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Mundfish threw everything but the kitchen sink at this one, and I wish most of it worked for it. Atomic Heart is good when you’re using the various guns which have been upgraded to your liking, and you get the time to explore these gorgeous and detailed environments with strong artistic direction. What’s not so good is that the protagonist is completely unlikable, the writing is cringey, and the combat encounters are either completely exhausting or totally worthless to engage in. A first-person shooter where it’s better to not fight seems to be missing the point. Atomic Heart is certainly an ambitious, gorgeous, but ultimately disappointing and flat first-person shooter that I cannot recommend.
The planet of Atropos is sprawling cornucopia of danger, colors, and excitement. At times, Returnal can be borderline on being space horror with its themes and setting, which makes it so good at what it does. Housemarque still retains those arcadey and shmup elements that they essentially have baked into their core. The PC version of Returnal gives those without a PlayStation 5 or a desire to own one a way to play one of the most unique roguelikes to ever exist. Returnal is this homogeneous blend of elements that fuse into something so beautiful and wonderful, that you just have to play and experience for yourself.
If you like the idea of grand armies and large battle maps, but found Total War: Warhammer III not to your liking, then the less intimidating Company of Heroes 3 might be up your alley instead. Relic has really branched out with this one, and while Company of Heroes 3 takes some creative liberties in the World War II stories it tells, they have an energy and heart in place of historical accuracy. Relic adding tactical pausing to Company of Heroes 3 isn’t blasphemous, it’s brilliant; Relic adding a dynamic campaign is not foolish, it is fantastic. There’s so much to love here, Company of Heroes 3 never stops giving for those who wanted more, and is a total victory for the real-time strategy genre.
Outside of the time period, Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a cut-and-dry copy of any other Like a Dragon title before it. Luckily, that is an entertaining formula. If you found those other titles a chore, stay away from Ishin! Although the ancient Japanese setting might be enough for you.
Pharaoh: A New Era being a complete remake of the original game and its expansion from 24 years ago is incredible to see. This is a lovingly recreated game with many quality of life improvements and has accessibility in mind. Whether you’re new to the series or returning, there’s a lot to like here. This is a really involved game, but I wish Triskell Interactive did more with it. Pharaoh: A New Era is threadbare remake of a really good game.
This version and reworking of Dead Space fixes all issues with the original, adds new content of substance, and quality of life improvements all-around. I don’t often replay games, but I’m eager to start my run in New Game+ on a harder difficulty already. Knowing that this was remade from the ground-up still manages to trick the brain into thinking this is how it used to look back in 2008, but couldn’t be more wrong. This is one of the best survival horror games ever, and sits in the pantheon of great remakes like Resident Evil 2. I hope Motive continue to be the caretakers of the Dead Space estate, as they possess the blueprint for what a remake should be. Dead Space is a horror classic for a new generation, and it’s better than ever.
Even with the time constraints, I enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of Garden In!, and the “Gotta Plant them All” goal of getting all the seeds. Unfortunately, I would be giving the real-time growing a pass if it were on mobile versus my PC, where it’s more of a detriment. I want to spend a few hours playing a game on my PC, not a few minutes. When I boot up a game through Steam, I want to sit down and be engrossed. Relaxing or not, I’ve dedicated time to play, so let’s play; Garden In! doesn’t do that for me. With all that said, I absolutely do recommend giving this one a go if you want something calm and relaxing to entertain your fingers and stimulate the mind for a few minutes.
LONE RUIN is good fun for however long you’re able to give it. It’s a shame that it’s rather shallow offerings across two modes can’t be more than a couple of hours. Coming off Hell is Other Demons, I was hoping for more with Cuddle Monster Games, and the reality is that we got less. LONE RUIN is visually stunning, has a variety of spells and character builds to make, but doesn’t have the longevity to keep you coming back for more.
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a short, replayable, and satisfying 16-bit side-scrolling platformer. JoyMasher and The Arcade Crew nail it yet again, this time with a Mega Man meets space Shinobi that really excels at feeling like a game that released 30 years ago and was lost to time. From the look, the sound, to the controls, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a slice of heaven.
If you distill this game down into two equal parts of combat and non-combat, then I love the combat. What I don’t love is the custodial relationship aspect, but I understand why it becomes so crucial over time, as it provides the backbone to combat effectiveness over time. And it’s nice to have a respite from the combat, level up, customize my room, pet a demon dog, and have superheroes open up to me. It’s still weird, but it’s something we don’t see or have the time to explore in most games, let alone a Marvel one. Firaxis is in top-form here, having slightly pivoted, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns sits in the upper echelon of Marvel games that you have to play.
If you played and enjoyed Monster Hunter Rise, Sunbreak is an easy recommendation that further expands upon and deepens the base game in meaningful ways. There’s loads of content on offer here that will keep you busy for at least 30 hours (and well beyond that if you’re the type of player who wants to pursue weapon and gear upgrades). Sunbreak delivers in every way and is an absolute delight to play, and it’s a must-own for fans of Monster Hunter Rise who are looking for the next chapter in their journey.
