Chris Carter
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Writing For
Destructoid 
CGMagazine 
Screen Rant Latest Reviews
Addictive combat isn't the only thing Hades 2 has to offer, though. To be blunt, I was blown away by just how many voice lines there are this time, whether in the hub or on the battlefield proper. The hub in Hades 2 features a farming minigame, numerous vendors, and extensive customization options. It feels like every single run, I was tweaking some value, as opposed to rushing through the original Hades with mostly the same build.
Addictive combat isn't the only thing Hades 2 has to offer, though. To be blunt, I was blown away by just how many voice lines there are this time, whether in the hub or on the battlefield proper. The hub in Hades 2 features a farming minigame, numerous vendors, and extensive customization options. It feels like every single run, I was tweaking some value, as opposed to rushing through the original Hades with mostly the same build.
Hollow Knight: Silksong has a long road ahead of it, and I'm ready to follow it on its entire journey. Whether that includes a swath of free updates just like the original game, or potential DLC, I'll be there. In fact, I'm still there, slowly chipping away at a 100% completion rate. I won't be putting this one down for weeks.
It doesn't help that the story isn't the most enthralling tale spun from the Prince universe. Your job is to save your kingdom by wielding a mysterious respawning force, which fits directly into the roguelike nature of the game. It's cute, but the intro is very brief, and we don't really get to see the prince's friends and family beforehand to truly have a link to this world.
This freedom is even the case for specific level mechanics, including brightly colored goo that can be destroyed to create objects in a different space. You can interact with the game as intended, or spice things up and try to go at it a different way with a power-up/form, or good old-fashioned digging. You can't dig your way out of everything (some locations are built out of impossible-to-smash materials), but you can come close. In my experience, slowdown is infrequent, and did not occur during any crucial gameplay moments (like a key platforming sequence or a boss fight).
I've found that runs can go south very quickly unless every player is on the ball. Death is severely punished in Nightreign because if a teammate doesn't revive you, you'll lose a level and potentially all your currency if you don't run back and grab your stack of souls. Sometimes teammates will run off independently, die, lose levels, and be under-prepped for the Nightlord. This can happen at the start of a run to set the tone, or at the very end. Given how runs can top out at around 45 minutes (boss fights have no time limit), it's an investment.
I was pleasantly surprised by Princess Peach: Showtime, and the aforementioned unpredictability is a huge reason why it will likely remain in my permanent rotation of Mario games going forward. I’d love to see Nintendo give more mascots a showcase like this, with a similar go-for-broke variety format. Keep ’em coming!
Most WarioWare fans will likely want to pull the trigger on this one, but I don’t blame you for being wary. There’s a lot of give and take here, especially with the heavy motion focus.
It’s abundantly clear that this series isn’t over yet, and I hope that Insomniac never really stops working on superhero games. There’s so much of the Spider-Man mythos that’s untapped so far, and you could keep this gravy train running with some crazier ideas once this presumed trilogy is over. As long as Insomniac is on board, I’ll be along for the ride.
I’m just as shocked as you are that Separate Ways ended up being great, but when you really think about it, there was no other realistic outcome. The Resident Evil 4 remake is so good that Capcom really could have rested on its laurels and developed a cheap DLC that would have been fine at worst, but they put the work in.