Dexerto's Reviews
After waiting six years for another crack at The Outer Worlds, it feels disappointing to be met with a sequel that is so promising but marred by a poor first half and frustrating Flaws. But the game isn’t a total flop, saved by its whimsical charm, vivid dystopian subject matter, and the classic, slower, and more explorative design that Obsidian games have perfected.
Bloodlines 2 isn’t your typical RPG. It tells a great and complex story while taking you on an adventure where every choice you make affects the narrative, inside a city that feels alive with lovable and hateable characters. However, it could have done so much more to live up to its predecessor and TTRPG inspiration.
Pokemon Legends Z-A delivers fast, polished battles in Lumiose City, but limited exploration and shallow side content hold it back from being truly great.
Only time will tell, but at the very least, we have a really good new Battlefield game on our hands to enjoy, and we haven’t been able to say that for a while.
Digimon Story Time Stranger should be the strongest RPG the series has produced. The evolution system is endlessly replayable, the story delivers big twists, and the presentation shows real care. Unfortunately, it narrowly misses the top spot thanks to its small maps, tedious training, and mechanics that never live up to their promise.
EA FC 26 brings the best on-pitch action the series has produced in years, thanks to the genius decision to change the gameplay based on mode. There might not be too many new features to shout about, but it's the most fun I've had in a football game since FIFA 17.
While Ghost of Yotei’s tale of revenge may not cut as deep as its predecessor, Sucker Punch’s blade is still deadly. The environments of Ezo are begging to be explored, and the melee combat has never been sharper, delivering more weapons, blood, and adrenaline-fueled duels worthy of the Kurosawa films that inspired it. Whether you’re a fan of Ghost of Tsushima or a newcomer to the series, Ghost of Yotei is a must-play. Atsu’s adventure sets a new gold standard for samurai action games and marks an exciting new chapter in the Ghost saga – one that will hopefully shape the series for years to come.
Hades 2 is an unbelievable triumph for more reasons than a pair of human hands can count. Supergiant Games' sequel is a bold evolution of the original that flawlessly executes new ideas to deliver the best roguelike of this generation.
Silent Hill f is a bold new direction for Konami’s iconic survival horror series. While it may put a heavier emphasis on combat, NeoBards has expertly concocted a nightmarish cocktail oozing with enough stomach-churning monsters, disgustingly beautiful environments, and psychological dread to be just as good, if not better than, Silent Hill 2. Hinako’s world is suffocating and compelling, and I can’t wait to delve even further into the dark, damp town of Ebisugaoka to uncover more endings. If this is the quality we can expect from Silent Hill going forward, then I have never been more excited to step into its fog-filled future.
Borderlands 4 could have been great. Its storyline and gameplay are the strongest they’ve ever been, but it's plagued by performance issues, missing features, and outdated UI's that almost drag it down to the murky depths of its predecessor.
Dying Light: The Beast has great parkour and melee combat, but a bland story and an uninteresting Beast Mode mechanic leave it fun, but ultimately forgettable.
Silksong is a technical feat. So densely packed is its world that maintaining a laser focus on forward momentum is borderline impossible. At every opportunity, I found myself pausing the main campaign just to prolong my time in Pharloom. Little did I know that pacing myself wasn’t necessary. Mechanically, Silksong is just as expansive. Superior fluidity of movement and a less obtuse approach to building the perfect bug warrior made traversal and combat feel like a treat to be savored at every opportunity. Ultimately, games like these live and die based on how well their worlds are built, and Pharloom is one of the best from an architectural and visual perspective. It’s a shame that its fierce difficulty spike and pacing issues in the early game will absolutely turn less hardcore audiences away, because it’s clear that Silksong is seven years of love, care, and dedication splashed on a screen. Equal parts breathtaking and brutal, Hollow Knight: Silksong proves it was worth the wait but won’t go easy on anyone.
Gears of War: Reloaded is the best way to play one of the most important shooters ever made, thanks to drastically improved visuals and timeless gunplay. The story is a little thin and there are a few annoying bugs, but this all-time classic has never looked so good.
Mafia: The Old Country tells an exceptional mob story with incredible characters, but it's a shame that it's so much better to watch than it is to play.
Dead Take is a sublime horror game filled with some phenomenal performances expertly heightened by the live-action nature. It's unique, fun, and fantastically paced.
Tales of the Shire offers a cute, cozy adventure that excels in its fishing and cooking, but fails to succeed in any other area synonymous with the genre.
From start to finish, Donkey Kong Bonanza is a riot. I wrapped up my journey to Bananza's credits in a little over 20 hours. Your mileage will vary wildly depending on how much optional content you decide to invest time in, but that's the beauty of it. If you're not big on collectathons, there's still plenty of game here for platforming purists to enjoy. I can't recommend enough taking on the various trials – think Shrines from Breath of the Wild – littered throughout the world, though, especially if you're a fan of 2D Donkey Kong. While performance issues were largely nonexistent in handheld mode, quite severe frame rate drops were commonplace when docked, especially during certain boss battles. This doesn't take into account any day one patches that may or may not arrive on release, and not egregious enough that your enjoyment will be hampered.
Death Stranding 2 is phenomenal. It’s among Kojima’s very best work not just for its narrative, but for the near-limitless variety in its gameplay opportunities. While it may very well end up being the final game in the series, at least with Kojima at the helm, we can only hope someone else picks up the mantle and continues to iterate on one of gaming’s most unique experiences. After all, why else would we have connected?
Its end-to-end matches are exhilarating from the first whistle to the last, full of punch-the-air moments and tense, tactical battles that get the blood pumping and palms sweating.
Date Everything’s main draw is its crazy premise, but thanks to its storylines that are brought to life by seasoned voice actors, it is more than just a silly idea. It is a surprisingly heartfelt experience that expertly blends silly and sentiment.