In my view, the most rewarding games are the ones that give you plenty of moments worth sharing. Our previous editor-in-chief, Tom Bramwell, came up with the phrase “anecdote factory” when he reviewed Far Cry 3, and it sums up my experience with Atomfall very well. I spent 90 minutes with Rebellion’s upcoming radioactive RPG … Read more
I tried to approach Blades of Fire like it was another game I already knew, and I immediately paid for that mistake. In MercurySteam’s newest action-adventure—also the studio behind Metroid Dread and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—I kept getting knocked down again and again. Only after I fully accepted what makes Blades of Fire so singular, … Read more
When the Chinese action game Phantom Blade Zero was first revealed to the public, it sparked a wave of comparisons to FromSoftware’s Souls franchise. That prompted its director—nicknamed “Soulframe” Liang—to repeatedly play down those parallels. More recently, as additional gameplay clips for Phantom Blade Zero have surfaced, another set of comparisons has come to the … Read more
How do you top an experience that already feels as polished as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? By stepping into something completely different—like Mario Kart World. For the first time in the franchise’s history, Nintendo’s popular kart racer is going open world, scrapping much of the series’ conventional rule set. It’s also allowing full-on chaos with … Read more
To be honest, when Nintendo revealed that the standout moment of its Switch 2 Direct would be a brand-new Donkey Kong game, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. Where was Mario when it came time to welcome the new console? (He’s hanging out in Mario Kart World.) And how much time has passed … Read more
I get the sense that I’m about to say something indefensible. I’ve spent the last few hours with Mario Kart World, sampling a handful of fresh additions like Knockout Tour and its open-world structure, and in the end I honestly enjoyed it. There were moments full of laughter—usually from grimacing at my friends as I … Read more
I’m not usually interested in judging video games by what they cost, but with Welcome Tour—and given the wider pressures facing the gaming world—this topic feels unavoidable. Let me address the money side immediately: Welcome Tour essentially functions as a pack-in experience, and once it was confirmed you’d have to pay real money to play … Read more
When I realized the playable showing of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds at Summer Games Fest ran for an entire hour, I was genuinely taken aback. An hour? For a kart racer? At events like this, time is always tight. So, as a rule, you try to squeeze in as much as possible by spending only the … Read more
If you’ve been following video game updates closely, chances are you’re seeing a steady stream of fresh information about Resident Evil 9/Requiem right now. To break it down: Capcom has used its usual approach of giving the project a headline name while swapping a letter—here, “q”—to signal the installment number used in the reveal trailer. … Read more
I’m genuinely glad whenever Capcom decides to take creative chances. Given how many franchises and memorable characters it already has, it’s fair to say there’s not a huge push for Capcom to reinvent itself. Most of the time, it already has what it needs to keep those corporate profit numbers moving upward. Still, from time … Read more