Polygon's Reviews
Players face a variety of crises, anomalies, and dilemmas throughout the campaign, presented in the form of two- to three-paragraph story cards and an array of options for pushing the story forward. Some of these stories are directly based on episodes of The Next Generation, while others are original to the game. They're all written in a prose style that's more flippant than you might expect from Trek, though in line with the flavor text of Stellaris or a tabletop strategy game. What's impressive about the setup of these story scenarios is how, despite their costs and rewards being the same across campaigns, I found that the material needs of whatever empire I was playing nearly always guided me towards making the kinds of choices that my faction would likely make on the show. Choosing the most humane or diplomatic option was always practical as the Federation, but often not affordable as the Klingons or Cardassians. It feels appropriate to Trek's ethos that the galaxy's more brutal powers make some dubious or cruel choices, not because they're "evil," but because that's where their circumstances lead them. Disrupting that is possible, but it takes a lot more work.
At certain points, I couldn’t help but feel like this game was trying to do a little too much. Dealing with themes of climate change, generational trauma, community, and loss is a lot to pack into one game. It also presented an ambitious number of character perspectives for players to navigate. Still, life today with all its woes also feels like a little too much, and I respect a team that unflinchingly sails into the headwinds of the weighty issues that have come with life in 2023.
Ultimately, Total War: Pharaoh is an attempt to provide an accessible experience that delivers what feels like an abridged version of a world history course. Most of the systems in Pharaoh offer glimpses of greatness, but aren’t deep or refined enough to deliver a memorable grand strategy experience. Creative Assembly’s take on the Bronze Age is not thematic enough to engage a novice, but not accurate or expansive enough to appeal to Total War veterans, leaving us with a Total War title that’s unlikely to stand the test of time.
With such a wide array of tweaks, updates, and iterations, Counter-Strike 2 is a significant move forward for the franchise. The community is alight again, and I’m as excited as I’ve been for Valve’s shooter in more than 10 years. Counter-Strike is back, and if the current trend of improvements continues, it’s only going to get better from here out.
Forza Motorsport is serious business. Put the time in, Turn 10 is saying; do your laps, shave off the seconds, make that one small tweak, grind out that win. I respect its focus, and its refusal to pander to fun-addled Horizon players, instead offering them a clearly articulated invitation to join its more austere church. This is a game about going round in circles, a little bit faster every time, and it’s quite unapologetic about it.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s focus makes it one of the best games in the series
With Mortal Kombat 1, NetherRealm has made an admirable effort to refresh its gameplay mechanics and differentiate its latest entry from the recent trilogy of games. On some fronts, particularly around the story, audiovisual presentation, and accessibility, it’s a huge step forward. But some very visible elements, especially online play, do not represent the same leap. Even after a four-year gap since Mortal Kombat 11, Mortal Kombat 1 feels like it needed a bit more time to cook. But with a commitment to seasonal content and the next six fighters already revealed as part of the game’s first Kombat Pack, it’s clear that Mortal Kombat 1 will grow over time and, hopefully, improve.
Admittedly, there are days where it feels like friendship in this quaint little town is conditional, an odd feeling that everyone wants something from you: 10 pieces of paper for fixing a flimsy wall, two matcha lattes for a thirsty neighbor, a sports drink for an aspiring athlete. At one point, a vendor even jokingly requests 120 blocks of wood to build their store — a joke to be had at your expense. But if you can shelve these uncomfortable thoughts, Mineko’s Night Market can be a place to linger for a few hours. Be it chipping away at your laundry list of mundane but comforting chores or selling some handmade kitty kitsch at the night market, this cozy sim is an invitation to slow down and smell the roses. Or rather, pet the cats, as they flop over in contentment, their purrs resonating from deep within their bellies.
Geometric Interactive has created an impossibility with Cocoon. It’s a joyful, improbable experience that will leave you transformed.
