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Astral Chain is an ambitious game that gives players almost too many options. Whether you decide to stick to the captivating storyline or want to fill up your photo album with pictures of your Neuron co-workers or decide to clean up the streets of all that pesky Red Shift (that only you can see), you'll easily lose yourself in the beautiful world of the game. Astral Chain pushes the boundaries of what an action game can be, but it doesn't get so experimental that it loses sight of its goal -- which is to present an intriguing and layered story while giving players lots of horrifying monsters to kill.
Despite its occasional frustrations, Ancestors is an invigorating and engaging survival game that'll hopefully be followed by more of the same. Each playthrough has the potential to be a bit different as you focus on different skills and spend more time in one biome compared to another, and thanks to the excitingly unsettling freedom it offers and its rewarding highs and lows, Ancestors is well worth the time investment.
Is Control Remedy's apex moment? No. Is it their best game yet? I don't think so, but I wouldn't scream at you if you thought it was. Control's story and world-building, its thematic cohesiveness is better than anything out of Remedy yet, which is saying a lot. Unfortunately, Control has some blemishes, most of which aren't very distracting, but when you couple it with some considerable performance issues it adds up and saps a little bit of that specialness.
There is a silver lining to all of this: the online issues can probably be fixed. There have already been patches to the game to help eliminate the glitches and smooth everything out. If 2K20 can work these things out early on, it'll cement itself as one of the most enjoyable installments in the entire franchise.
Whatever the future might hold for Borderlands 3 regarding DLC, events, and optimizations, what we have right now is an absolutely stellar chapter in one of the most iconic series seen during this generation and the last. If you liked Borderlands and Borderlands 2, you're going to absolutely adore Borderlands 3. Its shortcomings do little to diminish what it has to offer, and I'll reload the game over and over and sit through a million Claptrap jokes if it means I get to keep looting.
If you go to JRPGs for grand, cinematic stories à la modern Final Fantasy games, Dragon Quest XI isn't that. It doesn't do much new, but what it does it does to perfection. The towns are interesting to visit, the turn-based combat is as involved as you want it to be, and the world — as basic as it is — is welcoming and fun to play in. It feels less like an epic adventure so much as a fantasy vacation. If you're a Switch owner yearning for a modern, AAA spin on classic JRPG gameplay, you're likely to find Dragon Quest XI to be a journey worth embarking on.
Code Vein falls short of being a must have, but that doesn't at all mean it's a game you should pass on. It's simplified enough to attract those who felt like Dark Souls and its ilk were too punishing and has enough style to show that not every game like this has to be so grungy and bleak even if the stories have to be serious. Code Vein has its rough patches, but it absolutely accomplishes its mission.
Concrete Genie is an excellent example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. It's not groundbreaking, or really exemplary in any single measure, but everything comes together in a way many games don't. It's charming, wholesome, and a complete realization of an original vision. It's a perfect palette-cleanser experience, and more importantly, it's wonderfully unique.
2K20 is packed with content and offers some of the best wrestling in the franchise. Throwing down in the ring has never felt better, and above all else makes you feel like the Superstars you know and love. 2K's Showcase mode feels like a love letter to Four Horsewomen fans, and you'll be more than entertained reliving some of those classic matches. That said, the MyPlayer mode needs another year of refinement before it can truly reach its high ambitions, and the online side of things needs to be fixed ASAP. For me, online play just isn't that important, and my experience has been relatively glitch-free outside of that, so if that describes you as well you won't be disappointed.
Luigi's Mansion 3 is a magical return to the franchise which newcomers and old-school fans will delight in. Filled with adventure and spooks, the sequel brings back what fans loved about the series' first game. Luigi has never felt more loved in a game before, even when he's been put through seven layers of ghostly hell, and fans will enjoy the game even in its most frustrating moments.
Plants vs. Zombies has always had potential on consoles, but it seems Battle for Neighborville has finally found the winning formula. Battle for Neighborville builds on its predecessors' fun mechanics and adds a massive new world to explore that takes advantage of its strengths, all the while never forgetting the lighthearted approach that made us fall in love with the franchise in the first place. Battle for Neighborville is a rollicking good time, and we can't wait to spend more time in this vibrant and whimsical world.
