WhatIfGaming
HomepageWhatIfGaming's Reviews
Blanc is an exercise in empathy and trust. It's a lovely short experience that uses cooperative play in a meaningful way with its absorbing puzzles where both players feel equally involved. With stellar presentation and animations, Blanc is a wonderful adventure worth playing.
I had a fantastic time with Like a Dragon: Ishin, and it’s a worthy addition to the Yakuza series lineup. Like other modern Yakuza titles, this release is filled to the brim with enjoyable content, memorable characters, and an addictive combat system with tons of variety. The character work is fantastic, and the series’ invaluable skill to switch between serious and hilarious tones is present here as well, with some of the best moments in the franchise.
Storyteller is a fantastic puzzle game full of charming characters, and excellent humor, presented on a beautiful interface. Its intuitive controls, dynamic gameplay, and open-ended levels make it accessible, exciting, and appropriately challenging. Its absorbing take on classical stories is hilarious, and you develop a personal attachment to each tale as you progress through its multiple thematically designed chapters.
Dredge is the perfect blend of Lovecraftian, mystery, and adventure in a role-playing game. Its greatest strength lies in the perfect harmony of its gameplay, visual, and audio elements.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fantastic sequel that improves upon basically every aspect of the original. Its excellent cast of characters, improved combat, expanded world design, and plot tie into one of the most satisfying Star Wars experiences we've ever had only held back by performance issues on every platform.
Remnant 2 is one of the best co-op experiences you can have right now, and it improves on the original in every single way. Its satisfying mix of melee and ranged combat, memorable boss fights full of creativity, tons of enemy variety scattered in each biome and excellent presentation make it Gunfire Games' best title to date.
Venba is a beautiful cooking game that emphasizes the meaning of family, culture, and tradition. It's a game that will hit home for many who had to make the difficult choice of moving away from home, and one where you might shed a tear at the end.
Armored Core 6 is a fantastic action title that is demanding and rewarding in equal parts. It encourages players to get creative with their builds by offering endless customization, and an accessible economy system where nothing is really lost. With stunning art direction, and memorable voice acting, FromSoftware has revived its action franchise with an uncompromising entry that feels modern and offers a feature-rich experience with tons of replayability.
Forza Motorsport is a thrilling racing simulator that offers something to both beginners and veterans alike. It throws you into the world of professional racing and makes you fall in love with it. The sheer variety of vehicles, and racetracks paired with extensive customization make it the finest entry in the series yet. It's one of the best-looking games on the market with every vehicle beautifully rendered in ridiculous detail. If you're looking for a title to drive down the rabbit hole of racing sims, there is no better place to start, especially with its focus on accessibility and onboarding.
Sonic Superstars is a fantastic return to the 2D Sonic series and offers a wealth of content and playable characters, all wrapped up in a pristine package that's easy on the eyes, wonderful to play with enough replayability to last you a while.
Ghostrunner 2 is a must-play action game that expertly blends fast-paced action with smooth parkour gameplay. Its stunning art direction, memorable antagonists, and engaging upgrade system add up to an experience that meaningfully builds on the original. The undercooked semi-open world sections and stuttering issues on PC get in the way of perfection, but this is a worthy sequel that never loses steam throughout its thoroughly entertaining campaign.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a fantastic new entry to the series and bridges the gap between the most recent mainline releases. It's an absolute delight to play as Kazuma Kiryu again with his new skillset and tools. With a plethora of new additions to the franchise, this is one that fans won't want to miss out on until Infinite Wealth in 2024. It's a game packed with rich content for story enthusiasts, and fans of the known and new side activities in the series. Like a Dragon Gaiden is a great package that offers a lot of variety to different ranges of fans.
Dungeons 4 is the perfect blend between Dungeon Defense and RTS, with a pinch of humor scattered here and there. It has a campaign that's memorable and captivating, which definitely earns it the title of an instant classic. The gameplay itself is enriched with a variety of content to guarantee you hours upon hours of fun. Within the RTS/Dungeon Defender genre, it's easily a must-play. A certified must-play for any strategy gamer.
Persona 5 Tactica is a breath of fresh air for the turn-based tactics genre that feels familiar, yet challenging, and has enough depth to easily stand toe-to-toe with its peers. Despite the genre shift, it retains all the hallmarks of a Persona title and blends those aspects with dazzling polish. It's fun, challenging, a blast to play, and a must-have for any Persona fan, serving as a good entry point for strategy lovers looking to get into Persona.
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader is an astoundingly complex game that perfectly conveys the feeling of living in the 41st millennium. Its story is entrancing from the get-go, the characters are diverse and memorable and the gameplay will keep you hooked to your screen for hours on end. It's a must-play for diehard Warhammer fans and a great entry point for prospecting Warhammer fans. As far as Warhammer games are concerned, it's a definite 10, and a new benchmark for storytelling in the franchise.
Outer Wilds is a masterpiece, and it's still a masterpiece on the Nintendo Switch. The unmatched sense of exploration and discovery is preserved on the platform. The superb soundtrack and excellent art direction persist despite some aliasing concerns. There are some minor performance issues in complex scenes, but none of those detract from the overall experience.
Sovereign Syndicate is an engaging cRPG with a lot of heart, and a surprisingly competent first title from developer Crimson Herring Studios. Its alternative take on Victorian-era London is refreshing and doesn't fall into the trap of painting mythical creatures with their generic fantasy characteristics. It captivates you the moment you start the game with its strong characters and writing, and doesn't let go until the very end.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a return to form for the franchise, and an excellent game that takes the series back to its 2D roots wrapped in a polished Metroidvania experience that's clever, engaging, and full of meaningful content to explore. The fast-paced combat rewards skillful play and the gorgeous art direction brings Mount Qaf to life. I just hope we don't have to wait another 13 years for another Prince of Persia title.
Persona 3 Reload is a fantastic remake that cleverly integrates mechanics from subsequent entries to provide an experience that's polished, expertly paced, and full of heart. Its fast-paced combat, quality-of-life additions, and host of activities always keep you engaged no matter where you are in the story. The darker tone lends to an overall narrative that feels more consequential, and Tatsumi Port Island is a joy to explore. It's an excellent place for newcomers to the series and a must-buy for RPG fans.
PlateUp! is an excellent cooking simulator that lets you bring friends to the kitchen. A steep learning curve might dissuade some players but it's a rewarding experience for the chefs that stick around. While it might be too much to handle solo, couch co-op friends can easily multiply the fun and divide the workload.