Reviews

If you are undecided about this game go to Ninja Theory's youtube channel and watch the dev diaries.

They consulted actual psychiatrists and people struggling with psychosis to get the feel of the game and Senua's psychosis right. One of the consultants with psychosis literally said, ya this game captures what I go through. THIS GAME IS A TRIP.

Play with headphones in the dark, the audio design is where the feel of psychosis really shines.

The combat is really fun in this game and improved over the last.

The story is bigger snd better, new characters to learn about with interesting stories.

The voice acting absolutely rocks and so does the mo-cap.

Graphically this is the first game that has made me feel like we are in the next generation. It destroys games like horizon forbidden west or forza motorcycles in the fidelity department.

Such a masterpiece!

This show ROCKS. I cannot believe it turned out this good. I love the games and felt like it would be tough to adapt because of the tone and outrageous aspects of the world. But to quote the Todd, "it just works." The show nails everything from vibe, to music, to costume and set design. It is clearly high budget and there are tons of deep cut game references for the fans. All the characters are like able. The writing is funny! Each plot line is interesting and they intertwine just the right amount.

One of the best video game adaptations ever if not the best. Made me immediately go back to the games! WATCH THIS SHOW.

Take the artistry of Spielberg's Schindler's list and apply it to a psychological thriller about science and you have Oppenheimer. No doubt this will be to Nolan's pedigree what Schindler's list was to Spielberg's. It is a masterpiece of a film. The performances are perfect, the special effects all in camera (pls watch the bonus features!), they invented black and white IMAX film for this movie, and made an actual bomb to get the nuclear explosion right. The cinematography is breathtaking especially the black and white segments. The structure of the film is perfect for telling the story Nolan is aiming for (Nolan deserves more praise for film structure - consider Momento, Dunkirk, Inception, and Tenet). How can a movie about math and science be so intense? Chris Nolan, that is the answer.

I do not say this lightly: this may be the best movie I have seen in 20 years. This trilogy is shaping up to be the sci-fi equivalent to the Lord of the Ring's trilogy. This movie may have been perfect. Here are the positives.

• Acting

-Editing

• Cinematography
• action
• special effects
• the black and white sequence

It was all just so marvelous. It feels like the biggest in scale movie I have ever seen. It is also accurate to tue book. Important parts are near verbatim. Denis makes some changes... that I feel like work for the better! This movie is immense , it is a masterpiece, go see it in IMAX!

When the credits rolled, I sat with my hand over my mouth crying in absolute shock through their entirety. Never before have I experienced such a gripping and overwhelming conclusion to a story. If you are looking for a cinematic game with a strong narrative, a "movie game" as some call it; plague tale is for you.

A little context and background if you are reading this. I played Innocence last year, both on Xbox Series X, and really enjoyed it. I though the first game was great but didn't care for the ending or the combat, I ended up giving it an 8/10. This game improves so much from the last, it is really impressive.

Let me hit you with the positives first.

• The story is incredible. If I were rating this game on story alone it would be a 11/10. It impacted me in a lasting way and I won't forget this game ever.

• Character work. The character development rocks. The new ensemble cast is stellar. I love the new editions and the arcs that they get. The work with Amicia and Hugo is just perfect. Down to the last detail.

• Stealth: The stealth is even better here. You have more options, more ways to approach situations and a crossbow for stealth kills and other uses... Plague Tale makes stealth feel all the more intense in the way it uses light and dark, the rats, and the fact that you are typically having to navigate Amicia and a child (or someone else) through a horrible situation. Having to account for getting a kid through a warzone makes stealth feel far more intense. It is brilliant.

• Graphics: The game looks insane, very next gen.

• Voice acting: The actress for Amicia needs an Oscar.

• World building: This game has world building and lore. You travel a lot, learn the history of the order and of the plague. It is honestly epic. I want more games in this world!

Now for negatives, I only have a few but it was enough to keep me from giving the game a ten.

• Enemy AI in combat: They are completely stupid. Combat segments can be won just by running away, shooting, rinse and repeat. They just slow walk toward you and make threats. It looks and feels dumb.

• Feels too on rails at times: I don't want every game to be a big open world. In-fact I am sick of the 40+ hour game. The 20 hours and linear style of plague tale is just what I have been wanting. However, there are a few levels that open up and the way in which they keep you from going into certain places and keep you on the right path feels very artificial. You hit points and it is just like, "Yeah they don't want me to go that way." Feels obvious and not organic.

• Bugs and glitches: Got stuck on stuff a lot, audio desynced from the animation's multiple times, weird pop in. The game looks polished but a few spots were rough.

