Brian Shea
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Game Informer Latest Reviews
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.
Life is short, and we should make the most of our time on this planet. That is the thesis of Time Flies, the latest game from Kids developer Playables. You take control of a common housefly, with the objective of completing your bucket list before your shockingly short life is up. This results in a frantic dash to complete your goals in a single run. Though I relished in each moment of discovery and lived for the run where I put together all of my learnings to complete the checklist, the game...
Last year signaled the return of EA’s collegiate football franchise for the first time in over a decade. College Football 25 was not just a big success; it was one of the best sports games of 2024. Like a standout freshman bursting onto the scene, College Football 25 was a pleasant surprise, but College Football 26 aptly demonstrates it wasn’t just beginner’s luck, delivering an equally impressive sophomore effort.
In 2020, Journey to the Savage Planet offered enticing exploration and inventive combat as you scoured an unaccommodating alien planet for resources and catalogued its inhabitants. Five years later, Revenge of the Savage Planet delivers the same basic concept, but thanks to a new third-person perspective, multiple planets, and a more thoughtful world design, it offers players a more consistent and enjoyable experience.
Sports video game series, much like real-world sports franchises, tend to ebb and flow throughout the years. A stretch of a few consecutive good campaigns can be abruptly interrupted by an unexpected downturn plagued by unforced errors or a full-on rebuilding year. As you look at the sports gaming landscape, that has been true of nearly every series, but historically, MLB The Show has remained consistent throughout much of its existence. Though this year is more about staying the course throu...
The 2011 release of Sonic Generations was one of the best games the series had received in years and served as an effective celebration of the Blue Blur’s 20th anniversary. Though the 33rd anniversary is much less of a milestone birthday, Sonic Team carried forward that legacy with a solid remaster of Sonic Generations. However, rather than simply polishing old decorations, Sonic Team gave fans new ways to celebrate with a superb second campaign starring Sonic’s most popular rival, Shadow...
After primarily focusing on the Persona franchise for the last two decades, director Katsura Hashino and his team decided to craft an all-new IP that retains many of the core tenets of their most well-known work. Though Metaphor: ReFantazio’s fantasy backdrop differs vastly from Persona’s real world, the adventure feels familiar not only in gameplay and structure but also in the struggles characters face within their world. The relatable themes combined with a standout cast and the best g...
In the heyday of the tennis-sim video game genre, Top Spin and Virtua Tennis were the best players in the crowded space. However, in the time since the genre’s boom settled, the offerings have fallen off considerably, with both franchises going more than a decade without a new release. TopSpin 2K25 signals the reemergence of the critically acclaimed series, and though it’s been a while since it stepped on the court, it’s evident the franchise hasn’t lost its stroke.
Once a tentpole franchise in the popular run-and-gun subgenre of action games, Contra has experienced a stark downturn in recent decades. Konami's (mostly) side-scrolling shooter franchise has often gone long stretches without a release, and the games that have come out in recent years range from middling to downright bad. With Contra: Operation Galuga, Konami taps renowned retro-style developer WayForward, best known for its work on the Shantae series, to bring the once-renowned series back to its roots. While far from a one-to-one remake, Contra: Operation Galuga effectively captures the spirit of the original game while modernizing just enough to make for an exciting, albeit short, adventure.
Coming off the success of Sonic Mania, the development team behind one of the best games in Sega’s storied series is back with an all-new franchise. Much like how the studio now known as Evening Star’s previous effort was a love letter to a bygone era of platforming, Penny’s Big Breakaway is a fond tribute to the 3D platformers of the late ‘90s. Evening Star clearly knows how to design a fantastic new entry in this well-worn genre, but some important issues drag down an otherwise strong game.