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Review info Platform reviewed: PS5 Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Release date: September 9, 2024  Loud, boisterous, and gleefully violent, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 delivers a thrilling power fantasy. Saber Interactive’s third-person slaughter-fest invites you to step into the power-armored boots of a 10-foot-tall superhuman Space Marine as you carve your way through hordes of alien Tyranids and Chaos cultists. Crunchy, bloody, and immensely satisfying, Space Marine 2 ’s core gameplay loop distinguishes the title, ensuring that occasional moments of ambitious overreach or old-school jankiness are easily forgotten. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a lovingly maintained relic of a bygone era. To stomp through its gorgeous, detailed levels is to bask in the third-person glory days of the late 2000s. The pressures of 2024’s open-world-saturated design environment are nowhere to be seen here. Space Marine 2’ s punchy single-player campaign and generous ...

Review info Platform reviewed: PC Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Release date: March 20, 2024 Despite a spirited commitment to themes of cosmic horror, Alone in the Dark stumbles, hamstrung by dodgy presentation, poorly executed combat setpieces, and obtuse design.  A reincarnation of the seminal 1992 horror classic of the same name , Alone in the Dark follows the stories of Emily Hartwood and private investigator Edward Carnby as the pair investigate the mysterious disappearance of Emily’s uncle, Jeremy Hartwood. Following in the footsteps of modern horror titans, Alone in the Dark opts for a third-person over-the-shoulder perspective as you explore its bleak and foreboding environments. Set in the 1920s, Alone in the Dark pays constant homage to the works of the influential yet problematic H.P. Lovecraft. The game's characters are locked in a fight for survival with forces beyond their comprehension, whose supernatural powers warp and undermine the prot...

Review info Platform reviewed: PS5 Available on: PS5 Release date: February 29, 2024 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is dense, rewarding, and confident in the tale it’s telling. Dramatic, playful, and dynamic, action role-playing game (RPG) Rebirth takes a cavalier attitude to its storytelling and mechanics - a move that almost always pays off. The well-paced and intriguing storyline is punctuated by satisfying character moments and thrilling battles, only let down by the rare half-baked idea that doesn’t quite hit the mark.  On his quest to stop the villainous Sephiroth from destroying the world, protagonist Cloud has an entourage of varied and well-realized companions, each with their own distinctive personalities, goals, and ambitions. The dialogue between these characters is memorable, moving, and often humorous, too.  Banter between party members is defined by an organic sense of chemistry that’s rare beyond the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3 . High-quality facial anim...

Review information Platform reviewed: PC Available on: PC Release Date: December 8, 2023 Against the Storm is a meticulously well-constructed town builder with a twist of dark fantasy horror. From Eremite Games, this challenging strategy title frames intense bursts of city management within a wider, roguelike campaign setting which tells an emergent story all of its own. Despite a considerable learning curve and occasionally dated visuals, Against the Storm will thrill and delight strategy fans with its meaningful decision points and deep systems.  The first thing you’ll notice about Against the Storm is its bleak dark fantasy setting. You play as a Viceroy, an expeditionary leader charged by the queen of the Smouldering City to found new towns, gather resources on her behalf, and locate and bolster the seals - mysterious prisons that keep ancient evils locked beneath the earth.  To make matters worse, the entire land is ravaged by a magical scourge called the...

Review information Platform reviewed: PC Available on: PC Release date: December 7, 2023 Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader ’s ambitious sci-fi odyssey artfully captures the overwhelming scale and dread at the heart of Game’s Workshop’s satirical dystopia. The role-playing game’s (RPG) writing manages to find shades of grey in a galaxy full of horrible people doing horrible things. However, developer Owlcat Games doesn’t offer a completely finished product. Bugs and glitches dog Rogue Trader , making for an incomplete experience that’s not yet reached its full potential. Rogue Trader is a ‘ computer role-playing game ’ (CRPG) reminiscent of Baldur’s Gate 3 or Owlcat’s own excellent fantasy offering Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous . You click on your party members and tell them to go places, talk to people, and fight things; advancing numerous plots and often finding yourself having to make difficult decisions with no right answers.  Given the setting's three decades ...

Review information Platform reviewed: PC Available on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC Release Date: October 19, 2023   Endless Dungeon ’s aspirations to fuse the tower defense and roguelike action RPG elements fall flat, hampered by a game loop that just doesn’t satisfy. Dull characters and repetitive mechanics make traveling through the sci-fi corridors of Endless Dungeon ’s abandoned space station a chore, despite an excellent soundtrack and impressive visual style. Developed by Amplitude Studios, Endless Dungeon takes place in the ‘Endless’ universe, the same setting as its well-received 4x sci-fi strategy series Endless Space and its previous roguelike tower-defense mash-up Dungeon of the Endless . The premise is simple: a group of heroes has crash-landed on a mysterious space station. To escape, they’ll need to guide a fragile robot through the station’s maze of procedurally generated corridors to the core; a process that will set t...

Total War: Pharaoh waxes and wanes like the Nile itself, offering a competent, yet inconsistent strategy experience. This latest offering from genre veterans Creative Assembly offers up a realistic and satisfying treatment of the end of the Bronze Age, let down by awkward intrigue, trade, and diplomacy systems.  As with previous Total War titles, the game exists on two layers. There’s a turn-based empire management sim where you’ll manage cities, raise armies, and attempt to weather the machinations of neighboring factions. Nestled underneath comes a sophisticated real-time battle system. Though you can opt to play the battle-only skirmish mode, the campaign is where the meat of the game experience lies. Total War: Pharaoh has you act as both general and administrator.  For the most part, the historical strategy game competently executes this task, allowing you to auto-resolve battles that would be a dull walkover while playing out engagements that might benefit from a m...

Review Information Platform reviewed: PC Available on: Nintendo Switch , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X |S, Xbox One , and PC Release date: August 29, 2023 As the heroes of Sea of Stars , Valere, and Zale, squared up to do battle against a giant worm, a tense beat began to play, before slowly opening into a dramatic score. The way the game’s first boss fight played out followed suit, in a way, with Sea of Stars ’ first giant enemy (an enormous worm) smashing the sides of the arena all while the encounter continually escalated. After a fierce back and forth with more than a few close calls, the worm perished in a dramatic and cathartic animation. The battle was won, and I felt great.  This is the magic at the heart of Sea of Stars. This indie RPG from Sabotage Studio faithfully recreates the thrill of classic turn-based battles that define the best JRPGs while elevating itself through the use of modern genre-blending design principles. Sea of Stars is all about adventure...