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Ara: History Untold doesn’t totally reinvent the grand strategy genre, but the changes it makes help create a fresh, engaging, and fun experience. All 4X games are dense with mechanics, decisions, and weighty outcomes. Ara: History Untold does a good job of navigating the player through its many options and paths to victory. Ara: History Untold beats the upcoming Civilization VII to the finish line, but the two approaches are different enough to sit side by side.
There’s no getting around the feeling that Funko Fusion springs from the same genre gene pool as the Lego video games. Visually, the game is a treat and the levels effectively reference their source material. Funko Fusion isn’t without humor or clever touches, but its combat is excessively repetitious and fused to some awkward, fun-killing mechanics. Underneath those bobbleheads are the bones of a good game that never quite reaches the surface.
If you’ve got every Jackbox Party Pack, then The Jackbox Naughty Pack really has only one new game for you. But if you’ve never played one, this offering has 3 games, one of which is the most perfect party game ever. The humor really connected with my group. And although there were some bugs, and frustration connecting our phones, they were never game breaking. For $20 The Jackbox Naughty Pack is a fantastic party game purchase.
God of War Ragnarök is an amazing achievement and it remains a must-play game for fans of action-RPGs. The port to PC is a model of technical polish, smart changes, and generous content. If you haven’t played God of War Ragnarök, and have a moderately powerful PC, it’s time. If you’ve played it on PS5 and have a good to high-end rig, playing it on PC is not only worth your time, but an even more impressive experience than on the console.
While not everyone agrees that Final Fantasy XVI is the best entry in the series, it was certainly one of the standout games of 2023. With its absorbing narrative, memorable characters, great acting, and engaging real-time action combat, Final Fantasy XVI brings to the PC a thrilling experience that does nothing but improve an already stellar game.
Bloomtown: A Different Story is a fun time all around, the world comes together in a wondrous way with that small town feel. Both sides of its extremes from cozy to unethical monster taming. Along with the relaxing day by day activities on the side. Having one of the best soundtracks I have heard in a while does not hurt either.
EA SPORTS FC 25 introduces a tactical layer that alters how you play on the pitch. Combined with new PlayStyles, and improved HyperMotion, the game is an authentic representation of the sport. Although there are only small tweaks to systems, each thoughtful change improves your time under the floodlights. Rush injects new life into the multiplayer portion with its fast-paced, 5-a-side matches. While Career Mode still requires more attention, the new features are a step in the right direction. Although FC 25 doesn’t completely reinvent the formula, it successfully refines the gameplay experience, delivering a more immersive, strategic, and enjoyable football simulation that fans of the series will appreciate.
To put it in horror terms, Pneumata is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde construct. The game environments, sound and lighting are top-notch, but the gameplay is subpar. Maybe future updates will improve the gameplay, but it feels pretty baked in right now, so I doubt it.
The Plucky Squire is an exceptional experience that I would recommend to most gamers. While the build-up is a bit slow and the story portions break up the gameplay a little too much, the title is still a worthwhile experience.
This game is kind of a mess. There’s a ton of tiny glitches, the writing is all over the place, and some fights feel pretty wonky. But I still had fun. Maybe it’s just because I never played the original release. Or maybe my expectations were never terribly high.
There are two ways of looking at Hollowbody. As an homage to a bygone gaming era, a conceptual love letter to an influential time, it succeeds pretty well. Without the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, Hollowbody is a pretty unsatisfying experience.
Bright colors and low-impact sound design keep Wild Bastards from ever feeling too chaotic. The action stays legible, without too many particle effects crowding your screen. With management, RPG, and unlocking mechanics, there’s a little something for everyone. Wild Bastards is a good hang. Rather than feeling pulled in every direction, you will feel hyper-focused on the next level. I expect to see imitators trying to pull off the same formula before too long. But the real question is, what does the future look like for the Bastards games? If the future looks like this, I’d feel just fine but Wild Bastards is such a leap forward I would hope to see more bold additions to the formula.
All in all, Hookah Haze is a charming exploration of trauma, friendship, and the importance of human connection. It looks great, sounds nice, and does a good job with its theme of time running out. It’s ironic that the game needed more time in order to reach its full potential.
Enotria: The Last Song’s delightful setting, theatre-infused narrative, and mechanical depth help it stand out from the very crowded Soulslike landscape. On the flip side, that depth translates to sometimes poorly explained, unnecessary-feeling complications. Strip all that away, and Enotria: The Last Song is still an enjoyable action RPG that should appeal to almost every fan of the genre.
Frostpunk 2 broadens the scope and deepens the mechanics of the first game, adding even greater complexity to puzzle-like city building that remains addictive and unique in the genre.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster breathes new life into the 2006 classic zombie kill-em-up, though some elements still feel a bit dated.
So who is this DLC for? It’s for the Stellaris veterans. For extreme micro-managers. For those who like to live dangerously, and won’t be too upset if they get wrecked through none of their own doing. Like I said, it’s a wrinkle. And Cosmic Storms might be – for some of us – the wrinkle that pushes our fun, stressful, management sim too far. There’s fun to be had if you’ve perfected the art of conquering the galaxy, but Cosmic Storms as a set of mechanics may push getting into Stellaris from challenging into not worth it territory.
Evotinction pays homage to traditional stealth games while introducing fresh and intriguing ideas. Though the narrative doesn’t quite reach the heights of its inspirations, it offers some clever twists on the formula. The sound design has a few issues, and the combat feels a bit clunky, but overall, it’s an enjoyable adventure that stays true to its roots.
Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics includes some of the best fighters in the genre and is a must-have for enthusiasts. Packed with a range of features such as the ability to alter display filters, online options, training modes, and even a music player, the game is comprehensive. Although I would have liked to see a museum-style mode with interviews and commentary on the game’s creation, the quality-of-life improvements and rich selection of fighters make this a standout collection.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown carries the weight of its heritage but has yet to deliver the whole experience expected of a modern racing title. While it is evident that the developers have a clear vision for the game, the execution leaves much to be desired. It can be fun if you go into it with expectations in check. And I do have high hopes for what is still to come. Though, as is the case with so many games these days, this is not the launch anybody would have been hoping for.