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South Park: Snow Day is a budget game, but instead of something brief but replayable with a lot of South Park humor and bursts of fun, players get something muted, limited, and shallower than even that detail would suggest. It offers some fun across its short runtime, but it's ultimately forgettable for any roguelike or South Park fan.
Horizon Forbidden West on PC is another incredible port from Nixxes. It successfully brings the Horizon Forbidden West experience to PC with a ton of content and tremendous performance. It's a must-buy for anyone that enjoyed the original, and it should leave fans excited to see what the studio is able to pull off with its upcoming Ghost of Tsushima PC port.
MLB The Show 24 is one of the strongest entries SDS has put out in this console generation. Storylines and Road To The Show's updates rejuvenate the franchise's single-player offerings, giving players a reason to come back each day and get a few swings in. Diamond Dynasty's changes are also a step in the right direction, though it will take time to see if SDS' new format works in the long run. While The Show is well overdue for a more substantial facelift, its rewarding gameplay makes that shortcoming an afterthought. When all's said and done, MLB The Show 24 is undoubtedly one of the series' best, and a great sign for the future.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is an ideal opportunity for gamers who may have missed the original release, but it’s also worth another playthrough for those who enjoyed the 2013 version. While the game developed by Starbreeze remains a classic and has aged decently well, Avantgarden’s remake improves upon it in nearly every way to bring the delightful, sometimes emotional odyssey to modern platforms.
After a whirlwind 40 hours with Dragon's Dogma 2, it is clear that Capcom has created a flawed masterpiece that might not be for everyone. However, for those that this game speaks to, they will love it to pieces. So, in a way, it is the perfect sequel to Dragon's Dogma. From its unique twist on the RPG party system to its laissez-faire gameplay mechanics that reward players who are willing to think outside the box and dig into every corner of the game, there is nothing quite like Dragon's Dogma 2, and there probably won't be for a long time.
The 2024 Alone in the Dark is a deeply flawed game, but at least it's never boring. The first playthrough is fun despite its issues, mostly thanks to the campy story, and exploring Derceto is rewarding, even with the simplistic puzzles. The second playthrough is where it becomes apparent that there isn't much to the game. At best, it's an incredibly basic and generic survival-horror game that's stuck in the past, and at worst, it's buggy and doesn't justify its $60 price tag.
Outcast: A New Beginning does offer a good amount of fun for those looking to mess around in an open-world sci-fi game that hearkens back to earlier entries in the genre. The world that Appeal created is fun to explore, the core gameplay loop feels like a blast from the past, and overall, it makes for a decent sci-fi experience. The story may not be the most interesting, and the content isn't that varied, but some players may still be able to find something to enjoy here. And fans of the original should at least enjoy this trip down memory lane, even if it could have been done better.
Unicorn Overlord is a standout tactics RPG landing just when the genre is coming back to life. It's deep, creative, gorgeous, and incredibly addicting, with plenty to offer for those who want to dig into all its systems. The game may stumble a bit with its simple plot, tedious UI, and quantity over quality side character stories, but those feel like small issues in an overall impressive and well-rounded game. Great for newcomers and genre veterans alike, Unicorn Overlord is a can’t-miss title.
WWE 2K24 is a gorgeous wrestling game with hard-hitting fights that will keep players plugged in for hours on end. The series seems to be settling in to the annual release trap of small steps forward over major improvements, but hopefully next year's entry can provide the big leaps that modes like MyGM need to help the WWE 2K series reach the next level and finish the comeback story that started with WWE 2K22.
The Outlast Trials is a fun, but flawed addition to the Outlast series, trading in the original titles’ claustrophobic horror for in-your-face multiplayer mayhem. The title’s core gameplay loop offers a thrilling challenge and high replayability, delivering plenty of trials for fans to sink their teeth into across its Core, Advanced, and Ultra Programs, with immersive audio-visual elements that deliver on all fronts. Unfortunately, The Outlast Trials' balancing issues, unjustified gratuity, and complete lack of scares may leave some players disappointed. Fans of the Outlast series will likely find plenty of reasons to explore and overcome the Murkoff Corporation’s various testing facilities, as the title offers enough challenge to keep them engaged. However, for general horror audiences, and those new to Outlast, The Outlast Trials may struggle to live up to the legendary reputation of the series’ original entries.
