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Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered will appeal to hardcore fans, but it won’t grab anyone new.
The new open zones and more complex monster behaviors are impressive and interesting to explore, and as always, hunts can be challenging, rewarding, exhausting, and fun.
PGA Tour 2K25 is slick, seamless, and pretty compelling. You’ve got a bunch of ways to play, and an endless amount of mechanical customization to mess with.
Warriors: Abyss is an addictive roguelite that successfully blends elements from acclaimed titles, carving out its own place in the genre. Combat is a thrill. Taking on hundreds at a time with an array of huge, diverse attacks leads to a compelling system that can quickly get its hooks in you.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 is everything you’d want from a DON’T NOD game: realistic characters, a gripping journey, and a sci-fi-infused adventure. While it doesn’t break new ground in the genre, it delivers a well-rounded, intriguing story. The first part lays the foundation for multiple compelling narrative threads. With its rich character drama and lingering mysteries, Tape 2’s release on April 15th can’t come soon enough.
They’ve absolutely done enough to warrant your swift return to Honolulu. Naval combat is a blast; hand-to-hand encounters are still satisfying in that old-school beat-em-up sort of way, and the setting is a pleasure to explore. If there was ever a game I didn’t know I needed, this is it.
If you like psychological horror, thrillers, mysteries, and the atmosphere of ghost stories, you’ll enjoy Urban Myth Dissolution Center. If you prefer your games to have actual gameplay beyond gathering and assembling information, you probably won’t. But please give this title a shot just for the sheer experience of playing it. It’s an unsettling gem.
Current issues aside, the PC version of Spider-Man 2 is just as thrilling and engrossing as laid out in our PS5 review. The story and characters grab you emotionally. The production values are top-notch across the board. If you are looking to play the ultimate version of Spider-Man 2, this is the version to play.
Thanks to its legacy of the excellent Pillars of Eternity games, Avowed is built on a strong foundation. That comes through in every aspect of the game, from its deep lore to its exceptional world-building, characters, and writing. Smartly avoiding the pitfalls of an empty open world, it gives the players densely interesting zones to explore, weighty choices to make, and engaging companions to rely on. Avowed takes the Pillars of Eternity universe on an assured and thoroughly enjoyable journey from CRPG to the action genre.
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. isn’t a revolutionary overhaul, but it refines an already exceptional fighter with sharper visuals, rollback netcode, and improved combat. While these enhancements make for a smoother and more competitive experience, especially online, some players may be disappointed by the lack of new game modes.
Set in a wonderfully creative, surprisingly sensitive portrayal of a time period as human as any other, The Stone of Madness is a real gem in the mind of those who play it. At some point, I even stopped noticing Alfredo’s stupid hat.
All in all, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II is a great extension of the first Trails Through Daybreak. Just don’t try playing it first and you should have a great time.
Graphical caveats aside, Sniper Elite: Resistance is fun to play not only because of the various game modes but how you can approach missions. The developers also devoted significant effort to ballistics and weapons handling. Veteran players will feel right at home. New players will be delighted with the variety of missions. Both will be delighted with the options of how they can play them.
As a whole, this is an excellent and worthy continuation of one of the most important series in gaming. The care and attention paid by the good people of Firaxis have produced a game with a rock solid foundation. The new era transitions are transformative, and change the game as much as moving from a grid to a hex board. The most important takeaway is that the rules of this Civilization are strong, and probably the best starting point for any installment.
Arken Age delivers an incredibly immersive adventure through its exceptional tactile gameplay. Every aspect of the game is built around this core philosophy, quickly grounding you in its world.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is more ambitious, more polished and more narratively complex than the first game. It’s an impressive achievement that moves the unique franchise significantly forward.
Though the characterization shines, enhanced by solid voice acting, the story struggles to immerse, likely due to its disjointed delivery. Ultimately, the game is brimming with strong ideas, but none are executed well enough to leave a lasting impression.
Cuisineer is a charming game in concept but struggles with execution. The art style and relaxing difficulty make it an enjoyable experience at first, but the repetitive combat and lack of engaging management systems ultimately hold it back. If you’re into low-stakes dungeon crawling with a side of cute restaurant management, you might find some enjoyment here, but be prepared for some frustration with its unpolished mechanics.
In a deluge of Soulslikes and 2D Metroidvanias, 2021’s Tails of Iron stood out, thanks to its beautiful art, excellent combat, and engaging premise. All of that’s true for Whiskers of Winter. The sequel is just as visually distinctive and narratively interesting. The game’s combat can be extremely challenging, but this time there are options for dialing back the difficulty, which makes the game slightly more accessible to less hardcore ARPG fans. Tails of Iron 2: Whispers of Winter doesn’t radically reinvent the first game’s art or approach but definitely improves and deepens it. Anyone feeling fatigued with copycat pixel art Soulslikes should give Whiskers of Winter a try.
Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection is a pretty solid experience. However, it’s not without flaws. The music provides a nice ambiance for a tragic, self-destructive quest into a wicked dungeon. And the voice acting is frankly phenomenal. Tama’s voice actress really brought her A-game to this project. Unfortunately, the visuals are painfully retro.