• Out of Place Exposition Dumps: This game mostly nails the writing rule of "show don't tell." You know what is going on in Amicia and Hugo through what they do and how they act. But for some reason the writing team does not trust what they show or their audience enough to not include useless and annoying exposition. Multiple times other characters will tell Amicia out loud what we can plainly see is going on in her through her actions. It is not needed! The gameplay and story telling through what she does communicates this enough. I don't need NPCs repeatedly telling me what is happening to the main character. I found this weird because the writing is really good other wise.

I loved Fromsoft and came to know them through Dark Souls, Demon Souls, Sekiro, Elden Ring, and Bloodborne. Never played an Armored Core game until Fires of Rubicon. And let me just say WOW! I am blown away by this game.

Let me give you a short list of likes and dislikes!

Positives

• Gameplay: I have played most the big games of 2023 and I think on a gameplay level nothing comes close to this. From the movement to the shooting and also the speed and verticality. No game feels this good to play.

• Graphics: FromSoft isn't known for fidelity they are known for art style and this game is beautiful. When cutscenes started I immediately moved my finger to the screen shot button. Some shots in this game are just straight up paintings. Art direction and style > fidelity every day of the week.

• Scale and Scope: this game nails scale and scope in the same way Gareth Edwards nailed scale with his Godzilla movie and Rogue One. Bosses feel huge, locations gigantic in a way that is hard to describe. How they nail huge bosses and keep the gameplay fast is beyond me but it looks great and feels big.

• Story: this is easily a 20 hour game with multiple endings to encourage replay. The story is good the world and world building rock. Cutscenes are dope. Still has the FromSoft ambiguous flare too.

• customization: the builds you can make in this game are so varied. You can make so many types of acs that move and fight very differently! Super deep and fun.

Flaws

• UI in the garage can be a but much and vague.

• some level design that is so punishing that it reminds me of swamps in souls games.

Stuff to know

• Not dark souls with mechs. If you play it like that you will be mad.

• linear mission based story, not open world.

• nice 20 hour game with a lot of replay-ability

Tips

• if you get stuck on a boss change your build.

• plasma guns lower shields faster.

• explosives and kinetic weapons do heavy damage to the enemy especially when they are staggered.

• Know when a boss should be fought close and fast or long range and patient.

• Use the tank core if you struggle to evade or block.

• replay missions to make money.

• upgrade your os abilities that increase your damage resistance, healing, and damage output first!

Rightly condemns false teachers, faith healers and the like. Heretics like Kenneth Copeland, Hinn, Bakker and so on.

But strings clips of godly men who are open to gifts like Sam Storms, Carson, John Piper, and others along with them but ate not faith healers or false teachers. It is a manipulative tactic to make these men look guilty by association. This documentary was not done in good faith toward other faithful men. Yes please condemn faith healers but don't smear godly men in your own camp (reformed). I am shocked that this exists. There is no hoping snd believing all things here.

They also constantly change arguments, show partial verse quotes, and ignore key texts. Make arguments from theoretical implications of texts, and experience.

Very disappointed with this documentary.

Yeah this game blew me away. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the greats of the genre. The movement/momentum of the combat is just perfect. The weapons are all fun and unique. The multiplayer is solid, the campaign is the perfect length with a great story. There is a ton of extra content including challenges, bonus levels, and multiplayer map making. This game is still worth your money in 2023.

A few other positives

• voice acting in the campaign
• graphics and artstyle
• level design
• enemy design
• BOSS FIGHTS ROCK
• the music is just perfect. It is perfect.

• game is creepy.

• lots of locations, each level feels and looks different.

This game is a must play still!

First of all. I am not a 2D guy and I have never played a metroid vania game until now. (Played for the first time in 2023 on Series X)

This game blew me away. I could hardly put the controller down. Here were my big positives!

• Best platforming ever. By the end of the game the way all your abilities, attacks, and movements options blend together second by second is masterful.

• Thrilling set pieces.

• Amazing puzzles.

• A perfect original score
• beautiful graphics and art style.

• A touching story told without words.

• Fun enemy design.

• Good progression system.

• fun exploration
• perfect level design
• many collectibles!

• fun leaderboards etc.

• Great achievements!

This game is a most play, it is perfect!

First, this is the most impressive game graphically of the gen. The three performance options are awesome (performance, performance RT, quality RT)!

The racing is tight and feels real. It is a game that will make you clench and sweat every turn!

There are 500+ cars which is awesome so there is a lot of variety.

