Shawn Zipay

“A triumph of interactive storytelling. It stands as a sensitive, intelligent, and deeply affecting piece of art that understands the unique power of video games to build empathy. While it is a somber and often difficult journey, it is an exceptionally beautiful and important one.”

“The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition offers plenty of new, next-gen visual eye candy with a substantial hit to performance. The small upgrade cost is an easy choice for console players coming from last-gen hardware, but PC owners may find it a tougher pill to swallow. Note: The extended issues with the PC version were not known to us during the review process of the PS5 version.”

“Journey for Elysium is a game that does not quite offer enough challenge for puzzle fanatics nor does it quite offer enough pure exploration for fans of "walking sims." It's not bad but it never really excels in any meaningful way.”

“Last Year: The Nightmare delivers a well-crafted gameplay experience that ultimately comes up short on content.”

“This is Guild Wars at its absolute best. ArenaNet has done an absolutely stellar job here. The visuals are fantastic. The already solid graphics and colorful spells complemented by gorgeous vistas throughout a number of varied and richly detailed environments. The story is thoroughly engaging from start to finish. Any reservations about the additions of mounts into the franchise should be tossed aside. Perhaps most importantly, ArenaNet learned from the mistakes in Heart of Thorns and addressed the biggest problem that plagued that previous expansion: the grind.”

“Priced at just $19.99 (USD), Fictorum is a great idea hindered by extremely poor execution on almost every front. Casting and customizing these powerful, sometimes insane looking spells is neat for the first few times but the novelty quickly wears off when you discover the numerous shortcomings that plague the rest of the game.”

“Through the Woods is a terrific atmospheric adventure title held back from true greatness by some disappointing character work and voice acting. I quite enjoyed my journey through the unquestionably unique environments and I would like to think that I learned a few things about Norse mythology along the way. This game took a chance with its focus on combining an atmospheric horror game with Norse mythology and it paid off for the most part. The price point and lack of "in your face" scares may push away many consumers, but the style and gameplay scored some high marks for my personal gaming tastes. For their first offering, Antagonist shows off a ton of promise and I would love to see what they bring to the table in the future.”

“Coming off of the phenomenal Layers of Fear, the Inheritance DLC lacks the charm and the atmosphere that the original offered in spades. The scares came across as forced and weak. Bundled with the original game, it's not a bad value proposition, but as a stand-alone purchase it can safely be avoided.”

“At the end of the day, Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns managed to reignite that spark I hold that once burned bright for the franchise. The story was enjoyable, despite the occasional grind between major story quests, and the new guild additions alone would be worth the upgrade. However, ArenaNet also included a new class, new specializations, and new skills that make the game feel like an entirely new experience at times. Heart of Thorns is an absolute must-buy for fans of the base game and for those looking to see a "buy-to-play" game done right.”