Dexerto's Reviews
Despite the lackluster combat, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a brilliant homage to those that came before, highlighting just what makes the franchise so popular. With any luck, Mirage will set a precedent for future releases, incorporating the best aspects from Assassin tales old, and new. It’s not perfect, but Assassin’s Creed Mirage is about as close as the franchise has gotten for years, hopefully highlighting a new age for the Hidden Ones’ future.
Though it’s not as good as the classics, Forza Motorsport is still the best entry in the series since the beginning of the Xbox One era. The massive strides made on track and creative RPG leveling mechanics let it appeal to both racing game veterans and newbies alike. It’s just a shame that the bizarre AI behavior and frustrating FPS restrictions in multiplayer hurt what is an otherwise superb racing experience.
When Insomniac taps into the heart of its subject matter, be that Peter or Miles, it’s glorious. Being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is compelling. You’re equally important in saving the world or helping someone cross the street, a dichotomy this game understands beautifully. That’s why it’s a shame the main narrative gets tangled in its own web of disparate elements, falling just shy of greatness
While Super Mario Bros. Wonder doesn't revolutionize Nintendo’s beloved series, the charming 2D platformer successfully pays homage to its roots, paving the way forward with unique twists that keep the gameplay feeling fresh. Mario Bros. Wonder may not take the crown from Super Mario Bros. 3 or Oddysey, but the latest outing encapsulates the very essence of what a 2D Mario game should be. It’s silly, whacky, and most importantly great fun. The fact that Nintendo can still deliver a great 2D Mario game 42 years after the first title hit our screens back in 1981, really is a wonder in itself.
WarioWare: Move It! is the embodiment of fun. It’s the kind of game that pulls people together, quickly turning the quietest gatherings into laughter-filled frenzies. If you’re expecting a meaty gameplay experience that will have you hooked for hundreds of hours, then you’ll definitely come away disappointed. But, if you’re after a whacky party game to play solo or together with friends and family, then WarioWare: Move It! is a great addition to your Switch collection.
A new lick of paint and some enhanced accessibility improvements bring the Super Mario RPG remake into the 21st century. While the game was already a great outing back in 1996, new players should have no problem jumping into Mario’s first RPG title, hopefully opening the door for next year’s Paper Mario remake and potentially more RPGs later down the line.
Yakuza is a unique series, and for a long time, it felt like the only reason it worked in all its glorious surreality and heartfelt storylines was Kiryu. However, Infinite Wealth proves Yakuza can exist past Kiryu’s legacy, and Ichiban is the right man to bring about Yakuza’s new generation.
Banishers isn’t going to appeal to those who demand continuous action and top-tier combat. The fact is, there are just so many games that do hacking, slashing, and shooting so much better. Banishers is for those who want to be told a scary story and face some difficult moral choices along the way. It’s for those who relish the opportunity to play as a pair of seventeenth-century supernatural detectives and solve some spooky mysteries while coming up with a solution to an inevitable, and much more personal problem. Banishers felt like we were living in a Washington Irving story such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, so if you think this sounds like a vibe, then we’d highly recommend it.
Thanks to chaotic battles, a variety of gameplay styles, and an epic environment, Helldivers 2 is the perfect amount of brutal satisfaction. While it may be let down by server issues and slower wait times at launch, this multiplayer shooter is a guaranteed laugh and brings with it all the enjoyable nature of just blasting a few bugs into oblivion – for democracy of course.
Those looking for a third-person action shooter may lose patience with Alone in the Dark. However, those looking for a traditional survival horror experience, one with its PS1 roots still slightly visible, might be reminded why they fell in love with the genre to begin with. The main takeaway though, is that Alone in the Dark is finally back, playing to its strengths, and catering to those who’ve missed it.
Rise of the Ronin doesn’t offer the photo-realistic visuals of those seen in Ghost of Tsushima, nor does it provide the nail-biting difficulty of Sekiro. Instead, Team Ninja’s samurai epic successfully forges a new path – blending adrenaline-fueled combat, fun traversal mechanics, and a loveable cast of characters, wrapping them all together in a world ripe for exploration. Just like the ronin themselves, Team Ninja’s open-world game is not bound by the old masters of the past – instead, it rises to the challenge set by Sucker Punch and FromSoftware, forging its own path to stand firmly amongst them.
However, the performance doesn’t feel like a dealbreaker. Hitman: Blood Money was a fantastic game in 2006 and is still as fantastic in 2024. Performance quirks aside, the Switch port is a brilliant way to introduce new players to the classic stealth game while also riding the wave of popularity World of Assassination brought in. It’s still able to prove it’s one of the genre’s best and will continue to be enjoyable for years to come.
Stellar Blade has landed a critical hit, successfully slicing through the crowd of well-established action-adventure game giants. If you’re a fan of sleek and stylish combat, with sprinklings of Soulsborne and Nier Automata vibes, you’ll feel right at home when playing Shift Up’s triumphant console debut.
When Sniper Elite 5 hits right, it’s every bit the long-range murder simulator sandbox we wanted. When you’re completely in the zone, balancing stealth and precision and executing your plan of attack with utmost excellence, there are few games like it. Sadly, minor issues mount up and can harm your experience and tarnish some of what it does so well. Still, with a refined template, it feels Rebellion is on the verge of a bullseye here.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is Omega Force's finest musou yet, with a fun tactical layer added to the sword-swinging gameplay that keeps fans coming back. Three Houses fans will love the chance to spend more time with that game's characters, too.
Medieval Dynasty has transitioned well to consoles after being a PC-only release for some time. It’s nice to know that a larger audience can experience what it offers, even if that audience is niche. We played the game on Xbox Series S and were impressed by the performance and visuals. The game was always pretty, but it looked extra pretty on a 55-inch TV screen. It’s not going to match most triple-A titles, but what it does, it does well. It’s hard to recommend Medieval Dynasty to everyone as this is a title that’s been designed with a certain type of gamer in mind. If you’re the sort of player who spends more time building settlements in Fallout than you do shooting raiders, or someone who spent hours building and furnishing the perfect lodge in Skyrim, then you’ll love Medieval Dynasty. Just don’t expect hours and hours of excitement.
If you were a fan of the original game and have been craving some block-breaking action, then this game was meant for you. And, for folks who haven’t played Shatter or any block-breaker game at all, then Shatter Remastered Deluxe offers up a nice slice of arcade fun.
Cities VR might not offer what Skylines veterans are looking for, but it’s an excellent jumping-on point for newcomers to the franchise that takes a genre full of inherent complexities and makes it work in VR. Sure, its visuals lack pizazz and there’s definitely a lot more to do in the PC or console versions, but as a first step for the franchise on a new platform, there’s a lot to like.
If you go in purely to see the world in motion and walk through its immense cityscapes, you’ll be delighted by what’s on offer. But if you go in expecting a substantial gaming experience with plenty of input and deep engagement, you may end up disappointed. Falling somewhere in the middle, I can appreciate Stray’s overachieving presentation but wonder what could have been with this setting and this attention to detail had it not centered around a cat with limited room for gameplay systems.
For those who merely dabble in arcade classics, then the way to go may be to hand-pick the games you want to play and checkout with a cheaper cart in hand. There are some real highlights in this collection that would be a shame to miss out on for a gamer of any flavor.