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Despite the tremendous atmosphere, big open world, and familiar mechanics, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an uneven experience due to AI flaws, combat annoyances, laborious exploration, and technical issues.
Although still impressive and unmatched in its scale, the 2024 sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator can't be carried by its novelty alone. The added career mode seems competent on paper, and being able to step outside your aircraft adds immersion. But the entire experience is hamstrung by very disappointing visuals and data streaming issues, as well as plentiful bugs and design shortcomings.
Forgive Me Father 2 is a throwback FPS with a stylish Lovecraftian presentation. If you're craving a slick arena shooter to play for a few hours then this is a good option, although the pedestrian level design and short campaign holds it back from competing with the best in the genre.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is far from the duo's best RPG outing, but that's not to say it is a bad one. The combat is engaging enough to remain entertaining throughout the 40+ hour adventure, even as it crawls along against the tide.
LEGO Horizon Adventures faithfully recreates the world of machines from the PlayStation game series, and has some fun combat. However, it is aimed squarely at younger players, and is rather brief. A fun and accessible introduction for newcomers, but returning fans will find this diversion not as worthwhile. =
Stealth fans might find enough entertainment in A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, thanks to moments of decent immersion and sound manipulation, but inconsistent and shallow mechanics hold it back.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a worthwhile return for the RPG franchise. Despite some oversimplification of mechanics and uneven writing, the new combat style and interesting characters and narrative choices make for an engaging fantasy adventure.
With a wonderfully diverse campaign, hyperactive multiplayer, and a super replayable Zombies mode, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a brilliant showcase and the best franchise entry in a while.
Sonic X Shadow Generations is a mishmash of enjoyable 2D platforming and frustrating 3D sequences. Shadow at least manages to somewhat mitigate the clumsy controls thanks to some interesting gameplay wrinkles. The title also looks good, but probably won't bring the pair of hedgehogs back to the forefront of the genre.
The Casting of Frank Stone may not be weighed down by its ties to the Dead by Daylight universe, but it's nonetheless unable to reach the surface from under the waves of a slow story, dull gameplay and a lack of thrills.
Despite excellent facial animations and wonderful music, Double Exposure has pacing issues, unlikable characters, dire gameplay, tonal problems, and is an incomplete imitation of the perfect storm.
Thronefall pares back the usual tower defence formula into something simpler but still quite satisfying. Being forced to work with a predefined layout for your castle is a major limitation, and one that will frustrate some, but the perks and mutations system reintroduces just enough complexity to give Thronefall staying power. It also helps that the game looks great.
Neva is a great looking game that provides a few hours of joy from simply being immersed in its world. The gameplay, story, and pacing are a bit more subdued, however.
Aside from some bland combat and performance concerns, Silent Hill 2 is a good remake that takes the original's intriguing narrative and crams it with more survival-horror gameplay while upgrading the visuals to do justice to the fascinating setting.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom may not star Link, but it is on par with many of those classics. The echoes system is another demonstration of the franchise's ability to craft engaging gimmicks. While it may be underserved by the system's dated tech, Nintendo has once again delivered a creative entry in one of their flagship series.
NHL 25 makes some minor strides to improve on last year's game, but will mostly appeal to those interested in team management and being a superstar forward. As a franchise, it continues to wait for a top draft pick that can turn things around in a meaningful way.
EA Sports FC 25 delivers on the usual incremental improvement model of this sports franchise. It's a solid football game with plenty of variety that fans won't be too conflicted about getting stuck into.
Much as I like the Age of Empires games, Age of Mythology's god powers and myth units dial up the fun factor significantly. The dramatic graphical update and small but sensible gameplay tweaks in this Retold edition make it easy to recommend for new and returning players alike.
Frostpunk 2 isn't afraid to shake things up and bring a different kind of experience to the franchise, although that new design philosophy leaves a bit more to be desired in mechanics, UI and narrative elements.
Ara: History Untold is a decent foray into the historical 4X, with enough borrowed and slightly tweaked elements to make it worth a look for fans of the genre. Its original ideas become too much of a slog however, along with a scattering of UI issues and performance hiccups that need addressing.