Motive Studios delivers a remake that isn't just a faithful adaption of Dead Space for the modern age, but a love letter to the entire franchise. New narrative tweaks, the addition of a talking protagonist, and open exploration across the ship add up to a stellar horror experience.
When you take all these different elements into account, it becomes clear that Prey is greater than the sum of its parts. The intriguing story that adapts to your decisions, the emphasis on player creativity and thinking your way out of problems, the beautiful art design, it all works together well. Yes, the loading screens might get annoying. Yes, hearing the exact same tones when you die is groan worthy. Yet those don’t take away from the countless other things Prey gets right. Frankly, deducting points for those two incredibly minor things, especially given how they might not even annoy other players depending on how they play, feels utterly vindictive. There are so many other things done right here that this amazing experience is not held back in any way. Obviously there’s no such thing as a truly perfect game. However, I must say that Prey comes incredibly close.
Creative Assembly delivers one of the best DLC packs for the Total War: Warhammer series yet.
While a couple of things could've been tweaked to provide a longer experience, Capcom provides a fantastic survival horror remake that carefully balances the action with the terror. You will fear Nemesis.
Smart and much-needed changes bring Age of Empires III to a new level, providing a quality strategy experience newcomers and lifelong fans are both likely to enjoy.
The final DLC for Doom Eternal was worth the wait, providing some gorgeous new locations and challenging fights worthy of concluding the Slayer's saga. However, they won't let you pilot the big mechs, and that's disappointing.
New features, factions, and gameplay options make Total War: Warhammer 3 a must-play strategy game. Lacking blood at launch was expected, but still disappointing.
Striking Distance Studios' debut title is a horror game that delivers a high-quality experience all the way through. It won't sway anyone new to scares and frights, but fans of the genre should make this a priority.
With better exploration, fantastic combat, and emotionally-resonant story, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a must-play adventure marred only by some performance issues.
A great new storyline and a stellar new class mean Necrom is a fantastic addition to the long-running saga of The Elder Scrolls Online.
CD Projekt RED brings a thrilling race against time where you must save the president and go undercover, all while trusting no one. Combined with the free but accompanying 2.0 update, Phantom Liberty delivers an experience that even disappointed players of the base game should definitely check out.
Remedy Entertainment crafts a suspenseful journey full of twists, examining its title character in spades. It's a messy, imperfect narrative that doesn't even try to wrap up every plot thread, but delivers a raw, emotional ride. Solid third-person survival horror-gameplay helps carry that journey outside of a handful of technical issues.
Helldivers 2 is a fantastic co-op game where anything can and will go wrong, thanks to several clever design choices. Calling in orbital bombardments while laying waste to alien swarms and robot armies has never been more fun. However, server capacity remains an ongoing problem for anyone looking to get in.
When it comes to gaming, this is by far the most welcome surprise I’ve had all year. Practically every issue I had with the first Evil Within is addressed here in some shape or form. The horror is ramped up, the storyline intriguing, the leads interesting and the gameplay fantastic. The Evil Within 2 takes the premise of a ‘single player, linear, story-driven game’ and proves that it can be done without placing too much emphasis on the ‘linear’ part of the equation. What Tango Gameworks has accomplished here is nothing short of fantastic. Well done!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Middle-earth: Shadow of War. I'm a huge fan of the lore and world here, so that should come as no surprise. What ultimately clinches the deal however, is just how much fun this is to play. I'm utterly addicted to the Nemesis system and everything it churns out, not to mention taking part in epic sieges and open warfare. Yes, the soundtrack is honestly a letdown. On top of that, I'm wary of the very idea of lootboxes touching a singleplayer game, even one as content-packed as this. Not to mention, if you aren't enjoying everything the game has to offer, it might feel like a bit of a grind towards the end. Ultimately however, that doesn't take away too much from what Monolith Productions has accomplished here: An epic conclusion to the story that was started in Shadow of Mordor, a legitimately living world that reacts to player decisions or indecision, and a game set in Middle Earth that feels awesome to play.
Taking everything into perspective, I found Rain World to be an absolute gem. There's not much of an explicit story, yet the world is spelled out all around you with your experiences in this ecosystem personalizing each encounter. The difficulty can be a nice throwback however, the fact that your progress can be so easily lost is going to be a 'make or break' point for most gamers. If that's something you can't deal with, I strongly emphasize my caution to you to stay away. For those who do choose to press on, you're in for an incredible journey through a world that's truly unique every time through.
Ultimately, 'Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores' feels like a good tease. It flirts with the concept of some biggest things yet in this story but doesn’t quite commit to most of them in full. It’s always great getting to spend more time with Aloy, and while I wish a couple of things were explored further, it’s still a fun ride that hints at some of what is to come.
A fantastic party game that's perfect for some couch competition.
If you liked the main campaign of Gears 5, then Gears 5: Hivebusters brings even more to enjoy. Fast action is offset by surprisingly introspective character development, all in a jaw-droppingly gorgeous jungle setting.
Alan Wake Remastered compiles a polished compilation of the original game and its DLC. A few more extras would've been nice but this is the best way to play through Remedy's horror adventure.