There are 20 world famous courses, all offer a lot of variety especially with the differences added by time of day and weather. Rain and night racing look amazing btw.

The game also has incredible accessibility options for those who need them.

The game is called a CARPG, and it earns that title. Great progression system, makes you work. It is thoughtful and makes you attach yourself to a car that you build and build a relationship with!

Amazing game!

The game has some glaring flaws. Namely the AI is kinda dumb which is odd considering Dishonored and Prey. Otherwise, with this new 60FPS patch and the open world improvements this game is honestly a ton of fun. I waited till the patch dropped to seriously hop in, and I am having a blast.

Here are some positives

• Amazing setting
• Atmospheric
• Great Gunplay
• Smooth 60FPS
• Sick art style and enemy design
• Clean UI
• easy on boarding

Negatives

• Enemy AI still
• shallow story (however, it is pulled back for the purpose of co-op and in game story telling much like Far Cry, play this game in co-op like it is meant to be played and you will see what I mean, so maybe not a negative?)

One comment on a critique I heard a lot about this game. The slide show cutscenes... have you never played an Arkane game? All of them have that lol. Nothing new, suddenly its bad story telling when the game is exclusive to a console that doesn't have play and station in the name.... Just saying.

I love Quantum Break and Alan Wake. Obviously Max Payne is beloved as well. But wow Control takes the cake. This game is brilliant and addictive.

Positives

• Story: insane story! If you told me Christopher Nolan wrote and directed this I would believe you. It feels like a Nolan movie from concept to execution. Great twists and turns, great characters, and an amazing ending.

• Art direction. The art direction and style of this game is magnificent. Visuals you have never seen in any other visual art medium. The scope and scale is insane.

• setting: a government office building that contains pockets and bridges to other dimensions. The office building is full of secrets, puzzles an; it is creepy as heck.

• Atmosphere and tone: this game is a psychological thriller. The atmosphere fits that. I would not call the game scary, it is unsettling constantly. Scary moments yes but always creepy.

• Combat: just play it and get all the abilities. There is no other game that plays this cool!

• Movement: movement is great especially with dash and levitate.

• Level design: souls like interconnectivity. Need I say more.

• Great music.

Negatives

• Some wooden line delivery from side characters.

• Punishing check points.

The performance is still bad but I encountered nothing game breaking in my play through!

This game outside of the performance is a masterpiece. I love Star Wars, I read the books, keep up with the lore, and play the games and this may very well be the best piece of Star Wars Content since Empire Strikes Back.

Here are the positives

• Respawn gets the lore. We see things in this game that I never thought I would see outside of books with deep cut lore. I was thrilled by the stuff they pulled and put in this game.

• It is canon! This is just as much canon as the movies which is great to know!

• Cal is one of my favorite jedi in all of Star Wars, he gets so much character development in this game. Love him!

• The whole cast is here and great, love the mew additions!

• The story. The story is unmatched. It starts slow but it builds into a jaw dropping finally that had me yelling at my TV. This game is shocking. The writing is perfect. What a story!

• Gameplay! The gameplay is perfect. You start with the powers you had at the end of Fallen Order. You are a Jedi Knight now and that comes with being stronger. The combat is even better, the lightsaber stances are all fun and unique. The boss battles are incredibly fun and fast pace! The platforming is very fun and challenging also!

• Customization! Lots you can do in this game with making Cala and your lightsaber look the way you want.

• Maps and world design/level design. Multiple planets, all very big and unique. The level design with the short cuts reminds me of the first dark souls game, very intelligently designed!

• Side content! There is a lot from side quests to animal collecting to holo battles.

This game has features that I think are the best in the franchise but its story and characters ultimately crumble in the end making it a pretty well polished game with some brilliant aspects.

First off I played this for the first time in 2023 on Xbox Series X.

Here are the positives:

• Best stealth in any AC game.

• Graphics look great even in 2023.

• The map! Industrial London in the fall is beautiful. The lighting is stellar and the city feels alive. Steam boats constantly move down the thames that you can run across, cranes move barrels and cargo, dozens of buggies and people darting everywhere constantly. It feels very lived in and well realized. Maybe the best world design of any AC game. Super immersive.

• The capstone assassination mission design. The sequence ending assassination missions are all stellar (except the last which I am mixed on). They have multiple objectives many different routes and ways to unlock special cinematic assassinations through exploration. Easily the best set piece/level design in the series.

• Jacob and Evie's relationship is fun.

• Descent humor.

• A good amount of side content, not too much not too little.

• Carriage driving and carriage chase sequences are sick!

• I like the villain.

