Edmond Tran's Reviews
Unpacking is a remarkable piece of work that elegantly evokes the ebbs and flows of life.
Unnerving, compelling, and unpredictable, it’s excellent every step of the way.
Deathloop succeeds at conveying that the most powerful and thrilling weapons to use are your own creative wits.
Elden Ring is an exceptional, accomplished work that realises a fantasy world of solemnity, beauty, and menacing uncertainty you can’t help but lose yourself in.
A detailed driving simulation with impressive fidelity and presence in an approachable package, Gran Turismo 7 is confident, handsome, and endearing.
Neon White has style. Neon White has intensity. Neon White makes me feel alive.
Immortality is a game that will haunt you. Its sinister atmosphere is exceptionally powerful. Its layered narrative about art and artists will leave you with more thoughts, ideas, and questions than answers. It will have you clambering for someone to seek solace with afterwards. It may very well see you diving back in, hunting for closure with any clues you may have missed – just a few more hints. Something, anything. Immortality is a remarkable piece of work, and an outstanding example of the potency interactive storytelling can have.
The Last of Us Part 1 doesn’t create any lasting memories about the experience that weren’t already there from the beginning. For that reason, my thoughts about the game’s existence as a product remain dubious. But as a creative work in and of itself, The Last of Us is still exceptional, and I’m happy to have had reason to experience it again, in a new context and an updated format.
Return to Monkey Island isn’t a grand reinvention of point-and-click adventure games in mechanics or narrative ambition. It is, quite literally, a return. It sticks to its own identity, and aims to be the best version of itself – a comforting, charming game with great characters and amusingly esoteric puzzles. That a new Monkey Island game exists with Gilbert and Grossman at the helm makes Return to Monkey Island an attraction well worth the curiosity. And that this traditional format still satisfies while remaining largely unchanged, several decades later, speaks volumes about how timeless their ideas and this world have always been.
Nothing about God of War Ragnarok feels anything less than meaningful. Refined to the highest degree, every hour you spend with Kratos, Atreus, and the memorable characters of Ragnarok feels fulfilling – whether it be journeying across the Nordic realms with your companions, taking in the beautiful sights and enjoying idle chit chat, overcoming the odds in invigorating and varied melee combat encounters, or sharing in the deeply emotional connection between incredibly strong and nuanced characters.
Dredge is a masterclass in atmosphere, worldbuilding, tactile mechanics, and game flow. Like all sinister-feeling things, by the time you get to the end of the line you might wish you had never kept going. But in Dredge, it’s impossible not to.
Breath of the Wild reinvented The Legend of Zelda. Tears of the Kingdom reimagines it once more, as a somehow more ambitious, freeform and creative game, with even greater highs – literally and figuratively. It’s a staggeringly eye-opening game that expertly cultivates the joy of exploration, discovery and believing in your own abilities.
Street Fighter 6 is an exceedingly good fighting game. But more than that, it’s an excellent training tool. It’s a fulfilling adventure. It’s a lively community gathering place. It’s an endearingly idealistic and inspiring world of appreciation for martial arts and friendly competition, exceptionally executed in every respect.
Armored Core 6 is an unsympathetic and cold-blooded game. It's a cup of bitter, black coffee – and thankfully, that suits my palate perfectly. It's full of moments that make you feel very powerful – in both effortless and hard-fought ways – and moments that make you very, very small. In the face of it all, you're pushed to overcome the impossible. And you'll come out on the other end wearing an exhausted, wry smile.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is built on an abundance of whimsical surprises, and the delight that each new one brings will keep you smiling from beginning to end. It’s a significant, impeccably refined creative leap that resoundingly demonstrates that there is still a lot that can be done to a near 40-year-old idea, and one that continues to spark a fulfilling sense of newfound joy through play.
Playground Games continues to master the art of driving games that are both accessible and complex, and Horizon 4's meaningful changes keep the series lively and looking fantastic.
Planet Coaster is an exemplary amusement park management simulation with fantastic construction tools and a wealth of high-quality user-created content.
Quadrilateral Cowboy makes you feel like a skilled hacker in a memorable 1980’s cyberpunk world.
With smart changes to exploration, discovery, and progression, Far Cry 5 makes engaging and experimenting with its gorgeous open world more exciting than ever.
The unlikely collision of Mario and Rabbid franchises is delightfully charming, and features a deeply satisfying turn-based tactics system underneath its colorful skin.