Andrew Stretch
Writer of news, reviews, previews, features, and more at TechRaptor for over a decade and a member of the CriticDB team. Talk to me about your D&D parties!
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Assassin's Creed Shadows starts off strong with an interesting story and great core gameplay and combat. Unfortunately, Shadows ends up getting in its own way by delivering a compelling story, but not knowing when to trim the fat, a gorgeous overworld that overstays its welcome, and an equipment system that isn't exciting.
While his recent movie exploits have left a lot to be desired for fans of the franchise we're so happy to say that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle doesn't just meet the expectations of a classic Indiana Jones story, but absolutely blows them out of the water.
Super Mario Party Jamboree delivers a great Mario Party experience filled with nostalgia and quality of life improvements. Additional Planner and Koopathlon game modes offer a good reason to play the game solo.
Atlus has leveled up the Persona formula in every way. The world spanning adventure of Metaphor: ReFantazio offers a diverse world to explore, deep and relatable stories to share with your party, an incredible combat system with unlimited possibilities of Archetype powers, and plenty of Quality of Life improvements to make sure you're spending more time playing the game and not wondering what to do next.
Echoes of Wisdom does a good job setting up Zelda with fun and creative powers and a vast and adorable world to save. Echoes add fun creativity to puzzle solving, though do also have a tendency to break the game.
Epic Mickey Rebrushed is a solid hybrid platformer. With floaty jumps for those new to the genre and deep references to the Disney of yesteryear, it's fun for the family, even if a bit shallow.
Frostpunk 2 takes everything that made the first game challenging and scales it up. Bigger cities, more mechanics, and larger expansions will push a player's ability to balance so many resources and the consequences of their own actions. Overcoming these will reward you with an immense sense of pride.
Astro Bot is a must play title for anyone yearning for a classic 90s platformer and collect-a-thon. With vibrant levels and additional challenges this game will be a blast for those of all skill levels. Fans of PlayStation since the PS1 will adore all of the references packed in.
Creatures of Ava is a wonderful adventure that wraps together an interesting story about humankind's view of nature, exploration of a beautiful alien world, and interesting creature taming mechanics. While I'd wish to continue exploring this game a major detriment is how you get locked out of half the game as you play through it.
Animal Well is a game that promised platforming and puzzles and has managed to absolutely nail both in execution. Platforming fans will have an enjoyable time reaching the credits and will be content to set it down, while puzzle gamers will be enamored by the depth that Animal Well has been able to achieve. Solving puzzles like these will give you a level of satisfaction that other games just can't match!