Negatives:

• Poor range of weapons and upgrades.

• Lame perk tree.

• the ending mission is way too linear and offers no freedom. The final boss has good mechanics and is very cinematic but aesthetically feels the same as unity's final boss.

• Repetitive side content.

• Story progression locked behind side content.

-Jacob and Evie while entertaining leads are deep as a puddle. There is something's interesting their with their parents but it never goes further than "you sound like father!" Or "Father would have done it that way." The relationship dynamic and history is NEVER unpacked. They are entertaining leads but not interesting leads.

• Story feels disjointed.

• Modern narrative is completely pointless and boring (worse than usual).

• the gang mechanics are rarely useful and often the mission sub objectives deter you from wanting to use gang members.

• A crappy romance.

The game is good, and has some content that is the best the series has had, but the story and shallow characters bring it down for me.

This is the best diablo. Not only that but it may be the best top down ARPG ever!

Let me give you the rundown of positives and negatives.

Positives

• You don't play diablo for the story, but this diablo has an awesome story that I did not expect to be this good. The cutscenes go HARD. I was very impressed with the story this time around.

• The voice acting. It is superb especially Lilith and Lorath.

• Map: the map is massive and diverse. Many different Biomes. The over world events are all diverse and different, never repetitive. The strongholds are a blast and each have their own mechanics and stories. So much to find and do.

• Runs at a smooth 60fps on series X, and the graphics look stellar. Very next gen feeling game despite being top down.

• Gameplay: this is why you are here and let me tell you it is the best it has ever been in a ARPG. Addictive, fun, satisfying, and challenging!

• Character progression and builds: its amazing. I am addicted. It is such a deep rpg. Each class is so different I will never hit the bottom. So mucch depth. Build lovers this is your safe space.

• quality of life stuff: you can respec whenever with little to no penalty, you can teleport in and out of any place including dungeons to sell loot etc with ease, short load times, and without losing progress.

• co-op is a blast. I played about half the campaign with a friend and it is seamless and a blast!

Negatives The quest markers mess up sometimes. Thats pretty much it.

I know many had connection issues but I have never had a single connectivity issue. I get into the game immediately, and have never disconnected or even had much lag. I think its a wifi issue not a diablo issue people are having.

So far this is my game of the year for 2023! Get it now!

First off to the people giving this anything below a five stop. At a base level a game this pretty, this polished, with this many modes, that runs this smooth gets at least a 5. Tell me you haven't played broken or bad games without telling me you haven't played broken or bad games...

This game is fine. Here are some positives and negatives.

Positives

• Polished
• graphically sunning
• good performances in the campaign
• runs at a smooth 60.

• generally fun

Negatives

• The multiplayer experience just is not on the level of a black ops or MW.

• The campaign while fun has a boring story that feels aimed at casual gamers who like lots of cursing, bad humor, and explosions.

• the progression is mid.

• the hero shooter elements suck.

• zombies is legit terrible but I am glad the option is there.

In a gaming industry where releasing broken, unfinished games with little content and few modes this breaks the mold, it just does nothing to stand out.

Massively Underrated RTS

Yeah this game is actually great to my surprise. I do not care about the Minecraft lore or universe at all, but this game has a addicting gameplay loop. The mechanics are solid, the visuals and art style are beautiful. The campaign has fun missions with varied design. You actually have to strategize, and the multiplayer is SO GOOD. 8 player warfare plays like helms deep looks with a Minecraft skin! Get 7 friends and get into the multiplayer it is a blast and total chaos! It is so underrated honestly.

The story, did not appeal to me but it was not bad at all, kids will like it a lot I think!

Great game, great game-pass title! Good job Xbox!

One of the best modern shooters, up there with Halo, Doom, and Titanfall!

This is one of the best shooters period. Here are the major positives.

• Amazing action and gunplay.

• A really good story that will go after your heart. I did not expect choice and consequence and I did not expect romance in this game!

• The story is also bold and does stuff most shooters won't do.

• Great characters all around.

• Great level design and set pieces.

• The world building and lore is very interesting and unique. I love alternate history stuff!

• Solid creepy and hate able villains.

This is an amazing shooter. One you have to play if you love the genre. It is also on Gamepass!

Played this game for the first time in 2023 via the remaster on Series X.

Overall I enjoyed my time with Alan Wake. It was a short and interesting story with some really cool concepts both story wise and gameplay wise. There are a few issues I have but nothing that majorly kills the experience.

Positives:

• Cool mysterious story that keeps you guessing.

• Great small town setting in the pacific north west
• wears its Twin Peaks and Stephen King inspirations on its sleeve. If you like either of those you will love this game.

