Mitchell Saltzman
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Writing For
IGN
The EscapistLatest Reviews
Fantasy Strike is a shining example of a fighting game that’s incredibly easy to play without sacrificing the mental chess and decision making that makes them so much fun. It’s very rough around the edges, with a roster of twelve characters that are much more interesting mechanically than they are...
Cyber Shadow is a wonderful merging of old-school aesthetic and modern design sensibilities, much like Shovel Knight was back in 2014. Sure, its story is forgettable and some of its checkpoint placements are far enough apart to make me hesitant to apply a “tough but fair” label without caveats, but...
There are some very big ideas inside Them’s Fightin’ Herds deceptively small package. Even incomplete, its story mode is already one of the most innovative I’ve seen in a fighting game in ages, and its sprite-based online lobbies are interesting – though unfortunately lacking the player base to really make...
Aftermath feels like two disparate DLC packs fused together into one: A short but sweet single-player expansion with a scene-stealing Shang Tsung and half of a Kombat Pack worth of characters. Two of those three, Fujin and Sheeva, are excellent, distinctive fighters while RoboCop is just okay due to his...
Bluepoint’s team had the unenviable task of remaking an 11-year-old game with a cult following and making it look – and play – the part of being the very first game developed from the ground up for this current generation of consoles. And that’s exactly what they did. Demon’s Souls...
Ghost of Tsushima is an enormous and densely packed samurai adventure that often left me completely awestruck with both its visual spectacle and excellent combat. By steadily introducing new abilities instead of stat upgrades, its swordplay manages to stay challenging, rewarding, and fun throughout the entire 40 to 50 hours...
EA Sports UFC 4 is a largely iterative sequel that tightens up some looser parts, makes a few smart tweaks here and there, and doesn’t rock the boat all that much. And in that sense, it’s a success. The new submission system is a big improvement over prior years, there...
Nioh 2
Nioh 2 is an impressive evolution of its predecessor, strengthening everything that was already great, while mostly leaving its already existing issues alone. Its stellar combat is elevated by the addition of Soul Cores, Burst Counters, and the ways in which those two main new mechanics affect enemy AI and...
When there are soldiers to kill and helpless scientists to terrorize, Carrion absolutely lives up to the promise of its monstrous premise. It’s unrelenting in its pursuit of delivering that pure power fantasy of being an uncontrollable monstrosity making its escape from a locked-down facility, but in that pursuit, it...
Following in the footsteps of BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Granblue Fantasy: Versus is one of Arc System Works’ most approachable fighting games yet. It smartly balances considerations for more casual fighting game players without ever stepping on the toes of its hardcore audience. The result is a more grounded and...
There’s so much to love about Narita Boy’s style, which makes its comparably simple combat and exploration all the more sad to see. Its 2D sprite work, animations, and soundtrack are among the best I’ve come across this year, and the story told through its unlockable memories is still...
A good amount, actually! Characters like Nam, Launch, Tao, and Eighter appear as characters that you can get sidequests from, and there are also collectible cards that you can find out in the world which unlock a screenshot from the original Dragon Ball anime along with a little bit of...
