Tom Marks's Reviews
SteamWorld Quest's card-based RPG combat offers an insane amount of choice, making it as flexible as it is fun.
Rainbow Six Siege's focus on teamwork and strategy over just aiming prowess sets it apart in exciting ways, and the constant stream of new maps and operators have made it a wonderfully varied FPS. All that new content has made it harder for new players to catch up, and I wish more work had been done to address this, but smart play and good communication will still win you more games than having the newest operator. It's got some growing pains to sort out, but the future continues to look bright for Siege.
Artifact is a challenging, deep, and surprisingly approachable card game.
Wargroove's brain-teasing tactics and impressive level editor make it the Advance Wars successor fans have been waiting for.
A gorgeous tactics card game that's simple to pick up but has significant depth.
It was wonderfully satisfying to have more Dishonored to play, even if Death of the Outsider doesn't quite meet the high bar Dishonored 2 set in story or mission design.
Overcooked is one of the freshest couch co-op games I've ever played. It's a perfect blend of strategy and chaos, asking you and your teammates to think on your feet as its smart and strange levels do everything they possibly can to make sure you are shouting at each other. The Switch port has some framerate and rumble issues that keep it from matching the best versions available, but for local multiplayer fun it's hard to beat.
A beautiful but short-lived expedition that left me wanting more of its best ideas.
Warhammer Vermintide 2 is a beautifully dark game, and I'm in love with its hard-hitting, meaty melee weapons. It's a gorgeous game with tons of fun play styles and customization options to uncover, even if most of the loot you earn for your efforts is a letdown. But thankfully you don't need to pay much attention to it to simply enjoy the hack-n-slash, Left 4 Dead-inspired co-op fun of bashing hordes of rats and zombies to a pulp.
Yoku's Island Express is a novel Metroidvania-pinball hybrid that stands out as something wholly unique. It blends those clashing genres with a beautiful island style, and its satisfying flippers and bumpers make uncovering its wide island a ton of fun. Retreading completed areas while hunting for secrets can occasionally get stale, but Yoku's Island Express has a refreshingly positive attitude that kept me smiling the whole way through.
Wattam is a weird and wild fever dream of a game, but it's the most enjoyable fever dream I've ever had.
Kentucky Route Zero is a beautiful poetry generator in the body of a point-and-click adventure game.
Murder by Numbers successfully blends a Phoenix Wright-style visual novel with a Picross-style puzzle game by making each aspect great in its own right.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake's dull filler and convoluted additions can cause it to stumble, but it still breathes exciting new life into a classic while standing as a great RPG all its own.
Star Wars: Squadrons' single-player campaign tells an entertaining story, while its flight controls hit a sweet spot between accessibility and nuance – and it's made even better by VR and HOTAS support.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a charming LittleBigPlanet spin-off that trades its creation tools in for a more straightforward Mario structure.
Persona 5 Strikers' simple real-time combat is consistently engaging, and its summer vacation story (while slimmed down) is a sequel nearly worthy of the '2' it lacks at the end of its title.
Monster Hunter Rise mixes classic Monster Hunter ideas with some of World's best improvements and a whole bunch of clever new mechanics of its own.
Even with a few rough edges, Psychonauts 2 is just about everything I could have hoped for from this long-awaited sequel.
Echoes of the Eye is a wonderful return to the clockwork solar system of Outer Wilds, even if its occasional horror game sections aren't quite as interesting as what came before.