Mark Steighner
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COGConnectedLatest Reviews
Atomfall
A few weeks ago I went hands-on with a few, curated hours of Atomfall. I felt then the same as I feel now after playing the full game. The world is beautiful and thoroughly convincing, the characters are interesting but the combat lacks polish and finesse. I probably missed a...
Assassin’s Creed Shadows does not revolutionize the formula that has both served and undermined the franchise for a very long time. It does shake things up a bit by bringing back the twin protagonist mechanic in a new way and making some tentative progress with mission design, stealth, and combat....
Card battle games offer endless replayability, with little chance of things getting stale because the combinations of cards in a particular situation are unpredictable. Knights in Tight Places has solid and very enjoyable core systems and mechanics. The combat is fun and the new art style helps sell the new...
Monster Hunter Wilds builds on Worlds’ combat, crafting, and upgrade systems. The new open zones and more complex monster behaviors are impressive and interesting to explore, and as always, hunts can be challenging, rewarding, exhausting, and fun. The lack of new weapons is disappointing, as are the many technical issues...
Avowed
Thanks to its legacy of the excellent Pillars of Eternity games, Avowed is built on a strong foundation. That comes through in every aspect of the game, from its deep lore to its exceptional world-building, characters, and writing. Smartly avoiding the pitfalls of an empty open world, it gives the...
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is more ambitious, more polished and more narratively complex than the first game. It’s an impressive achievement that moves the unique franchise significantly forward.
By not numbering this latest game, the developers are signaling a rebirth of the series. In many ways that’s true. The action-RPG mechanics and narrative-heavy design bring the franchise in line with other ARPGs. At the same time, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is still a Musou game at heart. The immense...
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 offers upgraded visuals, a bigger hanger full of aircraft types, and more detail all around. For some, the high system requirements and always-on need for a fast internet connection might be a deal breaker. Prior investment in a lot of third-party add-ons for the last edition...
Mirthwood
I kind of wish that Mirthwood’s combat was either way better or entirely optional. Alas, it is neither. Aside from that, though, Mirthwood is an entertaining and engaging mashup of cozy farming and RPG adventuring. It’s easy to spend a lot of relaxing time puttering around, chatting up the townsfolk...
Fans of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R franchise expect uncompromising action and are largely immune to the series’ rough edges. For them, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 delivers, adding a vast open world filled with danger and discovery. The release day patch fixed many big issues, but the game still needs serious additional polish. Some casual...
By almost every metric, Horizon Zero Dawn is a classic action RPG. For anyone who missed it, the Remastered edition is definitely the version to pick up. For those who already own it, the upgrade to Remastered is a reasonable $10 and at least on PS5, PS4 cloud saves work...
I’ve loved and played Planet Coaster for years, and I really wanted the sequel to be the ultimate coaster-building experience. The potential is there. The water features are great, and the new coasters are exciting. Many of the tweaks and changes add new flexibility and sophistication to the building process....
