Comprehensive Game Reviews
Comprehensive Game Reviews
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From AAA titles to indie games, we cover it all. Our comprehensive reviews provide detailed insights to help you find your next favorite game.
Review: Islanders: New Shores Is a Big Upgrade
Review: Islanders: New Shores Is a Big UpgradeIslanders: New Shores is, in every way, an improvement from the original Islanders game due to new buildings and gameplay elements.
Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraJul 8
Dune: Awakening Review - To Tame A Land
Dune: Awakening Review - To Tame A LandThere is no greater feeling--of awe, despair, exhilaration--in Dune: Awakening than being eaten by Shai'Hulud. In the 60-plus hours I've spent with developer Funcom's open-world survival MMORPG, I've been swallowed by the sandworms of Arrakis exactly twice. Both encounters were moments I'll never forget. Dune: Awakening is filled with these kinds of moments, ones where the desert world of Arrakis becomes the star and the player merely a small actor. Whether it's crossing the open desert sands and narrowly escaping Shai'Hulud's maw or piloting an Ornithopter for the first time, Funcom's latest makes author Frank Herbert's iconic book feel real in a way not even Denis Villeneuve's critically acclaimed Dune films managed to accomplish. Dune: Awakening is nothing if not ambitious in that regard, adapting an infamously difficult-to-adapt masterwork of science-fiction with confidence. Though it eventually does become repetitive, its endgame lacks direction, and its strict adherence to the source material is sometimes an Achilles' heel, Dune: Awakening nonetheless manages to carefully mix and match genres to create a Spice Melange cocktail that is hard to put down--at least for the first few dozen hours. From Dune: Awakening's very first moments, Funcom's reverence for Herbert's universe is clear. While clearly inspired by the look of Villeneuve's films (certain designs, like the Ornithopters, Imperial Testing Stations, and the look of the Harkonnens are ripped straight from the movies), Funcom also puts its own spin on the Dune universe, effectively blending the two looks together to create something that feels both familiar and different, but unquestionably Dune. Continue Reading at GameSpot
GameSpot - Game ReviewsJul 8
Mecha Break Review - Strike Fast
Mecha Break Review - Strike FastVideo games and mechs are a match made in heaven, so it's surprising there aren't more games about piloting the hulking war machines. 2023's Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon was the last mech game of note, delighting both fans and newcomers alike with its breakneck action and fully fledged customization. Yet those of us looking for more mecha-based thrills have been left wanting in the years since. You can only go so long without soaring through the air in a sleekly designed mech, dodging missiles and small-arms fire like you're starring in Macross or Mobile Suit Gundam before you begin to crave more. Up steps Mecha Break: a new free-to-play, third-person multiplayer game that evokes the exciting, full-tilt action of classic mecha anime. With three distinct game modes on offer and dozens of varied machines to pilot, Mecha Break offers quick thrills, but a lack of customization and a free-to-play model built on aggressive monetization and not-so-micro transactions hold it back from achieving pure mecha greatness. Things kick off with a brief introductory mission that does a poor job of teaching you the objectives of an actual match. With its boss fights and set-piece moments, it feels more like a mission from a nonexistent single-player game than a primer for what Mecha Break has to offer. There's some semblance of worldbuilding revolving around a mysterious mineral called Corite, which drove humanity's rapid technological growth but is now killing the Earth. Continue Reading at GameSpot
GameSpot - Game ReviewsJul 8
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 Review
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 ReviewTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 proves yet again the series’ over-the-top skateboarding formula is totally timeless, even if some of the changes to THPS4 miss the mark and the soundtrack has been fumbled.
