Games Reviews

“Okay, just one more run.”

“Anthem looks beautiful and is anchored by exciting combat, but its potential is hamstrung by repetitive missions and a half-baked endgame.”

“No Man's Sky is a game of pure exploration that delivers on its most important promise.”

“Red Dead Redemption 2 can feel like a second job at times, one that constantly demands your attention with tasks mundane and mechanical.”

“Red Dead Redemption 2 can feel like a second job at times, one that constantly demands your attention with tasks mundane and mechanical.”

“A damn good third-person shooter tarnished by bland missions and live-service shenanigans.”

“The Veilguard feels like a return to form for BioWare but issues keep it from being great.”

“Madden NFL 24 is the most authentic and responsive Madden has felt in years, with improvements that fans of the franchise will immediately feel.”

“Crystal Dynamics has crafted a campaign that genuinely feels like a great Marvel adventure.”

“While undercooked presentation and visual issues hold the games back, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are still the best mainline Pokemon games in years.”

“A bold shift to action and a stirring fantasy tale make this the best Final Fantasy in ages.”

“It becomes an examination of the meaning of life in a way that's more valuable than all the gold or starships in its virtual galaxy.”

“The Phantom Pain is a phenomenal achievement in open-world design and the most polished Metal Gear game ever made.”

“Watch Dogs is something special, even if it doesn't always live up to its own ambition.”

“Overwatch is a brilliant, rewarding shooter built on a strong, flexible foundation.”

“Concord is a damn fine shooter.”

“Bayonetta is so frequently played by the camera as a sexual object — framed by the camera and the player at every opportunity in ways the male combatants of Bayonetta 2 will never be.”

“SimCity is a masterwork of design restraint, a focused, gorgeous, brilliantly entertaining game.”

“Cyberpunk 2077 is an extraordinary thing — broken in so many ways, but strangely beautiful, funny, and utterly fascinating.”

“Cyberpunk 2077 is an extraordinary thing — broken in so many ways, but strangely beautiful, funny, and utterly fascinating.”

“Skull and Bones has enough going for it to carve out a niche, even if it falls well short of the high seas adventure it once promised.”

“I realized that I had been tricked into playing another goddamn survival crafting game that wanted me to punch trees and mine stone for a few hours before it got fun.”

“A campaign that punches well above its weight, even if the live service grind that follows is repetitive.”

“Although some specialists can feel a bit useless at times, tweaks to the formula with Battlefield 2042 add a lot of interesting gameplay variety.”

“Halo Infinite's campaign is a confident, fun return to form for the series.”

“Gotham Knights is a satisfying action RPG with rich character work and a genuinely entertaining co-op experience that Batman fans will find worth their time.”

“Forspoken is a game of spectacular highs and frustrating lows, but its parkour combat is one of the freshest things I've played in years.”

“Gotham Knights is a satisfying action RPG with rich character work and a genuinely entertaining co-op experience that Batman fans will find worth their time.”

“The side quests and the characters they showcase are the shining beacon through the neon-soaked bleakness of Night City, and they give you room to explore the best the core RPG mechanics have to offer.”

“Starfield is an enormous, dense RPG that manages to feel like home even as it reaches for the stars.”

“Diablo Immortal is a surprisingly solid mobile translation of the Diablo formula, even if its aggressive monetization system threatens to overshadow everything it does well.”

“Overwatch 2 is a shooter that feels refreshed and exciting in ways the original stopped being years ago.”

“Concord manages to carve out its own identity in the crowded hero shooter space, with a surprisingly deep roster that rewards mastery.”

“Concord manages to carve out its own identity in the crowded hero shooter space, with a surprisingly deep roster that rewards mastery.”

“Mass Effect: Andromeda is a great-looking and frequently fun game that proves the franchise still has a future, even if this first entry stumbles a few times on the way.”

“Mass Effect: Andromeda is a great-looking and frequently fun game that proves the franchise still has a future, even if this first entry stumbles a few times on the way.”

“Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is at its best when you can ignore its live-service ambitions.”

“Sword and Shield represent the next step for Pokémon on Switch, with a charming new region, great new Pokémon, and the most welcoming entry in the series yet.”

“Mass Effect Andromeda is a messy, uneven but ultimately worthwhile role-playing adventure.”

“Mass Effect Andromeda is a messy, uneven but ultimately worthwhile role-playing adventure.”

“Anthem is a beautiful world let down by a shallow mission structure, but its fluid flight and satisfying combat make it worth exploring.”

“Redfall is rough around the edges and clearly unfinished in places, but its co-op fundamentals offer glimpses of something worthwhile underneath the performance problems.”

“No Man's Sky is fun, beautiful, and mind-bogglingly massive.”

“Halo Infinite transforms the series' two-decade-old formula for the better, giving protagonist Master Chief more characterization and implementing an open world.”

“Exhilarating movement mechanics I've played with since inFamous Second Son.”

“id Software did a pretty great job making something that feels familiar and fresh, and most importantly, fun.”

“Immortals of Aveum is an impressively confident first-person shooter with a hearty solo campaign and fast-paced, spellcasting combat that's spectacular to watch.”

“There's too much water.”

“Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has a lot of promise, but nothing in this game works out nearly as well as you'd hope.”

“This is not a review. I want to be upfront about that from the start. Kotaku was not provided with review code by the publisher.”

“Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a triumphant return to form for BioWare, with one of the best combat systems in the genre and companions you'll genuinely care about.”

“Star Wars Outlaws delivers a fun and surprisingly grounded Star Wars adventure, even if its core systems often feel like they're playing it safe.”

