#DRIVE is a simulation game where you do what the title says: drive. The premise of the game is to hop in a car and keep driving to see how far you can go. Oh, and try not to hit anything along the way. To be honest, there isn’t a whole lot to say about
Reviews
Spooky Chase is an arcade platformer for the Nintendo Switch. I love my platformers, but it takes a lot to stand out from the crowd. This one shakes things up with a unique twist that makes you both the hero and the enemy; and it totally works. The concept is deceptively simple: you’re a kid
Bravely Default II is a prime example of a development team at the top of its game. The map exploration and turn-based combat are as tight and fluid as any JRPG I’ve played on the Nintendo Switch, and even further back than that. Unfortunately, a couple problems on the periphery prevent it from being as
Thunderflash is an action-arcade game for the Nintendo Switch. This top-down brawler relies on nostalgia, with an old-school ‘80s style reminiscent of classic shooters. Can it hold a candle to its predecessors? Thankfully, despite some flaws and a short runtime, there’s fun to be had. The game begins with a brief story – something about
There used to be a time where combining samurai with the future would’ve sounded ridiculous. Nowadays, with hits like Katana Zero and the Shadowrun series, futuristic sword-wielders are commonplace. We’re at a point where we don’t even question why samurai is still a viable occupation in the cybernetic future. Yes, they may wear shades and
The early Crash Bandicoot games of the ‘90s were partially experiments in how to navigate 3D space. Crash didn’t freely traverse an open world; he marched down tightly designed digital tunnels. The camera zoomed in and out of the action and panned around the character, which seemed novel at the time. However, Crash’s movement
Ever wanted to trudge through a grim, desolate landscape while slaughtering spiders, vampires, and deadly bosses? Yep, you’ve played that game before. But what if, instead of controlling combat directly, you placed all the hazards, bonuses, and environments that your hero would encounter? As you become the worldshaper of a dark fantasy simulation, Loop
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos places the player on a fantasy journey of progression, puzzle-solving, and adventure; a jaunt that is clearly inspired by older entries in The Legend of Zelda series, like A Link to the Past. You pick up a boomerang, a magic wand, a grappling hook, and all the other dungeon-crawling essentials.
Yakuza 6 marked the end of protagonist Kazuma Kiryu’s journey, leaving us with a single question: “What now?” For years, players had explored Japan with Kiryu, becoming attached to the character as well as the template that his games inhabited. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio could have simply dropped a new face in Kamurocho and called
A good puzzle involves a delicate balance. The perfect brainteaser should leave players confused just long enough to feel clever once they reach a “eureka” moment, but the solution shouldn’t be so obtuse that players want to throw up their hands in frustration. Maquette fails to strike that balance. This gorgeous indie game explores the
Bravely Default II hearkens back to another age of fantasy role-playing games, where players would find tiles to pace back and forth on, taking on random encounters to gain experience and resources before proceeding to the dungeon boss. Managing a team of four, players change jobs to access a wide variety of skills and abilities,
Ghost ‘n Goblins: Resurrection is a game that time forgot, designed to transport players to the heyday of the Super Nintendo where visual beauty meets gameplay brutality, dazzling and pummeling in equal parts. The stack of corpses Resurrection piled up during my playthrough made me swear like a sailor, and yet I walked away singing
Reviewed by Tristan Ogilvie on Xbox Series X. Also available on Xbox Series S and PC. “The Medium uses a unique reality-shifting ability to bring a new dimension to some tried-and-tested genre puzzle-solving mechanics. It presents an intriguing mystery to unravel and adds a tangible sense of urgency to your investigations by placing a truly
Olija is an exceptionally striking 2D retro themed platformer with great combat and a unique visual style, but it’s let down by an all too short adventure and little reason to return to its creepy, yet fantastical world. Olija, reviewed by Mitchell Saltzman on PC. Also available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4,
Blue Fire provides and impeccable 3D platformer experience with the just right balance of abilities to master and challenges to test you, even when its pacing falters from its Zelda-like dungeons to rely on backtracking. Blue Fire reviewed by Brendan Graeber on PC. Also available on Nintendo Switch. Sometimes we include links to online retail
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood reviewed by Leana Hafer on PC. Also available on Xbox and PlayStation.Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.