IGN ArticlesJul 7
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 Review - You Win Some, Lose Some
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 Review - You Win Some, Lose SomeTony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 was a phenomenal package that made lifelong fans like myself fall in love with its quarter pipes and rails all over again. It was a wonderful tribute to the 1999 and 2000 originals, but there was one big bugaboo that left me and other fans wanting: the exclusion of the series' third entry. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 felt missing from the first remake, stripped from the games it most closely resembles. And while that problem may seem solved with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, from the outside, developer Iron Galaxy has made a number of decisions that are likely to leave fans of the originals disappointed, even though this second remake is still an excellent Tony Hawk game. The original three games fit together perfectly, with each subsequent game adding new mechanics that made the series' trick system feel complete by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Each game was also structured in the same way, giving players two-minute skate sessions to complete as many goals as they could, performing tricks and earning high scores, before moving on to the next two-minute session. It's a format that works well, so much so that you'll have a hard time stopping yourself from going for one more run. However, it's not how Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 was structured, with the fourth game instead opting for freely roamable levels that mission-giving characters called home. Time limits only came with specific challenges when the likes of pro skater Geoff Rowley asked you to steal police officers' hats or a college student pleaded with you to take revenge on the local frat boys. In THPS 3+4, the levels from 4 have been retrofitted to behave and play like levels from the first three games. That means fewer goals per level, no mission-givers, and a time limit to top things off. Continue Reading at GameSpot
GameSpot - Game ReviewsJul 7
Review: Umamusume: Pretty Derby on Steam Makes the Game Even Better
Review: Umamusume: Pretty Derby on Steam Makes the Game Even BetterThe Umamusume: Pretty Derby global version is an addictive game that mixes the frustration of raising sims with excitement of horse racing.
Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraJul 7
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 Review – Skating It Safe
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 Review – Skating It Safe Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: Activision Developer: Iron Galaxy Studios Rating: Teen Just as the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series made skateboarding more approachable through gameplay, it also brought an at-the-time alternative culture into the homes of players around the world. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, which combines a remake of arguably the most beloved entry in the series with a follow-up that represented the first major deviation into one homogenized package, masterfully recreates the gameplay pleasures of these games. THPS 3 + 4 is going to please any fan of the series, and it will highlight for newcomers the amusement these games packed in 2001 and 2002. However, it struggles to convey the context of these games to anyone not already familiar with their history, erasing the aforementioned deviation in the process. Booting up THPS 3 + 4 feels like it did more than two decades ago on my PlayStation 2, and hopping into my first run was an evocative moment. It’s a cliche, but these games look as good as my rose-tinted glasses make the originals appear in my memories (and after watching some old gameplay videos, those rose-tinted glasses are doing a ton of heavy lifting). The same can’t be said for the NPCs, though; they still look ridiculous. Part of the appeal of THPS has always been its ease of access into skateboarding culture, the way MTV and Jackass influences it and vice versa, and the way it shaped music and fashion sense for players around the world. Despite enjoying the gameplay of 3 + 4, I struggled throughout my time with the game to see that approachability. If you aren’t already aware of the series’ place in pop culture, this remake does nothing to bring you up to speed. I’d argue a remake, specifically, doesn’t need to do that, but given that Iron Galaxy has included additional, more modern songs, updated brands, new skaters, and more, it’s clear it wants 3 + 4 to fit into 2025. Crucially, though, despite including these touchstones of modern culture, they feel like inclusions built on brand deals and quick visits to stores like Vans and Zumiez rather than a deeper understanding of a once alt-culture’s rise into a worldwide phenomenon, or why these games were so impressionable in the early aughts. This became all the more apparent when I reached the back half of the package. THPS 4’s Career Mode had been sanded down to fit nicely within the rest of the original games rather than standing out as the series’ new direction. The open world-lite nature of THPS 4, which worked as both a foundational step to Tony Hawk’s later entries like Underground and American Wasteland and as an illuminating viewport into skate culture’s rise in society, is gone; in its place, a two-minute timer and a list of goals, just like in the first three games. It is, ultimately, a smart call and makes for a better game. But even as I was 100-percenting its levels, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Does it make for a better remake?”   