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Dirt 5 maintains the tradition of being a solid racing title. The campaign is quite deep thanks to the various events and tracks you can choose from, while the inclusion of local multiplayer for just about every mode gives it a huge advantage over almost every other non-kart racing game on the PC platform. The title requires some pretty beefy hardware and other software to make the game shine, and there are still a few things that need patching, but as a whole, arcade racing fans who aren't looking for a bevy of top-of-the-line sports cars will get a kick out of Dirt 5.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is a rather bloated blockbuster crossover event that's shaped like a JRPG. If you're a die-hard Trails fan with a deep love of the franchise, then seeing your favorite characters interact will probably make up for the somewhat disappointing story. Anyone else should stay far away until they've played the first three Trails of Cold Steel main games in the series, and looking up the other games in the franchise couldn't hurt. I had fun with ToCS4, but it's a bit of a mess, and your enjoyment will depend on how much that mess appeals to you. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the series, but I can only hope the next game is more focused than this offering.
While it may not win any awards for the story, Watch Dogs: Legion is an enjoyable sandbox that gives you plenty of room to play around and experiment with objectives. If stealth gameplay is your thing, put this one on your pickup list.
For eFootball PES 2021, all of this adds up to a soccer game that feels great to play, even if it is slightly lacking in other areas. The $40 price tag makes that pill easier to swallow, though. Depending on what you're looking for on the virtual pitch, that will determine whether PES is the right option for you. If you're like me and enjoy playing through a season with some random teams that you've never heard of, then PES may be exactly what you're looking for. With solid controls and decent AI, PES 2021 is a competent alternative to FIFA from a gameplay perspective, but those who get excited about seeing their favorite teams succeed against their biggest rivals may want to pass on PES.
At its most basic level, Star Wars: Squadrons is a solid title with great gameplay and presentation. Its reduced price and limited scope are a good value proposition, but I'd love to see some more content down the line. If you own a VR headset, Squadrons is an amazing experience and almost a must-have title, although it still has some things to iron out to become as good as it strives to be.
Your enjoyment of The Almost Gone is going to depend on what you're focusing on the most. If it's the story, you'll come away slightly disappointed. The game may not be afraid to tackle some subjects that some would consider to be sensitive, but the general ambiguity of plot elements doesn't create much empathy for the protagonist. If you're in for the gameplay, you'll be rewarded with some clever puzzles that lean toward being easy at times but never contain obtuse solutions. Its short playtime ensures that this is a game worth checking out when it is all said and done, but don't expect it to be the next profound indie experience.
Nioh 2: Darkness in the Capital is a solid and enjoyable DLC. It doesn't really break the mold but offers a healthy helping of new Nioh 2 gameplay. The somewhat forgettable stage design is strongly bolstered by some amazing boss fights and the new Fist weapon set. It's a great way to further extend the absurd amount of content in Nioh 2 and its DLC. Starting a new game with the Fist weapon set would be a great way to revisit the title. The DLC won't freshen things up if you're already burned out on Nioh 2, but sometimes, "more of the same" is all a DLC needs to be.
Mighty Polygon unabashedly stands on the shoulders of giants with Relicta. The wheel is not reinvented but rather pleasantly spun around and flipped on its head. While further investment into the artistic aspects of this game may have helped clarify some of the issues with sameness and emptiness, the gameplay and narrative overpower these concerns. Puzzles pose just enough of a challenge to keep the player fascinated while the narrative, strong character, and world give the player incentive to progress. Throw in collectibles to round out the details, and you've got quite the adventure for the curious. With a $20 price tag, Relicta may have its shortcomings, but it's challenging, narratively compelling, and - dare I say it? - magnetic. If you enjoy the likes of Portal, get this game.
Where does this leave BPM: Bullets Per Minute? As it stands, BPM is a solid idea that's well executed, but it's wrapped in some mediocre game design that ultimately drags down the experience. This may sound like a harsh deconstruction of the title, but I would still recommend it to the right person. If you're very much into rhythm games or intrigued by the title, give it a shot. Its gameplay is promisingly solid, but the rest of the experience feels either underwhelming or too repetitive to appreciate over time. I would have loved to see some more drastic gameplay variations, skill-based additions, or maybe a change of pace or music to mix things up.
When all is said and done, Microsoft Flight Simulator in its current state reminds me a lot of Sea of Thieves shortly after launch. The game has a lot of promise and a lot of potential, but it is marred by a number of issues that keep it from really shining. Once the issues have been worked out in six months or a year from now, I fully expect Microsoft Flight Simulator to be a must-have title. Right now, unless you are a hardcore flight sim fanatic, I would pass on buying the premium version and just stick to playing the basic version that's included with GamePass.
