique weapons and special abilities for each character. Oh, and Sparks galore. This game is pumped full of "new tactical possibilities" for every kind of gamer.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is one of the most emotionally satisfying games I have ever played. I was stunned by the emotionally charged, beautifully presented, and impeccably acted story which is brought to life by incredible technical feats which showcase the power of the PS5. Time and again I was surprised by the sheer bleakness that the story was brave enough to dive into and the thrill of watching hope attempt - and often fail - to overcome those seemingly insurmountable odds. Requiem is a story which both uplifts and decimates your emotions at the same time; a story about characters that feel real and that you grow to care and root for. By the end you too will be shouting, "I am Amicia de Rune and I kneel to no one."
Aesthetically disgusting, Scorn touches on several deep-seated phobias all at once, ensnaring you with its alien and disgusting universe. While the worldbuilding shines, the combat can be pure frustration. Come for the visceral stomach churn, and stick around for one of the stranger stories you'll ever see. While the combat will frustrate, the setting is worth the fight.
Ultimately Triangle Strategy gets an excellent port, albeit one with fewer frills than we'd like. Still, that's nothing the modding community can't fix in very short order. Performance is fantastic on PC, and equally as good on Steam Deck. While the long-winded story might need work, there's no denying the tactical combat.
The DioField Chronicle mixes the complexity of a slow-burn political thriller with a deceptively straightforward strategy game. I was pleasantly surprised with where my investment in the world of DioField led me, but pay-off off the battle mechanics does not match the narrative destination.