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Latest Reviews
Hi-Fi Rush
I simply can’t imagine not seeing Chai and 808 again, whether it’s in another game or some kind of animated spinoff. As triple-A gaming starts to feel more homogenized each year, Hi-Fi Rush is a stark reminder of how this industry was built on taking chances and experimenting. It’s a...
There’s a lot to like in the unhurried exploration of Season: A Letter to the Future, but in the end, I respect it more than I enjoy it. Its focus on small human stories and creative expression is admirable, even as they’re drowned out by a lukewarm plot, and the...
The improvements on offer here are substantial, but no remake could succeed to this extent without a rock-solid foundation. When it comes to the overall layout of the Ishimura, the story, art direction, and gameplay design, Motive doesn’t stray far from the 2008 version, and it doesn’t need to. Controls,...
It’s abundantly clear that Forspoken’s story and setting are MacGyvered together by a committee of writers, but running around Athia is so much fun that it’s easy to overlook a lot of its shortcomings. The ambitious combat system and traversal are truly memorable and satisfying, I’m hopeful that a potential...
The game’s beautiful soundtrack is mostly filled with serenading pianos and other soft instruments whenever Atma strolls around the town, adding to its calm atmosphere. The songs can also get more intense, especially when he confronts the local biker gang. There’s always a sense of urgency to advance the story...
Some publications call One Piece Odyssey the best One Piece game ever made. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the best anime game ever made. That’s not saying much in a consistently underwhelming subgenre, though. The long wait to get to the meat of the story and a genuine...
There’s no denying how much fun it is to wade into battle with your Emblems. The Engage mechanic adds a welcome twist to battles, but a dull story and the drudgery of the Somniel drown it in hours of filler. Despite the fun I had in combat, I can’t seem...
Much of this comes from Unbound’s place in a franchise that has often had to reinvent and rethink itself. But more than just the latest reinvention, this feels like a course correction for the franchise, thanks to the thoughtful refinements made by Criterion Games. What makes Unbound stand out is...
Striking Distance emphasizes realistic grit and real-deal peril in The Callisto Protocol, which is an intriguing premise on paper. In practice, this hard-line commitment to realism usually gets in the way of fun. The experience would greatly benefit from quality-of-life updates that speed up many animations, while also tweaking health...
Harvestella is the perfect game to cuddle up on the couch with, preferably in handheld mode on Nintendo Switch or on Steam Deck. While it doesn’t deliver the best JRPG or farming sim, it is the only game that delivers both experiences at the same time, delivering a unique entry...
While ostensibly a murder mystery game, Pentiment is more about listening to stories and deciding how to mold the world around you by prioritizing certain truths over others. Like the town of Tassing, Pentiment is a game with hidden depths that asks the player to scratch below the surface. It...
For all its murky mechanics and slow pace, Tactics Ogre: Reborn still blends satisfying combat with a top-tier story in a way that few games can match. If you’re a fan of the tactical RPG genre and want a serious challenge, there’s simply no reason not to play this game....
