GameCrate's Reviews
I desperately wanted to enjoy Artifact, but it currently stands as a monument to the flaws of early CCG design. It's random, it's expensive, and it does a horrible job of teaching players both basic gameplay and high level strategy.
Darksiders III will go down as the black sheep of the franchise. While the core gameplay itself is fun and it does a good enough job streamlining things with a more interesting cast of characters, it all just comes across as a bit too by-the-numbers to turn heads and doesn't push boundaries enough to really stand out. If it weren't for the technical issues this could be more highly-recommended, but as it stands, only die-hard fans should consider checking this one out.
In many ways it feels too early to judge Battlefield V, and the game doesn't feel quite as substantial as it needs to. But the foundation is strong, and upcoming free content releases should add a lot of depth to the title.
Fallout 76 might have a bright future ahead of it, but ultimately, Fallout 76 is a multiplayer survival game set in the Fallout universe, not a Fallout game where you get to play with your friends.
Pokémon Let's Go has a lot of great innovations that would be welcome in other Pokémon games, but the experience is just too simplified to hold my interest. I'd wager that most long-time Pokémon fans will feel the same.
Overkill's The Walking Dead is pretty, but doesn't do anything that we haven't seen before in a number of other post-apocalyptic first- or third-person games.
This is the first solo Tetris game in a long time that truly brings something new to the formula. If you are a Tetris fan, then you owe it to yourself to give Tetris Effect a chance.
Hitman 2 is the perfect game for fans of the franchise that are looking for an excuse to dive back in. It doesn't do much to improve on the original formula, but the original formula is still fun and exciting enough to carry the game when combined with IO Interactives attention to detail, level design, and NPC AI. The whole game feels like you're wandering around living, breathing environments that are built to challenge your skills and creativity as an assassin, but that manages to do so in a way that feels fun and addicting even after multiple runs through the same level.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing about The Quiet Man is that it presents a world I want to know more about. I like the idea of a deaf vigilante-esque antihero doing his best to find the good in a world of darkness and violence, even if it means having to become a force of darkness and violence himself. However, in the case of The Quiet Man, that strong premise is squandered by lazy development decisions and incredibly odd artistic choices.
Call of Cthulhu suffers from a slow opening, but those who can make it deeper will find a satisfying horror mystery with plenty of twists and turns.
It's Diablo 3 on the go! The added local multiplayer functionality and the fact that it's a thoroughly competent port make this an easy recommendation for fans of the franchise who want a portable version, or for newcomers who want to jump in.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is what we all expected and then some. The game delivers on the fantasy of living as an outlaw in the old west, and may be one of the best open-world games ever made. It's certainly Rockstar Games' best game.
Ultimately the toys-to-life aspect feels like it gets in the way a bit of an otherwise competent and fun space shooter that's packed to the brim with things to do. Flying ships feels great and the occasional difficulty spikes rarely take away from the excitement of tearing through the atmosphere onto a new planet's surface. But not all platforms are created equally, with the Switch's Star Fox content shining as a bright point.
If you just want a fun 3D fighting game with no extras, then Soulcalibur VI is the grand revival of the franchise you have been waiting for. If you want something more, Soulcalibur VI doesn't offer nearly as much as other fighting games on the market.
PC gamers looking for the old time cRPG feeling can't go wrong with Pathfinder: Kingmaker. The presentation is beautiful, the writing is excellent, and the world offers just enough life to engage the player's imagination to fill in the gaps. Still, at the time of this writing, balancing issues and bugs keep the game from being a definite recommend – at least for the time being.
If you're the sort of gamer who usually looks down their nose at the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops 4 might just be the game that changes your opinion ever so slightly. Old-school purists can find their competitive multiplayer fix, and with the revamped Zombies and new Blackout mode, there's no denying that Treyarch's latest stands well out from the pack.
Super Mario Party elevates the franchise to a new platform and gives you plenty of things to do with friends. The randomness is still a bit more frustrating than it should be, but the high points make up for the occasional frustrations.
This year's WWE 2K release does a lot of things right but still has a way to go in order to lock down the genre with fans.
Forza Horizon 4 is a tremendous achievement and will most likely displace Gran Turismo Sport as my racing game of choice. Yes, even without a racing wheel. With hundreds of cars and dozens of race tracks and more to come, I won't run out of stuff to do any time soon. See you in Scotland!
Frozen Synapse 2's tactical core remains solid and fascinating, but the lack of a sufficiently detailed tutorial makes learning the new depths of the game a frustrating experience.