At the heart of any European town founded before the 19th century lies a church. It’s the same with Anno 1800. At the center of your city sits a magnificent cathedral, its spectacular steeple reaching for the heavens and illuminating the lives of everyone who passes by. It’s a very beautiful church, but it’s hiding something. […]
Continue Reading
Void Bastards never lets you get too comfortable. As you explore spaceships, scrounging around for supplies to push yourself that little bit further, your strategy has to be flexible. An electrifying zapper is good for immobilizing some enemies, but it’s useless against those with shields. A lobbed grenade is handy against those shielded enemies, but it […]
Continue Reading
Dauntless brims with energy. It’s in everything from the exuberant use of color to the larger-than-life Behemoths with cheeky nods to the developer’s Canadian roots. Monster Hunter: World’s high-realism design almost feels grimdark in comparison to the Shattered Isles’ Crayola color scheme of glamors and on-the-nose armor designs. The game has chutzpah, but it lacks that little bit […]
Continue Reading
In Observation you play as SAM (Systems Administration and Maintenance), the AI assistant of a space station that represents the joint efforts of Europe, China, and Russia. Your abilities are limited by your absence of a corporeal form–for most of the game you’re controlling the cameras dotted around the station and interacting with any computers or digital […]
Continue Reading
It looks like the 3DS’s time in the spotlight is over. We’ve seen 3DS support dwindle over the past few years, but there’s at least one more show to see on the long-lived portable before it takes a bow. Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth brings the familiar casts of Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 together for a meaty RPG […]
Continue Reading
Retro throwbacks rarely go for the mid-’90s mix of 2D sprites and low-res 3D models, but along comes Octopath Traveler, a game that manages to both faithfully recreate the aesthetic and add to it in subtle yet meaningful ways. It’s a great look, one that draws you into the world and delights you with small artistic […]
Continue Reading
With Monster Hunter: World, the famously esoteric series received a massive overhaul, including many changes that lowered the barrier to entry for new players. Dozens of quality-of-life boons not seen in previous entries–easy quest tracking, extensive tutorials, and more nuanced combat, just to name a few–have made the series a lot more accessible than it’s ever […]
Continue Reading
Hollow Knight routinely finds ways to surprise you and regularly delivers more than you might have bargained for. Its rich 2D world is filled with tragic tales of a lost kingdom that unfurl during an expansive adventure that feels breathless from its humble beginnings to its climatic, emotional end. Its demanding combat and smartly designed platforming […]
Continue Reading
The first two Golf Club games from HB Studios were capable and compelling golf sims, but they lacked the punch of the official PGA Tour license. Thanks to a new deal, HB Studios now has the license, and this–along with solid, smooth swing controls and fine attention to the small details of golf–helps make The […]
Continue Reading
It is evident from the onset that The Messenger is heavily influenced–aesthetically and mechanically–by the classic Ninja Gaiden series. But it’s also quickly evident that the game doesn’t just wear its influences on its sleeve, it also brings a brilliant new take on the action-platformer genre. You play as a young ninja warrior tasked with […]
Continue Reading
Dulcet tones and somber notes played in time represent the curious duality of Moonlight. It is, at once, a heroic adventure and the name of the subdued storefront that you alone run. Centered in the heart of a once-bustling town, all the greats, the audacious plunderers of dungeons that were sealed long ago, have died […]
Continue Reading
With its warm, rustic setting, and an instantly endearing protagonist, the first Unravel had the outward appearance of a happily nostalgic adventure. That initial fuzzy feeling, however, gave way to a series of frustrating puzzles and a story that took some unexpectedly dark turns. In the game’s final hours, the poor little hero Yarny was left all […]
Continue Reading
Whether you’re reminded of vicious raptors hunting terrified children, placid Brachiosaurus strolling verdant hills, or a scientist reaching elbow-deep into a mound of Triceratops dung, the words “Jurassic Park” can evoke some pretty powerful memories. Jurassic World Evolution reinforces these associations with its take on dino-park management, and all the good and bad that comes […]
Continue Reading
Warning: This review contains minor spoilers for Life Is Strange and The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a short Life is Strange episode set before the upcoming Life Is Strange 2, and it doesn’t cost a cent to download and play. A cynic might call it a simple act of […]
Continue Reading
The post-apocalyptic world of Nier: Automata thrives on its mysteries. Its ruined Earth setting is a playground of mayhem where fashionable androids lay waste to less sophisticated looking robots. Its premise of a never-ending war is initially straightforward. But if you know anything about the game’s director, Yoko Taro, then you know to expect the unexpected. That […]
Continue Reading