Brett Makedonski
This author account hasn't been claimed yet. To claim this account, please contact the outlet owner to request access.
Writing For
DestructoidLatest Reviews
But I also found myself making excuses for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla until I couldn’t any longer. It mimics the Odyssey formula but takes a step backward in almost every way. It sacrifices story for scale. It’s designed to discourage stealth in favor of epic battles. It’s true to the Viking experience, but it isn’t true to the Assassin’s Creed experience. That’s why it comes off feeling like the least essential game in the whole series. Impressive in some of its accomplishments, but inessential all the same.
All this time, the first Mafia was the best of the trio. It just took a phenomenal effort from Hangar 13 to do it justice with Mafia: Definitive Edition. This feels like the rare necessary remake that elevates and builds upon the original. It’s truly an offer you can’t refuse.
All my quibbles are on the periphery of Gears Tactics, though. The core — getting onto the battlefield and agonizing over every move — is excellent. There’s a smart experience here, one that feels both authentically Gears and tactics. That’s the best possible outcome. Gears Tactics is a great Gears game and a great tactics game. This 90% doesn’t miss.
Still, Superliminal‘s satisfying every time a puzzle clicks. It sounds obvious, but that’s the most redeeming trait a puzzle game can have. Sometimes it’ll take you by surprise, sometimes you’ll train your eye to see it coming. But analyzing a situation, exploring possibilities, and approaching it from unique angles never fails to be rewarding. Is that enough to offset the realization that you’re starting from obtuse and working backward toward logical? It all depends on your perspective.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair neatly captures the essence of Yooka-Laylee and reimagines it as a new type of game. It’s a distillation and a simplification, but it’s effective. Then, as its grand finale — a necessary conclusion that looms over the whole game — it turns uncharacteristically punitive. It’s rewarding, that much is undeniable. But it also leaves you feeling like all those hours spent beekeeping never really prepared you for the final challenge. Those bees just afford more leeway over the course of a very long struggle. It’s kind of a buzzkill.
The Coalition has achieved a lot with Gears 5. The writing and action often rivals the best moments in the series, even surpassing its predecessors at times. The overall package is the most robust Gears has ever seen. But, the big structural alteration feels like an unequivocal misstep. Gears 5 is a rousing success, but it could’ve done without the needless change.
Control is a weird, enigmatic, perplexing masterpiece. It’s also Remedy’s most well-rounded work yet. Like Jesse levitating far off the ground, Control signifies Remedy is capable of ascending to great new heights.
There’s no sugarcoating it: Fallout 76 comes up short at nearly everything it aims to be. It’s not a good role-playing game and it’s not a good multiplayer experience. It never really feeds into the gradual RPG power fantasy but it’s also inadequate as a survival simulator. In wanting to be so much, Fallout 76 doesn’t amount to much at all.
Alexios is one of the most memorable protagonists in all of Assassin’s Creed, even if I never once actually thought of him as an assassin. In a lesser game, he’d probably be forgettable. But Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is superb in nearly every aspect. It’s the most impressive Assassin’s Creed, even though sometimes it feels like it’s Assassin’s Creed in name only. It’s as broad as Atlas’ shoulders and as strong as Hercules. This time, Ubisoft hit a real Homer.
Forza Horizon 4 is another fantastically fun Forza Horizon game even if it’s tough to pinpoint Playground’s grandest ambition. If it was to reinvent the series with seasons, that falls a bit flat and underwhelming. But, if it was to simply remove the constraints and make everything as open and free as possible, then Playground hit its target in the most impressive way. Regardless, Forza Horizon is still the king of open-world arcade racers, and it really doesn’t look like that’ll change anytime soon.