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OpinionImpressionsRed Dead Online’s New Solo Missions Are Pretty Good
The latest Red Dead Online update, released earlier this week, added a few new missions to the game. These new telegram missions are short and simple but are also built to be played alone, another sign that Rockstar is willing to give players more single-player content even in ostensibly online games. While Red Dead Online…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 18, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsXbox’s New ‘FPS Boost’ Feature Is The Real Deal
Yesterday Microsoft released FPS Boost, a new backward-compatibility feature for the Xbox Series X and S. FPS Boost will…well boost the framerate dramatically in specific, older games when you play them on a next-gen Xbox. After playing around with FPS Boost a bit I’m excited and impressed. This could be a big change in the…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 18, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsProject Triangle Strategy Just Became One Of My Most Anticipated Games
Think back to the last argument you had. Did you sway the other person to your side? How much effort did that take? That tug-of-war—the fraught nature of persuasion, and the notion that you don’t initially know if you’ve pulled it off—is the unexpected crux of Project Triangle Strategy, an upcoming tactical game from Square…
By Ari Notis Published February 18, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsForegone Is So Much More Than A Dead Cells Clone
If you missed Foregone, fix that immediately. Foregone is incredible. Full stop. At first glance, you might think Foregone—which released last year for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC—is a carbon copy of Dead Cells, Motion Twin’s eternally popular roguelike. For sure, the two share a lot of DNA in terms of art style, animation,…
By Ari Notis Published February 12, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsAgents of Mayhem (Which Is Good BTW) Plays Way Better On My Xbox Series X
The power of next-gen consoles can, in some cases, help improve games that suffered from performance problems. A great example of this is Agents of Mayhem, a good last-gen open-world shooter made even better thanks to the Xbox Series X and its backward compatibility features. Agents of Mayhem was released back in 2017 and developed…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 11, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsHitman Is Video Gaming’s Greatest Thrill
The Hitman series is famous for its Rube Goldberg-style assassination plots, and is sold as a cold and calculating murder game, but most of my time spent in Hitman 3 has been with my heart in my mouth, which I mean in all the best ways. Newer readers may not be aware of this, but…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsDestiny 2‘s Season Of The Chosen Is Good So Far
Season of the Chosen went live in Destiny 2 today, and with it a whole new set of things to grind for. So far, these things—new armor, guns, and exotic gear—seem pretty cool, with interesting new perks to make them worth chasing. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t already feeling daunted by…
By Ethan Gach Published February 9, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsOver 10 Hours With Bravely Default II
Bravely Default II offers a return to a simpler time where heroes lined up on one side of the screen, fought monsters on the other side of the screen, and then rinsed and repeated until peace and tranquility were brought back to the land. I’ve spent over 10 hours with it, and while what I’ve…
By Ethan Gach Published February 9, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsBlue Fire Is A Game So Tough It Reminds Me Of 2020
Every so often, a platformer comes along that so thoroughly knocks you on your ass you can’t help but smile in sick appreciation. For me, the latest to do so is Blue Fire, from the Argentina-based Robi Studios, officially out yesterday for Switch and PC. Blue Fire is a difficult game, yes, but it also…
By Ari Notis Published February 5, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsWerewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood Is Dumb Fun ‘90s Me Would Have Loved
A man walks into a room filled with armed employees of an evil corporation that profits off harming the planet. Heavy-metal music kicks in as the man transforms into a fur-covered whirlwind of claws and fangs. One murder-filled moment later the music fades and the beast reverts to human form, quietly exiting the now egregiously…
By Mike Fahey Published February 4, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsLatest Division 2 Patch Brings Bland Resident Evil Items And A Beautiful New Next-Gen Framerate
On February 2 The Division 2 received its latest update, Title Update 12.1, which added a bunch of Resident Evil-themed items as part of a new apparel event. More importantly, it updated the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions to run at 60 frames per second, allowing console players to experience The Division 2 at…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 4, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsHelp, I’m Stuck Between Two Very Good New JRPGs
Two new games from two of my favorite Japanese role-playing game series have dropped at the same time, and I am driving myself up a wall trying to give them equal time. It feels like I’ve entered into a polyamorous relationship with Ys IX: Monstrum Nox and Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret…
By Mike Fahey Published February 3, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsDestruction AllStars, A New PS5 Exclusive, Is Fine
You’ve played Destruction AllStars a thousand times. You’ve also never played something like Destruction AllStars. The new multiplayer derby battler from Lucid Games—out today exclusively for PlayStation 5—is both immediately familiar and refreshingly new. After taking it for a spin, my initial feelings for the game are all over the place. Let’s start with the…
By Ari Notis Published February 2, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsControl’s Next-Gen Edition Finally Does Justice To Remedy’s Shooter On Consoles
Control left like it was pushing the last generation of consoles to their breaking points, with loads of performance issues on the old machines. Despite these problems it was a great game, my favorite of 2019. Now, with the next-gen release of Control, many of these problems are gone, and an already-great game is improved…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 2, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsImmortals Fenyx Rising’s First DLC Is Mostly New Puzzles And Not Much Else
On January 28, Immortals Fenyx Rising’s first DLC, A New God, was released. Set after the events of the main game’s original ending, A New God is an odd expansion and epilogue that fans of Immortals might enjoy, but only if you really need more puzzles. Also spoiler warning: I’m going to be talking about…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 31, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsIt’s A Little Rough Going Back To Older Yakuza Games
We’ve been absolutely spoiled for Yakuza games lately, especially if you’re a newcomer to the series who has been able to leap effortlessly from 0 to the Kiwamis to Like a Dragon. But now that some of the older games are out on PC, those interested in reaching back into the series’ history need to…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 28, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsAssassin’s Creed Valhalla Is Too Damn Long
I finally got around to finishing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla this week. And while I had a great time with the game I also parted ways on a pretty sour note, because like its predecessor, it is just too damn long. There’s a cynical precision to the way modern Ubisoft games are developed. Assassin’s Creed and…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 27, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThere’s A Lot Of Sonic And Nights In Balan Wonderworld‘s Trippy Demo
Want to spend an hour or so wandering colorful cartoon dreamscapes crafted by the creators of Sonic the Hedgehog? Do you enjoy the sensation of being pleasantly bewildered? If you answered yes to either of those questions you’re going to want to play the demo for Balan Wonderworld. It’s something else. That something else is…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsI Hope Bowser’s Fury Is The Future Of Mario
Bundled with the enhanced port of 2013’s Super Mario 3D World coming to the Switch on February 12, Bowser’s Fury is an open-world side-story that pits Mario against the scariest damn Bowser ever. So far it’s the most fun I’ve had with Mario since Odyssey Bowser’s Fury is a 3D Mario sandbox adventure that would…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Sims 4 Is Now A Horror Game, Thanks To The Paranormal Stuff Pack
Apparently it’s Halloween in winter because The Sims 4 just released its latest DLC, the Paranormal stuff pack, which some fans are calling the Luigi’s Mansion pack. It brings more supernatural elements to the game in the form of haunted houses and a medium skill that allows you to talk to the dead and perform…
By Lisa Marie Segarra Published January 26, 2021