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Alan Wake 2 has incredible graphics and some memorable moments, but it's dragged down by technical issues and tedious gameplay.
Published by Sega, Amplitude Studios' Endless Dungeon is a roguelike twin-stick shooter built around a tower defense mechanic. Featuring a range of playable characters who each come with their own nuances, the game's missions are taken on by squads of three, with players having to clear procedurally-generated levels while defending a special bot. Endless Dungeon can be played solo or in co-op.
Even with some of its shortcomings, Cities: Skylines 2 delivers an extremely deep and content-rich city simulator that genre fans will definitely want to check out. It should once again remind fans why Colossal Order is the perfect studio to lead the urban city-building genre after the failings of the SimCity franchise. However, it is also hard to look past the fact that this game is launching with less content than the original game currently has. Couple that with the limitations the districts have and the lack of the custom-building tools that players loved in the original, and the game feels like it is being held back a bit at launch. Much of this may be fixed with post-launch updates, but right now, it feels like a pretty glaring omission.
In its current state, however, Lords of the Fallen proves that Hexworks still has a bit to go before it learns the same lessons that many souls-like developers have in terms of quality-of-life adjustments and making sure that it strikes the right balance between challenge and frustration. Right now, it seems like Lords of the Fallen is taking the worst elements of every souls-like game and making those elements its main catalyst for difficulty, which is a bummer because everything else is so good. For the souls-like hardcore, Lords of the Fallen will be a fine conquest, but for the souls-like beginner, there are better entry points to the genre that offer a more well-rounded exploration into what souls-likes are capable of.
When it comes to adaptations, Hellboy hasn't had a ton of luck lately. Hellboy Web of Wyrd certainly isn't on the same disastrous level, but it's underwhelming in its own respects. Hellboy and his world is a potential gold mine of fantastic adaptive potential, as Guillermo del Toro proved with his pair of films in the early 2000s. The character offers so much more, and though Web of Wyrd has some bright spots, it ultimately fails to realize the potential of its source material.
The Jackbox Party Pack 10 has three excellent party games in Hypnotorious, Time Jinx, and Dodo Re Mi, with Tee K.O. 2's only drawbacks being its familiarity and the occasional technical issue. Mileage with Fixytext will vary, but it will likely be the least-played out of the new batch of party games. This puts Jackbox Party Pack 10 on par with the other games in the series, which means it's a great party game experience that will become a fan favorite at game nights.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is the best entry in Insomniac's Spider-Man series to date, with epic boss fights and an amazing open world to explore.
Hardcore Hot Wheels fans will get the most out of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, but even casual racing game fans will have a lot of fun with the game. Not everything clicks, and the game could have benefited greatly by having more variety with its track environments, but Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is an exciting racer with a great set of creation tools that should keep fans busy for quite some time.
From a brand-new campaign with exciting new features to a battle system that has been shaken up with new mechanics, Total War: Pharaoh has a lot to offer players looking for a new strategy experience to sink their teeth into. Some of its unique features may feel a bit bland, but it makes up for it by offering players unprecedented freedom to shape game and history how they see fit. And even though it may be smaller than Total War: Warhammer 3, it is still a worthy entry in this iconic franchise.
Despite a few shortcomings, Assassin's Creed Mirage completes its mission of being a love letter to the earliest days of the franchise.
It has incredible art design and presentation, is so cleverly designed, and has a pace that makes it hard to put down once things get going. The surface-level view of the game is unassuming but digging into the worlds of Cocoon reveals an experience that is unforgettable.
There are other complaints, such as the front-loaded need to make money, which evaporates after Mineko acquires all the crafting tools and benches, immediately negating one of the few mechanics that kept anybody playing. But, ultimately, Mineko’s Night Market is a melding of boredom and frustration, and a lot of that frustration stems from the fact that the game could have been good. It had the graphics, music, story, and the makings of a gameplay loop that should have been thoroughly engaging. Instead, it just feels like nothing was pushed to its full potential, leaving both the game and the player wanting more.