The Thaumaturge is a game made with a lot of love and hard work by Fool's Theory. That much is apparent within the first couple of hours and grows more obvious the longer a user plays. Its lack of a way to make searching for clues interesting may lead some players astray, but they will miss out on a demon-fueled magical adventure. It stumbles in other places, but it more than makes up for it with its monster designs and terrific storytelling. The Thaumaturge's mixture of 20th-century technology and magic should prove too fun to pass up, and players looking for a detective mystery with some intrigue and nightmares might have found something they can't find anywhere else.
Overall, Inkulinati can be a fun experience for anyone willing to give it a shot. The art style is incredibly charming, the gameplay is surprisingly deep, and its roguelite Journey Mode can be pretty engaging. However, the game also spends too much time telling players how to play it rather than letting them learn at their own pace. Additionally, the humor, lack of an online mode, and the fact it does not do anything truly groundbreaking with the concept may push some players away. But even with all of that, fans of the genre may still find something to love here.
Despite the pacing issues in its final chapters, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is still bigger and better than Final Fantasy 7 Remake. If the third game can keep everything that's great about these remake projects so far and trim the fat a bit, we will have a spectacular trilogy on our hands.
Skull and Bones is a bloated game that does manage to swim instead of sink, but not without many caveats. In an attempt to separate itself from Black Flag and stand out from the likes of Sea of Thieves, Skulland Bones doesn't so much color outside the lines as much as dogmatically stick to a tired formula while burying its strongest attributes under mountains of redundancy and half-realized concepts. For those who crave a game set during the Golden Age of Piracy, there are definitely things here to enjoy, but get ready to do a lot of digging.
This release really needs two separate review scores: one for people who’ve never played the originals and one for players who will frolic through the levels with experience and rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia. Fans of the original Tomb Raider games will probably be thrilled with these remasters. For non-veterans, though, it will be an arduous journey, and the new textures, lighting, and “modern” controls won’t make much difference. It will be hard to judge these titles through the lens of ’90s tech and game design rather than 2024’s, and new players might have a tougher time overlooking issues that veteran players embrace as quirks or don’t see at all. However, it seems safe to assume that most people picking up Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered already appreciate the originals, and so this score is aimed more at them. Newcomers, approach with caution.
Helldivers 2 is an exceptional cooperative experience, featuring a tight gameplay loop that is easy to pick up, and extremely difficult to put down. While its launch was plagued with issues, the title ends its first week as one of modern gaming's best multiplayer experiences. From the moment the opening cutscene rolls, players are engrossed in a hyper-militarized world that is just as rewarding as it is deadly. Whether players achieve a glorious victory or fail miserably, Helldivers 2 finds ways to make every mission truly memorable, by injecting its vast battlegrounds with a dark sense of humor, gratuitous gore, and uncapped replayability. After just one week, the title has proven itself a must-play experience on both the PC and PS5. With the majority of its universe still waiting to be explored, and the foundations of its story beginning to take shape, Helldivers 2 is sure to be an experience that keeps fans coming back for more.
ULTROS is a psychedelic metroidvania where you wake up stranded on The Sarcophagus — a cosmic uterus holding an ancient, demonic being. Trapped in the loop of a black hole, you will have to explore The Sarcophagus and meet its inhabitants to understand the part you play...
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is in the spirit of high-quality AA games that should not go unnoticed.
The combat in Lysfanga really seems to do all the heavy lifting, and it’s unfortunate that the rest of the game leaves so much to be desired and feels like it’s just there as ungratifying filler. However, it’s a hack-and-slash game, and the fighting is what’s ultimately most important. For non-completionists, the game can be finished in about 15-20 hours, and most of that time will thankfully be spent in combat taking out bad guys.
Luckily, the action is a compelling reason. The replayability of Go Mecha Ball comes purely from how much fun it is. A handful of ending scenes are available after multiple completions, but these cartoon-y, still images won't rank among the best games with multiple endings, and the first completion on max difficulty unlocks a unique upgrade. But these rewards don't amount to much. Nevertheless, players will likely pick up the game again and again because it just feels that good. Though imperfect,there's simply nothing quite like Go Mecha Ball out there, and it deserves to be experienced.