Hardcore Gamer's Scores

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For 4,344 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 50% higher than the average critic
  • 9% same as the average critic
  • 41% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.4 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 73
Highest review score: 100 FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles
Lowest review score: 20 Weeping Doll
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,441 out of 4344
  2. Mixed: 1,661 out of 4344
  3. Negative: 242 out of 4344
4346 game reviews
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    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Copycat
    Copycat perfectly encapsulates the feeling of self-doubt, fear and hesitance that comes with building a close relationship with another individual. Although the narrative is told through the eyes of a cat, its message is universal and urges players to accept love and nurture one another regardless of differences. The technical side of the game was buggy at certain parts of the story during my playthrough, but the game truly flourishes when it centers around storytelling.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP
    Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP is a fun way to revisit a cult classic, but ultimately doesn't do much to improve it. It's a remaster, not a remake, so fans should temper their expectations going in that this is pretty much the same game they played over a decade ago. There are new cosmetic items to get and the new RePOP mode offers a different visual style for the game, but there are a few missing costumes from the original and the iconic soundtrack has been completely scrapped. Being able to play on modern hardware is nice and having a new achievement/trophy list to unlock can be appealing to some, but saying this is an improved version is a tough sell. Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP can be a fun way to experience the game, especially for first timers, but overall, the original release is the better version.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    REYNATIS
    While it's a solid and enjoyable game in its own right, Reynatis suffers from being unable to visually stand out. Animations in combat and cutscenes are sometimes stiff and robotic or even overtuned to the point where they look outright silly for what they're trying to accomplish.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action
    Keylocker proves to be a great entry to the JRPG genre and it has all the milestones that many games of the genre have. There are likable characters, minigames, amazing music and a compelling story to bring it all together.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Frostpunk 2
    Frostpunk 2 is pretty much everything you could want from a sequel. The game expands upon the foundation laid down by the original while introducing fresh systems and mechanics. There’s nothing particularly innovative to look forward to here, but that’s to be expected and isn't necessarily a bad thing.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Plucky Squire
    While The Plucky Squire could have benefited from being fleshed out even just a little bit more, it still provides a unique genre-hopping adventure, one that perfectly captures a feeling of a childlike wonder in Jot and the land of Mojo.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster
    For a remaster, Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered brings everything you love from the original and clips the strings that held it back decades ago. While it doesn’t bring an entirely new experience, this zombie hack and slash is brought back to life with updated visuals and a great cast to back it up.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    NBA 2K25
    Most importantly, NBA 2K25 is a lot of fun and a great basketball experience to play with friends and experience the current and past NBA.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    NanoApostle
    Despite NanoApolstle being short and without voice acting or any of the standard cutscenes, it's a delightful game that doesn’t overstay its welcome and does what it does best in the short amount of time it has with us as players. Boss fights are difficult and require quick thinking and precise timing to take them down. This makes the inevitable boss kill all that more enjoyable as they get their just deserts from the struggle they put you through. There's great art and music to pair with bosses, making them even more intense and compelling to fight against. NanoAposlte is an absolute joy to play if you like difficult games about taking down bosses and completing challenges within each boss fight.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Caravan SandWitch
    Caravan SandWitch exceeds expectations by building upon the success of similar games with a laid-back vibe. This game has depth, an interesting narrative and a fleshed out supporting cast, which are elements that most cozy games fail to achieve through gameplay. While the game may occasionally lag or include missed bugs, its all-around quality isn't dampened at all.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Satisfactory
    Newer, faster machines mean tearing out and rebuilding the current setup, while new resources such as quartz and oil open up a host of options like enhanced computing, different types of fuels and plastics. Transportation items like trucks and trains or eventually the aerial drones allow moving large amounts of resources across the map, and each new upgrade requires rethinking the current setup to see how it can be made better. There's a story with an end-point, although not at all intrusive, but climbing through the tech tiers to complete it can easily take a hundred hours or more. That sounds like a lot, but in a game with the scope and polish of Satisfactory, that can be just the beginning of retooling a planet to be the industrial powerhouse of your dreams.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
    Overall, Quidditch Champions gets tedious quickly, but in short bursts, it can be fun. The different roles one can take are well done, especially with the seeker, but the lack of skill shots or moves does hamper the enjoyment. Getting new unlockables might be the lifeblood of the game as they feature fun references to the movies for the fans. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep the game forward with a solid player base, despite its repetitive nature.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
    Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown offers up a lot of fun both on the track and in its simulated world. A lot of work was put in to make Hong Kong Island feel like a realistic place with far more exploration than one is used to in a racing game. Some of those elements don't hit perfectly, but the on-track performance is what counts the most and Solar Crown largely succeeds there. Races are fun and even on-foot exploration offers up something that helps Solar Crown stand out. Unfortunately, the online-only component of things complicates far more of the experience than it benefits and causes odd problems to occur that makes it tough to fully recommend Solar Crown.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Persona 3 Reload - Episode Aigis: The Answer
    Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis is a faithful recreation of The Answer in Persona 3 FES. It’s a good, but unremarkable expansion that expands upon the story more than it does the gameplay and features. It’s a significant departure from the social building aspect the series is known for, along with the time management between school and exploration. It’s a hollower campaign by comparison, but that’s not to say it’s bad because the story does introduce a new mystery that ties things up relatively well thanks to the supporting cast and their character building.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Yars Rising
    Yars Rising is in the dreaded "pretty decent" zone, not actually bad, but not good enough to be memorable. Controls are fluid and smooth, but there aren't many areas that give them a proper workout and there was only one boss fight in the entire game that presented any kind of real challenge. The hacking games are more consistently creative, but they're also the kind of thing you'll play once and not feel any need to go back to again, despite being available as a collection from the main menu. Yars Rising is playable, Emi is a fun character that usually doesn't fall on the wrong side of the "I guess this is my life now" line, and the jump between metroidvania and classic single-screen arcade gaming is a nice hook. Altogether, though, none of the elements ever fully take off to make Emi the hero she should be.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
    Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics brings together multiple beloved arcade classics. The seven games included in the collection haven't been heavily altered from their original arcade releases, save for the art and music galleries and online play, but that's perfectly fine. These games were great in the arcade and they remain fun today in their unaltered state. The six fighting games, when played in order, can show the evolution of bringing the Marvel Universe to Capcom's approach to fighting games, starting with the straightforward one-on-one matches of X-Men: Children of the Atom to the three-on-three tag team matches between 52 characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Countless hours of enjoyment can be had fighting against friends in the six fighting games, with The Punisher serving as a nice bonus game when the gameplay style needs a change of pace.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Akimbot
    Overall, Akimbot is a fun platformer that can be expanded upon with a sequel. The weapons are too simple for a sci-fi game like this, but they all feel fantastic to control nonetheless. Some performance issues plague the levels, but Akimbot does surprise with stellar production value and interesting gameplay elements that keep the game feeling fresh. The game does feel long in the tooth by the end, but Akimbot is a good effort by Pumpkin Jack developer Evil Raptor.
    • 94 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Astro Bot
    Team ASOBI has yet again cracked the code of delivering an experience that’s fun, rewarding and nostalgic all at the same time. With nostalgic callbacks, vibrant worlds and welcoming gameplay, there’s truly something for everyone in Astro Bot.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
    Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is one of the best shooters of 2024. It features a highly-engaging and addictive combat system that would be lost without its cooperative and competitive modes. It’s not without its faults, though, as the campaign isn’t particularly lengthy and will rely on playing the same six missions over and over again until you level up to take on the higher difficulties, which are primarily just more enemies who hit much harder.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Castlevania Dominus Collection
    Castlevania Dominus Collection is not only a great collection of games, but also an impressive technical feat of bringing games designed for Nintendo DS hardware to modern platforms. Haunted Castle Revisited is the main attraction of this collection, but it's a standout surprise. An old arcade title that was not well liked or discussed got completely remade and ended up being a good game. For Castlevania fans, the DS titles are all must-play games and M2 went to great lengths to ensure those games remained exceptional on modern hardware. Retro game compilations are standard these days, but between the caliber of games included and effort and making sure they run as well as they do, this is one of the best collections available.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
    At the time the first title was released, Investigations was a wonderful breath of fresh air to the gameplay people had come to know and love. It gave a different approach to a similar idea with familiar characters, while still feeling true and faithful to everything up to this point. Not only do they have outstanding stories, but memorable moments that we're thrilled can be experienced with the second title finally localized for the first time. Now that fans finally have access to every mainline Ace Attorney title on modern platforms, we can't wait to see what comes next for the franchise. Until then, however, it's well worth checking out Ace Attorney Investigations Collection for anyone who has or hasn't checked out these wonderful titles before.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Casting of Frank Stone
    The Casting of Frank Stone may be something for die-hard Dead by Daylight fans or those who truly love Supermassive's adventure games, and can even act as a good entry point for new players, but it can't help but feel like a disappointment. While the story is great and the camera mechanic is neat, the overall experience is dragged down by the likes of repetitive, bland areas and a few aggravating characters. Still, it's great to see a franchise with a lot of variety such as Dead by Daylight expand into other genres, but let's just hope that next time they bring along a lot more personality.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Bloodless
