The Escapist
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Latest Reviews
I’m left to wonder if the VR perspective Chronos was originally designed for somehow changes the feel of combat. The toolset is strong but just doesn’t satisfy when put up against any level of challenge. The premise of the world and its history make a great impression, but the later...
Immortals Fenyx Rising
Still, Immortals Fenyx Rising is one of the best games of the year. It doesn’t matter if its inspiration is so blatant when the team uses that as only a springboard. This isn’t a repaint of Breath of the Wild, but rather an evolution of it, and more often than...
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is ultimately a charming and fun adventure. The farming mechanics could have been explained more explicitly, but once everything clicks, you come to appreciate how well both the farming simulation and sidescrolling action adventure aspects complement each other. Sakuna starts off as a spoiled goddess...
Assassin's Creed
Since nearly all the various trinkets and relics and map markers have meaningful purpose, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a rare open-world game where virtually every activity feels worth doing. Like Eivor scaling the snow-covered mountains of Norway, Valhalla achieves new heights for the RPG era of Assassin’s Creed, and I’ve...
Genshin Impact
The similarities in style and mechanics to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are readily apparent. MiHoYo used that incredible game as a base upon which to build its own, and it absolutely works. It’s created both a fantastic single-player RPG and live-service co-op game that just happens...
Art of Rally
Art of Rally doesn’t make it self as accessible as its art style might initially suggest; its silly opening moments and free-roam mode full of floating doodads hide a hardcore rally racing sim beneath. If you don’t have a love for the feel of driving it may not be for...
In any case, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is absolutely wonderful all around. Each of the 13 protagonists gets relatively equal screen time, and they’re all brought to life by both the great English and Japanese voice tracks. You’re sure to have your favorites, but it’s incredibly satisfying to see how...
Bounty Battle
Bounty Battle is an indie fighting game by Dark Screen Games. The main draw is a roster of 25 characters from different indie games, all of whom are unlocked from the start. While each character has the same button combinations for moves, their move sets vary and are based on...
You can make the argument that, if Skyrim can relaunch about a dozen times since 2012, then Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning — which is also a very good game — deserves to get away with it too. But when they don’t even bother to update the title in the opening...
Battletoads
Ultimately, Battletoads is a good time. It somehow emerges from its mish-mash of basic arcade genres as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Despite the glaring omission of online play and a few rough edges, new and returning fans should be pleased.
Helheim Hassle
Helheim Hassle is a phenomenal adventure game and a creative puzzle platformer. The 10-hour main story is worth an additional playthrough just to see what the writers came up with when you try to skip dialog. Fans of the genre should jump on this, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting more....
Carrion
Carrion gave me a fantastic power fantasy that I didn’t know I wanted. It makes great use of the Metroidvania archetype and fits its reverse horror movie plot into the most enjoyable six hours I’ve ever had the guilty pleasure of experiencing. The game is available now for $19.99 on...