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways greatly improves upon the storytelling and importance of Ada’s side story, serving as a template for future Resident Evil games’ expansions. It’s a condensed and accelerated version of the remake’s story that fleshes out behind-the-scenes events, and its ending enticingly teases the next possible remake in Capcom’s horror franchise. It can feel repetitive in parts, underrealized in others, but it’s a meaty piece of content that’s worth playing if the Resident Evil 4 remake left you hungering for more.
Hopefully, with time and consideration, Payday 3 can usurp its predecessor, but for now, that predecessor looms large over the new game’s launch. Even if the moment-to-moment gameplay has been improved, the soul of Payday is clearly in the systems that surround it, which is where this threequel is sorely lacking.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty almost corrects the past
Lies of P’s contributions to the genre are slow burns. There’s just enough intrigue at the beginning to lure you into the world, and thankfully, it pays off. The game surprised and engulfed me with its grim tale, in which greed and obsession for power turned a city against itself. Despite a clear obligation to pay homage to its pioneers, it carves its own reality — one in which you decide which illusions to believe in.
But this season’s Madden could also be someone’s first, and the reason they become a die-hard fan of the franchise. Some of my most cherished memories are of playing an old copy of Madden NFL 04 with friends, sifting through franchise mode and drafting custom rosters without even playing a game until the crack of dawn. Every football fan has their favorite game, and will tell you that each year’s entry has flaws. Madden NFL 24 has flaws, as well, but it offers more customization than ever, even if it’s just barely more. I can’t wait to dive into Madden NFL 28.
Chants of Sennaar folds every one of its puzzle-solving bricks into a Rubik’s Cube of a concept, and yet it revels most of all in pan-linguistic understanding. The figure taking their break on a roof, or the grunted “no” from a security guard, or the laughter of a child playing hide-and-seek all serve to remind you of your place in a community. Learning a language stands in for observing and appreciating a culture that’s unfamiliar to you. It’s a lofty goal for a game, and it’s one that Chants of Sennaar achieves.
In trying to do everything, Starfield obfuscates its most compelling mysteries.
Sea of Stars aims for, well, the stars, but lands somewhere a bit lower. Its charming world and brilliant combat carry much of the adventure. However, when Sea of Stars wants very much to be a narrative-driven game with a big cast of characters, it’s difficult to overlook the story’s shortcomings.
But the most compelling aspects of Armored Core 6 come from its hard-fought battles, when 621 survives their mission with just a sliver of life left, having out-danced their opponent in the exchange of missiles, bullets, and laser beams. It’s noisy, chaotic, and starkly beautiful, all this clanging metal, ricochets, and explosions. It’s unlike many of the FromSoftware games you may have played over the past decade, to its benefit. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is the Elden Ring developer flexing an old, nearly forgotten muscle, but one that’s still strong as ever.
When all is said and done, Shadows of Change is the most uneven outing in Total War: Warhammer 3’s DLC plans yet. The previous packs were giant leaps. Immortal Empires, Champions of Chaos, and Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs came into this massive fantasy world, and things felt irrevocably changed. I still remember the awe with which I first saw the four fearsome Champions tearing across the northern expanse, or the first time I struggled to hold off the wave of machine-minded dwarfs spilling out of the Dark Lands at the center of the map. Shadows of Change is less an evolution than a maintaining of the status quo. Are all three Lords powerful in their own way? Absolutely. Will I itch to play as them every time I see them on the Lord Select screen? I suspect not. Ironically, Shadows of Change may have done less to evolve Total War: Warhammer 3 than any of its DLCs yet.
Immortals of Aveum should be applauded for trying something unique and exciting. It’s not every day that a studio attempts to aesthetically reinvent the first-person shooter genre with its debut game, and it’s clear the folks at Ascendant Studios tried their damndest to make the “Call of Duty but with magic” concept work. But for all its overwhelming visual splendor and adherence to modern conventions like skill trees and stat-boosting equipment, Immortals of Aveum is just as soulless as the military shooters from which it takes inspiration. It’s a paint-by-numbers buffet of contemporary tropes, and even when regarded against the full scope of creative and moral bankruptcy in the AAA space, it somehow still manages to fade into the scenery.