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What makes a Battlefield game special isn’t just chaos on a large scale, it’s when all the moving parts come together to create something that can be enjoyed by shooter fans of all ages and skill levels. It’s when striking visuals and top-notch sound design meet attention to detail. It’s when you and your squad can spend an entire match holding a single objective, then walk away with a sense of satisfaction knowing that you did your part. It’s all the moments and stories that are born from a single match that from a distance looks like nothing more than mayhem. It’s Battlefield 6.
From mini games that are part of a larger experience to fishing as the centerpiece, developers have been sharing their vision of what fishing should be for decades. It’s always intriguing to see how something that has so much downtime translates to games that must keep you engaged and entertained. Few have gotten it mostly right, some have gotten it wrong, and a couple have nailed it. Cast n Chill by Canadian developer Wombat Brawler will now take its place among the elite, but not for reasons you might expect.
There came a time in Atomfall when I felt the game had gotten away from itself. I was sitting just outside the perimeter of a prison, staring at dozens of heavily armed soldiers, giant robots, guard towers, and automatic turrets. The entire compound was surrounded by a fence with an alarm that went off any time I got close. There I sat with my bolt action rifle and 12 rounds, bow, pistol, shiv, and a few Molotov cocktails. There was zero chance that I could win this fight without some elite gamer buffoonery, but I had no idea what other options existed and no more patience to wander aimlessly to figure it out. I did the only logical thing that anyone in my position would do; saved my game every time I made a foot of progress and got to work. It wasn’t until a full hour and more than 25 saves later when I was having a conversation with another character that I found my alternative. It was a snitching opportunity that could have presented itself 15 minutes into my Atomfall run had I not balked at the vague offer. I could have walked straight in the front gate....
Monster Hunter Wilds moves the franchise forward from previous games, yet it tends to step into some of the same traps that both World and Rise did. Those issues, however, are dwarfed by an addictive gameplay loop that will keep players engaged for hundreds of hours. When you factor in the game-changing Seikret, and the ease of which players can launch into hunts, Monster Hunter Wilds is a must-play for series fans.
This review has certainly gone off the rails but, in my defense, it’s my eighth one and I’m shocked every year that I find a new way to say the same thing. Yes, everything that EA Vancouver added is cool or nice or awesome but, no, it’s not enough. I know it’s not the developer’s fault, and I genuinely feel bad for them. They seem like hockey nuts, like the rest of us, but it’s not my job to pat anyone on the back for delivering patch-sized video games at full price just because their boss sucks. It’s actually my job to call that out, but hopefully one of these years I get to gush over a fully updated, feature rich game that doesn’t pick one mode to care about each season.
Outlaws is at its best when it’s telling you a story. I was immediately invested in Kay and Nix and loved going on this journey with them. I didn’t skip a single cinematic or hurry through dialogue and, as a casual Star Wars fan, I would say that’s a big win for the folks at Massive Entertainment. There were certainly some places where the gameplay felt repetitive, but climbing, grappling, and taking out my foes in chaotic battles with my Blaster always felt satisfying. Working with Nix to solve puzzles or stealth through areas was a treat. Now that I’ve beaten the story, I’m not sure I’ll spend much time in the open world, but Outlaws did such a good job that I’m thinking of digging into some of the movies and television shows I’ve been passing on. That’s about as big a compliment as I can give the story.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a worthwhile experience for invested fans of the series. It’s going to give you that stealth and stab gameplay that you’ve enjoyed before, even if it doesn’t build upon it outside of the tools. It’s bookended by exceptional first and third acts, but Ubisoft has again failed to create a detailed and meaningful world that you want to explore beyond its waypoints.
Horizon Forbidden West is an ambitious game that builds off the strengths of its predecessor in almost every way. The world is a more interesting place to spend time, the combat has evolved, and the visuals have taken leaps that exceeded my expectations even with the generation jump in hardware. It’s a shame that outside of the core cast there is a depth lacking for most of the characters, and leaving color blind options out of a game that uses color in its mechanics is a miss on otherwise great accessibility options. What I can’t let go of, though, is just how good Horizon Forbidden West is everywhere else. I need to find all the weapons. I must unlock all the skills. I’ve got to know what’s in those Relic Ruins or solve the puzzle and defeat the boss in the Cauldron. Horizon Forbidden West is absurdly good in so many ways that it borders on must-play for open world aficionados.
The difference between a good or bad NHL game is often tiny. For the most part, moving the experience forward in any meaningful way is enough to get me to buy in. Maybe that’s a massive improvement to gameplay and AI, or a new mode that becomes a staple of the series. These wins are often enough to make the longstanding bugs or omissions tolerable. Problems arise when what’s on offer as the year’s shiny distraction falls flat. In NHL 22, improved visuals are there but are buggy at any given moment. Superstar X-Factor Abilities are cool but alone are not enough. NHL 22 doesn’t feel like the next leap forward for video game hockey. It barely feels like meaningful DLC.
The Quiet Apocalypse isn’t without problems, but Hinterland's commitment to adding new content, while refining the experience over the years, has positioned The Long Dark at the top of the survival genre’s pecking order. The Long Dark is a must-play for anyone who is even remotely intrigued by it.