Digital Chumps
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will likely be one of the most troubled releases in the series' history. A Campaign and Zombies mode rife with Warzone influence make it difficult for the better parts to shine. Thankfully the multiplayer feels the best it has in years.
The Last Faith is a grueling metroidvania, leaning into pinnacle souls-like gameplay elements that reward exploration, precision, and patience. Its combat may be simple and fun, but the challenge of mastering its traversal may be too much to handle. Its gorgeous visuals might not be distinct enough to separate itself from the pack of its predecessors, but it's a great start for those wanting to test the waters of the souls genre.
The Invincible is an apt, narrative-focused piece of science fiction. Avoid entrenched gameplay expectations as this "walking sim" aims to extend a curious, eerie hand, offering players a tense journey of alien discovery meant to be slowly absorbed.
Astral Ascent is the roguelite I've been wishing to play for a hot minute. Its combat is highly variable, incredibly replayable, and quite gorgeous. It's a fantastic example of a roguelite that is easy to pick up, fun to return to, and rewarding despite losing early and often.
Jusant from developer Don’t Nod is a wonderful example of balancing well-crafted gameplay mechanics to perfectly matched puzzles to use them on.
Little Goody Two Shoes from developer AstralShift is a hodgepodge of well-put-together intentions that all work out beautifully. You get this innocent backdrop and this thick horror-filled narrative that drives it all. While it might seem like a simple RPG that typically is found in Square Enix’s past published works, the underbelly is more expansive than that and the multiple endings make you want to revisit the warped experience.
Blasphemous 2 felt incredibly good to play despite its challenging nature and complex combat. It's a great Soulslike 2D action-platformer that doesn't rely on nonsense gimmicks that make the game artificially difficult for the sake of being punishing. Its exploration, art direction, and worldbuilding are unmatched in a sea of modern Metroidvanias released in 2023. If you're down for a good challenge or path of penitence in a Roman Catholic-inspired 2D platformer, look no further. Like it or not, you will pay for your gameplay sins.
Killing spiders is incredibly easy – Kill It With Fire VR makes it fun. Scratch that – it makes it dumb fun. Despite the jump scares and spiders, I kept myself fully entertained because of the sheer number of ridiculous things I could use to kill spiders. If a book from the shelf wasn't enough, maybe a shotgun would do the trick. No dice? Shurikens. No? Fine. Flamethrower. That'll work. Some of its controls lack explanation and its features could be better explained. Once you figure it out, Kill It With Fire VR lends itself for a fun afternoon VR experience or party game if you want to mess around with some friends.
Ebenezer and the Invisible World has its moments of fun and rewarding exploration through completing optional sidequests and finding secrets. It looks great, too. However, its big swings in the form of ghost management and stiff traversal/combat lends to a less than stellar experience. May this experience become better in the future with more time and polish? Absolutely, but it's worth waiting to see what happens.
You know at the end of the day, LOTF (2023) has a lot of great aspects, but man these bugs are numerous, significant, and very damaging to the experience. Hexworks is probably going to make this right — I believe they will. If Cyberpunk 2077 can do it, so can these guys and frankly LOTF does not have as far to go to be made right. LOTF could be a great investment of your money and time, but in complete transparency, it’s going to take them some more time to get there. I’d recommend waiting to bite on this one for a few more months until things are really ironed out and tuned. It’s not like we don’t all have a ton of other things to play anyway — but the state of LOTF right now is just too technically unsound to give it a glowing thumbs up. There’s still a great game undernearth all the mess if you can survive the bugginess, but give it a little more time to ripen for now and I think you’ll be glad you did.
The 7th Guest VR is a homage to a classic game from 1993. Developer Vertigo Games delivers a unique and remade vision of the original title and still includes the ambiance and puzzles that made the first game so memorable. The additional retelling of the narrative and how that narrative is presented in VR format makes this one of the best virtual reality experiences to date.
I wish I didn't have to review Dave the Diver because of how much I worry about letting too much of its best parts slip. It's a fantastic title that's worth "going in blind" simply because of how it continuously surprises players, including me. Its Switch port maintains its greatness, barring some slight visibility issues of the smaller fishies and the loading screens, so it's hard for me to recommend the Switch version if you're deciding on which platform to purchase Dave the Diver. However, one thing is certain: You should not miss out on Dave the Diver this holiday season. It's a pearl in an ocean of other holiday AAA titles vying for your attention.
World of Horror from developer panstasz is a wonderful 80s-inspired horror adventure game that brings a roguelite backbone, a turn-based component with a sprinkle of RPG, and plenty of horror that might make you wonder what the heck inspired the devs to create such unsettling tales. The only place the game falls short is in its overwhelming menu system, which is far simpler than it looks once you go through the tutorial.
Payday 3's catastrophic debut has instilled little faith in me. Despite a strong mechanical core and knowledge of Starbreeze's past support, it's apparent the game needed months more to cook and even then it may lose all but a hardcore audience.
'Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged' is a trip of childhood nostalgia for kids who grew up wanting to slam on the gas and experience speed...but if you're someone who played the first and is looking to see what's up with the newest edition, you might fall flat at the starting line.
On the whole, though, Ghostrunner 2 is a good game. It’s not my preferred type of first person action, but what it does is unique, cool, and rather well done. As mentioned out the outset, if you liked the first game and want to see a modest, but confident, evolution of that, GR2 is for you. It successfully makes the GR experience more robust without taking away from the unique action the first game offered.
If you're wanting to expand your musical tastes or play some more of Invector: Rhythm Galaxy, I recommend that you get at least one of its song packs. The Spinnin' pack is more for EDM folks, whereas Latin Power contains great choices for those interested in reggaeton/Latin pop music. I'm a smidge disappointed that the packs only contain music and not much else, but hey – the tracks themselves are excellent candidates for a rhythm game and will assuredly join your "on repeat" playlist this holiday season.
Jackbox Party Pack 10 is a step in the right direction for the series. What works is mostly new content with Fixy Text, Time Jinx, and Hypnotorious. The inclusion of Tee K.O.’d 2 is a firm reminder of why the first Tee K.O.’d is considered the best game in the Jackbox family, but also shows us that not much has changed with the sequel. As for the Dodo Re Mi game, it needs to get fixed on the backend side for it to be entertaining. The overall package is worth a look.
Haunted House from developer Orbit Studio and publisher Atari is a fantastic upgrade to the original 2600 game. The rogue-lite adventure is packed full of strategy with a properly grindy backbone that will encourage you to come back for more. The game also carries some faults which are small road bumps that you will occasionally feel on your journey. It is certainly worth a go, especially if you’re a fan of the original.
EA FC 24, the revamped FIFA, brings a breath of fresh air with its dynamic menu, "precision pass," and reintroduction of female athletes in Ultimate Team. However, it grapples with lingering connectivity troubles and a lack of innovation. On a positive note, the elimination of position-altering consumables, in Ultimate Team, and the introduction of "playstyles" offer enhanced gameplay depth. All in all, EA FC 24 caters to football enthusiasts, offering a small blend of new features while still wrestling with the same gameplay formula.