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OpinionImpressionsHere’s How We’ve Set Up Our PS5s
Roughly two weeks from now, the PlayStation 5 will be out in the wild. First (officially) revealed in June, Sony’s next-gen console promises the de rigueur next-gen improvements: shinier graphics, faster performance, killer exclusives, all that jazz. But when the curtain was pulled back, the general consensus seemed to coalesce around one talking point, which…
By Ari Notis Published October 27, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsPokémon Sword and Shield’s Latest Expansion Doubles Down On Legendary Pokémon
I captured a Suicune ten minutes into playing The Crown Tundra, the second part of Pokémon Sword and Shield’s expansion pass that released late last night for Nintendo Switch. Everyone knows what a Pikachu is, but Suicune is another mascot of the series, albeit an understated one. While the expansion is unafraid to introduce some…
By Ari Notis Published October 23, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsSo Far, Immortals Fenyx Rising Is More Than Just Ubisoft’s Take On Breath of the Wild
I like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey quite a bit; in fact, I think it’s the second-best game in the entire franchise. Immortals Fenyx Rising seems to be a natural evolution of Odyssey, and also makes it seem like some folks at Ubisoft have played a lot of Breath of the Wild. After spending an hour or…
By Zack Zwiezen Published October 22, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsRed Dead Online’s Halloween Update Is Disappointing
Last month, Red Dead Online dataminers found what appeared to be zombies buried in the game’s files after an update. These new zombie models, along with other creepy content found via datamining, pointed towards a new Halloween event. That event is finally, here and it’s pretty disappointing. The Red Dead Online Halloween update went live…
By Zack Zwiezen Published October 22, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsDodging Death In Disc Room Is A Lot Of Fun
Disc Room is top-down puzzle game where you dodge giant saw blades. That’s pretty much it. It’s also fantastic. The combined work of Jan Willem Nijman (Nuclear Throne), Kitty Calis (Minit), Terri Vellmann, and doseone (who both made Sludge Life), Disc Room is frenetic, precise and oozing with sound and color. Planning and forethought are…
By Ethan Gach Published October 22, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsSpellbreak‘s New Mode Isn’t Quite Deathmatch, But It’s A Very Good Time
When I first wrote about Spellbreak, the battle royale whose battles royale evoke Avatar: The Last Airbender more than Battle Royale, I said that its combat was so good that it could form the backbone of a myriad of other kinds of games, including a more traditional deathmatch. Now that’s exactly what’s happening. And by…
By Nathan Grayson Published October 21, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsBlack Ops: Cold War’s Crossplay Beta Showcases One Of The Game’s Best New Modes
Black Ops: Cold War’s new 40-player “Fireteam” mode is addictive chaos that requires teamwork and good comms. Thursday was the start of the early access crossplay beta that let players across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC get hands-on with the multiplayer for the upcoming Call of Duty, if they digitally pre-ordered the game. The…
By S.E. Doster Published October 17, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsI’m Going To Play The Shit Out Of Ghost Of Tsushima’s New Co-Op Mode
Ghost of Tsushima is a lonely game. Over the course of three lengthy acts, you might team up with computer-controlled characters, but, as Jin Sakai, the titular Ghost, are often alone. Today’s update for Ghost of Tsushima brings teamwork and companionship to the game with the addition of a free, new, genuinely thrilling multiplayer expansion.…
By Ari Notis Published October 16, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Most Fun I’ve Had In Avengers In Weeks Is This Chair
Boredom can do strange things to a person, especially a person who has been waiting weeks for fresh content in a popular service game. Today’s patch finally brought a new hub location to Marvel’s Avengers. That’s where I found this one chair. S.H.I.E.L.D. Substation Zero is a new hub location added in patch 1.3.3. It’s…
By Mike Fahey Published October 15, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsKingdom Hearts: Melody Of Memory Demo Shows Off A Charmingly Simple Rhythm Game
The demo for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts rhythm game is live today for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch. Based on what I’ve played, it’s the most straightforward game the series has ever seen, so simple you can play it with just one button. In Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory’s Field Battles, which are the…