“Persona 5 is held back by some of its more questionable depictions of female and queer characters.”

“Cyberpunk 2077 is a masterpiece, an opus, a tour-de-force shooter and RPG hybrid that will absorb you for hundreds of hours.”

“Skull and Bones eventually finds its footing as a satisfying pirate fantasy, but its rough waters keep it from setting sail with the rest of Ubisoft's best.”

“Starfield is an expansive space opera for the ages.”

“A masterpiece of design and imagination.”

“Diablo IV is, without a doubt, the best Diablo game Blizzard has ever made.”

“Despite the technical issues, Scarlet and Violet are a bold new direction for the franchise.”

“Given that its developers have already laid out plans to significantly overhaul the game over the coming months, I'm cautiously optimistic about Anthem's future.”

“I genuinely wanted to like this game, and there were moments that enchanted me.”

“An RPG of massive scope that sometimes struggles under the weight of its own ambition.”

“Days Gone doesn't do enough to make its open world stand out from the crowd.”

“Battlefield 2042 is a blast when everything clicks. The problem is how often it doesn't.”

“Evolve is the most intensely satisfying multiplayer experience I've had in years.”

“God Hand is not so much a step back for the genre as it is a step back for games in general.”

“Marvel's Avengers is a fun game caught between cool campaign moments and a not-yet-proven live service.”

“The Last of Us Part II is a masterpiece.”

“CD Projekt Red has created one of the most detailed and absorbing open-world RPGs of the generation.”

“Concord isn't the most innovative or content-heavy hero shooter you could play, but with such fantastic competitive gameplay, 16 compelling characters to master, and 12 well-designed maps, it's got the makings of something that could go the distance.”

“Death Stranding delivers a fascinating world of supernatural sci-fi, but its gameplay struggles to support its weight.”

“It's a game of dichotomies, one that's beautiful yet flat, enjoyable yet frustrating, vast yet shallow.”

“Walking through Mos Eisley and seeing hundreds of aliens milling around made me feel like I had just been transported into a scene from the movies.”

“The deliberate sexualization and objectification on display serves as a jarring distraction from the creativity and design smarts elsewhere.”

“Alien: Isolation erases the memory of Colonial Marines, but it's still not the great Alien game we were hoping for.”

“The visuals are truly stunning, but Game Science's breakout blockbuster undermines its own efforts at epic storytelling and exhilarating combat.”

“Hades II is a competent roguelike that struggles to escape the shadow of its predecessor despite its expanded scope.”

“Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has fun moment-to-moment action dragged down by its live-service design.”

“The future might be bleak, but Marathon fucking rules.”

“Dragon's Dogma 2 is a captivating action RPG full of surprises.”

“It kind of just feels like another Resident Evil game.”

“Alan Wake 2 is a bold, beautiful, and terrifying triumph.”

“An incredibly creative and often funny FPS held back by wonky combat and glitches.”

“This really is the best-playing Souls-like around.”

“Code Vein II emerges as a comfy mix between a Soulslike and a JRPG that makes for a satisfying entry point for folks who want to dip their toes into both genres.”

“Baldur's Gate 3 is a new high point for CRPGs and one of the best RPGs I've ever played.”

“Pokemon Legends: Z-A reimagines Lumiose City with impressive scale, though its streamlined approach may leave some trainers wanting more.”

“Marvel's Spider-Man 2 builds on an excellent foundation to deliver one of the best superhero games ever.”

“It is, essentially, more Breath of the Wild, but with the additions and changes made here it becomes something meaningfully new.”

“Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are Pokemon at their Pokemon-est, with an impressive open world full of Pokemon to catch.”

“Final Fantasy 16 takes the series in an exciting and unexpected direction.”

“Street Fighter 6 is an incredible fighting game that's absolutely bursting with content and style.”

“Mighty Top Critic Average: 96. 99% of critics recommend.”

“Mortal Kombat 1 is a strong start for the rebooted timeline.”

“Assassin's Creed Mirage is a triumphant return to the series' stealthy roots in a gorgeous but compact open world.”

“Diablo 4 is close to being the best in class of the action-RPG genre.”

“God of War Ragnarok is everything I could have hoped for and more. It's a masterfully told story.”

“A pure remake that updates graphics and controls without altering the core, making experimentation fun through survival mechanics.”

“No Man's Sky is a shallow, repetitive experience that never lives up to its astronomical ambitions.”

“The Last of Us Part II is a game that wrestles with the ugliness of human nature in a way that's both affecting and uncomfortable.”

“EA Sports FC 25 refines the beautiful game with meaningful improvements to tactics and a refreshed Rush mode.”

“There's no doubting the craft on display, or the immersive sense of presence this game has.”

“Shadow of the Erdtree is a worthy expansion that lives up to the legacy of the base game.”

“Hogwarts Legacy is an excellent RPG that makes exploring the magical world feel enchanting.”

“Starfield is a massive game with a wealth of content.”

“Everything in the expansion is stronger and more deadly than anything you've met in Elden Ring.”

“Cyberpunk 2077 is dark and disturbing at times, but always exciting and entertaining.”

“Starfield is a massive game that occasionally struggles under the weight of its own ambition.”

“Stardew Valley's 1.6 update is a love letter from ConcernedApe to the community.”

“Modern Warfare 3 feels like a missed opportunity that nonetheless still delivers the core Call of Duty experience.”

“Dragon's Dogma 2 is a game that practically begs you to get lost in its world.”