HyperMediaPod
2023
As someone who approaches racing games as a car enthusiast first and a gamer second, I really appreciate the approach to progression that Turn 10 has implemented here. Instead of throwing piles of cars and endless modifications at you, Forza Motorsport makes you work for your dream builds. It's a very track enthusiast approach that is unsurprisingly drawing the ire of gamers who don't really care, and just want Horizon but on the Nürburgring. The series categories take me back to the old days of Forza, and in terms of structure this is my favorite experience in the series since Motorsport 4.
My only real gripe with this entry is the abysmal PC performance. This is the hardest I've ever had to work to get a game to run a steady frame rate - let alone 60 fps. Altogether I'm really happy here, but I hate to see that even Forza can't escape the garbage state of PC optimization in 2023.
My only real gripe with this entry is the abysmal PC performance. This is the hardest I've ever had to work to get a game to run a steady frame rate - let alone 60 fps. Altogether I'm really happy here, but I hate to see that even Forza can't escape the garbage state of PC optimization in 2023.
I hate that I waited 7 years to finally pick this up.
Easily the best FPS experience I've had since Doom - a game that came out in the same year, teamed up with this title, and said "hey, what if shooters were fucking fast again?" An utter joy of an FPS with a phenomenal pair of leading characters and a movement system I am now addicted to.
Maybe one day I'll try out Apex. If I ever stop Playing Titanfall.
Easily the best FPS experience I've had since Doom - a game that came out in the same year, teamed up with this title, and said "hey, what if shooters were fucking fast again?" An utter joy of an FPS with a phenomenal pair of leading characters and a movement system I am now addicted to.
Maybe one day I'll try out Apex. If I ever stop Playing Titanfall.
2023
A stellar remaster of a solid but underwhelming classic. Nightdive's work here stands tall amongst their many achievements, even if id's falls short of what they had accomplished before.
A true gem among the pile of mediocre indie horror games. A surprisingly thoughtful plot and tons of replay-ability merge with a unique take on a familiar horror genre. As someone who was shown The Exorcist and a slew of demented 80's & 90's horror films at an impressionable age, Faith is an absolute treat to behold for a myriad of reasons.
2023
"A mile wide and an inch deep" has been the go to design philosophy for Bethesda for a long time now, and nothing changes with Starfield. This is the most I've been able to enjoy one of their games outside of Skyrim, but all the cool features are clogged up by thoughtless, antiquated design decisions and inconsequential writing. I still had a lot more fun than I thought I would, and I probably would have loved this game more had it come out in 2016.
2023
Is this remake a shameless cash grab by a greedy mega-publisher? Yes.
Is EA Motive made up of talented devs who clearly love the original and have made a great game? Also yes!
Stellar horror game for both fans of the original and newcomers. The side quest material adds to the game, and while I'm not huge on some of the rewrites, they don't do much to spoil the mystery and intensity of what occurs on the Ishimura. It's not a remake that was needed, but I'm glad it happened.
Is EA Motive made up of talented devs who clearly love the original and have made a great game? Also yes!
Stellar horror game for both fans of the original and newcomers. The side quest material adds to the game, and while I'm not huge on some of the rewrites, they don't do much to spoil the mystery and intensity of what occurs on the Ishimura. It's not a remake that was needed, but I'm glad it happened.
A great Star Wars game held back by shoddy performance and unrewarding exploration.
The story is solid up until the final act, where events crank up to 12 and it all ends up being one of the best post-Disney acquisition SW stories this side of Andor, The Last Jedi, and some of the better Marvel SW comics. The combat is a tight upgrade over the prior game(killing stormtroopers will never not be fun), the cast is stellar, and the visuals - when they aren't stuttering - are beautiful. It's a shame EA refuses to give their devs the proper time to optimize performance before release.
The story is solid up until the final act, where events crank up to 12 and it all ends up being one of the best post-Disney acquisition SW stories this side of Andor, The Last Jedi, and some of the better Marvel SW comics. The combat is a tight upgrade over the prior game(killing stormtroopers will never not be fun), the cast is stellar, and the visuals - when they aren't stuttering - are beautiful. It's a shame EA refuses to give their devs the proper time to optimize performance before release.
A great example of just how important traversal is in an open world game. Insomniac doesn't do anything revolutionary with the open-world formula, they just make it adhere to the world of Spider-Man. The combat is great, the characters are stellar, and while other elements can get repetitive the experience never stops being fun.
Oh, the DLC is kinda okay.
Oh, the DLC is kinda okay.
Infection itself is a blast for sure, but the addition of 8v8 Squad Battle on classic maps like Valhalla, Rat's Nest, and Last Resort, as well as some great cosmetics, makes Season 4 the best Infinite's multiplayer has been since it first launched.
2023
An experience that will stay with me for a very long time.
2010
"Hey, what if we did the Gears thing but threw Devil May Cry at it? Don't worry about the story, just make sure the gameplay rips."
And yeah, it does rip. There you go, that's Vanquish.
And yeah, it does rip. There you go, that's Vanquish.
2019
Yeah the story is dumb as hell, but it's MK. Great gameplay with a well-balanced roster, a ton of modes and customization, and possibly the most thorough tutorial system i've seen in recent fighting games makes this one of the most newcomer-friendly entries in the entire genre.
I had to go back and replay this just to see if it still held up as an all-time favorite for me. Pleased to report that the answer is a resounding hell-yes. Sequences that blew my teenage mind may have lost their surprise, but not their luster. The combat is still flawless, and the atmosphere is still undeniably BTAS, just in late 2000's video game form. Asylum's only weakness? It's titan of a follow-up.
2020
Underneath the abhorrent state of its release in and its just serviceable gameplay, there's a great experience to be had here. I can scarcely think of a more engrossing environment and cast of characters than what CDProjekt Red has made here in Night City. Studio execs screwing over their own devs and their prospective fans to release a product that was utterly unplayable for almost 2 years should never be forgotten. However, in 2023, I really think there's something worth checking out here.
2023
Considering that the original RE4 is one of my al-timers, the fact that this one is even better is utterly insane - if not totally blasphemous. Vastly improved gameplay with the rest of the experience to match, including great boss fights and impeccable atmosphere thanks to Capcom's RE Engine. God, what a game. Again.