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For 782 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 62% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 35% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 5 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 80
Highest review score: 100 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Lowest review score: 13 Defenders of Ardania
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 588 out of 782
  2. Mixed: 171 out of 782
  3. Negative: 23 out of 782
807 game reviews
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    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
    I think any gamers who want a farming sim with less grind and hustle will enjoy Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It trims a lot of the fat that has become common in the genre. You’re not a warrior or a spelunker or a craftsman. You’re simply a farmer trying to live a quiet life and make your way with the resources you have. If you played the original and loved it, you’ll definitely enjoy the remake because it’s almost the same game but prettier. However, if you’re more used to modern farming sims and want one that will give you more to do on a daily basis, AWL might be too simplistic for you. There’s just not a lot happening in Forgotten Valley. Regardless of your preference, the in-game marriage being pushed within the very first chapter felt way too rushed and forced. If you were hoping to have fun, interesting characters to spend your in-game life with, you’ll again likely be disappointed.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dead Island 2
    I wish I could say that Dead Island 2 came out a big winner after such a long development cycle. But it’s not Game of the Year material. It’s not even what I would call a great zombie game — there are many that do story or even gameplay better. But Dead Island 2 is solid. It is competent, and it is fun. If you want some uncomplicated zombie-slaying antics in a beautiful setting, Dead Island 2 will scratch that itch. But I don’t expect anyone to still be talking about it this time next year.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Last of Us Part I
    Nothing’s wrong with paying a high price to gild the lily — but nothing’s wrong with not wanting to do so, either. I think The Last of Us Part 1 will make a great addition to the casual TLOU fan’s library when it inevitably goes on sale and maybe the PC players when it launches on that platform as well.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Soul Hackers 2
    I have enjoyed my time with Soul Hackers 2. I’m a fan of the SMT series dating back to when they first came to America. This game has, as we’ve discussed, all of the features of any SMT game. The overall problem isn’t that it’s a bad game — it just doesn’t do much to stand out. Is that bad? Not necessarily. The story is interesting, the characters are likeable, and the voice acting is good. If you enjoy the core game loop for the SMT games, you are getting exactly that. Just don’t expect a huge new experience with a lot of new gameplay concepts.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    As Dusk Falls
    As Dusk Falls is a valiant attempt to tell a good crime drama where actions have consequences. The story went on a lot longer than I expected, as the tense moments at the motel spawned a lot of different threads — both flash forwards and flashbacks — that I didn’t expect. But ultimately the tale failed to move me in the way that I had hoped for. The characters were caught in circumstances where they had nothing but bad choices, and it just made me think that the dumbest thing they did was to allow themselves to be caught in those circumstances. In that way, I don’t think the storytellers succeeded in created the empathy for characters on both sides of the events that they wanted. I would like to see more from this talented studio. But so far the story feels more like a TV show than a stellar movie, and more like a soap opera than a memorable drama.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Chinatown Detective Agency
    Chinatown Detective Agency is made in the image of classic adventure games and never aspires beyond that. Meeting it on its own terms, it’s an adequate cybernoir mystery with a compelling lead and colorful scenery. If you’re not into that already, this game probably won’t tickle your fancy very much. But if you are, you’ll find this to be a decently written and designed adventure. It’ll take a bit of research on your part, but I have the feeling that a lot of gamers out there will find that as fun as I do. Just know that, even weeks after its release, the game still has some sound problems that might make diminish your enjoyment.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
    It’s a game that’s enjoyable in small chunks but not really for a great length of time. And after a while, I felt that I had seen as much of Wonderlands as I needed to. I think at some point even the most die-hard Borderlands fans will simply lift their hands from their keyboard/controller and say, “You know what? That’s enough Tina for the foreseeable future.”
