The Surge 2 is a stellar follow up that satisfies on a combat level that I’ve wanted in games like this forever. The dismantling aspects to its raw and destructive encounters ensure I am always gaining new weapons and armor to make the road ahead possible. With intense boss encounters and an impressive intricate world to explore, The Surge 2 is one of the best games I’ve played this year.
With a metric ton of locations and secrets to discover and some very enjoyable endgame activities, Borderlands 3 is a tremendous success despite some questionable technical hiccups that just shouldn’t have existed. While Borderlands 3 is still more of the same, it is still downright amazing and you can consider me addicted all over again.
Going into Astral Chain, and being a fan of Platinum games, largely because Bayonetta 2 is one of my favorite games of all time and Nier: Automata is very impressive as well, I had a fundamental idea of what to expect here. Helmed by Takahisa Taura, the man behind Nier: Automata, Astral Chain started life due to the cancellation of Scalebound, a title originally set for release on the Xbox One platform.
French developer, Spiders, is a studio I’ve kept my eyes on ever since 2014’s Bound by Flame. I adored the game as I also did with their 2016 follow-up, The Technomancer. Flying under the banner of being one of those “Euro Jank” studios, their releases have always shown passion and creativity over their more technical and visual elements.
Gears of War has been an incredibly beloved Microsoft franchise since its debut some 13 years ago. While the series is now developed by The Coalition, under the leadership of Ron Ferguson, a man who has been with the franchise since its conception, the series continues to remain popular and relevant due to what I feel is its greatest strength; its heart.
If you’re familiar with 2015’s PS4 exclusive, Until Dawn, then going into Man of Medan is going to make you feel right at home. The first in the developer’s biannual Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan is another performance capture choose-your-own-adventure told through the faces of little to well known actors as they avoid death’s cold hand with a button prompt here and a bad choice there.
While the game certainly has some interesting ideas and genuinely creepy atmosphere, it can come off a bit weak in its overall gameplay variety. That said, Blair Witch still offers a fun and enthralling experience for its average 5-6 hour length. Those looking for a solid horror experience can certainly have a very good time here.
Control, the developer’s latest, feels like a combination of their past works, using the DNA from what has come before to create a truly engaging release that is hurt only by a few poor design choices and some severe technical problems. By wielding a mass array of powers and an ever-shifting gun, Control can, at times, be something truly special.
