Bobby Pashalidis
Game industry critic and reviewer
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Rhythm Heaven Groove has a lot going on, with over 80 minigames, tons of bizarre moments, and a whole lot of heart. The series's wackiness and quirkiness are so hard not to find charming.
Star Fox feels like it’s on the cusp of relevance with this masterfully done remake of an iconic classic.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a remarkable achievement for Square Enix, and while the Switch 2 port includes concessions to work on the hardware, the drawbacks don’t diminish what is otherwise a great experience.
IO Interactive's 007 First Light is easily the best Bond game we've seen. Rare's GoldenEye 007 was momentous when it launched, and it's stuck around the zeitgeist because it was a portal into Ian Fleming's world of shaken martinis and spy thrills we'd never seen before. What 007 First Light feels like is a playable, limited spy series that transports the player into a gripping and memorable espionage story.
Directive 8020 is the start of a new season for the Dark Pictures anthology, and it’s's off to a good start. The massive leap from Earth to space effectively gives us a way to experience terror and mostly works. Still, it's often undone by dreadful stealth sections that quickly scuttle the tension due to overreliance on staying quiet. However, for the things I don't enjoy, Supermassive Games delivers a great game with a vital sense of tension.
phelion's held back by frustrating controls and gameplay that often works against you. Even with an emotional score and a decent narrative, it isn't enough to save what could have otherwise been a memorable experience. Unfortunately, Dontnod's latest falls short on many accounts, but it's propped up by some great performances and music.
Invincible VS has a ton of potential to make a splash at tournaments. It's brutal, frenetic, and fun, and it's clear that Quarter Up made this with fighting-game love for the source material. It is incredibly easy to pick up and play.
Housemarque’s Saros feels like a proper evolution of Returnal’s mechanics. It’s bold, it’s exciting, thrilling even. Each time Arjun heads out in search of answers yields clues to the truth behind Carcosa and those burdened by its existence.
Coming in fast and furious, Milestone's Screamer is an excellent arcade racer. It's a successful reimagining of a beloved '90s series, and it looks, plays, and feels incredible. It is a competent racer, providing enough challenge to test all skill levels around every bend. As far as arcade racers go, Screamer is technical, stylish, and immensely capable of offering thrills at breakneck speeds.
One of the most fascinating things about Resident Evil, as a franchise, is how often these games take on different interpretations as the series progresses. We don’t think of Resident Evil 5 the same way as when it came out, or Resident Evil 6, or Village. This is one of the few gaming franchises that meaningfully uses the past, both narratively and from a design standpoint. These are games integrally shaped by their place in time, the world, and the larger series. And similarly, I think Requiem is a game that we’ll be talking about for years to come, reevaluating more than once.