Joshua Duckworth's Reviews
Aliens: Fireteam Elite has an interesting premise: co-op shooter set in the Alien universe where players must push their abilities, refine their build, and face a continuous onslaught of enemies. In reality, though, it’s a bug-filled slog that proves to be a one-trick pony.
Atomic Heart's story, gameplay, and world design have promise, but the payoff is lacking across the board.
South Park: Snow Day is a budget game, but instead of something brief but replayable with a lot of South Park humor and bursts of fun, players get something muted, limited, and shallower than even that detail would suggest. It offers some fun across its short runtime, but it's ultimately forgettable for any roguelike or South Park fan.
As a result, Need for Speed Unbound feels like it comes to a stop before it ever gets going. The polish in the moment-to-moment gameplay cannot be ignored, but as a whole, Need for Speed Unbound is just another forgettable entry in the long-running franchise.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords translates well to the Switch, but it unfortunately suffers from severe technical problems.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed's Switch port tries to capitalize on nostalgia but ultimately fails to capture what made the original game so special.
Rainbow Six Extraction is a mixed bag of good ideas and weak implementations. It’s unfortunate that the bad manages to outweigh the good, because underneath it all, Rainbow Six Extraction's gameplay approach holds promise. It’ll be interesting to see how Ubisoft supports this title in the weeks and months to come, but it’s really hard to see how it can fix a lot of core issues within the game.
Crysis Remastered is not a full-price retail release, instead opting for $29.99 on the Microsoft Store and other retailers. As such, it's best to see this game for what it is: a budget game that won't particularly wow but contains some levels of nostalgia. Even if it's far below what was expected of the original, there is still fun to be had with this remaster.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated gives the original a nice paint job but fails to do much more than that.
Overall, Wrath of the Druids is not a bad addition to Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It's even a good one for those who want any reason to step in Eivor's shoes again. But for those who have turned their attention elsewhere, it doesn't do much to bring them back.
Zombie Army 4: Dead War offers players fun gunplay and co-op against a never-ending horde of Nazi zombies but fails to do anything new or engaging.
Need for Speed Heat is a solid entry in the long-running racing franchise, but one that fails to live up to its massive legacy.
The realism of Farming Simulator 19 - both mechanically as described and graphically - adds to everything the game embodies from the realistic operations to the aesthetic farm scenery. Because of the amount of detail in the graphics and the game mechanics, this can be described as an incredibly hardcore simulator, which comes with a high level of freedom of choice.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn excels in as many areas as it falls short, meaning players' mileage will vary based on where they can compromise.
Redfall is ultimately a fun experience thanks to the world, the enemies, and the gunplay itself, but as a whole, it's an incredibly shallow one too. Because of this, some may question whether it's worth the price tag, but it's noteworthy that Redfall is launching on Xbox Game Pass. It feels like the game is designed for the service, with an experience that is easily digestible, is full of simple mindless fun, and is easy to move on from.
Gotham Knights offers a fun and satisfying gameplay loop, but many features lack the follow-through needed to make a great, cohesive game.
Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo builds a paranormal mystery in a grounded setting but loses some of its shine in its pacing and combat.
Back 4 Blood still comes out as the best Left 4 Dead-inspired game in recent memory, taking the core design and innovating on it just enough to keep everything fresh and fun. Where Back 4 Blood gets things right, it does them really well, but where it doesn’t is often quite obvious.
As mentioned, this remaster is geared for newcomers and so it's the best way to experience the game, even if it isn't a must-play for those who already experienced it on last-gen. Luckily, those who are returning to Judgment Remastered may also have reason to hold out hope for something brand new. Sega has deemed May 7 as Judgment Day, with many thinking this will be a sequel announcement. That ultimately remains to be seen, but if there's one thing this remaster proves, it's that Judgment is worthy of its own franchise.
God Eater 3 offers a heart-warming story and solid combat befitting the game's genre, but it does little to make itself stand out in the field of the JRPG.