Nitpicks aside, Separate Ways is a mostly tremendous addition to the Resident Evil 4 remake and, along with The Mercenaries mode updates that were released for free, goes a long way in making the RE4 remake experience truly complete. Some may still not be happy that Separate Ways is a $9.99 DLC instead of being packed-in with the game like it was in the post-GameCube versions of the original Resident Evil 4, but this version of Separate Ways is a fundamentally different experience and one that surpasses its predecessor in every possible way.
Not only can fans expect future Payday 3 updates to add more unlockables to the game, but more substantial content like new heists are in the pipeline as well. Future updates will likely iron out Payday 3's matchmaking problems and immersion-breaking graphical mishaps, resulting in a smoother and more consistently entertaining experience. With future updates, Payday 3 may even be a game that surpasses its predecessor, but it has a seriously long way to go. Those still curious should consider checking out Payday 3 through Xbox Game Pass instead of buying the game at full price.
As the capstone project to CD Projekt Red's efforts in fixing Cyberpunk 2077, Phantom Liberty and Update 2.0 see the studio at its best, delivering a story that is emotional, refreshing, and up to the caliber that fans expect from CDPR while also reworking the game into its best and presumably final form. If this is truly the end for Cyberpunk 2077, then we're excited to see where CD Projekt Red goes next with the franchise because it's clear there are more stories to tell in this world, either in Night City or outside of it.
All together, Mortal Kombat 1 is an impressive package, changing things up while showing reverence for even the most obscure parts of its franchise. With that said, nothing in MK1, from gameplay to narrative, is any more than a strict evolution of MK11. Mortal Kombat 1 contributes little new to the fighting game space, and the nearby Street Fighter 6 harshly contrasts it by claiming the custom fighters and open world Konquest mode Mortal Kombat left behind. Still, Liu Kang's new timeline shows great promise, and Mortal Kombat 1 should keep its community satisfied until the next Mortal Kombat begins.
People who enjoy Gang Beasts and other physics-based multiplayer games will have a blast with Party Animals as it's easily the most polished and fully-featured game of its kind. However, it's unlikely to convert any newcomers, and it remains to be seen how its monetization will play out. The game's budget price and its availability on Xbox Game Pass make it an easy recommendation for those needing a new mindless multiplayer game for their rotation, but don't go in expecting anything groundbreaking.
Some of the problems in MythForce could be forgiven if the core loop stayed fresh and fun, but, sadly, it doesn't. And with services like Game Pass offering up several solid roguelikes, it's tough to justify the $29.99 price tag. Yet, the core idea of an 80s cartoon homage is a lot of fun, and a couple elements of the game succeed brilliantly. A project like this could only have been birthed out of passion, so hopefully MythForce has its day in the sun. The developer has stated it plans to support the game going forward, and further content has been hinted at. But in its current state, there's just not enough to recommend MythForce, both in terms of quantity and quality.
Gunbrella has a lot of potential, both in its storytelling and combat. Unfortunately there never feels like there is enough of either that will or could catapult the game into the upper echelons of pixilated side-scrollers. It is very close to being something special, even when it is embracing some familiar adventure tropes. Hopefully, the world of Gunbrella will be expanded on and grow, because it deserves more of the things that make it great.
Co-op support like in other Soulslike games would have put Lies of P over the top, but even without it, the game will still greatly appeal to Soulslike fans. It has a lot going for it, and from a technical standpoint, it's basically perfect. It runs smooth as butter, looks fantastic, and has no glitches that we discovered. And while the writing can be clunky at times, the ending is legitimately wild and worth suffering through the worst bosses to reach. It's true that Lies of P gives in to some of the worst Soulslike instincts at times, but it can be extremely fun when the combat clicks. Just expect a significant time investment and a lot of frustration before that happens.