CNET's Reviews
The Outer Worlds 2 is one of my favorite RPGs released this year, and it's so close to greatness. It has practically everything I wanted in a game (enough that I could have considered it even better than Mass Effect), but Obsidian just missed the mark with its tone. Who knows, maybe the company will figure it out with the third game in the series.
Ninja Gaiden 4 will not be up for Game of the Year, or likely even considered one of the best games in the series, but that doesn't matter. This is a game for anyone who just wants to feel like a badass ninja carving up enemies in the blink of an eye, because sometimes that's all you want.
Across the board, Bloodlines 2 is just a disappointment. It should be oozing with style and gothic vibes that make you want to paint your fingernails black and put on some My Chemical Romance. Instead, it's just the same thing over and over again that feels uninspired and unchallenging.
Battlefield 6 gives the series' fans the big battle experiences they've been wanting, though it doesn't offer too many unique advantages in small-team firefight modes over rival military shooters.
Overall, if you're looking for an option for date night, family game night or even during your reality-show watch party chit-chat, Lego Party is a great choice for all that will keep you on your toes but not at each other's throats.
Sucker Punch had the difficult task of improving on a game some might consider perfect. Not only did they complete the task, but made it look effortless with Ghost of Yotei. The game has all the same great elements that made the original so enjoyable, yet improved on practically every aspect with hardly any flaws.
On the "Zelda Games on Switch Must Buy List," I'm putting Echoes right below Tears of the Kingdom right now. But I'd bump it up to first on the list for anyone who's got a younger kid who's ready to dive into a big adventure on a smaller scale.
To say I'm disappointed with Silent Hill f is an understatement, but I'm also not surprised. You could give this game a totally different name, and it would be just a passable survival horror game.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a remarkable 2D action game. For $30, it provides substance and fun, and Lizardcube escalates difficulty just enough to make finishing a level satisfying. If you're rebooting a 2D action franchise to appeal to fans of its older games, Art of Vengeance is a perfect example of how to do it.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater looks fantastic, runs smoothly and offers plenty to do after the credits roll -- all while being a remake of arguably the best entry in the series. Fans are going to love it. If you've never played MGS3 and are curious, this remake is a must. But if that doesn't describe you, it's not an immediate pick-up.
It's hard to put into words how exceptional UFO 50 is. Is it going to be my favorite game of all time or even game of the year? Probably not. But I love how the games tickled my brain by blending the aesthetics of games from my childhood with clever modern twists.
Drag x Drive is a shallow experience, but the skill ceiling has a lot of potential. Its low entry price makes it an easy recommendation, even if you're just interested in trying out the new mouse controls that the Switch 2 offers.
I would have liked to see Mafia: The Old Country give me more to sink my teeth into. This is not about length, which comes in at around 12–15 hours to complete, but more about having some meat on the bone. If it's about giving me a cinematic drama to play before me, then really give it to me instead of a very typical love story up until the last hour or so. My hopes were high for Mafia: The Old Country, and the game didn't satisfy.
With six to eight hours of gameplay at a price tag of $25, I cannot recommend Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. It lacks anything of interest other than this side story to the original Ninja Gaiden game, and even then, it's just introducing different ninjas that are fighting monsters. This game was supposed to be a love letter to the original trilogy, but instead, it's more like a bad photocopy of a love letter made by someone who didn't seem to care that much.
Killing Floor 3 is a case study in contradictions, positively iterating on the best aspects from the series' past while introducing confusing features that would make more sense in another game.
For $20, Mario Party Jamboree's Switch 2 mode doesn't feel like anything essential. Jamboree is a great Mario Party game already, and the improvements -- including being able to Game Share to other local Switches for multi-screen multiplayer -- might be fun to try.
Wuchang is a great effort by Leenzee Games. While the game won't revolutionize the Soulslike genre, it does the next best thing by offering some ideas that they, or maybe another developer, can refine. Maybe it will become a mainstay for the genre in future games. If anything, I believe a Wuchang sequel could be an incredible game if it happens. But right now, the formula just isn't there yet.
I'm happy to say that Donkey Kong Bananza is here to whisk you off to multilevel worlds of satisfyingly smashing madness, to cheer you up and give you an excuse to punch the heck out of things.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach should have been called Death Stranding 2: Quality of Life, because that's what this game is. From top to bottom, Kojima Productions made so many improvements to the original, making a weird delivery-sim game that is quite relaxing. Those improvements may not be enough to attract people who avoided the original, yet the players coming back are going to find a sense of calmness that you could assume Kojima wanted to deliver with his game.
As the studio's debut multiplayer game, it comes with the expected warts and wonders of a first effort. But it's how Remedy was able to blend the game's unique experiences with the unpredictability of online co-op play that makes FBC: Firebreak the weird one-of-a-kind game it is.