Liberated is a game that could have been better. The premise is fine but full of clichés, and there's nothing new to make it more interesting to those who have heard these stories countless times already. The presentation is nice, but the pauses between page turns feel unnecessary considering the style. The gameplay feels repetitive, since direct violence is the only viable answer. Unless you've been dying to get this one the moment it was announced, you'd be better served putting it off for something else instead.
Adding up all of the changes between NHL 20 and NHL 21, it's still hard to justify the full-price release in comparison to what's new this year. I appreciate the focus on the Be A Pro mode, but there is still a lot of work to be done to improve its consistency and reduce frustrating and demotivating moments and bugs across the entire experience. The gameplay feels like it did a small leap forward with some basic AI and animation improvements, making NHL 21 very fun and smooth to play, but it's not enough to hide its aging foundation. I sincerely hope the franchise can make up ground with its next entry and, hopefully, an improved engine. If you are a dedicated fan or have skipped several of the previous entries, NHL 21 is a solid purchase, but otherwise, there isn't enough here to justify the price tag.
Resolutiion is going to appeal to players who can accept the game's vagueness in both the gameplay and story. Players would also need to appreciate wild difficulty swings with a serviceable combat system in a setting that can sometimes be described as a fever dream. It's certainly not going to be a huge hit, but there's enough here to appeal to those who are looking for something different.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps manages to be more than just a plain old sequel. It changes just enough and introduces great new mechanics and characters to truly feel like a completely separate game while being unmistakably Ori at the core. More importantly, it runs perfectly well on the Switch with only minor visual adjustments. Will of the Wisps stands as tall as its predecessor as a beautiful action-platformer that everyone should try.
On its own, The Walking Dead: Onslaught isn't a bad title. The gameplay is decent enough if you wanted something with a little more substance than the first crop of PSVR titles, and the length is more in line with a traditional modern title versus a VR-specific offering. The problem is that the bugs with hit detection and checkpoint triggering are enough to sap away any of the fun that the game could have provided. The other problem is that we aren't that far removed from The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, a much more satisfying experience that feels like what all VR games should aspire to. This probably would have gotten a higher recommendation if the release dates were reversed, but as it stands now, this is more for the TV show fan who wants a fun diversion, as long as they're willing to accept some big issues; this isn't suited for someone who's looking for the next big VR milestone title.
While NBA 2K21 is clearly different from its predecessor in several ways, I can't say it's significantly better than what we saw last season. The game still looks fantastic, the commentary is still top-notch, and many of the same battles you might have had with the previous edition are still there, like whether you want to spend so much virtual and real money. If you don't have any basketball games in your library and want to change that, then by all means, this is as good as it can possibly get.
Mafia: Definitive Edition is a remarkable reimaging of the original title that flexes its muscles in graphical fidelity and storytelling but falls flat in other areas. While I fully enjoyed my time with it, its mediocre third-person shooting mechanics, abysmal AI, and erratic difficulty can sometimes be a test of perseverance. It is a reminder of the rather old game buried under the shiny new graphical improvements. It is an impressive retelling of an open-world classic, and it exceeded my expectations on that front. Some of its shortcomings are easily overshadowed by what the title does well. If you're a fan of the franchise, this is an easy recommendation, especially given its discounted launch price and the way it re-creates the series' arguably finest entry. On the other hand, if you expect a game that's fully up to today's high standard, Mafia: Definitive Edition may be a tad underwhelming.
Star Wars: Squadrons is exactly what it sets out to be: a modern revival of the old-school Star Wars flight simulators. It isn't particularly ambitious, but it is a lot of fun. Just being able to zoom through the wreckage of a ship battle while trying to get a bead on that darn X-Wing is enough to keep your attention for a while. The game lives and dies by its multiplayer, and hopefully the community is thriving for a while. Do you want to pilot an X-Wing? Then Squadrons is the game for you. Die-hard simulator fans might find it to be too simple for their tastes.
Espire 1: VR Operative is not a mechanically perfect game. Sometimes, the controls can feel a little clumsy in the way that many VR games tend to do, and I wish you could find more handgun ammo to make that class of weapons more useful. With so many VR titles that feel like glorified tech demos Espire 1: VR Operative has some real meat to it, and for most of your time in the game, you will feel like some sort of shadowy, robotic badass. Use all of the mobility and stealth at your disposal, and you will find that Espire 1 sets a pretty high bar for what a VR game can be.
WarriOrb fails to do many things right. The combat is lackluster due to boring enemies and an uninteresting set of moves. The floaty controls clash with the constant need for perfect platforming. The frailty of your character is inconsistent with the dangers you face, and the checkpoint system feels broken. Even the ball physics and spell system fail to impress, despite how often they're used in the latter half of the game. Combined with a passable presentation and an uninteresting story, there are better games you can spend your time on instead.