    Bloodless' unique counter-based approach to combat not only helps it come off as rather unique in a crowded genre, but the beautiful simplicity it creates with its non-lethal approach eventually gives way to a deeper layer of complexity as you face off against trickier foes in stellar showdowns. The world of Bakugawa is a delight to interact with and an absolute feast for the eyes, but the duels it contains are what make this a truly special game, and one not to be missed out on. It's the most fun you can have in a Sekiro-style game without drawing a single drop.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Concord
    What truly holds Concord back is its lack of identity. A story or campaign would have been a great way to showcase the world, its characters and lore, yet all of that is stuffed into the Galactic Guide that few players will probably ever read. The Freegunners and game modes are fun and mostly balanced, though feel derivative when stacked up against the already established competition. Meanwhile, map design feels safe with layouts that don’t encourage much experimentation. Concord is a good, fun game from a brand-new studio that’s currently missing its identity. It may be a bit lost in space, but Concord checks off enough boxes to hopefully chart a path forward.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Age of Mythology: Retold
    Age of Mythology: Retold eliminates the need to play the original titles as it takes everything from both of those games, modernizes it and brings the experience to 2024. While it lacks the polish of Age of Empires IV, the game remains extremely fun thanks to the mythological units and God Powers that can be recharged and used multiple times. This aspect adds more depth that may have not been there for some players for AOE4. The gameplay aspect does still feel like a RTS from 2002, but the campaign, skirmish and the option of PVE multiplayer will supply a ton of hours to dive into Retold.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Gori: Cuddly Carnage
    Gori: Cuddly Carnage cat-egorizes itself as a killer hack-and-slash indie title that offers brutal action and fun gameplay. The title is held back, however, by its persistent glitches and underwhelming graphics and story. For those who don’t mind those aspects, the game is a must for those who enjoy intense gameplay and adult humor. Gori: Cuddly Carnage offers the purr-fect blend of bloody combat and adorable aesthetics that's sure to please anyone (or any kitty who might have the instinct to kill unicorns).
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Visions of Mana
    To say that the wait for a new mainline entry in the Mana series was worth it is an understatement. Visions of Mana takes the best of the series and translates it to modern-day without losing any of its charm or fun. The gameplay is simple yet enjoyable, with anyone being able to pick up and play and utilize the great Elemental Vessel/Class system for new opportunities. The classic elements of the Mana series, from its exploratory areas, lively music and breathtaking scenery live on in Visions of Mana. A few shortcomings with the narrative and graphics do hamper the experience, but it doesn’t dilute the title’s shine. In a way, Visions of Mana is a fine wine: it’s sweet, vibrant, lively and gets better over time. In a year full of amazing RPGs, Visions of Mana is up there with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Persona 3 Reload as one of the best and brightest action RPGs on the market right now.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Core Keeper
    Core Keeper is a strong survival game that can easily chew through the hours, providing a great balance between adventure and homesteading. There's a sense that no idea was left out, whether that be a constant pet companion or minecart rail lines, and while these may not get fully fleshed out, this is a rare occasion where quantity manages to make up for depth. The pet levels up and sometimes enemies drop treats that give it a nice experience boost, and that's all it needs to do. Minecart goes on tracks, riding it beats walking and maybe it doesn't need a complicated system of switches and sidings to get the job done. The underground world of Core Keeper stretches on for functionally forever, filled with chasms, monsters, resources beyond measure and even an underground sea. There's a huge amount of ways to play with it all and sometimes that's more than enough.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Star Wars Outlaws
    The idea of a Star Wars game focusing entirely on the world of outlaws in its seedier parts of the universe is a great one, but it deserved a different kind of game than Star Wars Outlaws, instead of being suited for something more like Shadows of Doubt, Disco Elysium or even L.A. Noire. Even a straight, linear action game would be better. Instead, we get a boring, open-world monstrosity with uninspired gameplay, way too many useless features and a constant deluge of uninteresting side content. Kay and company deserve way better and so do the players. Save your credits and wait for something like a solo Kessel Sabacc game instead.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    CYGNI: All Guns Blazing
    Mechanically-engaging and technically impressive when it wants to be, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing goes all in on spectacle with mixed results. Where its core energy-management system is an anxious-but-delightful thing to manage, it's most of what surrounds the gameplay that KeelWorks sadly don't fair as well on. Putting its immediate and dense introduction to one side, its lack of a stand-out musical or artistic identity, while not the end of the world, does mitigate a hefty chunk of how much enjoyment one can find. Particularly in such a visually-busy take on shmups as CYGNI is. Even so, a sufficient level of joy remains via those classically shmup-like moments of holding on to take down a boss or battling through an endless wave of hostiles and still coming out the other side unscathed. Its supposed unique standing doesn't always feel adequate, but CYGNI: All Guns Blazing still presides over an interesting-enough, modern-day take on the genre.
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