Ali Hashmi's Reviews
Shadow Gambit The Cursed Crew is an exceptional stealth strategy game with a staggering amount of depth, variety, and creativity. Each crew member can radically change how you tackle different objectives and the increasing sandbox challenges force you think outside the box. It's Mimimi Games' best title yet, and there is a lot to love here with dozens of hours of meaningful content to sink your teeth into.
Resident Evil 8 Village is one of the best entries in the series, and an exceptional survival horror game. The setting, characters, and exploration are the highlights of the title, and keep you engaged from start to finish. There’s enough content to chew on for multiple playthroughs, and the game features aspects of almost every game in the series without anything feeling crammed in. It’s an incredible title and continues to cement CAPCOM’s place in the industry as one of the most creative studios, and masters of survival horror.
Gunbrella is a beautifully animated, focused, and satisfying 2D-action title that delivers on its premise in spades. Gliding around with your Gunbrella as you blast away enemies never gets old, and while the game does suffer from a lack of challenge and minor readability issues, it's one of the most memorable and often funny titles of the year.
Nobody Saves The World is an action RPG from Drinkbox Studios, where players can choose from several distinct forms, mix and match their abilities, clear dungeons, and enjoy some comedic writing.
Solar Ash is an emotional game with a lot of heart. It’s a feast for the eyes, with an incredible movement system, and a world built around your core moveset. The story isn’t as consistent but still wraps up nicely.
The Ramp is a polished skateboarding experience, with tight controls, deep gameplay, and some chill tunes. It’s easy to get into, but hard to master, and best played in short bursts. A true digital toy, that you can play with, and get better at while having an absolute blast.
Weird West is an excellent immersive sim that treats players with respect to not only make decisions but live with them. It features an unpredictable world full of danger, mystery, and ultimately, salvation. The overarching narrative with multiple characters ends on a satisfying note leaving possibilities for so much more. It’s brought down by bugs, both big and small that break the illusion of the aforementioned choice, and freedom both in gameplay and narrative.
Neon White is an exceptional shooter brimming with style and substance in equal measure. The core mechanics are extremely polished and encourage you to get better through repetition, and practice. Despite my early reservations, the characters grew on me as the story progressed, and White is a pretty likable protagonist. Expertly designed levels, Machinae Girl's OST, and the slick presentation make Neon White a worthwhile experience that you won't put down easily.
Cultic is a fantastic shooter that encourages experimentation with how you approach combat. Its vast arsenal and movement mechanics allow for various viable options against many enemy types and bosses. With top-notch presentation and horror aesthetics, Cultic does enough to stand out in the heap of excellent retro-style shooters.
Blanc is an exercise in empathy and trust. It's a lovely short experience that uses cooperative play in a meaningful way with its absorbing puzzles where both players feel equally involved. With stellar presentation and animations, Blanc is a wonderful adventure worth playing.
Storyteller is a fantastic puzzle game full of charming characters, and excellent humor, presented on a beautiful interface. Its intuitive controls, dynamic gameplay, and open-ended levels make it accessible, exciting, and appropriately challenging. Its absorbing take on classical stories is hilarious, and you develop a personal attachment to each tale as you progress through its multiple thematically designed chapters.
Remnant 2 is one of the best co-op experiences you can have right now, and it improves on the original in every single way. Its satisfying mix of melee and ranged combat, memorable boss fights full of creativity, tons of enemy variety scattered in each biome and excellent presentation make it Gunfire Games' best title to date.
Armored Core 6 is a fantastic action title that is demanding and rewarding in equal parts. It encourages players to get creative with their builds by offering endless customization, and an accessible economy system where nothing is really lost. With stunning art direction, and memorable voice acting, FromSoftware has revived its action franchise with an uncompromising entry that feels modern and offers a feature-rich experience with tons of replayability.
Ghostrunner 2 is a must-play action game that expertly blends fast-paced action with smooth parkour gameplay. Its stunning art direction, memorable antagonists, and engaging upgrade system add up to an experience that meaningfully builds on the original. The undercooked semi-open world sections and stuttering issues on PC get in the way of perfection, but this is a worthy sequel that never loses steam throughout its thoroughly entertaining campaign.
Outer Wilds is a masterpiece, and it's still a masterpiece on the Nintendo Switch. The unmatched sense of exploration and discovery is preserved on the platform. The superb soundtrack and excellent art direction persist despite some aliasing concerns. There are some minor performance issues in complex scenes, but none of those detract from the overall experience.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a return to form for the franchise, and an excellent game that takes the series back to its 2D roots wrapped in a polished Metroidvania experience that's clever, engaging, and full of meaningful content to explore. The fast-paced combat rewards skillful play and the gorgeous art direction brings Mount Qaf to life. I just hope we don't have to wait another 13 years for another Prince of Persia title.
Persona 3 Reload is a fantastic remake that cleverly integrates mechanics from subsequent entries to provide an experience that's polished, expertly paced, and full of heart. Its fast-paced combat, quality-of-life additions, and host of activities always keep you engaged no matter where you are in the story. The darker tone lends to an overall narrative that feels more consequential, and Tatsumi Port Island is a joy to explore. It's an excellent place for newcomers to the series and a must-buy for RPG fans.
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game is an excellent addition to the MudRunner series that retains the core experience of trekking through hazardous terrain while adding new tools that push you to become creative with how you maneuver around all sorts of obstacles. Its scientific research backdrop lends to greater mission variety, and deeper customization allows you to make each truck your own. It's a great place for newcomers to the series, and a fantastic new adventure for veterans alike.
Twelve Minutes is a bold adventure, one with shocking revelations, tense moments, and some very human interactions. It’s a point-and-click title that doesn’t do much to add to the genre, but there are enough encounters to make it worth playing. It’s a visually distinct game, with an excellent cast that truly makes up for an unforgettable experience.
Mind Scanners is an emotional ride, full of tough decisions, excellent characters, and a haunting world. The game shines when all its elements are working in harmony, immersing players in its rich, evocative world. The art style is excellent, and its interface-based gameplay is engaging. There’s enough to chew on, and the game doesn’t overstay its welcome.