Ben Kuchera
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Writing For
PolygonLatest Reviews
Jedi: Fallen Order is a flawed, sometimes messy game, but it’s a Star Wars experience I didn’t know I wanted. And after finishing it, I definitely want more.
But even the complete death of my clan doesn’t mean I lost. it just means that my evolutionary strategy was unsuccessful. I can always start over in Ancestors, understanding a tiny bit more of what I need to do.
The opening scenes of the sisters training to survive in combat, matched with the vomiting and joy that comes from their first time actually killing a Nazi, provide a hint at an interesting story that the game quickly backs away from. Youngblood is a meat-and-potatoes first-person shooter where all the systems work well, the enemies provide a brutal challenge, and a friend can come along with you through the whole thing. It seems like it was designed as a relatively inexpensive crowd-pleaser of an FPS, and I will admit that I was very entertained.
B.J. is comfortable killing thousands upon thousands of his enemies if they stand between him and a bit of peace. But killing isn’t all that Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus offers. It’s the rare first-person shooter that explores the first time its hero pulled a trigger; it’s the rare first-person shooter that is comfortable connecting with the primal, untamed parts of your brain while celebrating just how fucking good it feels to lay out a Nazi.
If you can judge a game based on the moments that make you put it down for the night, Just Cause 3 is hard to criticize: I only stopped when I needed to sleep, not because I wanted to put the game down. The "did you see that?!" factor seems unlimited here, and it kept me coming back to discover what unexpected domino of explosions I could start next with a single grenade. The formula of the Just Cause series hasn't been expanded, but it has been improved. And it's rare that a game is so comfortable in its own skin.
Within a few hours of playing Rocket League, I had amassed plenty of “holy shit, did you see that?!” moments, both accidental and intentional. It’s easy to see why the game’s popularity has spread like wildfire despite little to no pre-release buzz. It’s easy to pick up, nearly impossible to put down, and tuned to perfection. All the fat, all the bullshit that may have overcomplicated the game’s design has been sliced off, and what’s left is a pure, thrilling competitive experience.