Charles Singletary Jr
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Below has a lot of things going for it artistically and that will help it to stand out from a growing library of rogue-likes, but it does struggle beyond its aesthetics. Some games attempt to tell a story and explain mechanics visually. The world in Below is more ambiguous than it is interesting, sadly. Some things can be discerned from exploration, but the game’s mechanics shouldn’t be coated in that same ambiguity. Below would have been better served with either clarity for the crafting and campfire system or simpler objects to work with so it’d only take a bit of logic to figure out, as opposed to leaning entirely on trial and error.
Beyond the occasional crashes and the visual flicker, the game ran fairly well with so many things happening on screen. I never noticed any significant slowdown, even with the game’s weaponized weather completely upending the area around me. At worst, there’s a slight framerate dip with massive rapid explosions, but nothing that impacted my gameplay experience. Overall, Just Cause 4 is a very entertaining package and its potential won’t be fully tapped for a long time.
With Gwent having fully released in October, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tale’s launch is a timely extension of that experience. The development team isn’t shy about how the two are related, either. For instance, Thronebreaker has a “Multiplayer” option in the main menu that opens up the Gwent client if you have it installed. There are also cards strictly for Gwent unlocked throughout your Thronebreaker adventure.
Four titles into the main series of games, Valkyria Chronicles has an established formula that can carry the series along for much longer. Going forward, though, the writing and design of exposition elements set between the battles must be improved upon before the Valkyria games really reach their true potential. Thankfully, this particular iteration gives you plenty of opportunities to step back onto the battlefield for the best moments the game has to offer.
State of Decay 2 is repetitive, but fun when it works. When it doesn’t, you'd be forgiven for a few rage quits. In a game where any misstep can result in losing an important survivor for good, to have this happen not due to my own mistakes, but a bug or glitch, is frustrating. The RPG progression of survivors mixed in with the community building makes the repetitive structure work and rewards players that wish to continue cultivating new communities. The game comes at half the price of most high-profile releases or as part of the Game Pass library and there's plenty bang for your buck. Hopefully, the developers will continue to iron out the game's fixable issues over time.
The original Pillars of Eternity is a tough act to follow, but Obsidian has knocked it out of the park once again. In addition to a layer of polish that permeates across the entire experience, the new naval aspect, larger world, advanced custom combat AI, and fully voiced dialog make this a must-have sequel. There are hitches here and there in the performance, like a regular stutter every time my Druid shifted into her spirit form, but those hiccups don’t come close to breaking the experience and are certainly things that can be fixed in future patches.
Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom intensifies the action in its JRPG foundation, mirroring some of Level-5’s best work instead of leaning more heavily on the charm of Studio Ghibli. It’s resulted in a game I continue to enjoy a great deal and a desire for Level-5 to distance itself even further from the animation giant to get a peek at what the developer can do, again, when completely uninhibited in any way.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a fantastic and absolutely frustrating experience. I was treated to a memorable lead character whose agency and development was largely wiped away with a twist late in the game and a collection of incredible gameplay mechanics and quests repeatedly stifled by bugs. Despite its downfalls, though, the good parts of the game are so good. I spent 50+ hours in the game’s version of 15th century Bohemia and that’s with me rushing through the latter half of the game, leaving plenty of interesting side-quests to be unfinished. I’d have done a whole lot more if I didn’t want to get the review out in a reasonable amount of time, and I will definitely be returning in the future.
In an effort to adopt the stylings of other popular, open-world racers, Need For Speed: Payback presents some fun ideas with poor execution. It also misses an opportunity to elevate an NFS staple with a tacked-on, linear version of Pursuit that annoys while simultaneously reminding me of the absence of a Burnout game on the market. Payback could have solidified the NFS franchise’s spot in the market with the new heist missions and stood out from open-world racers with cop pursuit but, instead, gave us bright moments set in a bland world with technical shortcomings.
Appearances can be deceiving when it comes to martial arts. With the right knowledge, the unassuming or physically unimposing can dismantle opponents completely. Absolver, on its surface, is a multiplayer brawler with progression elements. At its center, it is a hardcore RPG that will reward players that invest in it heavily and it has more than enough value at its lower price. The game’s most significant issues have been addressed with a patch, thankfully, and any that step into the world of Andal is in for a treat.