By Mike Fahey Published October 15, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsMinecraft‘s Steve Is Super Weird In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Earlier this month, Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai revealed the latest fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It wasn’t Crash Bandicoot, as rumors suggested. It wasn’t Master Chief, as hopes and dreams did. It certainly wasn’t the long-clamored-for Waluigi. It was Steve, from Minecraft. Last night, Steve officially joined the Ultimate roster as the…
By Ari Notis Published October 14, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsAirborne Kingdom Is A City-Builder, Only You’re FLYING
That’s it. That’s the pitch for this game. You’re building a city, only the city is also a giant airship thing that’s flying through the air. OK, maybe that’s not quite it. There’s also the fact that this is only partially a game about building cities. Set in a vast, open and sparsely-populated world, Airborne…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 13, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsTorchlight III Is Fine
As I guide my Railmaster, my dragon pet, and my ridiculously cool personal murder train set through what feels like the umpteenth goblin-infested dungeon in the first act of Torchlight III, one nagging thought keeps popping into my head. “Why am I doing this?” It’s certainly not the story. The third installment of the Torchlight…
By Mike Fahey Published October 13, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsI Spent Three Hours In Baldur’s Gate 3’s Character Creator And It’s Pretty Good
I love me a character creator. Buried in the deepest recesses of my brain lies the eight-year-old me who loved dress-up Flash games. Character creators in today’s games scratch the same itch, letting my inner child play with an even greater freedom of expression. So when Baldur’s Gate 3 hit early access earlier this week,…
By Ash Parrish Published October 9, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsBorderlands 3’s Bloody Harvest Event Is Back, And Just As Fun As Last Time
No trick, Vault Hunters, Borderlands 3’s latest event is quite a treat. Yesterday, the well-liked “Bloody Harvest” kicked off again. On a surface level, “Bloody Harvest” bears similarity to any other Borderlands event—shoot everything, get guns—but it stands apart by being a total blast with minimal slog. That, and the fact that you get more…
By Ari Notis Published October 9, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsBlack Ops: Cold War’s Beta Tweaks Include Console FOV Slider
Black Ops: Cold War has shaped up nicely since last month’s playable alpha build, which allowed players to play an assortment of maps and modes for the upcoming Call of Duty release. The beta already feels like a good improvement, especially thanks to the addition of some key features, including console players finally getting an…
By S.E. Doster Published October 9, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsYou’ll Probably Love Pikmin 3 Deluxe If It’s Your First Pikmin
Seven years ago, I wrote seven reviews of the terrific Wii U game Pikmin 3. I had played the game Switch-style before there was a Nintendo Switch. There’s a photo of this. I’m at the Daytona Beach airport, Wii U plugged into a wall socket and no TV in sight as I played Pikmin 3…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 8, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Solitaire Conspiracy Makes Card Games Look Cool AF
I’ve never been more enthralled by virtual playing cards as I have been playing The Solitaire Conspiracy, the latest game from Bithell Games, of Thomas Was Alone and Volume fame. Once the cards finish falling, it’s a clever twist on the classic solo card game with a heaping helping of video game personality Greg Miller.…
By Mike Fahey Published October 7, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsRainy Season Is Incredibly Chill
It’s the time of year for a lot of big, loud and explosive games, so if at any time you’re feeling in need of a palate cleanser, you could always check out Rainy Season A very small, very quick game by Inasa Fujio, it puts you in the role of a Japanese boy whose plans…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 6, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsWe’ve Finally Got A Great Game Of Thrones Game
After a number of bombs and false starts, and a glorious mod that doesn’t count because it’s a mod, there’s finally a very good, official Game of Thrones video game. And all the developers had to do was port a board game to the PC. As we’ve written here loads of times, the Game of…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 6, 2020