Though I prefer the remade version of 4 as it appears in this package, it inarguably loses much of its identity. Homogenizing THPS 4 strips away what made it different. While it is easily a better experience to play in the remake, with its more streamlined focus, it feels more like a THPS 3 add-on than a remake of a fourth game. This is not a modern way to play 4; it’s a different way to play 4. That said, turning THPS 4 into essentially a level pack for THPS 3, the best in the series, is incredibly satisfying from a pure gameplay standpoint. The two-minute run version of these games is the best way to explore and learn these levels, and new collectible placements, secret decks, secret shop unlocks, and skater stat boosts hidden throughout each breathe new life into these familiar hangs. I enjoyed that collecting cash and stats in each level directly affected my created-skater progression, allowing them to feel unique in a stacked roster of classic pros and series newcomers that make sense in a remake. Though there are welcome “game mods” that allow you to change how long a run is, alongside many others like perfect manual and grind balance or a never-bail setting, Iron Galaxy Studios makes it implicit that the two-minute run is the best way to play. Learning each level on a timer naturally quarters off spaces in a delightful way. “Okay, this run I’m going to focus on this half-pipe to reach the Sick Score, and my next run, I’ll focus on collecting the S-K-A-T-E letters,” are the kind of thoughts I had throughout my time with the game. And just when I started to grow bored with a level after collecting everything and completing its goals, the next level was there waiting for me, ready to refresh my interest and enjoyment. That was especially the case in the three new levels Iron Galaxy Studios created for THPS 4, specifically. These are incredible achievements of creativity, fitting in with the classic levels you know and love, both as combo-creating arenas and easter egg-infused playgrounds. While the name implies a pro skateboarding experience, THPS is actually a rolling platformer collectathon atop a skateboard. There is a ton of meat on this goal-based collectathon, but save for a few shake-ups to the formula with competition levels, if you don’t like its flavor, you will walk away from the table starving.   Multiplayer provides the type of shake-up I was left wanting after poring through the single-player Career Modes, letting me challenge other players in a variety of arcade experiences. While the rules differ, each ultimately boils down to high scores and long combos on the same levels from Career Mode. I’ll be having a lot of fun in THPS 3 + 4’s multiplayer suite, but it’s not without its minor caveats. I’m bewildered that there is no level voting between rounds; you play on the level 3 + 4 randomly selects for you. I’m just as confused by the lack of playlist options; there is just one moshpit mode that randomly decides the next minigame you’ll play, with no player choice involved, and two more modes that are specifically new additions. The new H-A-W-K mode, which tasks you with hiding H-A-W-K letters around a level for other skaters to find, and the Free Skate option, which lets you hang out in a level with up to seven other skaters, are welcome additions, though. The Create-A-Park suite is easier to use and more streamlined than ever before, but it is something I look forward to exploring as more players get their hands on it (to create better parks than I ever could). The THPS series shaped my music taste, fashion sense, and more while also delivering an incredibly fun timesink on my PlayStation 2. A perfect remake of these games would do the same all these years later, or at least remind me why they were so impressionable when I was growing up. While Iron Galaxy has excellently modernized the gameplay and graphics of these classics to feel right in 2025, I wish it had done a better job of highlighting the influence these games once had in their heyday.  Score: 8 About Game Informer's review system
Game Informer ReviewsJul 7
Review: Nova Hearts Romance Interrupted by Tedious Fights
Review: Nova Hearts Romance Interrupted by Tedious FightsThe concept behind Nova Hearts is good and I like some story elements, but I’m not a fan of its romance and hate its combat.
Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraJul 4
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review – Life, death, and a delivery man with a talking puppet
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review – Life, death, and a delivery man with a talking puppet Death Stranding 2, like its predecessor, is a polarizing game for many. When you "get it," like I and many others do, you simply just feel it on an indescribable level and appreciate each of its head-scratching intricacies. If you didn't "get" the first game, the sequel likely won't change your mind. But for those with an open mind willing to give a truly original story and gameplay loop a genuine try, DS2 feels like the culmination of everything Kojima has wanted to do in his open-world games, creating something that feels like playable art when at its best. Keep on keeping on Screenshot by Destructoid From a gameplay perspective, DS2 improves on the original in many ways. The gameplay missions feel more varied in structure, offering changes of pace every now and then as opposed to consecutive delivery missions where you're walking for a few dozen minutes at a time. Like in the first, you're encouraged to make the journey easier by constructing roads, ziplines, vehicles, and other additions to the post-apocalyptic world to help yourself and others. It's always a joy to see a new construct pop out of nowhere, as it was made by another player in the living world, really driving forth the "connection" that Kojima was looking for in the series. It's this feeling of working together with strangers where a lot of the game's satisfaction and joy comes from, at least for me. A strategic approach is both encouraged and necessary for many of the game's missions, whether you're carrying important cargo over a mountain, infiltrating a base filled with ghost robot enemies with coffins on their back, dealing with giant mechs, or sneaking past horrifying and ghostly BT's so they don't overwhelm you. Unfortunately, combat in DS2 still feels a bit wonky, but it's still not the main focal point of the gameplay. Some missions require stealth, while others require a head-on approach, but you have to be careful in how you conduct yourself in the game so as not to actually kill any other human being and create a nuclear bomb-like Voidout that will render an area of the map unplayable for a time. While the combat leaves a lot to be desired, the rest of the game's seemingly passive gameplay segments where you deliver packages or rebuild society scratch an itch that's difficult to be explained, and won't resonate with everyone, even if a lot of it feels a bit dumbed down to appeal to more of an audience than the original game captured. Whimsical and nonsensical, but poignant Screenshot by Destructoid Death Stranding 2's story is as weird and unique as it is thought-provoking and emotional, bringing forward allure that made the original worth playing in spite of its gameplay that often felt lacking. Sam Porter Bridges' journey throughout Mexico and Australia is full of predictable twists and turns, but I still felt a lump in my throat throughout most of it. The majority of DS2 is not a happy game, so be prepared for some heavy themes and imagery as you make your way through Sam's 30-plus-hour-long story. Plot points include loss of human life, grief, violence, personal tragedy, isolation, and depression as you attempt to navigate the world around you and connect people together in an effort to bring the world back from the brink. Set against these serious themes, though, are the silly oddities and weird characters Kojima is known for. Returning characters like Fragile, Deadman, Heartman, and the villainous guitar-playing Higgs are joined by wild newcomers like Tarman (an old man who can navigate a massive airship through tar), Dollman (a spirit medium whose soul got inexplicably got trapped in a puppet), Rainy (a pregnant woman who can control the rain), and Tomorrow (barefoot Elle Fanning) in what may be Kojima's oddest adventure yet. Among the many people you meet along the journey in DS2 , there's also a pizza maker who teaches you a special melee attack, a VTuber you deliver packages to, and several real-life friends of Kojima who he scanned into the game, like the band CHVRCHES. It's just wacky. Still, the desire to progress through DS2's story and reach its emotional, stunning, and mind-bending conclusion is what drives you to finish each delivery, and "keep on keeping on" as the environment seemingly crumbles around you, and Sam, too. Screenshot by Destructoid The world of Death Stranding is one of the most unique and original creations in recent years, so I will always be happy to revisit it and its characters, especially considering that Kojima Productions' utilization of Guerrilla Games' Decima Engine has created what's arguably one of the best-looking titles ever made. Every environment character is richly vivid and realistic, and truly something to behold on a PS5 Pro. Listen closely and intently Screenshot by Destructoid Kojima's love of music and the soundtrack of his life is brought to fruition in DS2 with a music player that Sam can take on his journeys, but the most impactful songs happen as you're traveling through the world on a lengthy journey. These specific tunes are timed for moments in the game and pop up when you least expect them (or when you most need them after or during an arduous task), triggering all sorts of emotions and offering a reprieve from the sometimes-monotonous delivery driver journeys through the expansive landscapes of Mexico and Australia. The game's score accentuates these moments, composed once again by the talented Ludvig Forssell, utilizing the ultra-heartbreaking "BB's Theme" from the original game at its most crucial points to drive me to tears. It helps to evoke some deeply personal feelings and emotions that not many other games have been able to. The post Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review – Life, death, and a delivery man with a talking puppet appeared first on Destructoid .
Reviews Archive – DestructoidJul 3
Persona5: The Phantom X Review in Progress 
Persona5: The Phantom X Review in Progress A journey through the psyche that retreads old wounds.
IGN PC ReviewsJul 3