Wccftech's Reviews
With a new engaging story nicely integrated with the main campaign, excellent writing, and new combat mechanics, Wasteland 3: The Battle of Steeltown is a more than worthy purchase for all those who have loved the game. The new campaign's high challenge level and relatively short length of the main quest may put some off, but, everything considered, The Battle of Steeltown is the perfect continuation of an already excellent experience.
With its extremely faithful rendition of the Dungeons & Dragons 5e ruleset, Solasta: Crown of the Magister is a dream come true for all those D&D fans who also happen to love video games. However, strict adherence to this ruleset is also the game's main flaw, as it results in an overwhelming experience for all those who do not live and breathe Dungeons & Dragons. Those who power through the initial difficulties, though, will find a solid cRPG featuring great tactical combat and amazing depth.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground is a solid turn-based strategy game that has some fun in its small corner of Games Workshop's fantasy universe, but it isn't unique or exciting enough to overcome ill-fitting roguelike mechanics that turn progression into a grind. The game will still appeal to some hardcore fans, and may become a better experience with updates, but for now, this latest Warhammer adaptation is routed by a few bad strategic choices.
King of Seas is an engaging enough game, offering good ship-to-ship combat and a generally fun time to play through when it doesn't weigh you down with excessive amounts of grind. If you stick through the grind, this is the sort of game that is more than good enough to drop in and out of, giving you a good outlet to meet your pirate-related urges.
Biomutant is a competent open-world role-playing game featuring a charming atmosphere and some solid RPG mechanics. Sadly, it fails to stand out due to its by-the-books open-world formula and the sluggish combat system. While the game does work for the most part and there are some interesting ideas here and there, there isn't a lot that Biomutant does better than most open-world games out there, resulting in an experience that is somewhat forgettable.
Siege Survival: Gloria Victis is a game that manages a sort of reverse synergy. The parts should combine to make this a medieval version of This War of Mine, a title that so clearly inspired it, but sadly fall short due to issues like limited replay value, lacking the emotional investment, despite the world and characters being decent enough. Still, for every negative, there are positives. Exploring the city at night for resources can be very tense; siege defence is engaging, and the crafting is top-notch. Consider this a recommendation, but one with more than a few caveats.
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is less about being a satisfactory remaster and more about just bringing this fantastic JRPG onto a new generation of consoles.
Hood: Outlaws & Legends offers a barebones experience that is best played with a dedicated team of wolves. Those seeking fame and riches on their own may find themselves lamenting the lack of content both available day one and what's to come in the first year roadmap. Hood may certainly grow in the future, but the first impressions leave much to be desired.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Wrath of the Druids is a more than worthy expansion to the latest entry in the series, featuring a new beautiful map to explore, an engaging story, charming characters, new abilities, and plenty of other new content in the form of new gear, abilities and cosmetics. The new mechanics don't fundamentally change how the game plays, so those who didn't like Assassin's Creed Valhalla to begin with will not change their mind with the expansion. Everyone else, however, will love every second of their time in Ireland as they did with their time in Norway and England.
If you liked Subnautica, Subnautica: Below Zero still has the base of what made the original great - the charm, the wonder, the building and even some of the exploration - but this has been tempered somewhat. The story-focused approach here is interesting, even compelling at parts, but the game doesn't do enough to keep you on track or from getting lost in the many enclosed caves, caverns and tunnels running throughout. Also, like the original, this does have its fair share of bugs and issues. Still, no matter the issues, it is still a genuinely good game. While it may not be as good as the original, it's still up there as one of the better survival games around.
New Pokémon Snap offers a great chance to explore the Pokémon world, with beautiful animations and designs, thrilling levels, and a sense of calm throughout. You'll struggle to not enjoy your time with it.
Resident Evil Village is a wild, thrilling ride across seemingly every horror genre and idea that happened to pass through the mad minds at Capcom. Not every aspect of the game is perfect, but its highs are very high and solid core mechanics and excellent presentation hold the grisly patchwork together. You may survive Resident Evil Village, but your thoughts will linger there long after you've escaped.
Outriders is a fun looter-shooter game where both the action and RPG parts of the formula are exceedingly well done. It does falter at the endgame, though, and it comes with a myriad of technical issues, not to mention an antiquated world structure; bear all of that in mind if you're looking to purchase at full price.
Barring a sci-fi horror tale that doesn't quite nail the slow building reveal, Housemarque has absolutely succeeded with their fusion of third-person shooting and roguelike elements in Returnal, one of my personal favorite PlayStation 5 titles so far.
Total War: Rome Remastered is a great remastering of one of the most influential and important strategy games in the history of gaming, though it is warts and all. Certain improvements are invaluable in bringing the original closer to modern sensibilities, though they only go so far, allowing issues like pathfinding to remain, as well as a dense-as-concrete AI, even though it has been improved. However, no matter the issues, the gameplay is engaging, exciting and most of all, fun. This is a massive game, featuring two extensive expansions that have also been remastered, and one that I would recommend to any fan of the original, any fan of Total War and anybody who wants to ease themselves into the series with a game from simpler times.
MotoGP 21 is yet another slow, tentative step forward for the bleary-eyed series. There are clear improvements visually, with the physics, and with a few new features to aid realism. However, for every improvement, some areas are showing their age or have abandonment issues. The tutorial is as absorbing and educational as a brick wall, the career mode just feels shallow, and finding that balance for non-simulation purists can be a chore. Still, these are balanced by the strong racing when you find those perfect settings and the improving AI. Also, the use of the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller is brilliant, putting the feel of the bike into your hands.
Terminator: Resistance Enhanced is not a good game. It is a perfectly average title from a decade or two ago that is somehow being released now. Despite its relatively shiny graphics, there is nothing interesting beneath the chrome.
Once players get past the poor onboarding experience, Monster Hunter Rise might offer the series' best entry for first time players while series veterans will fly over the competition with the new Wirebug mechanics.
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... restores lost content alongside a brand new ending but requires players to retread the same 60+ hour grind to experience what's unique to this oddly numbered JRPG.
With a new top-down view, solid world design, and much better pacing, Immortals Fenyx Rising - The Lost Gods is, without a doubt, the best expansion released for the open-world game by Ubisoft. While the experience it's not fundamentally different from that introduced in the main game, the tweaks to exploration and combat make the new journey enjoyable, especially if one hasn't had enough of Fenyx's universe.