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Thumbsticks

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175 games reviewed
72.8 average score
80 median score
72.0% of games recommended

Thumbsticks's Reviews

Dec 6, 2023

If there is any criticism to be made of Jusant, it's that developer Don't Nod – no stranger to over-egging the narrative pudding at times – couldn't hold its tongue, filling the beautifully spartan climb with diaries, logs, and otherwise unnecessary lore. But the game's focus on its core climbing mechanics, and some of the finest art direction we've yet seen, still make this an essential journey.

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Nov 30, 2023

If you're already invested in the Remedy Connected Universe – that's Alan Wake, this sequel, and 2019's Control, thus far; officially, everything else is just an Easter Egg – then you will devour and adore Alan Wake 2. For everyone else it might feel like a slog, at times, through Alan's hackneyed writings and Remedy's penchant for mixed-media presentation, but this is still an excellent survival horror with many bright spots reflected in that signature flashlight.

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Nintendo rather threw the kitchen sink (full of thousands of Post-it notes) at Super Mario Bros. Wonder, so it's unsurprising that not every element is as successful as the game's – and the genre's – best. But when you think about it, it's remarkable that, after nearly four decades, there are still new ideas left to try. The real wonder is how good Mario's latest 2-D romp turned out.

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Oct 24, 2023

Shifting perspectives, changing abilities, and an expanded open world playground make this sequel into a bona fide blockbuster.

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This XCOM meets X-Men effort from Firaxis isn't flawless, but its a fantasy dinner party of superheroes elevates the experience above its formulaic story and forgettable hero.

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Nov 24, 2022

If Ragnarök spells the end of God of War, as both its themes and talk from Santa Monica Studio suggest, then it will serve as a fitting end for Kratos. Not just because it would make an impressive swansong for the God of War, but because that level of weariness and relief that Kratos feels from completing his lengthy endeavours is, by its end, projected onto the player, completing theirs.

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Nov 15, 2022

Bayonetta 3 is an awful lot more, but it's also an awful lot more of the same. It's a game that revels in its spirited too-muchness.

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Oct 12, 2022

There's very little that's new in Easy Come, Easy Golf that wasn't in Everybody's Golf before it – save for its team mechanic and those frightening golf-baby clones – but that doesn't matter. None of that matters. The fact we've got a Clap Hanz golf game on a Nintendo console, at long last? That's a hole in one, for sure.

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Sep 22, 2022

In a world where 2014's Mario Kart 8 is still going strong, on the face of it, it seems hard to justify a third full fat Splatoon game in the same time frame. While it might not be groundbreaking, Splatoon 3 is nonetheless a high watermark for the series, and is a welcome premium product in the era of battle passes and microtransactions.

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In a medium preoccupied with guns and bombs and violent, power-fantasy notions of heroism, Gerda: A Flame in Winter treads a quieter path through its World War II setting, and is perhaps all the more powerful for it.

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Aug 31, 2022

Sam Barlow's Immortality switches digital footage for celluloid film, and it's a better fit. His fixation with scrambled narratives has found its natural home, not in the realm of computers, those ghost-free machines, but here, on coils of vulnerable tape.

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Familiar but refreshed, Nintendo Switch Sports is an excellent party pastime with the promise of more fun to come. An unfussy online implementation also improves the experience for solo players.

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In so many ways, Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness is a frenetic, baffling, exhausting, draining experience. But, somehow, that’s not a criticism? You’ll come away feeling like you got hit by a train, but in a really positive, memorable way.

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Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl straddle the line between old and new by giving two beloved heirlooms a polish that avoids tarnishing treasured memories. These are buoyant, accessible RPGs for fans and newcomers alike.

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Life is Strange: True Colours features what really matters in a Life is Strange game: a likeable protagonist and a brilliant setting. It’s also received a massive visual upgrade this time around, which really makes the town of Haven Springs feel cosy, somewhere you want to spend your time.

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WarioWare: Get It Together! isn’t the overhaul the series probably needs, but it’s another propulsive and compulsive blast of fun. The multiplayer modes are modest but well implemented, and the variety added by each character’s abilities adds longevity.

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Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a thin co-op horde shooter with an Aliens skin. And for many, that’ll be exactly what they are looking for. This looks and sounds the part of the 80s action classic and will tickle those nostalgia senses.

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May 6, 2021

New Pokémon Snap is a game for players exhausted by the franchise’s increasingly complex RPG titles. It’s low-key but rewarding, and its laid back, violence-free approach puts a welcome focus back on the design and behaviour of each Pokémon.

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May 5, 2021

Resident Evil Village is an exceptional addition to the seminal horror franchise, offering a gratifying balance between atmospheric horror and frantic action alongside captivating villains, an intriguing setting and plenty of fresh ideas. While its story ultimately fails to capitalize on its exciting central mystery, there’s no doubting it’s one of the series’ most compelling iterations in years.

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Nov 23, 2020

Hotshot Racing is a go-faster stripe of a game that comfortably outpaces the likes of GearClub Unlimited and Horizon Chase Turbo. Well designed tracks and responsive handling give the game the substance that is equal to its stylish looks.

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