If there’s anything that Life Is Strange 2 wants to say, it’s that everyone in the world deserves dignity, happiness and love.
Its charm ultimately wins out in the end, but the finale is bittersweet. The pieces are set up for something grand but there’s a sense that most of our time was spent putting them into place for a climax that may never come. If it took this long for Shenmue III, why get our hopes up for Shenmue IV?
Arise is worth checking out if you’re in the mood for a game like Journey or Gris, or if you just want to explore a magical world while listening to an emotional soundtrack.
Taken as a whole, Jedi: Fallen Order brings a very familiar concept to the world of Star Wars video games: balance.
Unity of Command II shows that even in a genre as tried-and-tested as this, where so much has remained the same for so long, that there’s room for change that not only interesting, but exciting.
The magic of Pokémon is that it lets you tap into a sense of wonder that becomes more and more difficult to access as an adult. Sword and Shield do that more successfully than any Pokémon release has in years. It won’t be everything to everyone, and it will not make everyone happy. I’m not sure it needs to. It’s a portal to a new world.
There’s unexpected joy in the little moments of Disco Elysium
This is one of gaming’s great sandboxes (provided you can tame its expanse), and if you thought it was satisfying linking some theme park rides together, wait until you do the same thing only for baby pandas.
There’s little coherence in this story, outside of the argument that the good guys on the ground should be free to do whatever they think needs to be done once the bullets start flying.
It’s hard not to like Sam Bridges, who faces all of Death Stranding’s bizarreness with a welcome everyman’s weariness, encapsulated in in Norman Reedus’ characteristic growl.