GamingBolt
HomepageGamingBolt's Reviews
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, in acting as a short middle chapter between Marvel's Spider-Man and its upcoming sequel, doesn't really have the luxury to introduce radical new concepts that might turn the game on its head. Rather, it's a fun, short romp through New York once again, but this time as a new protagonist. Its tightly-paced plot tells a great coming of age story for a new Spider-Man, and its greatest strength is the fun ensemble cast.
Somerville is a flawed game and doesn't execute all of its ideas perfectly, but from its captivating story to some of its striking imagery, there's plenty still to like in this brief adventure.
It's not a home run, but Sonic Frontiers does so much of the things that really matter so well that it is easily the most fun 3D Sonic has been in years – maybe even decades – and a genuinely fun and engaging game on its own merits.
There's nothing in the Bloody Ties expansion that warrants returning to the game, especially if you've been playing it since release. Its story is rather boring, and its new combat encounters are dull.
Harvestella is rough around the edges, and it's not particularly accomplished at anything it sets out to do, but it's a fun, engaging farming sim at its core, and certainly worth a look for fans of the genre.
The Entropy Center is an excellent puzzle game that's as much its own thing as it is an homage to the classics, and is easily one of the most pleasant surprises of 2022.
The Chant has some great things going for it with its unique brand of gameplay and interesting story, but problems ranging from underwhelming plot to janky combat bring down the enjoyment factor of the experience by a significant margin.
Football Manager 2023 might be a small improvement over its immediate predecessor, but it's still an incredibly accomplished management sim that you can easily sink hundreds of hours into.
A roguelite FPS, Gunfire Reborn takes good and bad from both genres, making for a somewhat frustrating and inconsistent, though intermittently fun experience.
God of War Ragnarok surpasses its predecessor in every way. From its captivating story to its thrilling combat to the endlessly explorable and wonderfully designed Nine Realms of Norse mythology, it's an unequivocal triumph from top to bottom.
WRC Generations lacks the depth and polish of its simulation counterparts but still delivers a fun capstone to the several WRC games that lead up to it.
Fans of the series, or of the genre, are in for arguably the best outing this genre has had in years. Bayonetta 3 fumbles more than I wish it would, but when it is at the top of its game, it is an incredible exercise in joyous, glorious, utter lack of restraint and incredibly fulfilling mechanical versatility.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure, while downright gorgeous and playful, doesn't really offer anything when it comes to even remotely challenging gameplay. In that aspect, and many others, it feels like a game made distinctly for children. While that's not entirely a bad thing, there are plenty of other 3D platformers out there with better gameplay and more interesting level design. Even kids can get bored of a game if it's too easy, after all.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beats out the last several Call of Duty games, but resists the potential to be truly great.
While Star Ocean: The Divine Force may not be the most revolutionary, prettiest, or most action-packed JRPG out there, its fantastic cast of characters and generally fun story do quite a bit to make the game's 40+ hour journey feel quite cozy. Add in the fact that you're guaranteed to get some uniqueness through its two protagonists having their own bespoke story beats that warrant multiple playthroughs and you've got plenty of JRPG to bite into here.
Resident Evil Village: Winters' Expansion never feels like an essential, must-play addition to the RE universe, but those who enjoyed the base game will still find plenty to like here.
It's not great, and there are better games of this ilk for players to try out, but if you're enough of a fan of Dragon Ball, you might find just enough to enjoy here that makes it worth the cost of admission.
New animations help NHL 23 make steps toward greater authenticity but the series still needs a major overhaul.
Gotham Knights' insistence on being a modern open world RPG leads to some gameplay issues and painfully generic mechanics, but there's a lot of fun to be had here nonetheless, and an engaging story to experience. It may not be Arkham, but it's good enough in its own right.
New Tales from the Borderlands is a safe, risk-averse sequel that gets more right than wrong.