Shacknews
HomepageShacknews's Reviews
Control Resonant hits a vibe I haven’t felt in a while in an action melee.
Silent Hill: Townfall is a great horror game that prioritizes immersion, using small details to make you feel like you’re walking the cold and lonely streets alongside the protagonist.
Infinite Rush is still a solid racing game, which is what makes the online multiplayer component so much more disappointing.
Intelligent Systems delivers supreme tactical combat in Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave with refined mechanics and a plethora of options to choose from, and a story that is uniquely structured in a way that encourages fans to overturn every stone. It’s sure to delight fans of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, but is also independent enough that newcomers shouldn’t feel lost. Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is the dense, character-rich RPG that I’ve been waiting to play on my Switch 2.
They’re massive storytelling endeavors that are always compelling in their ambition and earnestness, with a massive cast of characters who are a joy to spend time with. Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is very much an iterative sequel to the first remake, and that’s all it really needed to be.
There’s probably an audience for Graveyard Keeper 2, the kinds of people who achieve fulfillment from spreadsheets and min/maxing every ounce of video game they ever lay hands on. That’s descriptive; I’ve met people like that.
For another consecutive year, the story of NBA 2K is the same: rock solid gameplay is flanked by design choices that range from annoying to infuriating.
Marvel’s Wolverine is an action-heavy superhero game that does an excellent job adapting the iconic mutant.
This caps a full decade of me reviewing the NHL games, and while I believe the gameplay is better in NHL 27 than NHL 26, my position hasn’t changed. Harsh as it may sound, this is an update, not a new game.
Orbitals pulls a lot of interesting and familiar elements into a tidy package with a charming pair of heroes and a lengthy array of challenges to put their friendship to the test.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is an ambitious project that occasionally wears both the best and worst aspects of its inspirations on its sleeve. Where it shines is in allowing players to make their own choices and learn from their own mistakes. It’s incredible fun to play in a world where the clock is ever-ticking, and the results of our actions and words have real consequences not just for us but for those around us.
I keep going back and forth with how I feel about Blood Dungeon in its entirety. It’s fun to play, has a cool aesthetic, and its emphasis on score-chasing feels distinct in this genre. But its lack of interest in expression and build-crafting really hurts that momentum, and makes playing long-term feel more and more like a chore.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s cast, quest, numerous asides, and the evolution of techniques and combat throughout this adventure have the weight and depth to make you roar in triumph, groan in agony, and hit most of the feelings in between along the way. And that’s exactly what I want out of my demon-slaying samurai action-adventure.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a fun time. Its simple combat system makes the game approachable for a variety of players, even if it may get a little repetitive toward the end.
Star Wars Zero Company is kind of a bummer, because there’s a fun tactical RPG here that manages to run a gamut from hardcore to friendly, thanks to an array of settings and well-designed mechanics that work in either direction. But man is it ever bogged down in some of the most uninspired Star Wars-themed storytelling and character work I’ve ever dealt with.
Mortal Shell 2 is one of the best follow-up sequels to a game in a long time. It expands upon every single aspect of the first game, twists deeper into its metal roots, and hammers out the dents of the original title while retaining the same brutal, unforgiving gameplay Soulslike fanatics have come to masochistically enjoy. Mortal Shell 2 slays.
Mostly, it’s a solid evolution for Frogwares, and it makes me very curious about their next game. I hope it’s a survival horror, and they find the opportunity and inspiration to really push at the boundaries of the genre, as all the signs point to them having a lot more to offer here.
Madden NFL 27 is a good football game. Coming off of Madden NFL 26, the series is trending in a positive direction. Still, some glaring issues bog down the experience, and it would likely take a significant philosophy change to address them. I’ve been able to find the fun, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this momentum carries into next year.
If you’re a longtime fan of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series and desperately want a new game, and don’t care for what Activision is doing with it, you could certainly choose to play Skatesterre.
This is not how any of us expected Marvel fighting games to come back, but I sure am glad it happened this way.