One of the earliest missions in MindsEye tasks you with tailing a car. Get too close and the person driving will spot you; fall too far behind and you’ll lose sight of the vehicle. It’s the exact kind of mission structure we all decided was tired and needed to go away over a decade ago. … Read more

More than anything, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is an odd part of the Switch 2 launch lineup because it’s defined more by what it isn’t than what it is. It isn’t really a video game. It isn’t part of a franchise. And most centrally, it isn’t a free pack-in game. That last one feels … Read more

Remedy is a team known for its story-driven single-player games, and though it has tried other kinds of games over the years, FBC: Firebreak is its most prominent detour to date. Built as a three-player co-op PvE first-person shooter set in the Oldest House–the same setting as 2019’s Control–Firebreak manages to transpose Remedy’s signature strangeness … Read more

After its predecessor served as a beacon of novelty amidst a sea of stagnation, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach had a big challenge to overcome. Death Stranding’s absurd nature, encompassing everything from urine grenades to gently rocking your controller to calm a distressed baby, was coupled with a rich new setting to unravel. Step … Read more

After cutting its teeth on melee combat and kung fu action with Absolver and Sifu, I don’t think anyone expected Sloclap’s next game to be an arcadey alternative to EA Sports FC. But that’s precisely what the French developer has crafted with Rematch: a football game that embodies the spirit and chaotic energy of having … Read more

Switch 2 Version Update: With the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have received a much-needed performance boost. The free update adds 4K visuals while docked and a rock-solid 60 frames per second for both docked and handheld play. After several hours of testing, I’ve found both Scarlet and Violet run … Read more

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 was a phenomenal package that made lifelong fans like myself fall in love with its quarter pipes and rails all over again. It was a wonderful tribute to the 1999 and 2000 originals, but there was one big bugaboo that left me and other fans wanting: the exclusion of the … Read more

Video games and mechs are a match made in heaven, so it’s surprising there aren’t more games about piloting the hulking war machines. 2023’s Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon was the last mech game of note, delighting both fans and newcomers alike with its breakneck action and fully fledged customization. Yet those of us … Read more

There is no greater feeling–of awe, despair, exhilaration–in Dune: Awakening than being eaten by Shai’Hulud. In the 60-plus hours I’ve spent with developer Funcom’s open-world survival MMORPG, I’ve been swallowed by the sandworms of Arrakis exactly twice. Both encounters were moments I’ll never forget. Dune: Awakening is filled with these kinds of moments, ones where … Read more

I don’t have any keen insight to Nintendo’s process, but if you told me that Donkey Kong Bananza was crafted by a Voltron-like supergroup of key developers from its biggest franchises, I would believe you. At first glance, it bears the strongest resemblance to Super Mario Odyssey, from which it gets most of its fundamental … Read more