It's easy to pick apart these components when isolated, but where does Modern Warfare stand among other Call of Duty games as a whole? It's certainly the best Call of Duty game we've received in years, but exactly where it falls will depend on how favorably you view the older games and how influenced you are by nostalgia. Its campaign is exemplary, and even if people have inevitable complaints and suggestions about the multiplayer mode, it feels like the culmination of what people have been asking for since the days of wall-running and questionable gadgets. One thing is clear though: Modern Warfare definitely has the potential to be people's favorite Call of Duty game, but the games-as-a-service model will mean its up to Infinity Ward and Activision to make sure that potential is realized in the coming months.
Once the dust settles from the controversies stirred up over the summer, Pokemon Sword and Shield will be looked upon by fans fondly. This is a great Pokemon game, one that, at times, pushes up against its self-imposed limitations and teases a new path for the Pokemon franchise. The real question coming out of Pokemon Sword and Shield is whether the Pokemon Company will build upon the newest innovations seen in the game and strive to keep the Pokemon franchise exciting and relevant, or if they'll just retreat to familiarity and disappoint a fanbase looking for reasons to keep playing for decades to come. Pokemon Sword and Shield is a half-step forward for the Pokemon franchise — we'll see if they put the other step forward with their next set of games, which could be critical to keeping some of its more jaded fans.
With the skillful, dynamic gameplay and the lukewarm story in the Star Wars timeline taken into consideration, the question of how this game holds up becomes a two-part query: is it a good game, and is it a good Star Wars game? The answer to the first question is an easy one. Heavy on adventure and cinematic style, Fallen Order is absolutely a game worth anyone's time if you've got even an inkling of interest in Star Wars. You won't feel left behind, thanks to the new characters, if you're less familiar with Star Wars, and those who know the fandom inside and out will pick up on clever nods and filled-in blanks. You could remove the Star Wars wrappings and it'd still be a fantastic experience which could be construed as both a positive and a negative. So many Star Wars experiences are based off prior exposure now that it'd be nearly impossible for one person to have the same experience with this story as another, but even if you knock the story, everything else about the game is solid and worth your time.
Greedfall presents a compelling tale of political intrigue and hard choices and, coupled with its addictive combat and entertaining dialogue, it definitely makes a strong case for your time. It is a bit less refined than some of its contemporaries, however, and some will find it hard to ignore the reused textures and less than stellar graphics. That said, for those who look a bit beneath the surface, they'll find a unique world and a roster of rich characters that surprise you at every turn, and, if that sounds like a win, you should definitely give Greedfall a try.
Journey to the Savage Planet is a layered and searing portrait of colonialism that will make you laugh throughout, and it plays so much more like an off-the-wall N64 RPG with updated graphics than any of the adventurous space epics on the shelf today. That's to say it's confident in its absurdity and knows that "groundbreaking" and "fun" don't have to go hand-in-hand. It's hard not to enjoy the time you'll spend on AR-Y 26.
Despite those nitpicks, this a winning formula, and while those looking for an Oscar-worthy narrative or genre-defining mechanics might not be satisfied, those looking for a rewarding, addictive, and above all fun rollercoaster ride will be over the moon. Sniping zombies has never been more fun.
Dreams seems like a niche game from a first glance, but it's impossible to truly appreciate what it has to offer until you see what it has to offer yourself. It feels like an arcade with unlimited plays for everyone and a museum encompassing every interest all wrapped into one game. Whether you're there to build or just to look around, Dreams isn't a game to miss.
Compilations are hard to judge. No matter what the collection, some games will invariably be more enjoyable over others. That said, regardless of individual quality, Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection is a well-made compilation that will definitely appeal to long-time series fans. With its tight gameplay, gorgeous graphics, terrific music, and a number of customization options, there's a lot for players to enjoy. At the end of the day, it's hard to say whether or not the collection will appeal to newcomers. The steep difficulty and overly complicated storylines are definitely a hurdle to overcome. It's hard to recommend this collection over any of the previous Mega Man Legacy Collections, but for players craving more blue bomber, Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection is worth overcoming those hurdles. Now, bring on Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, Capcom!
Granblue Fantasy: Versus feels like one of those games that will get better with time, as the rough bits get smoothed over with future patches, but as it stands, it's only "pretty good" rather than "great." Thankfully, the core gameplay is actually a lot of fun, and punching folks feels and looks good with creative characters front and center. It's better than "fine," but just misses out on being a real champion of a fighting video game.