Overall, Need for Speed Unbound is a fantastic racing game that is hindered by a few flaws and terrible dialogue. Even with that, it’s still a bang-up good game, one with a lot of fun! With Unbound, some have been proclaiming that Need for Speed is back when in reality, Need for Speed has always been this good. As a lifelong fan, I should know! I recommend you try NFS Unbound if just for the art alone. But is this latest Need for Speed a must-play? Maybe not at the full $70 pricetag. I would wait for a sale or play it through EA Play. In fact, if the graffiti art flourishes aren’t doing it for you, go pick up NFS Heat; that’s basically the same game and is just as fun.
On the whole, I had a really great time with Return to Monkey Island. I think it hits a lot of the right notes fairly consistently, and while it does feel very familiar, there are enough surprises to keep things interesting and rewarding as you stick through the game and see it to completion. What it doesn’t do (and I don’t think it’s trying to), is recapture that feeling of playing the original games for the first time. It’s a great vehicle for getting yourself back into the headspace of those games and immersing yourself in the lore again, but for everything that’s familiar, there is a lot that’s different, for better or worse. And, it’s also still an adventure game, which these days is something you need to be in the mood to play. Having grown up playing them, I’m nearly always up for this, but it’s just a different pace and feel from so much of what else we play nowadays. You can feel Return to Monkey Island trying to find its place in the current landscape, and in many ways I think the game is a success. It’s true what they say, you can’t go home again. Return to Monkey Island knows that, and it’s there to help you embrace that fact.
The best way I could describe this game in a concise way that this is Chex Quest meets Halo with the writing of Rick and Morty. Now, if Justin Roiland’s voice and comedy doesn’t normally do anything for you, what you’ll find in High On Life isn’t going to change that. While the number of bugs and crashes weren’t that many or that big of a deal, it did impact my overall enjoyment. I was immersed in the world built here by Squanch Games, completing it in just a few sittings. High On Life is a great adventure with quality shooting and a filthy mouth to be one of the best and funniest games I’ve played all year.
The Callisto Protocol is a ride worth taking, but I’m flummoxed at some of the decisions made here. The melee combat is on autopilot, the weapon selection is limited, and there’s no New Game+ to return for another orbit. The brutal, gory, visceral kills that you perform on monsters is returned in equal measure to you, always bringing a smile and recoil to my face. Compromises had to be made to enjoy parts of this game, but when you can turn your brain off, it’s good fun. The Callisto Protocol doesn’t quite live up to expectations of its spiritual predecessor, but I can’t say I didn’t find it to be mostly satisfying, pustules and all.
With so much to do in the game, you could spend all day fishing or maybe planting crops to harvest. Maybe you would like to collect every magic spell, or learn more about all the people in Fairhaven. Whatever you want to do in Wylde Flowers, the game has a lot of it for you to do, and I love it; it is so much fun!
Fatshark has ruled the co-op horde game for years, but I find aspects of the game lacking or not as enjoyable as it should be. Darktide has a strong core to build upon, and so thankfully Fatshark has earned enough goodwill over the years that I trust this’ll only get better over time. Knowing Warhammer is not a requisite to enjoy what’s here, anyone will be able to play this and embrace the chaos. As it stands today, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has more than enough content in classes, weapons, and mission to enjoy, and it’s clear that the best is yet to come.
Two Point Campus is a good game, only made better through the Space Academy DLC, a substantial addition. Space is generally pretty serious, but the folks at Two Point Studios infused their wackiness into it that elevates it to new heights. The new levels here make it feel like this is a different game at times, offering a degree of cohesion not seen in the game before now. Two Point Campus: Space Academy is out of this world good, an essential add-on for all would-be school administrators who “keep their eyes on the stars, but their feet on the ground.”
Playing Evil West feels like a PlayStation 2 game, in a good way, in that it’s a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of game. I do wish the story didn’t feel like I was watching a made-for-TV movie on Syfy, as it was predictable and not giving me a character I actually care about. I was just there for the gore, monsters, and visual effects in all their spectacle. The gauntlet is easily the coolest thing about the combat, so Flying Wild Hog was right to make that the centerpiece. All of the other tools you’re given only enhance the experience, but combat tends to get stale from encounter to encounter as the game goes on. Evil West is a fun vampire-slaying romp while it lasts, and has an honest single-player experience with online co-op that can’t go unappreciated.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is thankfully not an origin story, as that was handled expertly in the previous game. So what we get here is a fun and exciting game that just jumps right in without the painfully slow ramp-up that other games fall victim to. Once again Insomniac offers a refreshing take on the open-world game that’s never dull to engage with any and all of its systems. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a massive achievement, showing that lightning can strike twice.