USgamer's Scores

  • Games
For 899 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 44% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 51% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.9 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 76
Highest review score: 100 Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Lowest review score: 10 AR-K Episode 1: Gone With The Sphere
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 31 out of 899
924 game reviews
    • 94 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    This is how you do a reboot. After Kratos lost his way, Sony Santa Monica has set the God of War on a new path. A more measure, nuanced character, a great supporting cast, an excellent combat system, and some of the best graphics in the PlayStation 4 game to-date add up to a winner.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Garden Warfare's bright colors, cartoon graphics and humorous approach are the antithesis of most first-person shooters. But don't be fooled. It's as good as any out there - and very likely an awful lot more fun.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    LucasArts' 1993 adventure game has aged incredibly well, making for an incredible experience for newcomers and veterans alike. Add in a host of great extras and upgrades, and it's hard to think of how this Remastered edition could possibly be better.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    With the most bewitching tale the series has ever told and an incredibly likable cast that rises above their typical archetypes, Persona 5 sings a song of rebellion. Not just against the norm of JRPGs, but of society's oppressive grasp, inspiring its players to rise up as the Phantom Thieves would. In the end, in spite of its minor missteps, Persona 5 has the power to steal the hearts of longterm fans of the series and newcomers alike.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Although it closely follows the Metroidvania blueprint, the brilliantly designed and executed Axiom Verge adds enough new and original features to make it a truly great game in its own right. An absolute must for retro fans.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    As it stands, it's an enjoyable, well-paced, self-consciously silly and unashamedly offensive romp through Matt Stone and Trey Parker's respective imaginations -- and, without a doubt, one of the best uses of a TV or movie license I've ever seen in gaming.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Need for Speed: Rivals takes some of the best features from prior franchise entries and combines them with a seamless single-multiplayer mode to create an absolutely terrific, utterly bonkers race-and-chase game that looks and sounds as good as it drives.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    We don't get games like Nier: Automata too often. And by that I mean games that simultaneously weave a deeply harrowing existentialist narrative, in addition to playing with our expectations on how we play games. There's nothing else around like Nier: Automata (except for maybe its predecessor). And in an industry that sometimes leans too heavily on sameness, it's wholly refreshing.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Whether you're a serious student of game design, looking to kill a few minutes with your friends' creations, or an avid enthusiast of sadism through game design, you'll find something to love in Super Mario Maker.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Sony San Diego overhauls almost every single aspect of MLB The Show with this update, with the outstanding March to October and Moments modes leading the way. At least for right now, it seems destined to go down as the best baseball sim of the generation, and maybe as one of the best sports sims as well.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    This may be an entry in a highly specialized and generally unfriendly genre, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a better example of the type. Heartless, demanding, infuriating, yet seemingly boundless in the depth of its content and mechanics, the latest Shiren the Wanderer adventure wraps taxing game design in just-one-more replay appeal. Think of it as the Wolverine of console roguelikes: It's the best there is at what it does, and what it does isn't very nice.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Combine a highly compelling visual narrative with superb puzzles and brilliant platforming, and you have Inside, one of the most intriguing, addictive, and beautiful-looking games of this generation. Its only downside is that it's quite short, but while it lasts, it's absolutely glorious.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Square Enix has pulled off the seemingly impossible: rescuing a disastrous flop of an online game without going free-to-play, and creating an incredibly addictive, satisfying experience for both MMO and Final Fantasy veterans in the process. A Realm Reborn is a triumph for Naoki Yoshida and his team.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a victory lap for an amazing entry in the series. The only place Mario Kart 8 faltered was in its Battle Mode and Nintendo has rectified that here with a full-fledged version. 48 courses, 42 characters, 8 battle arenas, 5 battle modes, extensive multiplayer action, and the ability to take console Mario Kart with you wherever you go. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is absolutely worth the asking price.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Watch_Dogs combines an astonishingly detailed world, a gripping storyline, creative game mechanics, a myriad of missions and activities, and improvisational tactical sandbox gameplay to create a truly next-generation open world game. Phenomenal. No other word for it.
