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Assassin’s Creed Shadows in a nutshell is a more refined, polished game with more of the same formula. This isn’t a big revamp, nor are there any deep changes to the formula. However, it’s the best the series has been for a while. Fun combat, a pair of genuinely interesting protagonists, and a gorgeous recreation of 16th century Japan mean the flaws are easier to overlook.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land manages to stand on its own two rocket-powered high heels through the strength of its comfortable cast and flashy, fun combat. I still wish the open-world puzzles and base building weren’t so shallow and derivative, even if Atelier Yumia doesn’t penalize you too much for not engaging with them. This isn’t the major shift toward the mainstream that the series needed but if your expectations aren’t too high, you’ll have a great time exploring Adaliss with Yumia and her friends.
Monster Hunter Wilds offers the best hunting and combat in the series’ history. Intense fights are at the heart of the experience, and the large, open world and its various ecosystem changes are spectacles to see from afar and up close in the middle of a hunt. It is only bolstered by some fantastic audio, music, and feedback as you slash, carve, and batter monsters. However, the game’s characters don’t have enough air to breathe amongst the wider narrative and the lack of pinnacle fights and endgame challenges are a severe downgrade from other games in the series.
The Mad Dog of Shimano is getting up there in age, but he’s still got a few new tricks up his snake-skin sleeves that Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is worth taking to the seven seas for.
Avowed continues Obsidian’s tradition of creating excellent RPGs that feel heavily linked to well-trodden genres, yet not doing quite enough to carve out a new identity. There’s a lot to be charmed by, be it nuanced characters and choices, a heavy dialogue focus, and a compelling central mystery where what’s ‘good’ isn’t often clear. While it doesn’t push the envelope, it does enough to justify its place, and for just the price of a GamePass subscription, it’s easy to recommend trying.
Returning to Calvard and spending more time with Arkride Solutions is always welcome, but a mediocre storyline harms what is otherwise another excellent entry.
As a complete package, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is mind-blowing. The first game was an interesting foundation, but the long-awaited sequel stands easily alongside the best RPGs of the last decade. It tells an exciting yet emotional story, and the world is a joy to explore, but it’s the level of immersion that’s created by all of its interconnected systems that’s unlike anything I’ve experienced before.
Tales of Graces F Remastered is a faithful remaster that improves upon the original PS3 version in every way. While it doesn’t really change much at its core, including some of its original flaws, it does have quite a few quality of life additions that makes it the best iteration for fans of the series and the original.
Another attempt to reinvigorate the Dynasty Warriors franchise, but a lackluster protagonist, sidelining of series favorites and tedious dialog distracts from some solid gameplay additions.
The Legacy of Kain series has long been missed, and it’s fantastic to get a chance to return to them on modern systems. Unfortunately, many of the gameplay systems feel dated, and there are a few bugs in Soul Reaver 2 that holds this collection back a little.
If you can look past the clunky and out-of-place combat, The Great Circle is a great addition to Indy’s catalogue of adventures. While it shines in the traditionally linear puzzle-solving segments thanks to charismatic characters and wonderful design, the open-world asides make you feel like you’re on your own adventure, too.
While performance woes hinder it, STALKER 2 is a fiercely unique and immersive survival game. It asks the player to put in the work and struggle against its harsh systems that may turn many off. However, if you’re willing to persevere through its systems and technical issues, there is a special experience waiting to be found within the enchanting Zone.
While the tools to build your wildest dream parks are there and Planet Coaster 2 does everything it realistically can to show you how, making those dreams come to life is not an easy task. Frontier has improved what was already an excellent theme park management sim, it just isn’t for the faint of heart. Much like the coasters you might want to make.
Black Ops 6 does enough differently to stand out in the recent wave of Call of Duty games, bringing one of the best campaign and multiplayer modes in the long-running franchise. While we need to wait and see how Zombies pans out, it’s a solid entry - so much so, that I can say “Call of Duty is back”.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a phenomenal return to form for BioWare. The story is well-paced and the cast of characters are the trademark BioWare staple of fully-realised, but it’s in the newly action-oriented combat where things truly shine.
At the end of its massive runtime, Metaphor: ReFantazio never suffers from pacing issues and tells a captivating story that stirs your imagination. With fantastic additions to the familiar Press Turn battle system and one of my favorite casts in a long time, this is one fantasy you won’t want to miss.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is an excellent Dragon Ball game that delivers plenty of deliciously intense arena fights, with a great amount of content too. It feels familiar yet remarkable, but the performance issues are problems that need to be quickly rectified.
Improved mechanics, polished gameplay and the introduction of the Spiritborn makes Vessel of Hatred the best version of Diablo IV to date.
Astro Bot is a breath of fresh air from PlayStation’s first parties, as it truly encapsulates that old-school feeling, where Sony didn’t have the same formulaic game and took chances on other genres. Team Asobi knocked it out of the park with a game that is just tremendously fun to play.
Frostpunk 2 is a great entry into the city-survival genre and one that will hook even newcomers to the genre. With a fantastic campaign full of difficult choices, a sandbox mode available from the start, and so many options on how you shape New London, the larger scale of Frostpunk 2 is one that succeeds in every way.