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There’s certainly room for improvement when it comes to its presentation and performance, but it’s hard to deny that Assassin’s Creed Shadows does so much so well. From its wonderfully realized world to its wealth of engaging quests and distractions, there’s plenty to enjoy here, regardless of whether you’ve fallen off the franchise in recent years.
Ninja Five-O was a great game when it was released in 2003 and it remains one today. Thankfully, this underrated Konami classic is now widely available and can be experienced by all. It’s one of Hudson Soft’s hidden gems and this is a lovely port of it that has some cool features and quality-of-life upgrades.
Hazelight Studios has done it again and crafted one of the PlayStation 5's best co-op games.
Whether you’re a Macross veteran or someone who has always wanted to check out the series, Macross -Shooting Insight- features a ton of shoot ’em up fun. Thanks to the constantly changing gameplay, stages always keep players on their toes.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a true achievement. It features the most immersive open world I've ever played in and rewards you for every hour that you put into it.
With a rehauled gameplay and a more honed focus on storytelling, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the best Dynasty Warriors game ever made.
There’s an endless list of things to gush and wax poetic about — the haunting soundtrack, the monochrome visuals punctuated by bits of crimson and neon magenta, the callbacks and homages to your favorite PlayStation 1 horror games. It’s clear that Simogo has an undying love for the medium as a whole; not because of the winks and nods to the games of the past, but because Lorelei and the Laser Eyes forges its own path, and it does so with a startling amount of confidence and an unwavering artistic vision that has to be seen through to its conclusion. I doubt I’ll be able to convince genre detractors to cross the aisle, but if you have even the slightest interest in puzzle or adventure games, you owe it to yourself to give this modern-day masterpiece a try. Just make sure you have some pen and paper, and a bit of patience, at the ready.
While I’m sure that some of my disappointment can be chalked up to its younger target audience, the truth of the matter is a tougher pill to swallow: Lego Horizon Adventures is a half-decent game, but at the end of the day, it’s not a good Horizon game, and it’s certainly not a good Lego game. Somehow, it manages to be less than the sum of its parts.
Whether you’re a series veteran or just interested in why gamers love to shout “EDF!” repeatedly, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 winds up being a lot of fun. It’s the most polished version of shooting giant ants that you’ll find. So, what are you waiting for, soldier? Enlist in the Earth Defense Force today.
In a world of by-the-numbers sequels and soulless cash grabs, Astro Bot stands as an oasis, an absolute masterpiece packed to the brim with charm, creativity, and a genuine love for video games, old and new. There are still four months left in the year, but if I’m being honest, I think I’ve already found my pick for game of the year.
Space Marine 2 is a great hack ‘n’ slasher regardless of whether or not you’re a Warhammer fan. Its true-to-life recreations of the tabletop game’s painted miniatures will please fans, but its satisfying combat will please anyone. However, it’s definitely best enjoyed in multiplayer given some AI frustrations, and its Operations Mode is a few pieces of content short of being an excellent addition to the package.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection offers up some of the best storytelling and characters the medium has seen.
The Casting of Frank Stone takes some big swings with its story’s final act that pay off and elevate what otherwise could’ve been just another narrative-focused horror game. Supermassive does a good job of adding some action to its exploration sections and layering in plenty of Easter eggs from the series. Dead by Daylight fans are sure to have a blast, and I hope this isn’t Supermassive’s last foray into making a horror game in an established world.
Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a remake done right as it stays faithful to the original and adds in some modern bells and whistles while not compromising on the gameplay front. If you’re looking for a retro action game that is challenging and fun to repeatedly die at then you’ve found just that.
While the stealth gameplay can sometimes become repetitive, Star Wars Outlaws is largely a blast. The attention to detail is top-notch, with each planet being a lot of fun to explore and side missions providing some of the best moments.
Are you into shooting giant bugs? Do you want to laugh at how ridiculous everything is and find yourself getting embarrassingly into its dialogue-driven story? Then Earth Defense Force 6 is for you, and you should check it out. Otherwise, you won’t have your mind changed as this is repetitive schlock that is fun but nothing groundbreaking.
Putting aside that minor issue, the most divisive thing about Braid, Anniversary Edition might be how little of the core package has changed. Aside from the visual facelift, the core mechanics and gameplay are just as they were back in 2008, and that more or less dictates who this remaster is for. Those who were turned off by Braid’s strictly linear progression and uncompromising puzzles are unlikely to have a change of heart all these years later. For longtime fans or those who have yet to experience this timeless classic for themselves, Braid, Anniversary Edition is a must-play.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a funny valentine. The graphics aren’t particularly stunning, quest progression can be vague, and it has some deliberately old-school ideas that are frustrating to deal with. Still, the game is able to capture a sense of freedom and wonder while delivering on challenging boss fights throughout exploration. It’s one of the few games that has made me want to investigate every inch of the world map without any prompting by the game through a notification or a quest. And I haven’t had that sensation in an astonishingly long time.
Through its expanded story, fantastic graphics, and abundance of side activities, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth vigorously continues the momentum from FF7 Remake. While some parts of the game are too slow or padded for the sake of content, the majority of the experience is a pleasant ride through nostalgia. It will be curious to see how progress, if any, is carried over to the next game, given all the exploration and items that you can obtain here. At any rate, FF7 Rebirth lives up to its promise as a love letter to the original game and solidly sets up the third and final title in the trilogy.
Series diehards and more casual fans will undoubtedly find a lot to like here, and I certainly hope it's a sign that we'll be seeing much more of the Ace Attorney franchise in the coming years. For those who weren't sold on the original trio of Phoenix Wright games, this second collection won't do much to sway your opinion.