Toisto's Reviews
Nostalgic to a fault, Battlefield 6 is the bare minimum product that is designed to get better over time. Right now, it's just fine, but nothing more.
At its best, Ninja Gaiden 4 is an exhilarating bloodbath that has finally struck the perfect balance between hardcore and accessible. It's a reminder of how invigorating this franchise once was, and how, in the right hands, it can be once again.
I would warmly recommend Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2. They are two of the best games in the Mario franchise, and some of the best platformers ever made. They've barely aged in the past two decades, and feel just as innovative and joyous as they did on the original Nintendo Wii. For those who've never played them, they'll feel like a revelation, even when compared to newer, fancier titles. For everyone else, it's like coming back home.
Cronos scared me, it made me jumpy, and I had a blast every unnerving minute I spent with it. That's precisely why I play survivor horror titles, and to achieve that means the game has done the job right.
A superb addition to the franchise, Ragebound is both a fantastic throwback and a great entry point to the series for newcomers.
It's the kind of title that I could hand over to anyone from the youngest to the oldest members of the family, and they could understand the mechanics. That kind of deeply mindful gameplay design is not easy, and it's what I love so dearly about Nintendo's titles. When they work, they work universally and without question.
This is a fun and entirely competent action game that will find both old and new fans thanks to its dedication to getting the basics right. It's a little unfocused, a little too in love with its own ideas, and many of its mechanics are so old they could have grandkids. But no other franchise out now delivers zombie thrills on this level, and certainly not with this kind of thought to making a fun experience with a lower barrier of entry.
Ghost of Yotei is a generational masterpiece, encapsulating everything great about the open world adventure genre. This is a beautifully written and directed saga that stands tall alongside its influences without ever sacrificing the joy of gameplay and discovery at the hands of spectacle. It is one of the best games on PlayStation.
Claws of Awaji doesn't introduce anything new to the already terrific Shadows, but it is more Assassin's Creed, and that's just enough to warrant a second look.
Passion and ambition don't always equal quality. Lost Soul Aside has plenty of ideas, but no vision to put them together. Instead, it settles for a muddled selection of borrowed mechanics, tied together by disastrously bad writing and acting.
Expertly designed and highly addictive, Achilles: Survivor is a fantastic addition to the bullet heaven genre.
Mafia: The Old Country is an often chaotic mess of ideas and gameplay elements, each of which were dated well over a decade ago. Yet it's also a wonderfully directed and acted linear action game that, at just a little over ten hours, feels like a refreshing throwback in this era of bloat.
With innovative gameplay and a spectacular world, Donkey Kong Bananza is a modern masterpiece and a true must-own title for the Switch 2.
It's fun, unexpected, and challenging. Everything you'd want from a title like this. Even if it doesn't look and feel exactly like we initially imagined.
Mario Kart World re-imagines the iconic franchise into something familiar and wildly new. The result is a definitive racer for the new generation, one that might be enough to sell the new system on its own.
Death Stranding 2 is the encapsulation of Hideo Kojima's ambition to marry films and games into one seamless experience. For the first time, it's not him emulating the cinema he adores. Instead, it's Kojima directing a vast, emotionally charged epic that others will imitate in years to come. It is a masterpiece of storytelling and game design. A peerless exploration of grief, found family, and all that we leave behind.
If you like thrillers, platformers, horror, or a combination of all three, you owe it to yourself to play Out of Sight. It's one of the best games of the year so far.
There is a better, more nuanced game buried underneath the blind love for the genre. I'm just not certain The Precinct has the interest or skill to find it. As it stands, this is an acceptable if not great GTA clone that stumbles by ignoring the elephant in the room.
With satisfying combat, fun exploration, and some of the finest accessibility options out there, Doom: The Dark Ages is an epic heavy metal odyssey that proves the iconic franchise is still king of the genre.
Days Gone has never looked better. For the first time, I can appreciate Bend Studio's vision of the apocalypse as it should be seen. From animations to intricate details, this is a gorgeous nightmare from beginning to end. But it's still the same crummy gameplay experience, and that's all that matters.