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It has everything you’d want from a Bethesda game: a deep and prosperous universe filled with endless possibilities and limitless potential. Be who you want to be, go where you want to go; your freedom is in your hands, and what you do with it is entirely up to you in Starfield.
Sea of Stars will take any seasoned gamer back to a simpler times, when the games were colorful, flat, and lengthy. If you want a turn-based RPG that is easy to pick up and yet quite challenging, then you’ll want to check out Sea of Stars. Some of the enemies can occasionally cheese you to death, but it’s nothing that can’t be overcome. The added accessibility options are appreciated, and the imaginative story is entertaining. If you ever want to just chill with a simple game after a long day, Sea of Stars would be a good choice.
Fort Solis delivers a dark, high-tension, suspense-filled thriller driven by its incredibly realistic next-gen visuals, compelling character performances, and well-written writing. If this were an episode in a long-running sci-fi series, it’d be amongst my favorites and highly rated. However, seeing that this is a video game, it’s hard to recommend Fort Solis due to its little gameplay. Most of it’s walking, with few QTEs here and there, but it all serves as padding that eventually overstays its welcome. The opening hours will have you in awe as it takes you through the gorgeous and ominous landscape of the red planet of Mars, but slowly, you’ll come to the realization that there really is nothing waiting for you on Mars.
Ride 5 is an exhilarating ride, forgive the redundancy, once again a terrific motorcycle racing game for experts who are ready to throw away all the riding aids and dive deep into the raw and unforgiving experience. Casuals and arcade enthusiasts will have a difficult time finding the right spot to enjoy it and may not be pleased with the middle ground that it offers. Skilled players, on the other hand, should seriously reflect if it’s worth purchasing the new release given the few major improvements. Those who give in are bound to enjoy the multiplayer thrills and expansive career events, but be wary of the blatant AI limitations, still the weaker link in otherwise exciting bike races.
As a straight-up shooter, Exoprimal comes with competent mechanics and polish, even if a feeling of sameness ends up as the predominant factor after a few hours of play. There’s something here to spark interest among the most competitive players, but it doesn’t feel like Exoprimal is a multiplayer game made for the ages, same as the creatures that were brought from the past to serve as the enemies in here.
Dust & Neon’s fast-paced combat, satisfying reloads, and streamlined gameplay loop are good enough to get one hooked right away, but the lack of variety in its zones, guns, and secondary systems leaves little incentive for anyone to keep playing past the game’s bare-bones story.
Hammerwatch 2 is a delightful old-school RPG romp that suffers from some of the timeless predicaments of the genre, namely a feeling of repetitiveness and some odd design decisions. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, especially in cooperative mode, and it also helps that the pixel graphics can be magnificent at times. Play it wisely as to not become tired of its expansive maps, and that’s how you’ll enjoy the most of it.
It’s not a flawless game, but the anguish and thrills that it conveys are almost one of a kind, delivered with confidence and brutality to match the source. This is one for horror aficionados and everyone else who likes a good old-fashioned game of murderer cat, and stealthy mouse.
There’s some undeniable fun to be had if you can look past the hit collision issues, or the lack of proprietary support for online coop. The roguelite elements are interesting but don’t feel essential in any sense, almost as if a mandatory box to tick and tickle the fancy of some fans. As a throwback to one of the all-time brawler greats, Double Dragon Gaiden is competent, but doesn’t really pack the punch that the series deserves.
There’s a lot of potential in Atlas Fallen that, sadly, feels heavily bogged down by its forgettable and, at times, repetitive story. If you can look past that, you’ll find Atlas Fallen has much to offer. It’s a great callback to classic hack-and-slash titles, filled with hours of senseless, monster-slaying fun that can be enjoyed with another player online. It’s not without its faults mind you, but it does build a great foundation, one I’d like to see built upon with potential sequels.
Arcadegeddon is tight and very playable, the neon-drenched visuals are cool and stylish, assuming you’re open-minded about all the garish colors and epilepsy-inducing explosions, and it has enough weapon options and character customization to experiment with. But as hours pass, a certain feeling of sameness inevitably starts to creep in. The runs begin to feel dull, the enemy variety isn’t stellar, and all those edgy characters start to blend and look the same.
Unholy started on the right foot with a setup that wasn’t too far from contemporary horror movies, but you’ll be better off waiting for the release of Silent Hill 2 Remake. The predictable descent into madness wasn’t entirely successful, as the netherworld is little more than your average city in ruins and an excuse to add broken stealth elements into what could have been an accomplished narrative-driven mystery. This is a game that works better when it isn’t trying to tick boxes left and right, but once you step foot into the Eternal City, it drags at snail's pace and rewards you with recurrent death and frustration. A mother’s struggle it may be, but making it a player’s struggle as well isn’t exactly what horror games should do.
