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OpinionImpressionsPersona 5 Strikers Feels More Like Persona 5 Than I Expected
When I heard Koei Tecmo studio Omega Force was making Persona 5 Strikers, I imagined a Dynasty Warriors game with Persona 5 characters. Turns out it’s not quite that at all. After playing through the first few hours of the full game, Strikers feels more like an extension of Persona 5 with a different combat…
By Mike Fahey Published January 15, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsTest Your Zombie Survival Skills With Cold War’s New Cranked Mode
Killing zombies is the best part about Black Ops Cold War’s mid-season update for Season One. New maps and modes were added on January 14, including a new large-scale Fireteam map, a standard 6v6 multiplayer mode called “Dropkick,” and a Cranked mode for Zombies. Overall, I feel a little underwhelmed by this content drop. The…
By S.E. Doster Published January 15, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsASUS’ CES Showcase Is A Free Steam Game
Due to the ongoing global pandemic, this year’s Consumer Electronics Show is a completely online affair. Gaming hardware maker ASUS takes the show’s digital format to the extreme with ROG Citadel XV, a free download on Steam that’s one (small) part first-person shooter, one part fancy virtual hardware showroom. ROG stands for Republic of Gamers,…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsHitman 3‘s Dubai Shows Agent 47 At His Murderous Best
Hitman 3, which releases January 20, is the last in the trilogy of Hitman reboots that started in 2016. What I played of it in a preview this week felt as tense and exciting as ever, with a glamorous new location to infiltrate and powerful figures to track down. While there are a few new…
By Riley MacLeod Published January 8, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsI’ve Kept My PS5 ‘Upside Down’ For Months And It Hasn’t Exploded
There’s the proper way to set up a PlayStation 5. And then there’s the improper way, a method that has been utilized by such prolific users as (apparently) a PlayStation executive and (definitely) yours truly. Yes, I’ve had my PS5 upside down since the day I got my hands on it, in late October. To…
By Ari Notis Published January 7, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThe PS5’s DualSense Is The Perfect Canvas
One of my first thoughts upon seeing the futuristic armored look of the PlayStation 5’s Dualsense controller was, “Man, I bet that’s going to look awesome with a custom paint job.” Indulging my pink and black obsession, the painting pros at Colorware have confirmed my hypothesis. Thanks to the touchpad and the solid grips that…
By Mike Fahey Published January 7, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsCarto’s Cozy Puzzles Are Just Tough Enough
Ask people which superpower they’d want, and you’ll likely hear the same answers. Flight. Super-strength. Invisibility. You’re less likely to hear about the unusual ones—say, the ability to literally reshape the planet to fit your needs. Such an ability is the crux of Carto, a cozy adventure game that grants you enormous power but not…
By Ari Notis Published December 31, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsSuper Meat Boy Forever Is Not The Sequel I Was Hoping For
After 10 long years Super Meat Boy is back, this time as an auto-runner in a sequel that channels much of the original except for what I loved most about it: snappy controls and tight platforming. In the year of Spelunky 2 and Hades, it’s a letdown to see Meat Boy return without the key…
By Ethan Gach Published December 30, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsI Didn’t Expect To Like Deadly Premonition So Much
I crashed eight times during my playthrough of Deadly Premonition on the Switch, often at critical moments. In a game with long load screens, this seemed like an unforgivable sin. “So good it’s bad,” was testing my patience, even if I knew coming in that Deadly Premonition was a flawed cult classic. This wasn’t the…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 27, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Fascinating Visual Novel About Time Travel From One Of The Creators Of Suikoden
In Time Hollow, time travel is a painful, convoluted, and sloppy mess that makes history worse with every intervention. A spiritual successor to another game I enjoyed called Shadow of Memories, it actually took me a while to track down this obscure Nintendo DS visual novel that was published in 2008 from Konami. When I…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 27, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsYs VIII’s Compelling Story Makes You Care About Every NPC
I always approach classics with a certain sense of trepidation, especially if I’m playing them outside of their original release window. Games that might have truly been remarkable in their day and age might come across antiquated and difficult to endure in the present, especially with how much game design has changed over the years.…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 26, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsGhostrunner Is Actually The Fall’s Sharpest Cyberpunk Game
Ghostrunner is a lean-forward game. You know the position: When the going gets tough, anything short of absolute focus won’t cut it, so you lean forward, elbows on thighs, in order to close the distance between your eyes and the TV as much as possible. With a lean-forward game, the going is always tough. Ori…
By Ari Notis Published December 19, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsHivebusters Is A Great Gears DLC And A Fantastic Xbox Series X Showcase
Hivebusters is a new single-player DLC campaign released for Gears 5. It’s also one of the best-looking games on Xbox Series X and feels like a full Gears game compressed into a bite-size experience that has me excited for the future of Gears of War. This new $20 DLC campaign, which was released on December…
By Zack Zwiezen Published December 18, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsCall of Duty Season One Brings Much-Needed Maps To Cold War, But Warzone‘s ‘New’ Map Doesn’t Quite Work
Call of Duty’s Season One arrived earlier this week, bringing an ambitious number of new maps and modes to Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, as well as integrating the new level progression system into last year’s Modern Warfare. New maps were sorely needed and are appreciated, but the large rollout came with some problems On…
By S.E. Doster Published December 18, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsCall Of The Sea Is A Welcome Reprieve From All My Recent Video Game Murdering
There have been a lot of harsh, dour video games this fall. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla centered on conquest and amputation. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War featured history’s most cynical dirtbag. Cyberpunk 2077 is Cyberpunk 2077. If it’s all been a lot to stomach, consider a change of pace: the delightful Call of the…
By Ari Notis Published December 17, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsAssassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Yuletide Festival Is Off To A Buggy Start
‘Tis the season for snowy weather, holiday parties, and drunk vikings. The latest update for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla adds a new holiday-themed event to the game and covers your settlement in snow. But while the new free update is a bit of festive fun, adding new armor and decorations, it’s also got some annoying bugs.…
By Zack Zwiezen Published December 17, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsGTA Online’s New Island Is Boring
After weeks of teasing and trailers, Grand Theft Auto Online’s latest update, its biggest ever, was released today. The Cayo Perico Heist update adds a new island and heist to the game, as well as 250+ songs, new weapons, and the proverbial “more.” But the star of the update is that new island, Cayo Perico,…
By Zack Zwiezen Published December 15, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsCyberpunk 2077 Is Surprisingly Fine On Stadia
Cyberpunk 2077 is the biggest game of the year, but currently the game doesn’t look great or run well on consoles, especially the older base machines. But how does this big blockbuster game fair on Stadia? Surprisingly, the experience isn’t terrible and might even be better than playing on a console. Though it’s not perfect…
By Zack Zwiezen Published December 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsNew Flight Game Is Ace Combat’s Wingman
Project Wingman, an indie arcade dogfighting game for the PC, is a project I’ve had my eye on for years now, so it was cool this week to finally see it released on Steam. The work of a tiny development team—indeed most coding was handled by just one person, Aussie Abi Rahmani—Project Wingman has very…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2020