    • 97 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Breath of the Wild draws from many sources of inspiration, including older Zelda games and titles like Skyrim and The Witcher 3, to create something wholly unique. Nintendo has crafted a wide, beautiful world to explore, underpinned with some interesting emergent mechanics. Breath of the Wild stands as one of the best in the series and a great opener for Nintendo's newest console.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    A meticulously crafted, marvelous-looking and superbly designed racer that dishes up an absolute feast of automotive madness and mayhem. Sheer brilliance through and through.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Deep, complex and infinitely satisfying, Tales of Maj'Eyal is the pinnacle of the fantasy roguelike as it exists in 2013.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Bigger and better than its predecessor in every way, Forza Horizon 3 features a beautiful, incredibly diverse landscape, an impressive roster of over 350 meticulously-detailed cars, and an absolute ton of driving activities and challenges. Forza Horizon 3 is without doubt the finest arcade racer yet seen, and it looks set to become one of this generation's greatest games.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Stunning to look at, slick and fluid to play as well as being a satisfying -- but never insurmountable -- challenge, Astebreed is a top-quality game that everyone with even a passing interest in shoot 'em ups should have in their collection.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Outer Wilds is easily my game of the year thus far, and continues to move up the list of my personal favorite games of all time. It’s an experience I genuinely cannot stop thinking about, managing to encompass everything I love about the adventure gaming genre and the smart sci-fi musings of my all-time favorite authors. The few negatives brought on by the time loop at the game’s core are universally outweighed by the pioneering spirit cultivated throughout. I urge you to seek out Outer Wilds if you can, if only to try out what is surely one of the greatest adventure games ever created.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    For me, it’s like rediscovering an old friend who I'm delighted to find has actually gotten better with age.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Is Everybody's Gone to the Rapture a game, an experimental piece of interactive fiction, or is it perhaps even art? Whatever it is, the experience it delivers is a memorable one. It's gorgeous to look at, fantastic to listen to, and spins an intelligent and somewhat esoteric sci-fi mystery that's truly gripping through to its very end.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    A nigh-perfect example of how to modernize a classic, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ deserves a place in every gamer's collection. The only thing missing now is a portable version.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    A beautifully designed game that packs intense action, memorable set pieces, and some of the best couch co-op play you'll find. Wickedly brilliant.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening remake for the Switch improves most of the flaws from the original game while maintaining (or enhancing) everything that makes Link's Game Boy adventure a classic. Its shiny new coat of paint suits it well, even if slowdown issues pop up from time to time. A few hours of play is all it takes to remind you why Zelda fans love Link's Awakening so very much.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Every Sega/M2 3D Classic collaboration to date has demonstrated incredible love and care, even for mediocre games like Altered Beast. That same devotion applied to a top-tier masterpiece makes for an essential addition to any 3DS. This is the 3D Classics game to get.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Regardless of its indie status, Undertale is one of the best and most inspired RPGs in years. By playing with traditional, turn-based mechanics, creator Toby Fox has crafted an experience with a legitimate surprise around every corner. If you have a PC and ten bucks, you owe it to yourself to play this amazing game.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    While Sun & Moon doesn't change the basic Pokémon formula, it definitely freshens up the experience in welcome ways. With a great world, appealing graphics, reduced nuisance elements, and more opportunities to connect with your critters, this feels less like "the latest Pokémon game" and more like "the next Pokémon game."
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    While Sun & Moon doesn't change the basic Pokémon formula, it definitely freshens up the experience in welcome ways. With a great world, appealing graphics, reduced nuisance elements, and more opportunities to connect with your critters, this feels less like "the latest Pokémon game" and more like "the next Pokémon game."
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

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    • 80 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Life Is Strange 2's debut episode, despite its faults and its slow-moving pace, starts the series off compellingly, setting off on a road trip adventure that I'm sure will bear more hardship for the two brothers than unlikely friendships.
    • 72 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Hours of Darkness is a snack, not a meal.
    • 78 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Currently, it's not my favorite tactical strategy experience, but I admit I enjoy seeing my Battlemechs tromping across the landscape to stomp out a fallen foe. Unfortunately, I need to finally finish the game's story campaign and drop bit more time in the additional multiplayer mode, which I haven't touched at all. Once I get those under my belt, I'll be back with a final score.
    • 78 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    What's odd is they aren't really a collection in the traditional sense; even in physical release, they're seperate games. Revelations 1 looks great and is only held back by the underlying game itself. Revelations 2 is a better game, but there are cuts to make it run on the portable platform. In the end though, those cuts are much shallower than some other recent Switch ports, meaning it's more than worth it if you absolutely have to have Resident Evil on the go.
    • 82 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    If you missed out on Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker the first time it was around, then there's no better time to dive in. If you've played it before though, the new offerings of Super Mario Odyssey-themed levels won't be that enticing, unless you have a kid to bring into the fun for co-op.
    • 77 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    World of Final Fantasy is great. It's a bit on the linear side so far, and I haven't encountered too many situations that will tax a veteran of the series. But approach it as an all-ages take on the franchise, a Final Fantasy that works for both newcomers and old-timers alike (albeit on different levels), and it's surprisingly great.
    • 83 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    The Frozen Wilds stands next to the base game, it doesn't surpass it. If that sounds like something you want, I'd recommend it. If not, this won't make the game any better for you. For me, I enjoy Horizon: Zero Dawn, so a little bit more is right up my alley.
    • 84 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Hyper Light Drifter is very much worth the time, effort, and aggravation it costs you (and inflicts upon you). Its blistering speed takes some getting used to if your experience with action RPGs leans towards the likes of Zelda and Secret of Mana, but once you warm up to the icy slickness of Hyper Light Drifter, it quickly commits itself to your muscle memory. Within a few hours, you wonder how those punk werewolf enemies ever gave you such a hard time, especially since their attack cues are so slow and obvious.
    • 78 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    It's the weakest episode yet, even with its cliffhanger ending.