Clash of Heroes can be challenging and addictive, but there’s an undeniable RNG element that plays an important role in some battles, and you must learn to live with it. Less understandable are some oversights that shouldn’t be in this definitive edition, such as the noticeable AI blunders – ignoring an elite unit merge in favor of a random move, for example. On the other hand, the turn switch animation troubles me, feeling like a second that lasts an eternity, as we’re bound to see it dozens of times per battle. This system would benefit from speed and urgency when control changes from one field to the other, instead of that lingering animation. Can Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition be considered as an essential revamp to a cherished game? It doesn’t bring a hefty dose of changes and additions, that’s for sure, making it difficult to recommend to owners of the original; however, new players should be able to discover a gripping puzzle game that, albeit not perfect, still provides many hours of merging and fusing entertainment.
Remnant 2 isn’t trying to reinvent the post-apocalyptic, gloom wheel. Expanding on the concept via the traditional motto of “bigger, better, more” but somewhat ignoring the faster part, this is a solid Souls-like that fans of the original should love. It doesn’t come without a bit of clunkiness here and there, and can be demanding in terms of system requirements, hopefully something that is going to be improved before release, but the added combat and build possibilities offer you new ways to face another set of moody set pieces and impressive bosses. As far as Souls-like go, this series is shaping up to be one of the household names. Just make sure that you know what you are getting yourself into, put some time aside for this adventure, and don’t forget to bring a couple of friends along for this exciting and brutal ride, unless you want to become boss pulp.
Aliens: Dark Descent showcases care and respect for the works that it is based upon. This is the antithesis of a cash-grab – this is a game that tried to deliver something different, something exciting that isn’t a mere rerun of previous offerings. It’s moody, the odds are clearly stacked against your squad but that makes each success even more rewarding, and the tactical scope is extremely enjoyable. Fans of a good real-time squad-based game shouldn’t think twice and just dive into this nightmare, weapons blazing.
Soleil is an up-and-coming studio that has been showing real promise in the mid-tier games space. A space that has gotten less and less attention this past decade. I think that they succeeded here more than they didn’t. I found myself continuing to come back and fight against the frame rate issues and the technical flaws. I like these characters, even if they are more shallow than they could be. I like the tone. Referencing Supa Hot Fire in 2023 and then having your war criminal antiheroes do karaoke or see who can eat the most ramen right before they lay waste to a government building or comfort a child who doesn’t seem to care that his parents just died in the next room is a crazy, weird, off-kilter, fun time. I even liked the combat: as cheap as it may be to get insta-killed by a random merc with a rocket launcher or a ninja flying out of nowhere. I liked the weird pace of it. I liked the puzzle of deciding how to get to the next checkpoint. I just really, really did not like having to fight through a non-stop onslaught of glitchy jittery frame rate issues or other small and large performance issues. I want to give this game at least a 7.5, and if it is ever patched further we might be able to reexamine it, but I can’t overlook something so glaring as countable frames and frequent crashes. I hope that Soleil Ltd. is able to bounce back and stick the landing on the next one because I like everything else I’ve played from them. And I know they’re capable of more.
AEW Fight Forever is a good start which can hopefully lead to much greater things. If you’re a fan of the newest professional wrestling league, then you should purchase this game to send a message to the league that you appreciate their efforts, and you’ll have plenty to look forward to in any potential sequel that may follow this if the game sells well. Wrestling fans in general should check this out as well, because it’s not like you’re exactly swimming in current game choices these days. For everyone else, this remains a hard sell, but that is true of most sports games. If one word could sum up AEW Fight Forever, it’s simply this: potential.
All things considered, even after more than a decade, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective remains a gem that can’t be missed, and that’s a true testament to its long-lasting quality. With brilliant design, improved visuals that are remarkably smooth and pleasant to watch, a challenging adventure, and a story that has more nuances than you could ever expect during its 10-hour duration, this is a unique game that delivers so many thrills, so many funny moments, that you won’t regret a single minute invested in it.
Regardless if FFXVI is your first Final Fantasy game or you’re returning to the series, Square Enix’s latest game in the franchise lives up to the hype. Forget about JRPG’s or how action-RPGs nowadays need an open world, side quests that last for ages, co-op or whatever gimmick. FFXVI just throws all that out of the table and proves a tightly woven narrative-driven game –when built right — can make up for all those. The minor issues the game has doesn’t detract from the incredible experience Clive & Co. bring to the table. Players will be treated to a compelling tale, stunning visual spectacles, and a fluid and fun combat system. What’s even more impressive is, Square Enix manages to make the franchise “grow up” alongside the players who grew up playing the series. FFXVI deals with more mature themes and manages to make it matter without being overly preachy about it. Those looking for the series’ return to glory, rejoice! Final Fantasy XVI is that game, and this is one fantasy you’ll want to make sure you’re a part of.
Layers of Fear on the PS5 is the best-looking, best-sounding, and best-performing console version of the game yet. Playing with headphones is a must for the biggest scares, though many of the thrills are psychological rather than jump-based. Packed full of four different stories all interwoven to varying degrees, there is also a good deal of content to play through. Combined with multiple endings, Layers of Fear represents a great value for fans of horror games.