Jonathon Dornbush
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IGN Latest Reviews
There’s nothing damning about spending time in Afterparty’s version of Hell. Night School has crafted an original take on the Biblical location, smartly riffed on moral and societal ideas, and told a personal, intriguing story about Milo and Lola’s afterlives. With sharp writing, this choice-driven adventure manages to retain Night School’s knack for endearing, character-driven stories, but accentuates it with the unique new drinking menu that can further mix up – again, pun intended - how I decided to shape Milo and Lola’s personalities. Tackling some heady ideas with a down-to-earth approach makes Afterparty’s raucous, emotionally moving night in Hell one to remember.
Ring Fit Adventure is a marathon, not a sprint, just like adapting a healthy lifestyle should be. The last couple of weeks haven’t altered my life or made me look like The Rock all of a sudden, but as a way of getting into (or back into, in my case) a pattern of healthy living, it’s been a solid push in the right direction. After about 18 hours and more than half the adventure done, I fully expect to keep playing as the weeks go on. That’s not to see where Ring Fit Adventure’s fairly weak story goes, but rather to keep engaging with the fun and challenging blend of exercise and RPG mechanics it provides.
Control is set in an engrossingly weird paranormal world that I couldn’t help but explore. Jesse’s versatile psychic skills and main weapon make for thrilling ranged combat. And thanks to a strong supporting cast, a well-written script, and plenty of intriguing breadcrumb trails, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my adventure through the shifting rooms of Oldest House. Jesse’s personal story feels like an afterthought next to that, but there’s enough to Control’s world that I remain invested in uncovering every secret, even though the story’s over.
Falcon Age’s charming adventure made me care more for a virtual pet than I ever thought I could, and it shines in VR. I didn’t expect to become as bonded to a virtual animal as I did in Falcon Age. It got to the point where my real-life pet might’ve grown a little jealous with how many toys and how much praise this bird got. Outerloop has established a strong foundational system when it comes to exploring and fighting with your falcon, while presenting an intriguing, if sparse, world that explores some meaningful concepts. Even with some minor technical problems, I really enjoyed visiting this world and wish I could explore more of it (and put more cute outfits on my bird).
Guacamelee 2 is a hilarious, challenging, and rewarding follow-up to Drinkbox’s original. It expands on the first’s ideas in so many great ways, and marries a complex but understandable set of moves to both its combat and platforming. While a few more additional moves would have been nice, this new adventure offsets some of the saminess with wacky, one-off gameplay experiments that are often a blast to experience. The same can be said for the improvements in its storytelling, which come courtesy of a surprising amount of heart, and referential humor that’s is much more frequently earned and explored rather than left at surface level. Drinkbox has taken what could have been simply a rehash and pushed Guacamelee 2 to be better in nearly every facet.
I expected great action from God of War, and it delivers that handily. But I didn’t expect it to be a thrilling journey in which every aspect of it complements the others to form what is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s a game in which Kratos, a previously one-note character, becomes a complex father, warrior, and monster, embattled both on the field and within his own heart about how to treat his son; one in which the world opens up and shifts, offering rewards in both gameplay and knowledge of its lore that I treasured with each accomplishment. The obvious care that went into crafting its world, characters, and gameplay delivers by far the most stirring and memorable game in the series.
I didn’t want the Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy to break what wasn’t broken. Thankfully, Vicarious Visions clearly didn’t want to either, and the studio’s reverence for the original maddening yet rewarding challenges that still remain fun is clearly on display. On one hand, that leads to the frustrating limitations of the original Crash Bandicoot persisting 20 years later. But it also results in the incredible visual and aural overhaul and the gameplay tweaks to earlier entries, like time trials and crate counters, that Naughty Dog added later in the series. Those additions make the overall package so much more cohesive while never forgetting what made, and what still makes, so much of Naughty Dog’s original trilogy a blast to play.
I enjoyed the process of solving every murder in The Sexy Brutale, and by the time the enjoyably twisted ending came along I was really only disappointed to not have more murders to prevent. Every murder The Sexy Brutale includes is uniquely fascinating to investigate, with the central loop of searching for clues and executing a plan to alter time continually engaging. I found Boone’s quest so fascinating, the Brutale’s secrets so alluring, and its world so charming that I rewound the clock just to spend a few more days in Lafcadio’s beautiful nightmare.
As a veteran returning to play through the three games of BioShock: The Collection is a pleasure, but it’s a bit disappointing to watch the updates and behind-the-scenes content to each entry gradually decline. The original BioShock receives the greatest overhaul and flourishes with new textures and lighting that bring it almost up to modern standards, and a Ken Levine retrospective, while BioShock Infinite is essentially the PC version Of course the ideas and gameplay presented and executed in all three are as memorable as they were when first released, and anyone who missed them a decade ago should definitely consider rectifying that. If you intend to play one of these fascinating and fun adventures for the first time or the tenth, the BioShock Collection is the best way to go about it.
Almost every level of Deus Ex Go delivers a confounding but ultimately rewarding puzzle worth solving. Though the world around those puzzles is relatively empty and replay potential is limited, Square Enix Montreal has mixed a healthy stealth and hacking focus with a bit of action to create a clever and, at times, truly testing set of brain teasers.