• The right amount of scary/creepy.

• A good personal story with a good amount of ambiguity.

• A very fun cast of characters. Alan is great of course.

• Solid puzzles.

• episodes 5-6 are killer!

Negatives:

• the idea of the combat is brilliant and cool at times but it feels unbalanced which makes it come across as clunky and slow.

• episode 3 is a slog
• too many forest sequences.

• weird tonal shift in episode 4.

• the episodic structure while cool and nostalgic for fans of shows like Twin Peaks makes the story a but disjointed.

Overall the game is great, just a few problems you might be able to attribute to it being older. I can see how in 2010 it would have been an easy 10, it just has not aged very well. Can't believe this was a 360 exclusive back in the day! Still looks great!

A really great Xbox exclusive, try it out! Here are my positives:

• Amazing art direction
• solid and touching story
• Amazing music
• clever puzzles snd stealth gameplay
• no bugs and good performance
• easy 1000 gamerscore
• a nice 3-5 hour game. Not every game needs to be long, this one felt just right.

• a good amount of collectibles that served story purposes.

• great platforming that felt good and had some weight.

• adorable and memorable characters.

Negatives Slow movement and a few slow sequences, but that is really it I loved this game.

Buy it now, I promise you will enjoy your time with it! Also on Gamepass!

This is a game that was maligned not because it is bad but because it does not live up to a high end AAA game in the realm of graphics and performance. If the definitive version of this game dropped as a Switch exclusive it would have gotten 9s and 10s from reviewers. It has all the elements of a highly reviewed Nintendo game: a great platformer, imaginative world, fun cast, and a lackluster story. Yes I said that, Breath of the Wild is one of the highest rated games of all time and it has a mostly empty world and a story told through a photo challenge. Nintendo games are beloved for their gameplay and fun factor not graphically fidelity and story. Recore is a game made by the makers of metroid prime and it has both solid gameplay and the fun factor, it just dropped on the wrong console.

No one expected a Nintendo game to drop as an Xbox exclusive and yet here we are. Honestly I love that this game exists it is so different for the Xbox ecosystem, I wish we had gotten a proper sequel, because the world really interested me.

My positives:

• fun story
• excellent world and world building
• hard and rewarding platforming
• super fun combat system that is deceptively deep and occasionally punishing
• great art style
• tons of cool party customization

My negatives

• a few unfair dungeons
• only being able to take two robots out at a time limits exploration in an attempt to create artificial replay ability. This mechanic sets the game back for me pretty far (from a 9 to a 8)
• item drop rng feels grindy.

Overall an amazing game that would have reviewed better on a Nintendo console not claiming media bias, just the consoles create different expectations, this would have become a classic on the switch or wii. Give it a try on gamepass!

This game actually blew my mind. If you thought the twists in the first two games were mind bending, this game will leave you with your mouth open. In fact the final scenes had me with my mouth on the floor. Let me give some positives.

• Gunplay is solid. All the guns are fun and feel good to shoot.

• Great movement. Fun movement mechanics with the sky hook. Game feels fast and you can get some crazy and epic kills.

• Elizabeth and Booker are two amazing characters and their chemistry is so good!

• the world is also amazing. Somehow I like the world building for Columbia more than Rapture! I did not expect that!

• THE STORY OH MY WORD
• Excellent twists and turns with great misdirects!

• The game's pacing and length were also perfect.

• Varied objectives and quest design!

I have no negatives for this game. A true masterpiece.

This game is really good. A far cry better than the first game. In-fact I want to give it a 9 or a 10 but a few things keep me from that. But let's start with positives.

• Ezio is an amazing character and this game gives him such a good backstory.

• the historical story line is really fun and interesting
• Venice as a setting and open world is to die for.

• the movement is far better here than in the first game.

• the remaster has really good graphics.

• the combat is greatly improved.

• really great mission design and set pieces in this game.

Here are the negatives that kept me from scoring it higher.

• the movement though better still can be janky and have mission ruining consequences. Really frustrating in key moments.

• the enemy AI will go from really dumb to game breakingly hard.

• the modern narrative just is not interesting to me.

• the remastered version adds in sequence 12-13 which were originally cut content, but wete added in as DLC later, and are included as part of the base game in the collected remastered version of the game. These two sequences break the pacing of the narrative, are a slog, are confusing, and feel irrelevant. The missions in it are long and frustrating (a nine person assassination mission across an entire map, I kid you not). These additional sequences put the game's momentum to a halt. Ubisoft, next time just leave cut content cut.