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Bring your family and friends into your Sackboy: A Big Adventure playthrough and have a blast. Or play by yourself. It doesn't really matter, as Sumo Digital has once again tapped into the essence of what makes this series so special. It's innocent, it's fun, and it feels unique. We need more games like it, even if they don't push the genre forward...which is by no means a requirement.
My advice? Wait to see how the next-gen upgrade of Destiny 2 shakes out if you're either on the fence about returning, or jumping in for the first time. Come December 8, it should be a drastically different experience, as the lessened load times and sharper visuals (and performance) should help smooth over some of Destiny 2's shortcomings. It still has many.
If you're the type of person who plays racing games for hundreds of hours, Dirt 5 might let you down and I completely understand why. But for everyone else, it's a very accessible and personality-filled game that should keep you busy for a while.
But I also found myself making excuses for Assassin's Creed Valhalla until I couldn't any longer. It mimics the Odyssey formula but takes a step backward in almost every way. It sacrifices story for scale. It's designed to discourage stealth in favor of epic battles. It's true to the Viking experience, but it isn't true to the Assassin's Creed experience. That's why it comes off feeling like the least essential game in the whole series. Impressive in some of its accomplishments, but inessential all the same.
It's been a while since I've played a game with a cast of characters that was so good it elevated the rest of the experience, but that's where I am with Bugsnax. Because they're brilliant. And the concept behind Snaktooth Island is equally brilliant. It's just the actual gameplay here, catching all those 'snax, isn't quite compelling enough to match that brilliance.
If a quirky action game with RPG progression and relaxing agricultural activities seems like your kind of thing, trust your gut on this one. The Nintendo Switch version is solid enough for me to recommend it.
Bright Memory has the potential to be great once Infinite arrives, but for now, it gets a very light recommendation with some provisos. It's not technically impressive even as a Series X launch title, but Bright Memory is worth pursuing either way if you grew up on classic action romps.
For all its themes of rule-breaking anarchy, Watch Dogs: Legion toes the line as a formulaic, though ambitious, open-world adventure. While it boasts one of the most visually exciting and stunningly authentic locales in the genre's history, Watch Dogs: Legion's gameplay is mechanical, over-familiar, and repetitive, struggling to capture the exciting promise of a fist-pumping, system-smashing revolution.
Just like Into the Spider-Verse, I was pleasantly surprised by Miles Morales. I came in fully expecting it to be a side story, but it was much more than that. If this is setting us up for Spider-Man 2 where both Miles and Peter are playable: I'm in.
Astro Bot has replaced Knack as the cute Sony mascot and I'm okay with it. Although Astro's Playroom isn't a killer app, booting up your PS5 and playing it for free is a great way to get accustomed to your shiny new toy from multiple angles.
Fuser does what it says on the side of the box, but there could have been a more compelling foundation to keep you going past the point where it feels like you've done it all. Which, in this case, can be quicker than a lot of other rhythm games.
I've been playing No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle for more than a decade now as they never cease to amaze me with their untethered style, violent action, and satisfying combat. With these HD ports on Switch, you can be damn sure I'll be playing them for the next decade as well.
I've alluded to this several times, but Borderlands 3: Designer's Cut is a strange DLC in that it feels like a hodgepodge of a few planned updates mixed into a pack. Mostly good updates, mind, but stapled together by a mode that I have no desire to play again. Pick up the first season pass before you take a gander at the second.
Like a Dragon isn't my favorite Yakuza, and its fresh turn-based combat eventually grows stale, but I have a lot of love for it. If it's your first game, it'll quickly initiate you into this wild, one-of-a-kind series.
For all its shortcomings, I wouldn't mind seeing WayForward get another crack at this series with a more concerted effort to bring in non-fans, with more depth. Bakugan is a world worth exploring. For now, you may want to stick with the physical game.
Onee Chanbara Origin remains a cathartic, bloodthirsty, and goofy bit of chaos, whose aesthetic charms have been boosted thanks to Tamsoft's excellent audio/visual upgrade. Unfortunately, the passage of time has somewhat dulled Origin's gameplay, which has been far superseded by other franchises. Offering a short campaign, above-average action, and a slim package, Onee Chanbara Origin is for franchise fans only - and not at its $60 asking price.
Kirby Fighters 2 has the right stuff buried underneath its foundation: you just have to dig to get there. With a few tweaks here and there in terms of unlocks and the way content is delivered, it could have been a much stronger package for both solo and party play. As is, you're going to have to put in some work.
Little Hope proves that the Dark Pictures format isn't a fluke and I'm excited for Supermassive to continue honing its craft. On that note, I love how these games tease forthcoming installments with collectible in-game premonitions. Next up, the seemingly Descent-inspired House of Ashes.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe is another re-release that isn't going to blow some people away, but provides another means with which to play a potentially forgotten Wii U classic. For me, it still holds up, and then some.
As I played through the roughly eight-hour campaign this week I couldn't shake the feeling that I was playing the unholy union of Hotline Miami and Mirror's Edge that I didn't know I was missing in my life. Through all of the frustration and cursing at myself for screwing up something that I knew I should have gotten right, I was still having a blast and loving every minute of the game. Though the story is complete for me, I'll most assuredly be returning to this to see how well I can hone my cyberpunk ninja skills.