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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.
Visions of Mana brings the Mana formula to the modern day, providing a beautiful game that is a blast to play. Some slight problems keep it from being a truly amazing game, though.
Visceral combat, excellent set pieces, and plenty of Warhammer 40,000 fanservice, but is there enough launch content to satisfy less die-hard fans?
Star Wars Outlaws is one of the most disappointing titles I’ve played in recent years. From features that aren’t fully fleshed out to boring missions and mechanics that make absolutely no sense, it’s a smorgasbord of startling mistakes and questionable design decisions that will leave anyone, Star Wars fan or not, reeling. Well, at least there’s always Jedi: Survivor for open-world aficionados.
Four years since its initial reveal, Black Myth: Wukong is a great success. An engaging, cinematic story, a combat system with many options, and breathtakingly beautiful, this is one journey you won’t want to miss!
A visual and aural triumph, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II trades agency, freedom, and longevity to galvanize mood, atmosphere, and other, more cinematic qualities. By its very design, Senua’s Saga will polarize an audience rich with choice-driven adventure games. But by committing to its vision, Ninja Theory has crafted a thoughtful and haunting slice of violent opera - long on style, short on length, and certainly deserving of acclaim.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a sparkling rendition of a beloved classic. Though a distinct lack of challenge and some unnecessary padding hamper the experience, a trove of wonderful characters, spirited worlds, charming dialogue, and memorable encounters fill the heart and rouse the senses, resulting in one of the finest adventures in The Great Gonzalez’s illustrious career.
Sand Land replicates both the unmistakable style and iconic character of Akira Toriyama’s work with color, authenticity, and passion. As an open-world adventure game, however, it is both conventional in gameplay and repetitive in design, resulting in a good-looking, great-sounding but overly simplistic adventure that nails the charm and aesthetic, but not the excitement and dynamism. A stylish but average escapede that never really gets out of first gear.
Eiyuden Chronicle is a fantastic first entry from Rabbit & Bear Studios in an attempt to bring back Suikoden. A by-the-numbers plot holds it back from truly achieving greatness, but a strong cast and exciting base building makes this a must-have for all fans of classic JRPGs.
Princess Peach: Showtime! doesn’t quite suffice as the leading lady performance our Mushroom Monarch deserves, but there’s no denying its infectious charm and cheerful sense of creativity. While Showtime! doesn’t match up to the escapades of her plumber pals, this spirited adventure - punctuated by heartwarming visuals, fun and varied stages, and a superb score - is worth a weekend of anyone’s time. Encore!
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth ups the ante in this unforgettable globe-trotting journey. Featuring some of the best characterization in gaming and a faithful and enjoyable recreation of Final Fantasy VII’s world, this is one train you won’t want to get off.
With Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom continues to solidify its reputation as one of the industry’s premier developers. The sequel delivers an incredible, continent-spanning odyssey filled with monsters to battle and mysteries to explore - rewarding player discovery and backing up its captivating sense of adventure with refined, enjoyable combat. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is one of the best fantasy RPGs of the modern age and will no doubt prove a strong contender for game of the year.
Alone in the Dark serves up a classy and confident slice of old-school survival horror, all sliding puzzles, creaking floorboards, and long, dark shadows. Though it lacks the grander scope of its Shock & Gore contemporaries, this quaint tribute to yesteryear impresses with its kooky cast, strong atmosphere, and vintage ‘ghost story’ vibes. Crucially, Alone in the Dark finally fans have a new adventure they can be proud of.
Vanillaware has once again proven its adeptness at capturing the key flavors of classical gaming, before invigorating those flavors with its own distinctive, captivating style. While the formulaic story will win no awards, the satisfaction derived from its absorbing mechanics sees Unicorn Overlord march confidently to victory. A new time sink awaits. Join the Liberation, comrade.
One of the most esteemed and cherished RPGs of all time returns, smoother and smarter than ever. Unfortunately, Persona 3 Reload deals an incomplete hand, with disappointing omissions, stunted evolution, and a contentious price tag. Nonetheless, its indelible cast retain their infectious social spirit, set to break your heart and burn your dread all over again.
Enshrouded is par for the course with most survival games released in early access. There are promising foundations and underwhelming systems in equal measure, but it gets key things right in the form of an engaging build system, a sense of adventure in exploration, and some great quality of life features. Probably more fun in co-op with friends, there’s enough here for most survival veterans to enjoy so long as their expectations are suitably adjusted for early access titles.