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OpinionImpressionsDualSense Feedback Makes Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered Feel Legit Next-Gen
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered is a definitive polish of a beloved game. The visuals in this game are a marked improvement. But it’s the feel of the game—the sensory tickles from the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller—that made me appreciate and enjoy it in a new way. I remember first reading about vibrating controllers in Nintendo Power…
By Kevin Wong Published November 13, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsBright Memory Is The Perfect Dark Zero Of 2020
The new consoles are launching with fewer next-gen only games than any previous generation. On the one hand, this means most of the games you can play on day one on PS5 and Xbox Series X are greats like Assassin’s Creed and Spider-Man. On the other hand, the meh launch games of old usually looked…
By Zack Zwiezen Published November 12, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsDemon’s Souls On PS5 Has Still Got It
After spending a few hours with the remake this morning, I can confirm that playing Demon’s Souls on PlayStation 5 is almost exactly like playing Demon’s Souls on PlayStation 3. And that’s a very good thing. I’ll admit I arrived to the Demon’s Souls party later than most, like “first played it in the last…
By Ian Walker Published November 11, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsPetting The Bird In The Pathless Serves A Purpose
I’m playing The Pathless, and am concerned about my eagle. It can lift heavy weights, such as its human companion (me), which, while cool and necessary to the game’s progression, seems rather dangerous. It seems unfair that my bird is doing literally all the heavy lifting, carting my character’s no-doubt heavy ass all across Creation.…
By Ash Parrish Published November 11, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsGears Tactics On Xbox Is A Lot Like Gears Tactics On PC, Which Rules
Gears Tactics finds itself in an interesting position: In the absence created by Halo Infinite’s delay, Gears Tactics has become one of the major first-party games seeing an Xbox release this month. It’s a neat game that’s well worth your time. It’s also not exactly a system-seller. The short version is this: Gears Tactics on…
By Ari Notis Published November 11, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe XIII Remake Is Not Good
Cult classic XIII, a cel-shaded shooter from 2003, has been remade, with the newer version out today. And boy, fans of the original are not happy with it. The 2003 game wasn’t perfect, but it did have an enormous amount of style, owing both to its unique visuals and features like comic book-style kill sequences.…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsPS5 And Xbox Series X Loading Times, Compared (They’re Close)
So far we’ve shown you how PS5 loads games very quickly and Xbox Series X and S load games very quickly. Long story short, both systems load next-gen games at ludicrous speeds while giving older games a little push. But in order to gauge how ludicrous is ludicrous, we needed to get a couple of…
By Mike Fahey Published November 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsI Really Like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s Easily Readable Lore Screens
I like a lot of things about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I like the setting. I like the new quest system. I like the changes to the loot system that frees my character from hauling dozens of the same sword. What’s also great? I can read the game’s lore text from my couch with ease. Too…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsWorld Of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ Pre-Launch Event Is A Nostalgia Road Trip
The pre-launch event for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, now live, serves as the story lead-up to Shadowlands’ main event. Key leaders of the Alliance and Horde factions have been kidnapped on the orders of Sylvanas Windrunner. But before adventurers can rescue them, they must deal with a Scourge invasion. The pre-launch events detail your efforts…
By Ash Parrish Published November 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsMy First Three Hours With Destiny 2: Beyond Light
Today is Destiny 2’s big day. Beyond Light, the game’s third major expansion, is finally live after a seven-week delay, and with it a major new patch and the latest season. I have a lot of feelings right now that will take days, if not weeks, to fully shake out. But at the moment I’m…
By Ethan Gach Published November 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsAdvance Wars Fans, Please Play Mobius Front ’83 Immediately
I was surprised a few weeks back to see the announcement for Mobius Front ‘83, a new tactics game for the PC by Zachtronics. I’m even more surprised now to find that it’s not only already out, but that it’s incredible Nintendo’s continued abandonment of its once-cherished mobile franchise has been a decade-long disappointment. One…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 9, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsTwo Weeks With My Xbox Series S
I’ve had an Xbox Series S since late October, and I am surprised at how I feel about it. I wouldn’t say I’m excited to have this new system. The word I’d use—a word that is actually a very high compliment—is “pleased.” I should clarify, before you judge me too jaded, too snooty, or too…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 9, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsBugsnax Is Much More Than Just A Meme Song
You only get one chance to make a first impression, and back when the PlayStation 5 was officially revealed in June, Bugsnax absolutely nailed it. Its sing-song-y trailer coated an otherwise standard next-gen presentation with a candy-sweet outer shell, and the song itself achieved meme status almost instantly. But is it actually a good game?…
By Nathan Grayson Published November 9, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThere’s A Sequel To Fruit Ninja For Some Reason
There’s a sequel to Fruit Ninja now. Remember Fruit Ninja? It was 2010, you’d just got your first touchscreen phone, and you were desperate for anything to need it for. There, for just three little dollars, was this game about swish-swooshing about the shiny surface, chopping up fruit until fruit could be chopped no more. It…
By John Walker Published November 6, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsTeardown Is A Heist Game Where Levels Are Fully Destructible, And It’s Fantastic
Teardown’s central contradiction should be infuriating. True to its name, you can tear down basically any structure in a level, up to and including the ground beneath your feet. But you shouldn’t! I repeat: You, functionally all-powerful to an extent few video games have ever allowed, should not destroy everything the first chance you get.…
By Nathan Grayson Published November 4, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsHyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity Demo Is More Breath Of The Wild And Less Dynasty Warriors
The Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity demo plays like a game that inherited more from its Zelda: Breath of the Wild parent than its hack-and-slash parent Hyrule Warriors. Developer Koei Tecmo repurposed major elements of Breath of the Wild’s gameplay—from the Sheikah slate, to cooking, crafting, and even Korok hunting—and integrated them into Warriors’ musou-style…
By Ash Parrish Published November 2, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsSurprise: Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s Epilogue Is Some Of The Best Pikmin Ever Made
Twenty-two days ago, I wrote: “If Nintendo has hidden some amazing twist at the end of Pikmin 3 Deluxe, if the epilogue really delivers, the joke will be on me.” Today I am here to tell you there is no twist, at least not a plot twist at the end of the new Switch port…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 30, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsAmnesia: Rebirth Makes Motherhood Scary
The only scary thing in Amnesia: Rebirth is motherhood. The monsters are rare and dispersed enough to be manageable threats, and the atmosphere is less oppressive than other Amnesia games. Rebirth did not scare me the same way The Dark Descent or its far more terrifying older sibling Penumbra: Overture did. But it’s a game…
By Ash Parrish Published October 29, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsSo Far, Watch Dogs Legion Is One Of 2020’s Most Fascinating Games
Watch Dogs Legion, out today for a bunch of major video game platforms, is one of the most elaborate anecdote generators ever created. So, before we get into how the game handles its ambitious design goals, its politics, and even its Ubisoft-ness, let’s start with an anecdote that could only have happened in Legion About…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 29, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsHere’s How We’ve Set Up Our Xbox Series X and S
Yesterday, we showed you what the PlayStation 5 looks like in the wild. But that’s not the only next-gen console coming out next month. In the event you’ve been living under the planet’s most soundproof rock, on November 10, the Xbox Series X—and its less-expensive, less-powerful counterpart, the Xbox Series S—will be out. Earlier this…
By Ari Notis Published October 28, 2020