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    GhostWire: Tokyo
    Ghostwire: Tokyo is not a bad game. I was interested enough to stick with it and engage with as much of it as possible. If you have more patience for open-world exploration and tedious collectable-finding than I do, then you might get more out of it. I didn’t go into detail about this, but the story is decent and well-told, and that counts for something. This game is also bursting with visual flavor and interest, the kind of which you won’t find elsewhere. But the majority of the game is spent in that open-world formula. Clear fog, gather items and souls, turn in for XP and money, do sidequests and tasks for that area. It’s all in the service of filling a percentage bar, and it just gets boring after a while. No matter how pretty or interesting the surroundings were, once I got well and truly stuck in the rut, I honestly stopped noticing.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One
    Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is a decent adventure game that lets you play as the great detective. The trouble is, it wants to be more than that. It wants to be an action-adventure game with an open world. It wants Sherlock to be a fun and interesting player character, but the game makes him drag around a buddy who’s even less helpful than Watson. That said, I am curious to see where Frogwares goes from here. Mysteries, not action, make for a good Sherlock Holmes game (as should be obvious), and I want to see if Frogwares sheds the latter or chooses to double-down instead.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mario Golf: Super Rush
    Ideally, the game would have some sort of asynchronous multiplayer system that I could compete in so I could compare my performance to my friends whenever they get around to playing. The 3DS game had tournaments that worked that way, but this does not. I want to call that omission baffling, but it’s not. Nintendo did not make this game for me. And that is leaving me wondering if I’m ever going to pick it up again. I suspect that I will not even though I still liked it while I was playing it. Or, at least, I won’t pick it up again until my young kids are old enough to care about a golf video game so I have someone to play with.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
    Dark Alliance feels like many D&D adventures: Sometimes, you gotta slog through some combat in order to learn more about the world and enjoy a good story.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Returnal
    This lack of variety in the style of play makes every run feel samey, and they begin to blur together. That leads to a roteness that made me want to put down the game when I was struggling with the difficulty. I like challenging games, but roguelites need to walk a fine line between familiarity and routine. Familiarity is the warm embrace of something that feels like home. Routine is boredom, and it is poison for a game like this.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood
    When I think of games from Spiders, Cyanide, Piranha Bytes, or Reality Pump, I appreciate how often ambition overcomes limited resources. Their games (such as Gothic, Two Worlds, Greedfall, Of Orcs & Men) may have glitches and fall short of triple-A standards, but they tend to be fun, have good stories, and mechanics and systems that I enjoy interacting with. Werewolf: The Apocalypse has most of these. I enjoyed taking on an evil corporation, learning more about how the Garou fit into The World of Darkness, and tearing my foes about. I won’t hide from that. But just don’t ask me to hide from Endron’s guards again.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Twin Mirror
    Not everything about the game is great. There are boring parts, where you’ll wonder why you’re searching for that final clue. While the West Virginia setting is beautiful, the human animations aren’t perfect, and the action is pretty slow. Critics of “walking simulator” games should stay away, especially if all you want from a game is action. If you’re a fan of Dontnod games, however, this one is worth picking up.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cyberpunk 2077
    I think that Cyberpunk 2077 delivers the big-budget gaming thrills that many people are looking for. But it falls short in a few key areas for me, and a lot of that comes as a byproduct of its ambition.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Bugsnax
    As cute and clever as its creatures are, the puzzles just aren't deep or interesting enough. Still, I don't dislike Bugsnax.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ring Fit Adventure
    The core mission of Ring Fit Adventure is to make you forget that you’re exercising, and I think it’s only partially successful at that.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
    It succeeds most as a tribute to Marvel. Its giant roster offers a great variety of heroes. And while the gameplay is simple, it can still be satisfying with some cool cinematic moments and boss fights that I won’t spoil for you here. I think most people know what they’re going to get with this one: a simple Marvel-themed beat-’em-up game. Just don’t expect anything more than that.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Yoshi's Crafted World
    This is yet another Yoshi game that doesn't come close to reaching Yoshi's Island greatness.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Devil May Cry 5
    As much as I can gripe about its flaws, it’s hard not to grin when you’re shoving a running motorcycle wheel into a demon’s face. But this won’t become another action game classic.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2
    This collection isn't for everyone. But if you're a big fan of the Blue Bomber, this is still a great package that helps you complete your digital Mega Man collection.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Kirby Star Allies
    Its levels are predictable, the puzzles are obvious, and the four-player co-op adds little besides the literal ability to have four people playing at the same time.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV
    I could see someone maybe enjoying the fishing aspect of it, but in this case, still waters don’t run deep. To catch fish, you simply use your sonar to highlight their hiding spots in the water and cast your line. The whole endeavor lacks complexity, and if you’re there to see the characters, then there’s not much of that either.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 3: The Fractured Mask
    We’ve learned what the rogues are after, but at the halfway point in the series, we still don’t know why. With only two episodes left, Telltale needs to raise the stakes and ramp up the urgency of Batman’s mission.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 1: The Enigma
    The Enemy Within has some great action sequences, but it leans too much on the wider Batman universe as a crutch. It doesn’t put in the effort to make you care about the characters or the situations, and because of that, none of the choices feel meaningful.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Shrouded Isle
    It’s a stylish game centered around an interesting moral dilemma. However, there just isn’t enough world-building to hammer the point home.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue
    This first chapter casts a dull light that’s lost in the eclipse of its big-screen brother.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Mass Effect: Andromeda
    Games have to fit into our lives, and that's not always fair. Mass Effect: Andromeda might've worked a decade ago on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but it doesn't work in a world that is delivering games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nier: Automata, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In this reality, BioWare's latest role-playing game is old, broken, and often boring. Worst of all, it's going to disappoint fans of the Mass Effect series.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 54 Critic Score
    Dawn of Titans
    Dawn of Titans has some strong and fun moments, and people that are willing to dump money into it may have different experiences, but it’s a busy time of year — especially for gaming — and there’s plenty of other games out there that better respect a player’s time.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Super Mario Run
    Yes, I wish it had more levels and less town-building, but Super Mario Run manages to feel like real Mario game even with only one button. It’s great to see that Nintendo is able to do so much with such a simple idea that most iOS users can easily pick up and enjoy...I just wish there was more of it.
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