Microsoft Flight Simulator Review

Aug 17, 2020

Microsoft Flight Simulator is the eleventh major entry in the series that began in 1982, and has evolved greatly even from the last official release in 2006. It’s a game that’s different things to many people: an educational tool for learning how to fly before getting in a real plane, a sandbox to fly from virtually any airport to the next, a role-playing game where you’re a pilot transporting passengers to their destination, or maybe just a means to pass the time by goofing around in the air. Whatever it is to you, Microsoft Flight Simulator has returned in 2020 to offer old and new players the thrill of flight. It may be simply named Microsoft Flight Simulator but know it’s anything but simple, as there’s a complex and detailed recreation of all things aeronautics that’s unparalleled.

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break Review

Aug 14, 2020

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a boulder rolls into a barn… and a house… and through some massive stone walls, and all the way into a castle and makes a tiny person go squish. If this sounds remotely familiar to you, then you’ve probably played Rock of Ages and/or Rock of Ages 2. They’re fun games! When the first one debuted back in 2011, it was a fairly novel spin on the tower defense (and offense) genre, and it made its mark with a unique sense of humor and presentation that felt like a breath of fresh air. Now, nine years and two sequels later, even though there’s still fun to be had in rolling giant boulders down obstacle courses, the formula is feeling less original and more in need of evolution.

Bite the Bullet Review

Aug 13, 2020

French writer Francois de la Rochefoucauld said, “To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” Bite the Bullet is this personified. It’s a wholly unique game in which you can eat your enemies, and doing so must be done with thoughtful consideration by weighing the pros and cons of what you’re eating. Eat the competition, or die trying. Bite the Bullet is like nothing else, though it’s a bit of a slog, weighed down not by its characters, but rather too many systems and ideas in-play at any one time.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Review

Aug 07, 2020

If there was ever a game that asked little of you, and gave you so much in return, it’s Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. Whether playing solo or with friends, Fall Guys is a laugh-a-minute as you jump, grab, and dive for the chance to be crowned a winner. The majority of the game involves some sort of physicality that’s executed from the controller in your hands. This is a game of unscripted comedy, tragedy, and absolute buffoonery that doesn’t come along often. Fall Guys has secured a permanent place on my drive.

Hellbound Review

Aug 07, 2020

Saibot Studios’ Hellbound comes after a long-line of retro FPS’ to try to stake its claim on 90s throwback nostalgia. While it’s an honest effort, it pales in comparison to others in this sub-genre. Hellbound is often anachronistic, revealing the dichtomy of making a game that is both modern and retro, and never really nailing either. Hellbound gets a few things wrong, but makes it right in letting you obliterate demons with great impunity.

CARRION Review

Aug 06, 2020

A mysterious rattle echoes through the vents and the lights in the bathroom flicker. A dull, unearthly roaring sound fills the space from every direction. A loud crash a few rooms down the hall sounds, followed by a slippery, slimy chorus of something fleshy spreading around. Frantic, chilling screams erupt and then are quickly muffled and silenced, replaced a clatter of bones and moist, squelching splatter of viscera painting every surface of the room. Silence. Heavy breathing. More rattling in the vents. The bathroom door bursts open and an indistinguishable mass of organic matter fills and becomes the room. More screams from just a few feet away, a horrible gnashing sound and a dull thud as dismembered limbs hit the floor. The mass recedes and leaves a thorough coating of blood and slime behind it. The lone survivor hiding in the stall breathes a sigh of relief, believing the nightmare to be over, and a split second later the grating flies off of the vent above them and a writhing mass of fleshy tentacles grips the survivor and pulls them mercilessly toward three gaping maws of innumerable razor teeth. My maws. My teeth. I devour the pathetic human gleefully, urgently, shaking them about to suck all of their mass into my organs and re-purpose it as part of myself. I am the monster. I am unstoppable.

Skully Review

Aug 04, 2020

Skully from developer Finish Line Games and publisher Modus Games is a 3D puzzle platformer where you traverse open spaces to solve problems, combat enemies, and find a number collectibles that rivals Banjo-Kazooie. It harkens back to a specific era that many will find nostalgic. Skully has a lot of fun with itself, but also has its serious moments that keep it down to earth. There were times I was exasperated either due to imprecise platforming or when the game’s locomotion was interrupted, but Skully will bowl you over with its charm. In the words of the immortal Fred Durst, “Keep rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ rollin’”.

Assetto Corsa Competizione (PS4) Review

Jul 31, 2020

Assetto Corsa Competizione is one of the most realistic racing experiences one can have on the PlayStation 4 sans Gran Turismo. The world and the vehicles are gorgeous, but unfortunately, there isn’t much else to the game Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC). It’s a reasonably straightforward racing game that is relatively bare-bones.