    • 72 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Soulcalibur 6 comes as a strong package simply by offering the modes we've come to expect from the series. The Character Creator, Libra of Soul, and Chronicle of Souls add up to a great package for single-player fighting action, while still retaining all of the offline and online options, like Versus, Training, and Ranked Match.
    • 64 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Federation Force has proven to be a pleasant surprise, and my feelings on playing the game quickly went from "reluctant dread" to "respectful delight."
    • 87 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Dragon Ball FighterZ is a class act of a fighter and I'm looking forward to more additions to the game from Arc System Works. (Videl, Broly, Master Roshi, and Mr. Satan are begging to be added to the roster as are alternate costumes for existing fighters.) What's here is a complete package, with a fighting game that's fun for fans, but still has depth for masters.
    • 77 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    The Foundation wins in filling out the world of Control. The additional lore and answers about various facets of the Oldest House like Control Points and Power Boxes is exactly what I want from Control. That was what pushed me forward, deeper and deeper into the DLC. Of the two major new powers, Shape makes you feel like the superhero you are, while Fracture is a pretty boring addition. I just wish those powers could be brought back into the base game, for further new combat or exploration opportunities within the Oldest House. If the world of Control is your thing, the Foundation delivers.
    • 82 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    I hope Octo Expansion is at least indicative of the future of the series. One not laser-focused on just multiplayer, one that goes further in enriching its delightfully weird world, one that experiments with Splatoon's unique ink-shooting and platforming quirks. In the meantime, at least we have the doubly charming and frustrating Octo Expansion.
    • 85 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    There's a lot to love about Yakuza 0, but it's going to take me a while to work my way to the story's finale. The endless brawling turns the whole thing into a real chore, I'm afraid. But I will say that as tired as I've already become of the constant beatdowns, the story and general self-confidence of the game makes me want to power through. And for anyone who doesn't share my disinterest in punch-ups — well, there's literally no reason for you not to give Yakuza 0 a try. It really is like no other game I've ever played. Because it's the Japanese version of Grand Theft Auto, and that means something weird, wonderful, and decidedly not at all like Grand Theft Auto.
    • 87 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Sure, there's fetch quests, kill quests, dungeons, and raids, but what makes Final Fantasy XIV beloved by its players is that story. This grand tale of the Warriors of Light and Warriors of Darkness. Of the Eorzea Alliance, the Garlean Empire, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and the Crystal Braves. Of all the characters you meet, whether in glorious combat, or in a quiet dinner.
    • 80 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    From what I've played so far though, The Evil Within 2 is everything I wanted from the first game. Every major complaint I had about the first game is at least addressed in some manner, though the tweaks aren't always perfect. It's a unique psychological horror title with Resident Evil 4's action combat. Tentatively, for those folks who weren't a fan of Capcom's reboot with Resident Evil 7, The Evil Within offers something that you might like, while blazing its own trail.
    • 70 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Like The Heist, Turf War is an okay addition to the overall package.
    • 78 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Master Mode is simply vicious, offering a punishing adventure for even the most hardened of Legend of Zelda players. I honestly don't think I'm up to the task. I look forward to seeing those who are though.
    • 72 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    What's there is fun, but it just left me wanting more.
    • 73 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    I think the hardest part of playing Iron Man VR, impressive as it was, was the stifling nature of donning the PSVR for a long period of time. That's not the fault of the designers necessarily, but it does beg the question of just how far you want to go in creating this extremely dense interactive experience, with multi-part missions that can take more than 30 minutes to complete. Iron Man VR feels like an amazing amusement park ride that just keeps going, leaving you feeling dazed and a little ill when it finally comes to an end.
    • 82 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    So far, Life Is Strange 2 has been quietly very good, even with its missteps. With a believable sibling relationship anchoring the series, it's a very different game from the original Life Is Strange, and I think it's all the better for it. Episode 4 in particular is the second best episode in the series so far, resting next to its excellent introductory episode. I'm looking forward to seeing the conclusion of these brothers' heart wrenching tale. Hopefully they finally get their happy ending, or something close to it, but something tells me they maybe won't.
    • 84 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    When I ask myself what I'm willing give up to play this on a portable, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim on Nintendo Switch allows me to answer "I don't have to give up much of anything." That's pretty solid in my book and I'd say if you're a fan of Skyrim, this version is probably worth your time.
    • 76 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    As a continuation of Marvel's Spider-Man for PlayStation 4, The Heist is okay. The Black Cat is the focus, as the rest is remixed mission and challenge types, and three new costumes...If you're in too deep with Spider-Man, it's worth picking up, but I do wish The Heist was a bit meatier overall. If my speculation is right, the later DLC releases will build upon what's found here, offering a satisfying expansion once all three updates are out.
    • 79 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Episode 2 may not be an attention-arresting adventure like the first episode was, but it takes risks in slowing down its pace and throwing more plot intrigue into the mix. I'm still invested in Sean and Daniel's journey, especially now that Daniel's supernatural powers are more of a focus. Even if Episode 2 isn't as endearing and exciting as Episode 1, it still has me looking forward to whatever the Diaz brothers get into next.

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