Charles Harte
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Game Informer Latest Reviews
"Waddle Doo!" I cheer at the top of my lungs. I just lost an online race in Kirby Air Riders, but I couldn't be happier. All week, I've been trying to unlock Waddle Doo by using a specific item in a specific mode, and have been so unlucky in finding it that this otherwise insignificant race has become a massive achievement. Kirby Air Riders, the latest from beloved game director Masahiro Sakurai, is filled with moments like this. The game overflows with his signature style, making bold creati...
After over 20 years of waiting, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines finally has a sequel. Fans hoping for a deeply interactive narrative will be disappointed, however, as I was let down by my ability to affect the story until the later hours. Still, the game that remains includes decent action, stealth, and an engaging story, which I enjoyed seeing through to the end. Bloodlines 2 doesn't live up to the modern standards set by other open-world role-playing games, but once you get past that...
Eating disorders are an incredibly sensitive topic, so I was wary when I learned about Consume Me, a game that turns a teenage girl's insecurities into minigames and resource management. After completing the story, however, I'm so glad it exists. Consume Me is a touching, hilarious, occasionally visceral experience told from a perspective video games don't touch on as often as they should. Its meta commentary on the dangers of using game systems to measure complicated, real-life issues is poi...
Hades, which left early access back in 2020, is one of the best and most influential roguelikes of all time, so there's perhaps no greater sign of the talent at Supergiant Games that their own follow-up, Hades II, blows it out of the water. The formula is refined into its ultimate form; the combat is more complex (but just as intuitive), and the story is grander and more thrilling. Hades II is the pinnacle of the roguelike genre, a position I previously granted its predecessor, but one that i...
I spent the majority of my time reviewing Baby Steps in various states of anger, ranging from mild annoyance to controller-throwing rage, but when it intends to make me feel this way, it’s hard to deny that Baby Steps is effective. “Ragebait” games like this one are supposed to elicit that response. I appreciate how Baby Steps commits to the bit by making the player the brunt of the joke, along with its surreal story. Still, its frustrating difficulty, paired with occasionally poorly de...
Every completed Lego set is a collaboration between the designers and the builder; it's fun both because a team made a beautiful set and because you're the one who put it together. Lego Voyagers, a co-op puzzle platformer from Light Brick Studio, made me feel the same way. Its adorable aesthetic and wordless storytelling make this brief adventure one worth sharing with family or a friend, but its distant camera angle and visual filters were frustrating obstacles on an otherwise picturesque ro...
There's nothing I value more in a game than focus – a game with a clear vision that knows exactly what it aims to be – and Is This Seat Taken from Poti Poti Studio is a fantastic example of that. If a game is a meal, this game is popcorn: light, easy to eat, and a perfectly portioned snack. Is This Seat Taken takes a beautifully simple premise – sitting people in chairs – and iterates on it in consistently creative and exciting ways. Thanks to its cute aesthetics and clever puzzle des...
FBC: Firebreak launched roughly two months ago to little fanfare and mixed reviews. At the time, I had written a review of my own, singling out the game's slow progression as its main failure, but Remedy released a new update just hours before I posted my review, rendering my verdict obsolete. The patch did improve things enough to smooth over my biggest issues with the game, but didn't do enough to turn a mediocre experience into anything more.
Why did they make a Pac-Man Metroidvania? It's an unavoidable question at the heart of Shadow Labyrinth, but one I ask with genuine curiosity. The game is Bandai Namco's attempt to transform Pac-Man, one of the most iconic video games of all time, into a more modern genre, but it's wrapped up in such a perplexing, peculiar wrapper that by the time I reached the end of the maze, I was just as confused as when I entered. Shadow Labyrinth is uneven, overstuffed, and often frustrating. It has dec...
"No two runs are the same" is an oft-spoken line in reference to roguelikes, and it has perhaps never been more true than with Monster Train 2. With five new Clans, new card types, and a side mode of dimensional challenges, every run is distinct, but combat never becomes less satisfying. Despite some cutscenes that leave much to be desired, Shiny Shoe has crafted one of my favorite roguelikes of the year so far, improving on the previous title in every way.