Brian Shea
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Game Informer Latest Reviews
Since its inception, the Pokémon franchise has been about checking boxes; after all, the famous tagline is “Gotta Catch ‘em All!” Pokémon Pokopia evolves the checklist concept beyond collecting gym badges and catching Pokémon, stripping conflict of any kind from the experience and instead giving you nearly endless tasks to improve your various towns and the overall happiness of the Pokémon therein. And it does so with a loop that mixes elements from Dragon Quest Builders, Animal C...
In the two-and-a-half decades since its debut, the Mario Tennis franchise has introduced countless gamers to the sport of tennis. In that same stretch, the series has enjoyed its fair share of highs and lows. Mario Tennis Fever continues the momentum of 2018’s Aces by introducing a fun, balanced gimmick and a feature-rich suite of modes in which to compete.
In the '90s and '00s, vehicular combat games were commonplace. Franchises like Twisted Metal, Burnout, and Carmageddon were instrumental in establishing the brand of high-octane, aggressive driving that is much rarer in 2026. Though Twisted Metal and Burnout have been dormant for years, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift introduces a roguelite right turn to the genre, proving that while the vehicular combat genre often feels like a relic from a bygone era, it still has some gas left in the tank.
As video game franchises go, few have a more fascinating history than Mortal Kombat. Emerging from a ragtag team at an arcade-first developer, the blood-soaked fighter quickly became a phenomenon that rivaled one of its chief inspirations, Street Fighter, before being embroiled in controversy that reached the U.S. Senate. Digital Eclipse, a studio that has emerged as the preeminent compilation team, delivers an incredible collection of early-era Mortal Kombat titles along with a documentary t...
Longtime Pokémon fans more or less know what to expect with the series’ mainline RPGs, which is why the proposition of the Legends spin-off franchise is so enticing. With 2022’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus, players were treated to a sprawling adventure in the wide-open Hisui region, tasked with filling in the area’s first Pokédex. Outside of doubling down on exploration, Pokémon Legends: Z-A has little to do with its predecessor, instead establishing the Legends spin-offs as places for ...
When I was a child, I rushed to get my chores done so I could fire up my favorite video games. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would devote so much time to a game about doing chores. PowerWash Simulator 2 expands on the gameplay and map design of FuturLab’s surprising 2022 hit, creating an experience that is at once arduous, time-consuming, and repetitive. But as I watched the dirt and grime melt away from the various surfaces over tens of hours, I had a constant feeling of satis...
The Sonic and Mario franchises have been intertwined since the dawn of Sega’s flagship series, so it’s only fitting that Sonic’s kart-racing return occurs the same year as Mario’s. However, much like how Sonic brought a different flavor to the platforming genre in the ‘90s, the Blue Blur approaches the kart-racing genre from a different angle than Nintendo’s mascot. The result is a much more streamlined, yet still ambitious product that sits alongside Mario Kart World as the best ...
Following Borderlands 3, I had a hard question to ask: Has one of my favorite series passed me by? That 2019 release made me realize that the last Borderlands game I truly enjoyed – outside of Telltale’s excellent Tales from the Borderlands – was Borderlands 2 in 2012. I initially approached Borderlands 4 with skepticism for that reason. However, Gearbox evidently agreed with my criticisms, as Borderlands 4 introduces and recalibrates myriad elements to deliver what could very well be m...
A long-dormant franchise often faces the challenge of either appealing to existing fans or trying to capture a new audience. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance masterfully walks the revival tightrope of creating an experience that appeals to fans old and new, delivering a precision-driven action/platformer that deserves to be mentioned among the best of the last several years.
During each NFL offseason, front offices work to add the pieces necessary to field a better team than the year before. Sometimes, despite making all the right moves on paper, things just don’t come together the way they had hoped. Similarly, the Madden NFL franchise looked to have a terrific offseason, adding several exciting features to its long-running formula, but sadly, despite various important improvements, Madden NFL 26 falls well short of being championship caliber.