Blaze Revolutions Review

Jul 31, 2020

Blaze Revolutions is one of the most inventive RTS’ I’ve ever played. It’s also one of the buggiest and most incomplete, too. For every cool or unique idea Blaze Revolutions has, there’s some sort of step back or problem that goes with it. This is a game in serious need of fixes and improvements from developer Little Chicken Game Company, yet I still managed to enjoy what I could of Blaze Revolutions.

DEATH STRANDING (PC) Review

Jul 29, 2020

Longtime followers of Hideo Kojima’s work know that his games have a reputation for being multifaceted journeys that are as frequently confounding as they are astounding. We go along for each new ride fully aware that we are setting ourselves up for amazement and moments of frustration, and that the experience is often about accepting and even inviting both extreme ends of this spectrum, and everything in between.

Death Stranding is Kojima’s first foray into something truly new in well over a decade (not counting the ill-fated but well-loved P.T.), and the question that has largely been hanging over the release of this game is “Can it stand apart from Kojima’s legacy?” Or, more pointedly, “Can Death Stranding escape the shadow of Metal Gear?” Given that Death Stranding originally released on consoles in 2019 and there has been plenty of time for players to evaluate these questions and come to their own conclusions, I won’t spend overly much time on this particular point, except to say this: Death Stranding‘s parallels to and influences from the Metal Gear series are inevitable.

Destroy All Humans! Review

Jul 27, 2020

Razing a small farming town of its barns, mills, and residences with my UFO’s laser, probing denizens to the point that their head explodes, and zapping them so hard their skeletons show are all part of what makes Destroy All Humans! so much fun. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and is a parody of the 1950s hysteria that works to great effect. This is a remake of Pandemic Studios’ 2005 original, thanks to Black Forest Games making it look and play better than ever. Destroy All Humans! is endearing and full of laughter, from rampages to its absurd situations that make it a classic.

CrossCode (Switch) Review

Jul 22, 2020

I emerge from below decks of a shipping barge and face the shimmering, sparkling ocean. It extends outward in all directions and touches the pale blue sky in the distance, tiny reflections of the sun dancing on the water. Seagulls cry as they circle overhead and the air smells of salt water. I turn to the bow of the ship and see shining spires of glass rising up out of the verdant landmass ahead. There is a feeling of serenity and hope in this beautiful moment, and an excitement about the potential that lies directly ahead of me. Predictably, the moment is interrupted by a mysterious and powerful interloper who is looking specifically for me, and the situation quickly turns from serene to severe as I have to fight for my life and find a way to escape the ship to the safety of the literal game world waiting for me on the mainland.

Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee (Switch) Review

Jul 16, 2020

At the time of its initial release, Munch’s Oddysee was fairly highly regarded. It heralded a new era of quality visuals, opportunities to explore large, open spaces, detailed and bizarre character designs that sprung to life in 3D, and quirky (or even bizarre) ways of interacting with the game that were clever riffs on some time-tested ideas. It was a showcase for what was possible, and indeed it demonstrated a great deal of potential and creativity.

F1 2020 Review

Jul 06, 2020

Formula One has just begun its racing season after delays for obvious reasons, and F1 2020 arrives just in time to be a great companion for what remains of this truncated season. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of content to be found here, and Codemasters has crafted another masterpiece in F1 2020 that hits all the right notes. This is a Formula One game that’s accessible for all players with casual to pro settings and immersive modes that offer dozens of hours of gameplay. If you’ve been wanting to play this series for any reason, F1 2020 is what you’ve been waiting for.

Burnout Paradise Remastered (Switch) Review

Jun 29, 2020

Burnout Paradise is unquestionably one of the best racing games at all time. It may not be everybody’s favorite Burnout game, but it certainly is my favorite, and it is undeniable that Burnout Paradise revolutionized the casual/arcade racing genre, and important groundwork that many racing games in multiple sub genres are still built on today. You can see Paradise‘s DNA in everything from Need for Speed to Forza Horizon to the DiRT series and well beyond. It was a drastically influential game that had a lasting impact on the design of racing games. It also happens to be an absolute blast to play and sports some of the most incredibly cohesive game design I’ve seen; the car handling, world design, art direction, extra objectives, event types, and even the soundtrack choices all work in tandem to create a thrilling, raucous playground. Burnout Paradise is the rare game where every single aspect sings together in beautiful harmony, and it creates an impactful, joyful experience that still feels exciting and unbelievably fun to play today. It is in many ways a masterpiece, showcasing how strong video games can be not as art, but as sources of pure entertainment and glee, which frankly is something of an artistic achievement in its own right.