KC Nwosu
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The EscapistLatest Reviews
Ultimately, Redout 2 takes the anti-grav racing genre very seriously. If it weren’t purely fantastical I’d be inclined to call it a simulation racer, but I came to appreciate its demand for mastery of its mechanics. It’s possible that fans of similar games in the genre might bounce off of this one, but I truly believe with enough time it will blow past its competition. The game is out now for $29.99 on Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S, with a Nintendo Switch release in July.
I’ve come away from Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl impressed by what it has to offer, yet weary of all the things it lacks, namely a reverence for the license it’s using to push its hardcore fighting tech. As an initial attempt though, it’s promising, and Ludosity has already stated it plans to bug-fix and update the game as much as possible, hinting at additional fan-favorite characters joining the roster later. More than anything, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is ripe with potential, and I’d encourage anyone curious about it to give it a shot in the hopes it can eventually be realized. The game is out now for $49.99 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
Alan Wake Remastered hits the mark as a remaster. It’s a tangible improvement in visual fidelity and performance that interested first-time players should be directed to, but I wouldn’t recommend veterans dive back in, as they’ve likely seen all it has to offer. Alan Wake Remastered is out today for $29.99 on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, and the Epic Games Store.
The game is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The attention to detail is astounding: cars with movable pieces bounce around realistically, tint on windows shows scratches at the end of a race, and the light reflecting off of cars and tracks might be the best I’ve seen yet this generation. There’s a sense of love and appreciation for the Hot Wheels brand on display here that should be looked at for any licensed product going forward. If anything, I would have loved a museum of sorts with blurbs or historical information about each car for me to learn more about them.
Aragami 2 is a third-person stealth action game from Lince Works where you take control of the titular Aragami warrior, a soulless ninja summoned from the shadows, to fulfill your master’s contract. As an Aragami who has recently and mysteriously been freed from their obligations, you’re found by a hidden community of other lost Aragami and quickly tasked with helping to discover your shared origins in the hopes of restoring your humanity.
The similarities in style and mechanics to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are readily apparent. MiHoYo used that incredible game as a base upon which to build its own, and it absolutely works. It’s created both a fantastic single-player RPG and live-service co-op game that just happens to have the most unobtrusive gacha mechanics in recent memory, but after 25 hours of playtime I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. Genshin Impact currently rivals one of the best games I’ve ever played, and they’re only just getting started.
You can make the argument that, if Skyrim can relaunch about a dozen times since 2012, then Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning — which is also a very good game — deserves to get away with it too. But when they don’t even bother to update the title in the opening shot of the game, I wonder if there’s any reason to dive into this if you’ve already had the experience. There is a planned DLC release called Fatesworn that will add an additional five or more hours to the over-100-hour experience, but such a small addition doesn’t excite.
Ultimately, Battletoads is a good time. It somehow emerges from its mish-mash of basic arcade genres as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Despite the glaring omission of online play and a few rough edges, new and returning fans should be pleased.
Carrion gave me a fantastic power fantasy that I didn’t know I wanted. It makes great use of the Metroidvania archetype and fits its reverse horror movie plot into the most enjoyable six hours I’ve ever had the guilty pleasure of experiencing. The game is available now for $19.99 on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC.
Gears Tactics is one of the best translations of one genre to another I’ve ever played. The benefit of having many other games to use as inspiration and the backing of first-party production value give it a degree of polish you don’t see often in a turn-based tactics game. It’s a lengthy adventure containing 22 chapters spread out over 3 Acts. And while it doesn’t innovate or push the gameplay forward, it does take this new surrounding and make it feel like home.