Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Ultimate Edition
It took me nearly two hours to create my character in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Ultimate Edition. A sliver of that time was devoted towards determining whether or not I should fine-tune my character’s history from the first Pillars of Eternity. I could choose a handful of broad estimations, all of which I barely understood. I was able decide what fate I chose for those who were born w...[Read More]
DragonBall Z: Kakarot
There’s something to be said about taking things back to basics. For nearly the last decade, there hasn’t been a game in the DragonBall franchise that has tackled the beloved story in the way DragonBall Z: Kakarot has. Yes, we got to see some of the stories and characters through a new lens in the Xenoverse series, and we got some stellar fighting mechanics with DragonBall...[Read More]
Scuf Vantage 2 Modern Warfare Edition
Since the launch of the PlayStation 4, I’ve owned over five DualShock 4 controllers. One evening after playing Assassin’s Creed Unity, I noticed that my nimble assassin was not crouching properly during a co-op mission, which is kind of important to maintain stealth. After switching over to Destiny, I soon realized my R2 button had broken when whatever light-infused gun wouldn’t ...[Read More]
Jedi: Fallen Order
Arguably one of the hardest franchises to create anything for is Star Wars. Be it movies, TV, comic books, or yes: video games. EA’s track record when it comes to its Star Wars games license has been an interesting tale, to say the least. From gorgeous but shallow games like Battlefront 1 or 2 (campaign notwithstanding) to highly publicized canceled games like Star Wars 1313, EA has needed a hit o...[Read More]
The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds takes no time in forcing players to love it. From the onset, Obsidian Entertainment’s first-person RPG is a deluge of charm and humor, instantly warming itself up to players like a much needed balm. Mentioning the legacy of Bethesda and its Fallout series feels like a necessary evil when speaking of The Outer Worlds in the context of a review. After all, Obsidian momentarily...[Read More]
Afterparty
What happens to us after we die? Where do we go? Is there a Heaven. Is there a Hell? Afterparty imagines Hell as a semi-tortuous, never-ending party. One where your deepest flaws and past mistakes persistently nag at you in the form of a personally assigned demon. But if you’re lucky enough, one of Hell’s numerous bars is open to drink the harsh reality away. Developed by Night School ...[Read More]
Door Kickers: Action Squad
Don’t let the simple execution of Door Kickers: Action Squad fool you… too much. On the surface, the game is very much a 2D platformer and shooter where players blast away bad guys as the good guys. Underneath that is a mildly tactical game about breaching rooms, rescuing civilians, and trying not to get brutally riddled with bullets. A few stages into Door Kickers: Action Squad and pl...[Read More]
Children of Morta
Children of Morta has all the trappings of familiarity. Being a roguelike with stylish–if not gorgeous–pixel art, developer Dead Mage has put itself into an already large box that is brimming with similar games. But Children of Morta is infinitely more than those familiar parts. It is a gripping game that takes the best elements of popular predecessors and funnels them into a tight, be...[Read More]
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier was one of the first games I ever reviewed. Seven years have passed since then. I’ve watched the sea change of various franchises as they’ve transitioned between generational shifts of consoles. Methods of storytelling have changed, familiar characters have undergone drastic makeovers. Worlds have grown to expansive size. Developers have s...[Read More]
The Surge 2
The Surge 2, like many sequels, is burdened with having to justify its existence. Tantamount is taking the core of the previous game and building on it to make a more cohesive, improved experience. Developers may trim the fat of what didn’t work in the first place or inject more attention and care into what was previously neglected. Or, possibly, you tweak all the great things and maintain t...[Read More]
NBA 2K20
I’m so conflicted with NBA 2K20. On one hand, it touts the strongest gameplay the series has had in years. On the other, it’s so chock-full of glitches and broken components at launch, that it’s nearly unplayable. The NBA 2K franchise has always been known as being a bit of a mess on launch-day/week, but NBA 2K20 is particularly broken. Yet for some reason, I can’t seem to shake that itch to keep ...[Read More]
The Blackout Club
The Blackout Club‘s prologue is a tantalizing appetizer. Once players begin to chew on this 30-minute morsel, they are introduced to a neighborhood-gone-wrong scenario that culls from the Hardy Boys, Stranger Things, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Lovecraftian sentiment. Our world is established in minutes. The town of Redacre is an island unto itself, there’s no cellular signal to t...[Read More]