Jordan Oloman's Reviews
If you haven’t played any of the Dead Rising games, this is still the best one, and this gorgeous remaster is the best place to start.
Hopefully, with time and consideration, Payday 3 can usurp its predecessor, but for now, that predecessor looms large over the new game’s launch. Even if the moment-to-moment gameplay has been improved, the soul of Payday is clearly in the systems that surround it, which is where this threequel is sorely lacking.
A seasonal live-service roadmap promises a time-based endgame mode, variant exosuits, and a Monster Hunter collaboration in the near future, which, as a player now caught in the game’s talons, is an exciting prospect. Exoprimal is rough around the edges, but hopefully, by the time these updates arrive, it will have found the nostalgic audience its compelling experimental narrative sorely deserves, rather than going the way of the dinosaurs.
There’s an overwhelming fakeness and irony to Dead Island 2 that, without any oppositional hope or sincerity, can eventually make the experience of playing it feel like kind of a downer, similar to the feeling you get after eating a load of junk food. My partner turned to me during one of my sessions late into the game and said it looked like I was on autopilot. Instead of meaningfully engaging with its systems, I was mindlessly pushing through the hordes in search of more complexity, or a satisfying narrative crescendo that never came. Dead Island 2’s nostalgic charms can transport you back to a simpler time, but there’s often a reason why you don’t see old friends anymore.
Dynasty Warriors 9 is a bold but utterly fruitless attempt to revitalize a series that is stuck in its ways, showcasing an open-world that is completely at odds with itself, overwhelming technical issues and diabolical voice-over work.
The platforming is quite fun and the feedback loop works, so at the approachable price point, if you want something absent-minded to play as background noise for a catch-up conversation, then sure, but beyond that… it’s probably not worth the seven to ten hours of effort to complete it.
All of this works to take the heart out of this game, and make it feel like a slap-dash effort on PC. The gameplay is truly eclectic, but the ridiculous graphics fiasco and the lackluster set dressing bring it way down. It may well be the best gameplay this series has seen since the PS2 era, but it doesn’t look the part.
The Sinking City's engrossing premise is ultimately betrayed by counterintuitive systems and bleak monotony.
This episode contains the best scenes of the season so far, but it wastes an egregious amount of time getting to the point.
By committing to the systems it draws its name from, Kingmaker creates a deeply comprehensive and satisfying CRPG that is also incredibly lonely and masochistic when it wants to be.
Crackdown 3 is bonkers chaotic fun but also a case of wasted potential. The series deserved an iterative revival but instead, we have the tried-and-tested Crackdown backbone with remastered visuals and a touch more chaos, sadly squandering the promise of its few interesting additions in the process
Lone Echo 2 is an enjoyable space drama with striking details and fun movement mechanics, but it lacks innovation and struggles to justify its eight-hour runtime.
Soul-less in Seoul, Agents of Mayhem tries to break away from Saints Row and in doing so, loses a lot of Volition's hallmark charm. If you can look past an insignificant narrative, constant monotony and writing that lacks tact, you might be in for some dumb fun.
High Hell is a high-octane shooter from the minds behind Heavy Bullets and Enter the Gungeon. Whilst not the most ground-breaking puzzle shooter on offer today, it spins an absurd web and has a satisfying gameplay loop from level to level.
Sea of Thieves is the perfect framing device for nautical adventure that rewards a committed group of young-at-heart, social pirates to find and evoke the fun from its sandbox. Unfortunately, that gorgeous world has questionable systems and content limits that (if not dealt with) scupper its incredible potential and give it a worrying sell-by-date.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an intricate RPG brimming with realism in an immersive world, but all of its grandeur is consistently overshadowed by the unpolished experience of tinkering with its systems.
Little Town Hero is a solid RPG with several unique, ambitious new systems that light up different parts of the brain than you may be used to. However, it also feels like it’s still in the prototype phase. The battle system is fun to figure out, but ultimately combat is so drawn out and confusing that it becomes exhausting. Unfortunately, it’s not as snappy and enjoyable in quick bursts as Pokemon, which may be the thing that doom’s Little Town Hero’s clear potential as a brain-teasing game to play on your commute.
Overall, I see Diluvion as a spectacle first and a game second. It’s wonderful to look at, listen to and experience. You could easily get lost in this subterranean adventure, but the lackluster controls and repetitive gameplay chip away at the luxurious coat of paint, and you may start to forget about those few fascinating moments of tense exploration.
A well-functioning port of a brilliant game with an unexpected identity crisis. Given the availability of other platforms, the visual compromise makes this technical marvel a difficult sell to first-timers and veterans.
Yoshi's Crafted World doesn't use its clever conceit as well as it should or weave a poignant story, but it's still a solid and accessible Nintendo platformer.