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Redfall is a far cry from Arkane’s usual work, and it’s sad to see this is the final product from this team. The writing is the best part, but nothing about it can save this from being a mediocre game that can’t manage to do more than one thing at a time, whether it be an immersive sim, an open-world game, or even an RPG. Try as I might, I can’t find enjoyment in this, or even continue to play a game that looks and feels this incomplete for its $70 price tag. Redfall is playable, but in the most threadbare way, as it’s a shell of a game that will exhaust you long before the credits roll. And like vampires are wont to do, Redfall sucks.
Showgunners is a true spectacle that stays true to its format for a game that doesn’t overstay its welcome. The turn-based gameplay is really smart, and the third-person real-time movement is a nice change of pace for the genre. It’s scripted fun you can save scum to your hearts content, or die a glorious death in ironman mode. Homicidal All-Stars is not a show I would watch, but I definitely enjoyed taking part in its vision of the future of reality and game shows. Showgunners is not tactically dense, though it offers a uniquely tight turn-based experience you should definitely pick-up.
Age of Wonders 4 offers nearly infinite replayability with the built-in scenarios and ways to create your own, to include all of the included factions and ones you can manifest. This is a game that corrects past mistakes, includes expansions into its core, and has no shortcomings. This is an incredibly beautiful game that is popping with color and visuals. There’s essentially two to three games in here across its 4X, RPG, and tactical combat layers that offer variability and unpredictability. This is a massive game that is able to carry the weight of the series on its shoulders proudly, Age of Wonders 4 is purely magical.
There’s connective tissue between LCB Game Studios’ games, so your experience with Varney Lake will be enhanced by having played Mothmen 1966 prior to it. It’s a short story video game that doesn’t take up your time, and is a great palate cleanser from other games you’re currently playing. I’m really excited for what’s in store next, and am enjoying how these play out. Varney Lake feels like PC adventure games of old, and will take you back to those summer or rainy nights of gaming, for a truly visual and aural treat of the senses.
While I still prefer the original Desktop Dungeons mainly for nostalgia, Rewind this is a refreshing and modernized reintroduction of the game will have a new generation falling in love like I did over ten years ago. Even if you haven't played it before, I think the price of admission is well worth it for a game that offers so much variety and longevity, being infinitely replayable in the truest sense. QCF Design offers a game that lets you peel back the layers like an onion, only to find that it's wrapped around another onion. And once you peel back those layers, there's yet one more onion inside that's offers more depth and surprises. Desktop Dungeons: Rewind is a lighthearted and challenging procedurally generated puzzle meets dungeon crawler roguelike, and is the coolest thing you'll play all year.
While the menu navigation is clumsy, the videos are glitchy, and the ball-hitting can be spotty, this is a far better effort than the series’ last outing. The closest we have in the golf space is 2K’s PGA TOUR 2K23, but it doesn’t hold a candle to what EA SPORTS PGA TOUR offers. Having all four major golf tournaments is a huge boon to the game’s benefit, and Augusta National is well worth the purchase alone. I’m actually surprised at how well the live service element is done, the game feels more connected than most other sports games. EA SPORTS PGA TOUR is satisfying in its own right, the start of something solid, but needs more polish that I think will happen in due time with patches and updates.
Wartales is unlike anything else I’ve played this year, as it boasts a massive landscape of near-emergent gameplay where you are not the hero of the story, but you do have a crucial role to play in it. It’s a grim, dark world to take part in, but it’s utterly fascinating at the events that take place, and how you can help shape or unmake it. The dynamicism in which things unfold makes replayability high, and the inclusion of multiplayer co-op is the perfect kind of game night with friends. Shiro Games have crafted something special here, and Wartales excels for letting you make your own successes or failures through the choices you make along the way.
I enjoyed my time with Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator. It’s definitely a simulator, but it’s not overly complex like some in the genre tend to become. With the management aspect and how detailed some of the recipes are, it offers that depth simulators genuinely capture while simultaneously keeping the actual cooking and plating something fun and enjoyable. The story could be better, but again, something that should make or break your decision in this genre. An essential aspect of being a chef is having pride in your work and seeing the customer enjoy their experience; Chef Life captures this and does this well.
Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion doesn’t make a good first impression, but beneath that Lightfall story is still a satisfying game, a game that keeps me coming back infinitely and beyond the grasp of any other title.
Meet Your Maker is a devious evolution for asynchronous multiplayer via user-generated content, and there’s so much joy in dismantling someone from across the internet with your skill.
