Latest Reviews
Bionic Bay
Despite an overly lean narrative and an overlong middle section, Bionic Bay’s particular blend of fluid platforming, physics-focused puzzles, and gorgeously surreal aesthetic results in a highly engaging experience. More than that, it’s tight pacing and interest in surprising the player keeps things feeling fresh throughout. If you’re on the...
And there is, to be fair, a degree of high-minded thinking involved in the game. But that’s not pretentiousness. That’s pretending to have a depth you actually lack. The Talos Principle: Reawakened is a great chance for people like me who skipped out on the original to get a look...
Battlefield 1
Battlefield Waltz could have for sure been much more than it was. It suffers from bad storytelling and bad pacing, but the characters had so much potential and were so fun that this didn’t have to be the case. On the bright side, you probably won’t notice or care all...
Look Outside
Look Outside is a unique and dense experience. It leverages its relatively short runtime by being fit to bursting with interesting mysteries, meaningful gameplay decisions, characters both eerie and endearing, and a horror aesthetic that knows when to depict its grotesqueness outright and when to leave things up to the...
And that’s really the ultimate takeaway. It has a load of really fun parts, a fun gameplay loop, an engaging story, and an earnest effort to split the difference between the various elements of the franchise history. It’s a good game! Take these reservations not as a subversion of that...
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii proves to fans and newcomers alike that you can step out of your comfort zone in more ways than one as a player or developer. Not only does a fan favorite finally get the spotlight he righteously deserves, he shines in a way...
Carmen Sandiego
Taken as a whole game, Carmen Sandiego is a perfectly cromulent romp despite its relative simplicity. Slipping into familiar trappings isn’t always a bad thing, especially when you’re aiming to make a return like this. While not quite a triumphant return to the gaming space, it’s definitely a welcome one....
Whether you’re a retro-head with a weird interest in the PC-98 like myself, a fan of old-school graphic adventures, a visual novel fan poking their head into something similar, or just into 80s mecha, Stories from Sol is a tale that is worth your time.
But I also think that is unfair of me. Trails Through Daybreak II is a good game. It is a good game in the way that we actually don’t get a lot of, a solid installment in what seems from the outside to be a very solid series. Oh, sure,...
Wow. Just… Wow. That was my feeling when I hit the credits roll after just over 150 hours. I really lost myself in the game world (which is actually relatively accurate to the real world with its locations and layout, as was the first game) at times. More so than...
The Stone of Madness isn’t perfect by any means, but its successes readily outweigh its missteps. Its emphasis on real-time stealth and simultaneous control over three distinct characters at a time work to create some very hectic gameplay situations, naturally encouraging the player to learn and improve. Infusing this rewarding...
At the end of the day, I have to follow my heart. I absolutely had a blast, even as a fan of the genre who wishes that things had been done differently in a number of areas. Whether you’re a long time fan or new to the series, I have...