Parker Green
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Hardcore Gamer Latest Reviews
Atomfall falls flat in its attempts to homage and recreate the magic of other apocalyptic survival games. The storytelling and level design might keep players interested enough to make it through the main story, but the lack of depth in gameplay and role-playing makes it hard to imagine anyone wanting to spend their time playing Atomfall over any other successful title in the genre.
Riding on the heels of their massively-successful co-op adventure It Takes Two, the winner of several awards including the Game Award for Game of the Year, Hazelight Studios and their director Josef Fares have finally released their next project. Another two-player co-op adventure, Split Fiction follows two aspiring writers as they are transported into the many worlds of their own stories, forced to work together as they find a way to escape the simulation they are now trapped in. The concept falls in line with past Hazelight projects: a two-person "Hero's Journey" following two distinct characters that butt heads and learn to work together and understand each other as they venture through a series of strange locations. The game continues to follow the previously-successful format and structure of It Takes Two, providing a familiar gameplay experience that is a near-carbon-copy of its predecessor. Thankfully, Split Fiction manages to recreate the fun and entertainment of their last game as well.
Most games find beauty in the imaginary, whether it be vast alien planets or sprawling cyberpunk skylines. Keep Driving finds beauty in reality and it doesn't get much more real than an early 2000s cross-country road trip. With your favorite CD playing on the stereo and the open road ahead of you, the closest you can get to a real life epic "adventure" is crossing the country in your beat-up car with only your wits and whatever's in your trunk to get you to your destination. This road trip rogue-like not only captures the vibes of a good old-fashioned road trip, but also serves as a beautiful portrait of the human spirit, following our main character as they grapple with coming of age, entering the real world and finding their purpose.
Closing out a season of fantastic launches, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle finally delivers on the promise of Xbox Games Pass, delivering a high-quality and entertaining single-player adventure that fans of the series will absolutely adore. While it's not the most technically innovative game and it could use an upgrade in the combat department, it's still one of the most entertaining games of the year, and a much more faithful continuation of the Indiana Jones franchise than the most recent films in the series.
Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood succeeds at creating a loyal sequel to the previous installments in the franchise, but fails to successfully bring that franchise to the level of quality synonymous with Nintendo's console games. Slow progression, major quality-of-life issues and unbearably-boring lengths of dialogue and gameplay heavily bog down this fun and lighthearted turn-based RPG, with the final product ending up as a 50-50 split of soul-sucking boredom and family-friendly fun.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead takes an interesting concept and fails to reach the mark, fizzling out into mediocrity before even getting started. The goal of remaining quiet is portrayed well with several successful mechanics (opening doors slowly, watching where you step), but becomes boring as the game fails to create engaging challenges while plummeting in quality. Fans of the franchise will get a kick out of this adaptation for the first few hours, but it's hard to imagine many players sticking around until the ending.