James Lara
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I’ve longed for the franchise to go to Japan ever since the first game was released in 2007. It seemed like the perfect setting for the series, and although Assassin’s Creed: Shadows doesn’t quite live up to my lofty expectations, it still delivers a generally good and enjoyable experience. The world is stunning, brimming with feudal Japan’s rich culture that oozes into the atmosphere, and the core gameplay remains as engaging as ever. While it may not break new ground or take the series to the next level, and it certainly has faults, Shadows captures the franchise’s spirit in fresh and exciting ways that I’m sure any diehard fan will come to appreciate.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii may not be moving the series forward in much regard to its gameplay and story, but at the end of the day, it does what it sets out to do. It’s fun and provides fans with a wild, over-the-top adventure full of eccentric characters, absurd humor, and dramatic plot twists. If you wanted to spend more time in Hawaii after Infinite Wealth, Like a Dragon Yakuza in Hawaii has you covered, offering a unique spin on the Yakuza formula while keeping things as entertaining and chaotic as ever
Warhorse Studios has delivered a worthy sequel and set a new benchmark for what medieval RPGs can achieve. It’s clear that they’re not just creating a game—they’re crafting an experience that invites players to lose themselves in a rich, detailed world that never feels like anything less than a living, breathing testament to the past. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 kicks off the year as a top contender for Game of the Year, and regardless of its ultimate victory, its impact on the RPG genre will be felt for years to come.
As much as it seems weird that a studio would release a single-player game based on their multiplayer IP, The Casting of Frank Stone makes that premise work. Will it draw player interest enough that they’ll want to play Dead by Daylight after playing this? Probably not, but taken on its own, The Casting of Frank Stone is a solid horror game, and could very well be Supermassive’s finest work to date.
Ultimately, Star Wars Outlaws’ biggest strength is that it has the Star Wars license, but in terms of gameplay? It feels by-the-numbers for the most part. This is one outlaw that might want to spend some time in the pokey to reflect on their missteps.
With no roadmap and little knowledge of what’s to come for Helldivers 2, it’ll be interesting to see where the game goes in the following months and possibly years. One thing is sure, though, and that’s that Arrowhead Game Studios has crafted brilliant multiplayer, one that puts the players first above all else. It is mindless and addicting fun that calls back to that classic era of multiplayer games, where it wasn’t about how much you could nickel and dime someone but how much fun players could have.
But beyond that, there are a few areas that could use some fine-tuning. Specifically in its RPG mechanics, which can feel like a grind for upgrading vehicles. It also lacks tracks and modes, but that’s something that can be fixed over time. It’s still an issue for launch, though I’m sure in the year to come, Turn 10 will have Forza Motorsport firing on all cylinders to make it the ultimate racing simulator.
The DLC drops tomorrow, and I can’t even tell you how much it will cost, as nothing has been announced outside of it being paid content, but hey, if it’s cheap enough, then I’d say it could be worth the buy. Otherwise, it’d be a hard sell even to fans of the original. As much as I am glad to see DLC happen, as I loved High on Life, I wish this DLC spent longer in the oven, possibly even evolving into a sequel. Hopefully, that’s still in the mix. Otherwise, this is a rather low-on-life note to end.
Despite some of the things I have issues with, I can confidently say that Starfield is an absolute must-play. There’s so much to love about the game, and honestly, it might just be the best space RPG out there of this caliber. It has everything you’d want from a Bethesda game: a deep and prosperous universe filled with endless possibilities and limitless potential. Be who you want to be, go where you want to go; your freedom is in your hands, and what you do with it is entirely up to you in Starfield.
There’s a lot of potential in Atlas Fallen that, sadly, feels heavily bogged down by its forgettable and, at times, repetitive story. If you can look past that, you’ll find Atlas Fallen has much to offer. It’s a great callback to classic hack-and-slash titles, filled with hours of senseless, monster-slaying fun that can be enjoyed with another player online. It’s not without its faults mind you, but it does build a great foundation, one I’d like to see built upon with potential sequels.