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Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - Brushes With Death ReviewThe first DLC expansion is a bit threadbare compared to what came before.

IGN PC ReviewsMay 15

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Review - Completing The SetBack in September, Capcom fighting game fans had a major wish granted with Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, which bundled the entire collection of 2D Marvel-centric fighting games--and a side-scrolling beat-'em-up to boot--in an all-in-one package. It was what fans of Marvel Vs. Capcom had wanted for years, particularly with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2's inclusion, and it made multiple fighting games seemingly lost to time reappear on the scene in an instant. Now, Capcom has the unenviable task of following it up with Capcom Fighting Collection 2, the true sequel to the first classic fighting compendium from 2022. This new collection features the same great quality-of-life additions as the others: a "museum" with concept art and design documents, a music player with each game's soundtrack at the ready, rollback netcode, etc. However, there are only so many old fighting games in Capcom's vault to collect, and Capcom Fighting Collection 2 has a few indicators that the well may be drying up. The "marquee" games in this bundle--based on the key art, at least--are the Capcom Vs. SNK games, which paired fighters from the libraries of both Capcom and SNK in one big battle. Both games utilized the brilliant Ratio system, which lets you change the strength of the characters you choose. Each game implemented this system differently; Capcom Vs. SNK assigned ratio levels, from one to four, to specific characters, while the sequel let you assign the ratios after selecting your character. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsMay 14

Palia Review in ProgressThis cozy MMO life sim is endlessly relaxing and incredibly hard to put down.

IGN PC ReviewsMay 13

Old Skies Review - An Affecting Stroll Down Memory LaneFor as much as change can be scary, it can be all the lonelier to remain stagnant while the world and the people in it continue moving on without you. That's the crux of Old Skies , a point-and-click adventure game in which you play as Fia Quinn, a professional time traveler immune to the effects of the shifting timeline. On the surface, Old Skies first appears to be your typical time-travel story about the pitfalls of affecting time, but the story surprises in how it instead delves into the negatives of not influencing the flow of time, of being someone that no one remembers, regardless of what you accomplish. It makes for an incredibly affecting tale, one that has stuck with me since the credits rolled. As Fia Quinn, you're tasked with traversing the timeline through a handful of moments in New York's history, ranging from the Gilded Age to the morning of September 11, 2001 to an impactful afternoon in 2042. Fia works for ChronoZen, an agency that takes wealthy clients back in time to relive moments of the past, solve their long-forgotten mysteries, or change minor details about their life that they regret. The work rarely goes as planned, forcing Fia to adapt on the fly and deduce the best way to get the client what they want without affecting aspects of history that the algorithm-following higher-ups have decreed must remain unchanged. Old Skies' opening mission does not pull any punches and sets the tone right away. For better and worse, Old Skies is extremely linear, with only one solution to each of the problems that Fia comes up against. In terms of narrative theming, I like this a lot--it reinforces that Fia's fate in this story is unyieldingly static and that the timeline in general must follow a set series of events. But this structure hurts the gameplay, too. There were times when I thought of a way to solve the problem at hand, and it didn't work--forcing me to guess a bunch of random solutions instead--and if the right answer was nonsensical, I'd grow irritated, especially if the solution I'd presented utilized a throughline of logic the game had already established in an earlier puzzle. If I have to use cash for Fia to bribe someone in the very first mission, using money to bribe people should be a valid way of collecting information later when speaking to people who are clearly looking for cash. And yet, I don't think I could bribe a single other person for the rest of the story, despite money appearing in Fia's pocket with every time jump--a constant reminder of an item I could not use and was foolish for thinking otherwise. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsMay 13

Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade ReviewBland and disappointing proof that not every dog shaped like Cerberus can bark like it.

IGN ArticlesMay 13

The Precinct ReviewThe Precinct’s focus on proper protocol eventually wears a little thin, but its gorgeous, top-down take on GTA-inspired action from the right side of the law is undeniably arresting.

