Latest Reviews
The Surge 2
The Surge 2 manages to recapture a lot of what made the original Souls-style sci-fi adventure fun, even improving on its already-solid combat and gear grind in several meaningful ways, from the added variety of weapons and enemies to the simple but oh-so-welcome ability to build multiple equipment loadouts. It’s...
Video games have made me a god, a superhero, and a savior of planets, but rarely have I felt more powerful than in Untitled Goose Game. Being given control of this feathered menace and armed with a checklist of hilarious, dickish tasks to complete is some of the most fun...
FIFA 20
Volta is a significant addition to FIFA and while it doesn’t all hit the right notes, it’s a largely enjoyable way to play a wealth of content, including a story mode that’s more concise and engaging than The Journey. Elsewhere, improvements have been made to the core FIFA 20 experience,...
My most succinct recommendation for the 2019 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening would be this: a couple of weeks ago, having finished the original, I was actively hoping that this wouldn’t be a shot-for-shot remake. Entire decades after the fact, the dungeons felt a little underthought, the...
GreedFall
I enjoyed myself just about every step of the way through GreedFall’s epic, morally complex tale of exploration and swashbuckling. The Technomancer was disappointing, but I still wanted to see other games try the ambitious things it was attempting with more success - and GreedFall delivers on that promise. There...
Sayonara Wild Hearts plays more like an extended interactive music video than it does a traditional video game, but it’s still a wonderful time. It offers little in terms of challenge (if you aren’t hunting high scores) or substantial player input, but the stirring soundtrack and impressive art and animation...
WRC 8
WRC 8 is a rock-solid rally racer that’s now looming very large in the rearview mirror of current off-road kingpin Dirt Rally 2.0. It’s still not quite as beautiful or broad as the latter but the additions made on top of WRC 7 – particularly the dynamic weather and the...
NHL 20
Depending on the mode you like to play, NHL 20 is a winner or a loser. The on-ice action improves thanks to the reworked shooting system, and the World of Chel arcade modes gain a little more depth. However, the frustrating lack of changes for EASHL and Be A Pro...
Like a mech without a pilot, Daemon X Machina is a beautiful shell with not enough to fill it. It’s a frustrating thing - simultaneously proving that there’s life in this old genre, but failing to inject much of interest beyond the base level. I was thrilled enough by the...
NBA 2K20
NBA 2K continues its tradition of upping already tremendous gameplay, emulating the real-life sport in ways that didn’t seem possible just years ago. The inclusion of the WNBA may be this year’s biggest step forward, especially because it does an excellent job showcasing the many gameplay improvements from last year....
If Borderlands 3 is what happens when a modern looter shooter doesn’t concern itself with the longevity of its item economy and daily quests then you can sign me up for Borderlands 4 right now. Being untethered from persistent servers and able to trade loot at will is a refreshing...
A creepy and unsettling action-platformer, Blasphemous has an eery atmosphere, gorgeous pixel art, and intricate animations that never fail to impress. The combat can be satisfying, but relies too heavily on memorization, which makes backtracking through its non-linear world eventually turn stale. And while the visual variety at least keeps...
