Grace Benfell

“With its weapon-building systems and deliberate, targeted combat, Blades of Fire has a lot of fresh-feeling ideas. Its control scheme is strange and will force you to press each button with care. Its granular forging system makes you consider every weapon in your arsenal. But however differently it approaches them, the game only offers the same thrills as other action games of its ilk. Blades of Fire feels unique, but just can't get weird enough.”

“With clever iterations on soulslike conventions and a sharp implementation of videogame fundamentals, AI Limit has frequent thrills. But its derivative art direction, tired level design, and uninspiring narrative make it hard to recommend over its obvious inspirations. FromSoftware's oeuvre draws on literature and visual art to feel unique and daring; AI Limits' influences are limited to other videogames, and it's all the lesser for it.”

“Ara: History Untold makes meaningful contributions to the well-worn grand strategy genre at every turn, even if the absurdities of its mix-and-match approach to history can be hard to swallow.”

“Sins of a Solar Empire 2's frantic, always real-time pace is both a thrill and a significant hurdle. Its banal space-opera vibes and even worse AI art are a huge detriment. But under the hood, Sins 2 still has generic 4X joys to spare.”

“The world only has life when parts of it are dying, when Rayne sets them afire with her spells. The Knight Witch wants you to be invested in its world, in the possibility of its death, in the ability of a community to live freely without exploitation. However, its only poetry is in virtual violence, in the simple thrill of outwitting a computer and watching its shrapnel fade from view.”

“Allowing it to weather or crumble under your second guesses is part of the process, but what remains after all that is probably something true and real. That is the care of being a critic. Even detestable homage deserves that respect.”

“To put it briefly, Sephonie is a miracle. It swings between life and death, classic genre convention and thoughtful subversion, the mind-bendingly global and the heartbreakingly personal.”

“Without the ebb and flow of truly great level design, Ghostrunner’s hallways and arenas can blur together into a neon mess. This is especially true in Project_Hel, which largely takes place in the same district in the tower. With that in mind, it’s best to play with the base game firmly in the realm of memory.”

“I have nothing against those games, but it is wonderful to see something play with their vocabulary to make something fresh. While many games of its ilk rely on the broad strokes of fantasy, Black Book dares to be particular. It is all the richer for it.”

“Forever stuck in the programmed roles the game assigned them. When there is no way out, no real play, there is no message, no change. Animal Farm lives forever, dying and being born, always doomed to failure.”