IGN PC ReviewsMay 13

Revenge Of The Savage Planet Review - A Goo(d) TimeAs far as sequels with the word "Revenge" in the title go, Revenge of the Savage Planet is far from the dark second act the naming convention is known for. This follow-up to 2020's Journey to the Savage Planet amplifies its predecessor's zaniness and scale, with four lush alien planets to explore as you go about cataloging every plant and creature on the way to unfurling the game's many secrets. It's an impressive mishmash of genres, too. While predominantly a pulpy sci-fi action-adventure with metroidvania stylings, Revenge of the Savage Planet also incorporates elements of puzzle-solving, survival-crafting, creature-capturing, and even Animal Crossing-style decorating to its eclectic mix. Much like the first game, combat is still a glaring weakness, but this is a sequel that improves upon the original by almost every other metric. In what would be a humorous twist if the situation weren't so common, Revenge of the Savage Planet's narrative is clearly influenced by the circumstances that led to the game's creation. Typhoon Studios, the developer behind Journey to the Savage Planet, was acquired by Google in 2019, just a few short months before the game's release. The Canadian studio was purchased to create games for Google's cloud-based platform, Stadia, but was unceremoniously shuttered when the short-lived platform failed. Much of the team formed a new studio called Raccoon Logic and managed to secure the Savage Planet IP, leading to the creation of Revenge of the Savage Planet and its story of familiar corporate incompetence. You play as a nameless intergalactic colonizer who, after emerging from a 100-year cryosleep, discovers that they're now a member of Alta Interglobal, a holdings company that acquired your former employer, Kindred Aerospace, while you were sleeping. Oh, and you've also been made redundant, as Alta laid off all the ex-Kindred staff immediately following the acquisition. Sound familiar? Now marooned in an unfamiliar galaxy, your ultimate goal is to exact revenge on your former employer and return home by any means possible. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsMay 9

Doom: The Dark Ages ReviewDifferent from anything the series has done before and still immensely satisfying.

IGN PC ReviewsMay 9

Doom: The Dark Ages Review - The Old OneDoom Eternal built upon the strong foundations that the series' 2016 reboot established, evolving the classic and frenetic first-person action by introducing a complex layer of strategy and quick decision-making. It was a change that, while popular, did alienate some players looking for something akin to its more straightforward predecessor, with its emphasis on consistent movement, resource juggling, and frequent weapon switching, all of which could detract from the core principles of gratuitous demon slaying. As a response to that, Doom: The Dark Ages doesn't retreat backwards, but instead threads the needle by reestablishing an engrossing power fantasy with simple but satisfying mechanics that push its combat into uncharted territory for the series. Doom: The Dark Ages puts a big emphasis on standing your ground in a fight, rather than moving around it. To do this, you're permanently equipped with a shield that lets you parry enemy attacks and block incoming damage. It's a versatile tool that soaks up damage or redirects it with timely blocks and parries, giving you the ability to go toe-to-toe with far more enemies than before. In typical Doom fashion though, the best defense is often also an incredibly aggressive offense. Your shield is far more than a means to defend yourself--it's a weapon in every sense of the word. When you're not slicing a demon's head off with its chainsaw edges, you can bounce it between enemies or shatter armor that has been super-heated by your bullets. It's a great tool for closing distance, too, since it substitutes Eternal's air dash for a long-reaching shield bash that comes in handy across the larger battlefields. The shield locks onto distant targets and at the press of a button the Slayer launches towards enemies and obliterates them with devastating effect. For a series so hyper focused on its array of weaponry, it's curious to have the biggest change come in the form of a defensive addition. But with the variety the shield alone adds to the existing formula, it's an addition that will be difficult to move on from. Doom: The Dark Ages You'll still have to manage how you kill demons in order to keep your health and ammo topped up, but the importance of this has been de-emphasised when compared to Doom Eternal. Instead, that focus shifts towards a rhythm that arises from balancing parries and melee attacks in equal measure. You're given powerful attacks that you can deliver routinely with your fists and other melee weapons, all of which are tied to refresh timers that you can shorten by parrying incoming attacks. It's deeply satisfying to rush into the face of a towering demon with a shield bash, parry a string of attacks, and then deliver a flurry of your own in their dazed state. Each reverberating parry and subsequent crushing counter-attack pauses the action ever so slightly to emphasize the impact of your actions, giving each skirmish a crunchy feel that never gets old. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsMay 9

The Midnight Walk ReviewA dark, gorgeous, and touching journey.

IGN PC ReviewsMay 8