Destruction AllStars can provide fun bursts of frantic car combat action, but never adds up to much more than that.Destruction AllStars is exclusive to PS5 and out now on PlayStation 5 and free on PS Plus. Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may
Reviewed by Tristan Ogilvie on Xbox One. Also available on PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. “Little Nightmares 2 is every bit as black, bleak, and eerily beautiful as the original. It’s also just as brief, and although the reintroduction of the Six character as an AI-controlled co-op partner ultimately serves the story well, she’s
Persona 5 Strikers reviewed by Tom Marks on PlayStation 5, also available on PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. This action spin-off from Dynasty Warriors developer Omega Force replaces Persona 5’s turn-based battles with a simple but consistently engaging real-time combat system, and its summer vacation story (while slimmed down) is a sequel nearly worthy
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox reviewed by Nadia Oxford on PlayStation 4. Narration by Casey DeFreitas. Also available on PC and Nintendo Switch.Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.
Reviewed by Cam Shea on Nintendo Switch. “Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury packs a tonne of engaging gameplay, but neither component comes together as elegantly as it might have done. This is a solid option if you’re craving more Super Mario for your Switch, but it’s not the moustachioed must-play I was hoping
Valheim’s early access launch reviewed by Leana Hafer on PC. Valheim is already a paragon of the survival crafting genre, with excellent art and music highlighting a world that generates endless exciting stories from only a few, simple ingredients. Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a
When Super Mario 3D World was released in 2013, the adventure was widely praised for its outstanding level design, precise gameplay, and chaotic co-op. However, since it debuted on the poor-selling Wii U, it is often overlooked in discussions about the best games in the Mario franchise. Now, Nintendo is giving a wider audience a
At the end of Persona 5, we parted ways with a terrific cast of characters we grew to love over the course of a 100-hour story. Last year’s Persona 5 Royal gave us an excuse to revisit that same adventure with additional content, but fans yearned for an all-new journey. Persona 5 Strikers reunites the
A young boy awakens in a clearing, a disproportionally large television bathing the area an eerie cathode-ray-tube blue. This boy, Mono, will soon meet the hero from the first Little Nightmares – and also get an introduction to what he’s truly up against. In this world, you’re constantly underpowered and pursued by towering creatures who
Olija stars Lord Faraday, leader of a struggling fishing village who gets shipwrecked during an expedition. He awakens alone in Terraphage, a collection of islands corrupted by an ancient evil and home to a foreign civilization governed by the mysterious Lady Olija. Who is Olija, what is this malevolent force, and how does Faraday rescue
The Nioh games are deliberately difficult uphill battles against all manner of demonic foes. As you slaughter your way through each level, the experiences boast serious loot customization and build variety, tons of content to grind and conquer, and opportunities to take on big bosses with friends. Oh, and there are many deaths to be
Reviewed by Destin Legarie on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Also available on PC and Google Stadia. “If your only option right now is playing Cyberpunk 2077 on either of the base console platforms, I highly suggest you don’t play at all until its many terrible performance issues are fixed. And if you’ve already bought
Gears 5’s Hivebusters DLC expansion reviewed by Brian Barnett on Xbox Series X, also available on Xbox One and PC. Apart from a few inconsistencies with the main character’s relationships, Hivebusters does everything a great Gears game should and then some. #ign #gaming #gears5
Cyberpunk 2077 reviewed by Tom Marks on the PC version, now with new gameplay footage. Due to CD Projekt Red’s pre-release restrictions, our original Cyberpunk 2077 review was unable to use any of our own captured gameplay footage. This review, while identical in content, uses custom footage that more closely represents the experience we had