Dan Hodges's Reviews
In spite of its spotty localization, Dry Drowning is a compelling blend of visual novel and adventure game, providing a gritty cyberpunk world to explore, a brutal case to uncover, and Orwellian politics to navigate.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a marked improvement on its predecessor. Although the combat is still underwhelming, the rest of the package is sharp, charming, and loaded with stuff to build, crops to farm, and settlements to manage.
Super Mario Maker 2 is much more than an enhanced Switch port. Featuring a lengthy story mode, a myriad of smart additions, and more ways to create nightmarish abominations and call them Mario levels, this is some essential Mario that Switch owners won't want to miss.
My Friend Pedro is like if Sonic the Hedgehog went on a drug-fueled killing spree. It's a ridiculous whirlwind of flashy dives, stylish shooting, and accidentally amazing trick shots that refuses to take itself seriously.
Pathologic 2 presents a weird, engaging, and wholly unique world to uncover and explore, but makes the act of playing it a clunky and laborious chore.
Conan Unconquered is a deep and rewarding strategy-survival title with some unfortunate technical issues that could really shine with some updates. Grab a friend and you'll have a quality co-op game on your hands.
Warhammer: Chaosbane is a fun and satisfying hack-and-slash with enough combat variety and hokey charm to make this casual Diablo-like worth a look.
Layers of Fear 2 is an unnerving and memorable descent into madness that reminds us why Bloober Team are the masters of first-person psychological horror.
Life is Strange 2: Episode 3: Wastelands provides some much-needed breathing room for Sean and Daniel, allowing them to unwind and relax a little. The result is the tightest, most rewarding episode yet with a top-notch cliffhanger.
Mortal Kombat 11 offers a fantastic middle ground of depth and accessibility, providing tactical excitement in a beautifully presented, densely packed, and easily digestible package. NetherRealm's latest title is a resounding success.
Fade To Silence is a mess of ideas that don't come together well enough to be worth experiencing. There's plenty of potential here, but every idea is half-baked, undercooked, and buried by other systems.
SteamWorld Quest may be Image & Form's finest game yet, presenting a charming tale and a nuanced combat system wrapped up in a wonderfully cohesive style.
Anno 1800 is a rich city-builder with a staggering amount of depth. Although the tutorials could be clearer and more detailed, there's an impressive and addictive game here for those willing to give it the requisite time and patience.
Dangerous Driving marks Three Fields Entertainment's first attempt at making a fully-fledged spiritual successor to Burnout. Its thrilling speeds and exciting action scratch the itch, but the tight budget, myriad of technical issues, and barebones content hold it back from being truly special.
Although the premise of Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: EVERY BUDDY! is bland, the game's charm and personality shine through in its writing and music. Meanwhile, the dungeon-crawling gameplay can be excessively punishing and tediously grindy, but the experience is ultimately satisfying and rewarding.
Despite the bland and forgettable story, The Division 2 offers a sizable expansion on the first game's foundation, providing an excellent loot-shooter with great combat, sharp AI, compelling loot, and a polished presentation.
If you don't mind some wonky voice-acting, there's plenty of charm to be found in Trüberbrook's engrossing and rustic sci-fi tale.
Left Alive is a shoddily assembled mess with no real redeeming features. Its broken AI and glaring technical issues only serve to highlight the poor game design on display.
Rules continues the compelling journey of the Diaz brothers, further expanding on the supernatural elements teased during the first episode's conclusion with less forcefully controversial and predictable writing. Unfortunately, the episode is hindered by some substantial technical issues.
Resident Evil 2 is a triumphant celebration of the original that scares to the core and sets a new standard for remaking old games.