Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Review
While the DNA of more recent titles can be seen in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, it is unequivocally rooted in the framework of classic action games. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise from Lizardcube, the team that worked on Streets of Rage 4, the first entry in that classic beat ’em up series in 25 years. Why wouldn’t Sega ask the team behind that well-received revitalizati...[Read More]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Reveal Blowout
Call of Duty feels as if it is going through a transitory period, exemplified by the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard merger. The best-selling franchise is now on its second sweep of back-to-back sub-series. In 2022, Modern Warfare II was released, followed up by Modern Warfare III. In 2024, Black Ops 6 was released, now to be followed up by this year’s Black Ops 7. It’s a stark contr...[Read More]
Shadow Labyrinth Review
Shadow Labyrinth was a satisfying imitation of a classic Metroidvania in its first hour or two. At that point, platforming felt confident. “Swordsman 8” was nimble but not floaty, jumps were relatively precise. Combat had a punch to it where a sword swing registered enough against alien foes to feel satisfying. It felt good to play and become acclimated to its rhythm. But somewhere aro...[Read More]
Dead Take Review
Whiplash is one way to describe the sensation I had upon first discovering that Dead Take was created by the same developer as Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. Surgent Studios head Abubakar Salim first came across my radar as one of the leading roles of the egregiously cancelled Raised By Wolves, a bizarre, fantastical show that had no right to be as good as it was. Of course it was short lived. Some of the...[Read More]
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Review
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound effortlessly replicates the old-school fangs of Tecmo’s 1988 classic not by innovating but by staying true to form. Developer The Game Kitchen–who is also responsible for the fantastic Blasphemous series–understands that the path towards creating a “classic” 2D Ninja Gaiden game isn’t by layering complexity on an already tried and true fo...[Read More]
RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business Review
As I wrapped up my review of RoboCop: Rogue City back in 2023 I wrote the following: “Rogue City deserves a sequel. I’ll go ahead and say it. Teyon has proved their knowledge and skill at replicating the world and feeling of RoboCop. A few times, I felt like I was playing a spin-off of Deus Ex with its small hub areas full of side missions and things to discover. The game feels like this suc...[Read More]
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 Review
Tony Hawk’s cultural flashpoint happened during my impressionable middle school and high school years. The fever pitch around X-Games, professional skating, and other “non-traditional” sports hit in the late 90s and early 2000s. And as a kid who just wanted to be cool, it was only natural that myself along with millions of others became attracted to a movement that felt against t...[Read More]
Ruffy and the Riverside Review
When Yooka-Laylee released a lifetime ago back in 2017, I couldn’t help but be charmed at its blatantly obvious bid for nostalgia. Comprised of former Rare developers, Playtonic Games wasn’t trying to hide that Yooka-Laylee was a callback to the wave of collectathons from the Nintendo 64 era. While a number of critics admired Playtonic’s ability to capture the look and feel of wh...[Read More]
FBC: Firebreak Review
Often it’s difficult for a game to escape a poor first impression. And were it not for the pedigree of Remedy Entertainment, FBC: Firebreak may have flown too far under the radar. One might look at FBC: Firebreak as yet another attempt by another development studio to break out of their safe mold by crafting the derogatory “game designed by committee” usually aimed at live servic...[Read More]
The Alters Review
The significance of the choices we make ripple throughout the timeline of our existence until the moment we die. At what point did we create our own flashpoints? Events or moments or decisions that will fundamentally alter the course of our life. The person you chose to talk to again. The road you decided to drive. The job you turned down. The meal you ate. The moment you stood up for yourself. Re...[Read More]
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Preview
When Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound‘s protagonist Kenji is struck by an enemy, he doesn’t fly backward. To any veteran of the Ninja Gaiden trilogy for the NES, those words are likely evocative of the cheapest deaths older consoles offered. How many times did a medusa head jettison a Belmont body into a death pit? Or a pellet from a robot make Mega Man jitter into a hole? But with Ryu Hayabusa...[Read More]
Elden Ring Nightreign Review
Hours into Elden Ring Nightreign my confidence had been obliterated. Nearly a dozen Expeditions into Limveld had resulted in failure. Each successive run I would dread the fall of Night 2, signifying the appearance of the Fell Omen, an aggressively harrowing boss from Elden Ring. I had played enough to know when a run was burnt. The team hadn’t collected enough flasks to ensure topped-off he...[Read More]