Kyle Hilliard
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Writing For
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GameSpot 
IGN Latest Reviews
Scott Pilgrim EX represents a reunion of sorts for developer Tribute Games. Members of the team worked on 2010’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game at Ubisoft and later formed the current studio that developed the well-regarded Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge and Marvel Cosmic Invasion. Tribute has become skilled at creating visually nostalgic beat ‘em ups, and its return to the Scott Pilgrim franchise is no exception. It is, however, light on surprises or mechanical i...
I’ve been following the exploits of Kratos and his terrible, no good, very bad life since 2005. The God of War franchise has maintained an impressive level of action game quality for over 20 years while delivering an engaging, often emotional story. Sons of Sparta doesn’t fill in any important narrative gaps. It does offer a worthwhile look at a point in Kratos’ life before the gods decided to put him through hell (often literally), but the gameplay is frustrating and competing in a gen...
Suda51’s role on Romeo is a Dead Man is producer, but his fingerprints and tone are all over the journey. The story follows space and time-travelling FBI agents who drink cream soda (hold the soda) and battle villains in violent displays with the help of zombies grown in a spaceship garden. The premise is ridiculous and fun, and it looks and feels like a different game every few minutes thanks to all its disparate art directions. I have my annoyances with Romeo is a Dead Man and its insiste...
The Terminator franchise’s overlap with video games is full of mixed results. Despite it being a universe overflowing with video game catnip-like explosions, robot skeletons, and laser guns, there have been plenty of misses and only a few hits. The same could be said of the film franchise, as well, but Terminator 2: Judgment Day is an undeniable classic – a defining action film of its time that is still entertaining more than 30 years later. Terminator 2D: No Fate is exclusively an adapt...
Video games are my favorite medium of artistic expression because they allow you to explore and exist in fully realized worlds. The Metroid franchise persists and is important to longtime game fans because it was an early touch-point for this kind of interactive experience. From its beginning, Metroid excelled at making you feel like you were in a science-fiction world that you were exploring at your own pace. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond maintains the high standard set by previous games in the se...
The Zelda franchise values its narrative, but its importance to defining the series rests behind elements like exploration and puzzle solving. The story of Zelda is, however, important to me, and it is especially personally important when it comes to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Without offering spoilers, the previous Hyrule Warriors, Age of Calamity, did not take Breath of the Wild’s canon seriously. It led to a supremely disappoint...
After Tetris, but before Tetris Effect, there was Lumines. Creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s engrossing puzzle game was a launch title for Sony’s PSP handheld in 2004 and as the story goes, it was created when issues prevented Mizuguchi’s team from acquiring the Tetris license. It worked out, however, as the core mechanic of Lumines is fantastic. For me, Lumines is second only to Alexey Pajitnov’s enduring classic in terms of puzzle games, and Mizuguchi would eventually secure the license f...
When Plants vs. Zombies released in 2009, it was a continuation of what PopCap had proven itself to be so good at with games like Bejeweled and Peggle: mechanically simple games with inviting visuals that appealed to everyone. Plants vs. Zombies was arguably its biggest swing by exploring tower defense, a niche genre typically played by strategy fans. The gamble paid off, however, and Plants vs. Zombies was successfully ported to many platforms and remains the developer’s most popular franc...
Working your way through lists in a video game can be incredibly satisfying. Whether it’s collecting items or completing missions, there is just something enticing about listing out your plans and marking them as complete one by one. Ghost of Yōtei understands this intimately and capitalizes on it by starting with protagonist Atsu literally writing out her hit list of the six men who took everything from her. You even use the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller’s touchpad to write out the...
Despite nearly sharing its name with a joyful Mario squid enemy, developer Bloober Team makes horror games almost exclusively, but its track record is spotty. Its last game, however, the 2024 remake of Silent Hill 2, was met with nearly universal acclaim. The positivity surrounding that game inspired confidence in Cronos: The New Dawn, and while there are some clear lessons the team has taken away from its time in foggy scary town, Bloober’s time-travel horror game is not without its pain p...