RoboCop: Rogue City Review
RoboCop: Rogue City does not allow players to jump. For about an hour I would tap the X button on my DualSense trying to get former all-human cop Alex Murphy to hop over a railing or jump over a barrier. The simple act of jumping and mantling is such a creature comfort in any game that it was a shock to the system having the ability stripped from me. Despite the fact that I was a robot cop, likely...[Read More]
Payday 3 Review
The catastrophe that was Payday 3‘s launch will hopefully not be its enduring legacy. It can be quite easy to tear into a game because of an unruly launch period that may be rife with bugs and online issues. I couldn’t play Diablo 3 for hours when I bought it Day One. Years later, Blizzard transformed it. Baldur’s Gate 3 had a number of bugs but I could forgive those knowing in d...[Read More]
Wizard With a Gun Review
Wizard With a Gun‘s five-minute gameplay loop is a double-edged sword. Its quick runtime belies the complex mechanics that are front-loaded in the game’s opening hours. But it often can strip out the necessity for planning and the sensation of dread that comes with the looming threat of the world ending. As a Gunmancer, players are tasked with finding precious gears to install in the C...[Read More]
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Review
“Be greater.” Sony’s marketing slogan five years ago when Marvel’s Spider-Man launched on PlayStation 4 was a killer, succinct tagline for what would undoubtedly be one of the publisher’s most successful endeavors. But it also captured the web-slinger’s most noteworthy burden of great power and great responsibility. Spider-Man has shown incredible pliability, ac...[Read More]
Fate/Samurai Remnant Review
Fate/Samurai Remnant has a pedigree that I am completely unaware of. Often a blind approach can be the best one when reviewing games in a long-running series. The Fate series has been circulating since 2004 with various forms of media including manga, games, CD dramas, and even a stage play. Scanning through the dozens-long list I recognized a handful of names that had passed through my periphery ...[Read More]
Cocoon Review
Several times throughout Cocoon I experienced the exhilarating feeling of figuring out the solution to a problem a second too late. In many of the best puzzle games of our time–Portal 2, The Witness, and Inside to name a few–players will spend time gawking at a piece of environment trying to decipher how their given tool set will get them from Point A to Point B. Often, however, the en...[Read More]
The Crew Motorfest Review
The Crew Motorfest opens with a dazzling introduction. Players are shot out into the Hawaiian island of O’ahu in their car racing across its gorgeous streets. Careening past other vehicles, the narrator begins describing what’s to come of this year’s Motorfest, the setting for The Crew‘s newest playground. Suddenly the topography shifts along with the vehicle. The city beco...[Read More]
It’s a Wrap Review
By the time It’s A Wrap! wrapped up its nearly 30 levels, I was satisfied. Puzzle games can so often wear out their welcome, mentally taxing players through various peaks and valleys of challenge. Regardless if they are framed within an engaging narrative, layer on new ideas, or tantalize with that right amount of difficulty, the wear and tear of stringing together brain teasers can happen b...[Read More]
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Review
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon‘s initial complexity reminded me of the time when FromSoftware’s game’s felt daunting, a sensation I’ve not had since 2009. This is my first Armored Core game, a series stretching back to 1997 and its last game being released a decade ago. Knowing the pedigree and influence of FromSoftware’s recent catalog, I naturally assumed there w...[Read More]
Ad Infinitum Review
Ad Infinitum was its most terrifying when the grotesque monsters took a backseat. Horror games lately are laser-focused on delivering their scares through psychological roller coasters. Questioning what’s real and what is the character’s mind chipping away at feelings of guilt or regret has replaced running from deadly claws and fangs. Part of me felt that Ad Infinitum was trudging thr...[Read More]
Fort Solis Review
When playing Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, I couldn’t help but be a little bored despite becoming increasingly wrapped up in the game’s central question. The British accents, the evocative soundtrack, and the core mystery were all so tantalizing. But you still had to walk everywhere. And the default walk speed was atrociously slow, made even more laughable by the ability to pr...[Read More]
Somerville Review
Somerville is at its best when dialing up the action. That’s a strange sentiment for a title that hinges so delicately on its association with Playdead, the developer behind Limbo and Inside. What I enjoy most about Playdead’s games are their devotion to world-building and crafting logical scenarios–puzzles or otherwise–carved right out of the world they are placed in. Inor...[Read More]