Josh Hawkins
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ShackNewsLatest Reviews
If you only have a few hours to play each day, then you might find yourself struggling to push forward and stay motivated to continue. You can always change the difficulty of the game between three different settings—you can even change it at any point, so if things feel too easy or hard, then you can always swap to a different difficulty—but that doesn’t get rid of the grindy feeling that’s deep within the game’s core existence. Thankfully, the rest of the game more than makes up for the negatives.
If you’re excited about playing Cyberpunk 2077 for yourself, then I recommend giving it a few months. Let CDPR sort out some of the bigger issues and then give it a try. I’d love nothing more than to sit here and tell you that it’s a perfect game and that you won’t have any issues playing it. Sadly, that isn’t the case. In its current state, Cyberpunk 2077 has a strong story and world, but those strengths are weighed down by bad design decisions and bugs aplenty.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time was a big surprise when it was announced back in June of this year. Through all of the trials and tribulations that 2020 has seen, seeing a game that has such a deep and rooted history come back with new ideas was both refreshing and inspiring. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is a surprise classic that’s sure to delight old fans of the franchise and even make some new ones along the way.
If you’re a big fan of the original Wasteland games, or just an RPG fan in general, then I highly recommend picking up Wasteland 3 and giving it a try. There really isn’t any excuse not to. The open-ended nature of the world and the choices that you have put you in full control of what happens throughout the story and it really sets a high bar for any future titles looking to offer the same kind of immersion and storytelling.
The Last of Us Part 2 is not for everyone. It is a dark and riveting experiment. A symphony of madness, revenge, and brutality. It is the song of humanity’s greatest darkness, and an absolute delight to partake in. The fine folks at Naughty Dog have outdone themselves this time around. The clever blend of cinematics and gameplay all come together perfectly to create an unforgettable experience that rivals some of the greatest classics in American cinema. All that’s left to do now is see it for yourself.
If your Switch has been sitting in the corner collecting dust since the last big Nintendo release, and you want something to sink your teeth into, I highly recommend picking up Animal Crossing: New Horizons and getting lost in the beautiful – if not sometimes menial – work that Tom Nook has waiting for you.
It’s very clear from playing through the entirety of the campaign that id Software has designed every encounter with a “right way” to play it, and going outside of the lines that have been drawn will cost you – whether it costs you a death, or just some health and armor, is all dependent on how quickly you learn to pull your crayon back inside the lines where it belongs.
Despite the roughness that comes with some of its systems, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is one of the best Dragon Ball Z games we’ve ever seen. CyberConnect 2 has really brought some of the most iconic bits of the Dragon Ball saga to life with its work on the cutscenes, and the game has plenty of offer fans looking to get lost in the world. You just have to be willing to look past some of the more shallow systems and repetitive combat to experience the good.
Phoenix Point expands upon the XCOM formula brilliantly, offering a fantastic campaign that leaves you twisting and turning. Despite a bit of a slog through the middle section of the game, there’s a lot to love here, and Snapshot Games has every right to be proud of the work that they’ve put in to bring this wonderful end-of-the-year delight to life.
I enjoyed every moment of my time with Luigi’s Mansion 3 and while I’d have loved for the game to be a bit longer, I will say that it was nice to finally play a game without any kind of artificial endings. There aren’t any big surprises here, and that’s perfectly okay with me. If you’re looking for a fun, enjoyable, and hilarious adventure to add to your Nintendo Switch’s library, then you can’t go wrong with Luigi’s Mansion 3.