Aidan O'Brien
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The Escapist
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows arrives at a strange time for Ubisoft. The company needs a win after some rough releases that each had their own merit but didn’t quite stick the landing for a variety of reasons. Avatar: Frontier of Pandra, Skull and Bones, XDefiant, and Star Wars Outlaws have all failed to set the world on fire over the last eighteen months.
I do think the overall shallowness is a shame, and a game that looks this interesting was begging for a photo mode. It is also great to see Sony release this title on PC and Nintendo Switch on day one, even if the console war gods still demand that Xbox be sacrificed on the altar of platform partisanship. Ultimately, Lego Horizon Adventures is a solid title for kids, or to play with kids, but it’s hard to escape the idea that those same kids are likely a little bit smarter than the challenges that are on offer here.
I do not think The First Descendant is generating the interest it currently is by luck. There is a fun game here and an interesting system for the grind-obsessed; it just needs to be polished up and made a little fairer. Instead of chipping away at every possible angle of monetization, it might be better to ease up a little, especially around areas that invoke player expression, and let goodwill carry the day instead of a feeling of need. Nexon would be wise to lean into the idea that this title might just be able to have a long life if it can keep the playerbase interested instead of being just another game where the servers are being shut off in a year because they drove fans away through bad monetization practices.
Bethesda has managed to pull off the delicate dance of sticking with what it knows, polishing it all to a high shine, and even mixing up the formula in a successful way. It is an impressive feat of game development that is sure to delight fans and could even win over some naysayers.
Embark on an epic and heartfelt journey as Kratos and Atreus struggle with holding on and letting go.
The Surge 2 makes some knowledgeable choices to help players deal with some of the more painful aspects of the genre while maintaining the vital tension that should seep through every moment of gameplay. It won’t pluck away at your emotional strings the way they expect the genre-leading Dark Souls games to do. But you will be so busy chopping off limbs and finding new parts for your Rig that I suspect you won’t notice.
It feels like Spiders have worn a particular groove for years, where they produced serviceable games that were interesting. But they’re beset by issues. With GreedFall, a lot of those issues have been improved upon, but not removed, and there is still a blatant case of Double-A status to GreedFall. A forgiving gamer will find a lot to enjoy here. People who are feeling starved for RPG action should have a hoot if they are willing to challenge themselves. However, it still doesn’t come clo...
I had such a fun time with it that I am hoping that this is the start of a series, and success will bring the budget that will allow a talented group of developers to truly shine, with no compromises made when it comes to executing their vision. If you have been interested in Remnant, but loath to jump in, I say go for it. Round up some friends and venture out into the world and see what you find, you will be surprised by how fun it all feels.
That said, I do feel the need to point out that this is a game with Triple-A polish for a Double-A price. I do believe it is meant to be more of a compliment to the daring adventures of BJ, a new way to see and explore the world of Wolfenstein, rather than a replacement for the games we are used to. There is certainly fun to be had here, but it’s not the experience I had hoped for. The game, at times, feels a little trapped between trying to stay true to the series and wanting to do somethi...
All in all, I really did have a great time with Anno 1800. It is incredibly easy just to get lost in it for hours, and I know it is a game I will keep coming back to because I simply want to get better at it. Decision making feels natural and rewarding, and in this way, it provides a comfortable but challenging experience that should keep you entertained for quite a while.