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Musicians know the feeling of a piece that is woven with complexity, which takes longer to learn than most, but brings commensurate satisfaction upon mastery; Silksong is the video game equivalent, sitting ready to be played and adored, but only after appropriate levels of devotion and persistence.
Hell is Us feels like a modernized spin on the classic action/adventure game that, as a third-person game, feels obligated to include combat. The game’s investigation elements are much more fleshed out in comparison to the action, which is, at least, passable enough to endure while I enjoy the main treat of running around and solving puzzles. I’ll be deciphering the game’s remaining riddles well after I rolled credits, and I can’t wait to see what revelations await. Hell is Us isn’t perfect, but it’s a bold and respectable debut that largely delivers on its promise, laying a strong foundation for future stories in its fascinating world.
Cronos: The New Dawn has an excellent, thoughtful premise that feels dark and dangerous, but does a poor job of executing on its promising sci-fi ideas. A questionable religion born from trying to save the world in the face of a rampaging disease with clear parallels to the global pandemic we all recently experienced is great fodder for a story, but I was left shrugging my shoulders by the end. Thankfully, the gameplay, though familiar, offered plenty to pull me through the approximately 12-hour experience to see the end.
This is Lizardcube’s finest work to date, and it further excites me for the rest of the dormant-franchise revivals Sega has planned. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance should serve as a blueprint for delivering a retro-facing experience of an absentee franchise while still leveraging modern technology and game design conventions.
With my 100-percent playthrough clocking in at about five hours, Is This Seat Taken is a satisfying snack of a game. Complete with a chill soundtrack and a cute art style, it felt like a breath of fresh air. While I played it on PC, it would feel right at home on the go on its other platforms, Switch and mobile. It's an easy recommendation for anyone even slightly interested in puzzle games.
Metal Gear Solid Delta makes the case for its existence quickly. It smartly adheres to what made the original game great with evident reverence and makes updates only to the most crucial elements.
It moves at the pace of a magical swordsperson speeding across sand dunes on a floating blade at 170 miles per hour (a speedometer unlocks after you beat the game), and it never gives you a reason to look away. I wanted to feel more from the story, perhaps only because every other element of the experience elevated it so high that my expectations were right up there with them.
The best compliment I can give is that it reminds me so much of 2018’s Florence, a game I adore, in how it uses clever interactions to communicate relatable feelings and situations. While I wouldn’t wish the plight of its protagonist on my worst enemy, I would happily recommend this experience as another strong example of video games' strength as a storytelling medium.
On paper, I don't mind the lack of story, competitive modes, or procedurally generated content, but when the gameplay isn't engaging or interesting enough to keep me playing, the lack of other game modes is especially glaring. Recent updates have eliminated the tedious grind for upgrades, but the lack of a strong foundation underneath leaves FBC: Firebreak with too little, too late.
Despite a disappointing launch, Madden NFL 26 isn’t unsalvageable. I would imagine many of these problems will be fixed through post-launch patches, but that doesn’t change the fact that despite how strong its fundamentals appeared to be prior to stepping onto the field, much like a nervous rookie, this entry just wasn’t quite ready for primetime.
It doesn't have enough Pac-Man for fans of that franchise, and its Metroidvania elements are too weak to appeal to fans of the genre, so why did they make a Pac-Man Metroidvania? After spending 40 hours with the game, I still don't know, and that makes it difficult to recommend.
That last point is my biggest takeaway from Wuchang. It’s very competent and enjoyable, but much of it feels like Soulslike junk food; tasty with a few neat ideas, but nothing will stick with me compared to more substantial offerings. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers may not revolutionize the genre, but it’s a good rendition of a favorite song.
The Old Country isn’t bad; it’s also not great. Perhaps most depressing, it’s simply fine, inoffensively so. There’s nothing in here you haven’t seen elsewhere, cast included. And worse yet, probably done better. For all the great prequels out there, The Old Country is proof that going backwards isn’t always an interesting way forward.
I’ll continue to cheer for the game to grow and expand, and I believe there’s some strong potential to this new saga focused on issues of freedom and pre-determinism. But the current thrust of this expansion just isn’t working.
Mostly, I am just happy that there is a good Mario Party available in the Switch 2’s launch window. It’s not a game I see myself booting up on my own, but as a means to get a party going with players of all skill levels, I am glad I have it on the metaphorical shelf.
Once you accomplish the feat of completing every list item in one run, you unlock the next level. I enjoyed repeating the process of interpreting each abstract checklist item across Time Flies' four levels, but since it took me around just 30 runs to complete the entire game, the experience was over just as I started feeling at home with the mechanics and puzzle conventions.
Ragebound is tough to complete and even harder to master, but it’s hardest to put down. It’s demanding with little frustration, engaging with few lulls, and ultimately, a reminder that while Ryu’s modern-day adventures can be great, there’s still Ki to be found in Ninja Gaiden’s original dimensions.
Donkey Kong and Pauline’s adventure is a showpiece for Nintendo’s new console, and it meets the incredibly high standard the developer has been setting for itself since the ‘80s.
Wheel World is an amalgamation of boring races and exploration, poor storytelling, and often clumsy gameplay that never felt great.
Eriksholm, for the most part, avoids the critical error of stealth puzzles that grow beyond complex into frustrating, and turns in a series of challenges that are almost always fun and, in the final handful of hours, brilliant. I just wish the rest of the game matched its later heights.