Latest Reviews
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an admirable RPG and an admirable building game which seems in most cases to have gotten the best bits of both of its parent genres. Clunky, overly straightforward combat and unintuitive controls drag it down a little bit, but it still manages to soar above...
SolSeraph
SolSeraph is a faithful homage to ActRaiser, one of the Super Nintendo’s best games, but it doesn’t shine quite as brightly as the classic it pays tribute to. The side-scrolling sections admirably recreate the feeling of playing a 16-bit action game, but the levels themselves are a mixed bag. Some...
At its heart, Stranger Things 3: The Game really feels like it exists for the most die-hard fans of the show; The people who will be elated by the very idea of having the series show up in their game library in addition to their Netflix queue. It's thoughtfully conceived...
Sea of Solitude’s potential is never fully realized. It’s beautiful to look at, but it ends up being a lovely splash in a shallow pond. The story was compelling enough that I wanted to see it through to the end, but the repetitive tasks within it lost their charm in...
F1 2019
Accessible yet unapologetically authentic, F1 2019 is still best-in-class when it comes to the art of bringing a modern motorsport to life. However, besides some bold but mostly short-lived tweaks to the career mode and some new functionality for online racers, there’s a pretty strong sense of déjà vu here....
Despite having a title that deserves a firm slap across the face for the marketing executive who thought it up, Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered is a great get for those who may have missed it the first time around, or anyone who might want to revisit (and re-destroy) the red...
Steel Division 2 continues the series’ tradition of tactically deep, enjoyable, historically-grounded World War II real-time combat. The new Eastern Front divisions bring plenty to the table to reinvigorate the multiplayer and skirmish modes. The combat mechanics themselves haven’t evolved all that much, but they work well enough without trying...
Super Mario Maker 2 is the most accessible game design tool ever created, and that core is just one part of a greater whole. I spent hours building levels, testing them, and starting over again, and I feel like I've only barely scratched the surface of what's possible. The Story...
The Sinking City’s creation of a new Lovecraftian vision paired with compelling stories, exciting environments, and memorable characters make for one of the better Cthulhu lore games I’ve played. Its commitment to tastefully updating the storytelling methods, while preserving the setting and tone of Lovecraft shines through the tedium and...
There is no shortage of good Metroidvanias these days, but Bloodstained does show that Koji Igarashi’s particular brand of “Igavania” still has teeth. Exploring the castle’s many secrets is a delight, and there is a dizzying array of weapons and powers waiting to be bent to your will. Castlevania: Symphony...
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled’s difficulty, memorable track design, and addictive Power Slide mechanic make it a kart racer worth playing, especially competitively (though new players should check out a guide or two first). In single-player it’s richer than what the genre normally provides, but at the expense of a cheap...
Like the John Woo movies that it successfully emulates, My Friend Pedro is all about the action – and that action is excellent. The slow-motion gunplay, fantastical stunts, and score-attack-driven mechanics all work together to create one hell of an adrenaline-filled ride, even if it doesn’t give you much reason...
