Screen Rant
HomepageScreen Rant's Reviews
Overall, Lake tells a beautiful story, has nuanced and interesting characters, and has an environment that feels comforting and inviting. What detracts from the experience is, unfortunately, the game's tedious tasks and slow pace. This combination makes it hard to leave the experience with a clear opinion about the time spent in Providence Oaks, but what is clear is that Lake will absolutely satisfy players who feel like they need to escape and spend some time taking it slow and easy.
Wrath of the Righteous feels like playing an epic tabletop campaign. Owlcat Games did a fantastic job of adapting the Wrath of the Righteous Pathfinder campaign into a video game. The more focused story, streamlined gameplay, and epic scope make it a better entry point to the series than Kingmaker. There's an excellent game buried under its many technical faults, but those going in need to be aware that they'll have to endure a lot of annoying bugs and glitches on their quest.
WRC 10 is an extremely fun game with a few caveats around the amount of changed content from last year's entry. It's not a must-buy for those who own WRC 9 unless they are a rally fan desperate for the new stages for the 2021 season or the updated liveries, as the anniversary additions are the only major update from last year. However, whose who don't own WRC 9 but who are interested in rally racing will see this as the most comprehensive official WRC game to date, with lots to enjoy and plenty of hours' worth of entertainment to be found across its various modes.
Ultimately, Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions has the same depth as one of Capcom's arcade home port from decades ago, and no amount of Survivor music, Rocky quotes, or arcade gameplay can distract from how little there is to do. For big fans of the films, Creed Champions might just be worth a pickup for the arcade mode's absurd spins on Rocky lore, but anyone else will have to really consider their options before getting into the ring.
Much more than just a flashy upgrade and the inclusion of mythical units, Mythos breathes new life into A Total War Saga: Troy, giving it the opportunity to reach out to players who may have been put off by the historical tint and narrower focus of the base game. Here monsters and legends serve to make battles more interesting, campaigns more dynamic, and of course, war more fun. Leading Ajax in a duel against Hector while Gryphons battle Hydra is modern Total War at its best.
Overall The Big Con is a charming little slice of nineties nostalgia. It's propelled by its strong writing and world-building, a deep understanding of the era it is referencing, and some fantastic characters, and it's certainly a road trip players will enjoy taking. Although its gameplay is limited and there are some technical issues, it's an earnest and compelling journey.
To top it off, there are still some annoying bugs like the odd flying boat, items falling through the world, and rarely, crashes. Players who loved Maneater will surely find more to appreciate in Truth Quest, but it doesn't do enough to truly expand on what made Maneater so memorable in the first place. The DLC is an obvious choice for those who simply want more of the world of the base game, but anyone looking for some major leaps in either the gameplay loop or its iterations will be left a little wanting.
As such Rustler is not quite the retro callback to early sandbox games that players may have hoped for. It's an enjoyable fun diversion for a little sharp burst of low brow humor, but in the long term it's unlikely to keep players engaged. Combined with a wide variety of technical issues, Rustler feels like something of a missed opportunity.
Outside of these small grievances, Splitgate is a masterclass in how to evoke new thrills from the arena shooter genre. Making portals a key component of gameplay evolves the way multiplayer shooters typically play out, and the classic gunplay and expertly crafted maps add together to create an incredible experience. Splitgate is a winner for 1047 Games, and should be at the top of the must-play list for FPS fans who've yet to try it out.
Overall, Clid the Snail is a beautiful game with tons of personality and a world that begs to be explored, but the combat and gameplay is so frustrating that it makes doing so a huge a chore. The good news is that it only takes a patch or two to fix the weapon damage and rolling issues if they're viewed by many as a source of frustration rather than challenging, fair combat. While it's not the best experience right now, players should absolutely follow its post-launch development, because Clid the Snail oozes, like so many of its menagerie, with the kind of potential that could make it an excellent entry into its genre with some meaningful tweaks.
From Ori and the Blind Forest’s difficulty to Limbo’s puzzles and aesthetic, Unbound displays its inspirations with aplomb. On top of the innovative gameplay mechanics, the game’s art style, monster designs, and narrative are all fantastic. For fans of puzzle-platforming or gorgeous narrative aesthetic, Unbound: Worlds Apart shouldn't be missed.
Travis is back on top.
Lamentum is a fine debut that happens to serve a very specific fanbase, the same players who will celebrate its lack of trusty modern gameplay conveniences.
War for Wakanda also suffers from a lack of meaningful post-game content as well, sticking to the same routine and vapid grind that was there before. It's not hard to imagine players departing after they finish the story and just waiting for a future character like Spider-Man to be added to Marvel's Avengers before coming back. Although there's some improvements made to the UI and a few other quality of life improvements, Marvel's Avengers - War for Wakanda is ultimately worth playing through for the brief story and Black Panther himself, but not much else. It succeeds at what it has always succeeded at and falls victim to the fundamental issues that have been there since launch, something that may leave a bitter taste in the mouths of lapsed players.
Murder Mystery Machine has its flaws, but it's packed full of content that should please puzzle fans, especially those who have a fascination with crime shows. While the outcome of individual cases may be easy to guess, the player still needs to back up their opinion with proof, adding an extra small challenge as it forces the player to think on a more detailed scale. Additionally, while the smaller cases may be predictable at times, the larger story heads in a direction that is entirely unexpected, tying together Murder Mystery Machine and making it surprisingly engaging as a result.
From a fantastic opening credits scene performed by Puddles Pity Party to its final exciting moments, I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar delivers exactly what fans of the first game have come to expect - a campy spy adventure with increasingly deadly stakes, dramatically elaborate puzzles, and lots of physics objects to pretend to eat or simply throw across the room. For anyone with a fondness for James Bond stories or 1950's noir - and access to a VR headset - The Spy and the Liar is a fantastic choice.
After spending time playing Aliens: Fireteam Elite with human squads, it remains clear that the game is at its best when played as a co-op experience. Fights become more frantic as players constantly communicate to address the incoming Xenomorphs, and having extra players on the team allows for more Challenge Cards to be activated to add some variety into each mission. It also makes the game a better experience on the higher difficulties, as the game warns players that the AI teammates won't be very helpful above the Standard difficulty. While players can still have a great time playing solo, Aliens: Fireteam Elite truly shines with other players along for the ride.
Axiom Verge 2 adds some interesting twists to the Metroidvania format and it does get good once the player unlocks the drone, fast travel, and some of the special abilities. If the player is willing to sit through a slow start and some dicey combat encounters, then Axiom Verge 2 becomes a lot of fun to play, with a world that's fascinating to explore and treasures that are waiting to be found in its beautiful and scary alien world.
Psychonauts 2 is a must-play for anyone interested in what modern platformers can do and what a compelling comedy adventure looks like in 2021.
Hoa takes players on a magical puzzle adventure.