Joseph Bradford
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It’s been almost a month since Amazon launched its soft relaunch of its flagship MMO, with New World: Aeternum hitting digital shelves across PC, Xbox Series S|X, and PlayStation 5. Built on the bones of its 2021 MMORPG, this relaunch brings in console players to what was a PC-exclusive for its first three years of operation, injecting new life and much-needed energy into the flagging MMO.
From Metaphor: ReFantazio’s first moments depicting the assassination of a King, I was hooked. In a cutscene that plays even before the game brings you to the main menu, the gritty, dark fantasy world of Euchronia is brought into full light. It’s an unequal, harsh, and dangerous world where the strong - and those privileged enough to be born into the right tribe - survive. This introduction to the story I would spend the next 70 or so hours over course of the last few weeks was brutal - y...
I won’t deny it: I really wasn’t that hyped for Star Wars: Outlaws when it was first announced. I’m a boring Star Wars fan: I want my sci-fi space operas to be filled with Jedi, preferably one I get to play. The idea of playing a gunslinging, stealthy scoundrel has never been on my checklist of “things to do in a galaxy far, far away.”
After last year’s excellent Necrom expansion, I was a bit worried that this year’s Elder Scrolls Online chapter, Gold Road, would be a step backwards. I have always maintained that The Elder Scrolls series is at its best when it’s leaning into the weird, and Necrom certainly does this. Gold Road benefits, then, from the fact that it is a continuation of the story that we experienced helping the Prince of Fates.
Final Fantasy VII REBIRTH has an odd task as the middle entry in an eventual three-part RPG series. REBIRTH, for its part, has to simultaneously bring some resolution to the lingering questions brought on by 2020’s Final Fantasy VII REMAKE, set up the final chapter in the series, while also telling a compelling story in its own right.
Assassin's Creed Mirage is a return to the series' roots in a sense, bringing players to 9th Century Baghdad. But how does it stack up so far compared to the recent series entries?
Throughout my nearly 130 hours of Baldur’s Gate 3, I could not help but be astounded by the sheer flexibility the CRPG showed in allowing me to push things along my own way. From getting into a drinking contest with a bloated, undead carcass to bypassing long encounters thanks to a well-cast invisibility spell, Baldur’s Gate 3 made me feel as though I could do anything.
From its outrageously beautiful visuals to its brilliant story, Final Fantasy XVI is compelling from start to finish. Its action combat is topped only by the incredible Kaiju-esque Eikon battles, and its story is one of the best I’ve played in the series. Final Fantasy XVI kept me entranced from the moment Phoenix and Ifrit battled in its opening stages till the credits rolled almost 65 hours later.
The first time I really sat up and took an interest in a conversation happening in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was when the Candle Man mentioned Eärnur and his struggle against The Witch-king of Angmar. Hearing the fate of Gondor's last King before Aragorn would ascend to the throne nearly a thousand years later was such a welcome treat. It also put into stark contrast how I have started to feel about The Lord of the Rings Gollum the game, and Gollum as a love letter to Tolkien.
What does it mean to simply survive? This is a question that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor asks through almost every interaction. Is surviving enough? How does one cope with loss, trauma, failure? Jedi: Survivor picks this theme up from its excellent predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and expands on it, telling a beautifully emotional story along the way that feels right at home in the Star Wars universe.