Terra Nil is a fun game to enjoy at your own pace. For taking a game genre and flipping it on its head, it’s done well and feels like a natural fit in the city builder genre. It’s also quite peaceful and fits the bill of being what most are now casually calling cozy games. The idea of turning these wastelands into paradises is a great one that also instills a sense of pride in your work.
Tchia is a huge achievement from a tiny studio that clearly had a lot of fantastic ideas they wanted to blend together into an amazing game. Ultimately though, the mark was just missed by not letting each part really sing, instead they each fell into the backing track with no lead ukulele player.
While WWE 2K23 is a visual, presentation, and gameplay step-up over WWE 2K22 , it’s a ladder’s climb up if you’ve been away for more than a year. It tends to cater to those who played last year’s game, but I think the game does enough to get anyone acquainted with all of the systems. There’s a mode for everyone to like in here, tons of matches to engage in, a stacked roster of favorites and newcomers, and of course WarGames! It’s all backed by great gameplay and controls that’s the best yet. WWE 2K23 is the freshest feeling WWE 2K game in years, and is worth getting excited about.
Where RE2 and RE3 laid the groundwork for re-envisioning what classic games in this franchise (or any other) could be, Resident Evil 4 pushes all of that to new heights to create something that is simultaneously incredibly faithful to the original material, but updated in every meaningful way possible. This is the ultimate, hands-down, best version of the game you can possibly play. It’s a phenomenal achievement and it’s truthfully hard to imagine how CAPCOM could top themselves beyond this aside from whatever RE9 ends up being. I cannot recommend this game strongly enough. The hype is real, you should buy into it, and let it get its filthy meat hooks into you. There’s never been a better time to play Resident Evil 4, nor a better way to play.
DROP – System Breach is unlike other games of its ilk, as it doesn’t require scripting knowledge or too many button presses. This is a rather casual hacking sim that never releases its tension or lets go of your attention. The experience is over in just after several hours, but it’s one I want to replay to see what its procedural levels have in store for me. It’s a shock to the system at how good it is, as each new mechanic is doled out. DROP – System Breach is remarkably clever, and an irresistibly addictive puzzle meets hacking simulation.
For most, The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is just a $10 upgrade, which makes it an absolute no-brainer purchase for existing owners. If you’re coming to the game completely new, the full price is still very much worth it for an RPG that doesn’t overstay its welcome and offers a varied and unique gameplay experience with familiar yet distinct style. This whole game is textbook Obsidian, but is no less interesting or cool. If you liked what Obsidian did with Fallout: New Vegas , then you’ll be right at home here. The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is the definitive version of the game and it’s DLCs all but in name.
Maybe things will be fixed by the start of season 1 in May, maybe they won’t and we are either stuck with” “Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition” until “Blood Bowl 3: Legendary Edition” comes out or its publisher Nacon decides to cut its losses short and in another 10 years or so we maybe get a shot of another “Blood Bowl”. No matter the outcome, the damage is done and the community will always remember Blood Bowl 3 as an awful and mismanaged launch. I truly hope it bounces back from this, but I’m not holding my breath.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has a lot of familiar elements from Team NINJA’s own Nioh series and also the FromSoftware series. However, there’s nothing quite like the Chinese martial arts and Three Kingdoms backdrop that you’ll find here. The dark twist that KOEI TECMO put in the later Han Dynasty a remarkable and fascinating portrayal I can’t say I’ve seen anywhere before. The underwhelming performance on PC is a major disappointment, but this can absolutely be patched and updated in time. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is not an easy game to beat, but it does come easily recommended.
One Piece Odyssey was a blast to play. It felt like I could watch a new adventure of One Piece unfold right before my eyes. The way everything was set up and played out was a great experience. The pricing here is set in the right spot since, as of writing this review, it’s still relatively new. The Steam cost of Odyssey was $60, but I could see the price dropping to $50 easily in the future. $60 isn’t a bad price for the game right now, as I’m having much fun with it. For anyone wishing to buy One Piece Odyssey, happy travels, and may your pirating adventure await you!
All in all, I found Forspoken to be a very well-designed game. A great many things are lacking with Forspoken, but they threw everything they could think of, including the kitchen sink, into this game, hoping something stuck. I wish Luminous Productions had taken a step back and eliminated some extra mechanics. They could have added them in a second installment once the first game was established. Honestly, I believe most of my love for Forspoken was brought on by the ability to have choices in my play style rather than the game deciding that for me. Forspoken is a game that showed me games could be fun and exciting even if there is not an engaging story to be told.