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Coffee Talk Episode 2 captures the essence of what it’s like to chat with friends at a late-night café over a warm cup. Not a whole lot has changed between episodes, which is a good thing for returning players looking for the same heartfelt storytelling and diverse characters from the first installment. Although the sequel does not tread any new ground in terms of gameplay, the additional recipes and tales should be enough to satisfy both seasoned baristas and newcomers alike.
Mageseeker is perhaps my favorite thing to come out of Riot Forge publishing yet. Digital Sun has already proven that they have a good grasp of what makes an action-RPG fun, but they put their chops to great work here, bending a highly interesting corner of League of Legends lore to their style. Sylas fits them well, and they make his story sing in turn. Between compelling ability-stealing combat, chain-flinging traversal, an ever-expanding and upgradeable arsenal, and a beautiful musical score guiding another awesome visual and narrative interpretation of League of Legends, Mageseeker is an incredible time. Whether you’re a fan of League of Legends or not, this is a journey worth seeing through to the end.
With a little more polish, God of Rock may prove itself to be a worthwhile rhythm game title yet. Unfortunately, in its current state, it feels like more of a swing and a miss than a headbanging hit.
As the credits rolled I didn’t feel satisfied or accomplished at all, which is pretty messed up considering how much of a feat completing a 20-plus hour video game is for an adult these days.
Minecraft Legends is definitely one of the better Minecraft spin-offs to be released under Mojang and Microsoft. The teams at Blackbird and Mojang deftly take the memorable aspects of Minecraft and make them work in a brand-new genre. The strategy elements run deep, and the Campaign features enough variety that no two players will have an identical experience. Minecraft Legends’ biggest sin is that its open world and crafting elements – two signature traits of the source material – are unremarkable. Luckily, it delivers on everything else it’s trying to do.
Aside aside, that’s what this particular Legacy Collection is all about, to me. In a lot of ways the early Game Boy Advance years were all over the place. The rules hadn’t been established yet, and the potential was higher than ever. Anime had penetrated the mainstream, Call of Duty didn’t exist and nobody really hated Sonic the Hedgehog yet. Experiments and sequel vomiting could happen at the same time, and games were still small enough to support niche audiences of all sizes. Battle Network, especially in retrospect, feels like a poster child of that time. It’s probably a little overwhelming to dive in now, and lord knows how corny the Y2K tech jargon reads, but you can’t find a better singular piece of media that sums it all up so neatly.
If you’re the kind of person out there on the internet reading “Dungeon Core” fiction and cursing EA for its mismanagement of the Dungeon Keeper IP, Meet Your Maker is right up your alley. From spike traps to blocks made entirely of corrosive acid, the level of shenanigans you can put other players through is pretty high. There are kinks for the developers to figure out of course, but there’s enough raw potential here to keep even a frustrated player coming back for more. The foundation is important, and Behavior has really nailed that part. I’d love to see the big, creepy science baby like, change form or something though. Like a disgusting, Gigeresque Digimon or something.
Tron: Identity weaves an interesting detective story that expands the franchise mythos. While those invested in the lore will enjoy diving deeper into this universe, newcomers would have benefitted from a bit more exposition. Despite that, Tron: Identity’s branching story, puzzles, and visuals make it quite an enjoyable visual novel.
As a comeback, EA Sports PGA Tour performs well enough to compete with PGA 2K23 on fairly even footing. The inclusion of all four majors, the solid ball physics, the wider arsenal of shots, and the long list of official courses are impressive, though the presentation can be flat, laggy, and rough. If EA decides to turn this into an annualized sports franchise, the next installment will need to revamp the character creator and rework the user interfaces. Despite the game's flaws, though, I can still see myself casually playing it throughout the year alongside other sports games like MLB The Show 23. It’s been a while since we’ve seen two established developers battle each other within the same sport, and I’m all for it. At the very least, golf games will be made all the better from the competition.
Everspace 2 might seem like more of the same, especially thanks to its plodding prologue, but there's more going on here than you see at first glance. There's a stronger sense of place, better story, and more interesting cast that feel like they fulfill the original game's potential. Exploration is better than ever, and while combat hasn't changed too much, the careful balancing act of managing your resources makes every encounter feel fresh and exciting.
Road 96: Mile 0 presents a predictable yet relatable tale about teens pushed to the brink under an oppressive system. The energetic soundtrack, quality voice acting, and comedic moments help balance the heavier themes and darker undertones of the story. The newly added Rides serve to amplify Mile 0’s catchy tunes while adding another means of gameplay interaction beyond dialogue choices and minigames. Despite its shortcomings, the prequel does a decent job at laying the narrative foundation for the events of Road 96 while introducing new gameplay mechanics that cater to a new audience of players.
MLB The Show 23 is another solid addition in what is the best annual sports sim franchise. San Diego Studio continues to show a deep knowledge and understanding of baseball and the culture surrounding it. The addition of The Negro Leagues is a massive improvement to the overall product, and the ability to scan your face into Road to the Show is a fun new feature as well. Outside of some minor league woes, MLB The Show is another grand slam.
The Last Worker is an underdog story that feels incredibly timely, even more so now than it did a year ago when I first played the game at PAX East. Its themes of corporate corruption and commentary on capitalism are quite sharp, and the game manages to convey all of this without coming off as overly depressing or heavy-handed. Despite some iffy movements on controller, The Last Worker is sure to be one of the year’s best narratives.
Outside of some bugs, Deceive Inc. is a multiplayer game like few others right now and it's a refreshing change of pace from the usual deathmatch shooter. It's creative, both visually and conceptually, and something worth watching, because its best days may be ahead of it.
It’s a massive swing and a big miss, with enough force to crack the sound barrier while the ball stays in the catcher’s mitt. It’s neither a cynical corporate cringe like Sharknado, nor is it a low-budget dud you’d expect to see a crew of robot puppets heckle. It’s weird, loud and uncanny. Frankly I’m surprised Christopher Walken didn’t show up.
Terra Nil is not what you might expect from a typical strategy game. There are no opponents to face, no incessant clicking, and no steep learning curve. It is a game that takes the concepts found in many city-building games and turns them on their head, emphasizing sustainability and conservation rather than endless expansion or usurpation of resources. While the game's mechanics didn’t always work as expected, what few issues I encountered did little to take away from an otherwise enjoyable and meditative experience.
Dredge is both relaxing and unnerving in the best ways. While the day/night cycle could be handled better, it's still an exciting seafaring voyage and one that's worth checking out.
Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game presents a neat take on the popular sci-fi universe that’s easy to understand and challenging throughout. It’s satisfying gameplay loop was enough to keep me moving through Sectors and upgrading the Aurora, but I’m just not sure it warrants being an exclusive VR experience.
Nevertheless, the game is undeniably gorgeous and clever, and easy to drop in and out of. The stories and characters are fun to experiment with as well, and Storyteller ultimately does a great job at establishing itself as something wholly unique within the puzzle game space. It’s worth experiencing for the chance to get to see everything that could ever happen in a story — from what goes right, to what goes terribly, terribly wrong.
It’s a decent enough arcade shooter, and if you look at it that way, the length and mood of the game make sense. However, it doesn’t make as much sense as a game with the Dark Pictures moniker. As widely varied as the quality of those games have been, they take the time to tell a story. Switchback doesn’t. It focuses on the gunplay, action, and thrills. While it does a decent enough job of that, the performance issues bring even that end down a bit. If you’re a fan of Supermassive’s brand of horror, it would be hard for me to recommend this over their other games. If you want to play something more like a modern light gun horror that makes decent use of the PS VR2’s technology, then you could do worse than Switchback, but you could also do better.