Monument Valley is an extremely short geometry-based puzzle game originally released for mobile devices before eventually being ported to PC. After playing it it’s easy to see its humble roots. You can finish this game in around the time it takes to watch a movie. Luckily for us it goes above and beyond the expectation of a typical mobile port. Sure some levels are a little too brief even for a mobile game. The first two levels take a combined two minutes to complete, but the rest of the levels make up for that, steadily increasing in complexity by adding a central mechanic that’s the focus of that level. The beloved totem being my favorite of the bunch.

The fixed camera points and vibrant colors make for a painting-like beauty in almost every shot. It reminds me a lot of Gris, with monochrome being the focal point instead of color bleed. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that each frame is fit for wallpaper status. Monument Valley’s style is a prime example of less can be more, both in visual style and challenge design. With a focus on moving walls, bridges, structures to take advantage of impossible angles and make it to the end, it helps that they simplified the process at key points. Some structures will move at a single pivot point fully whereas others will lock in place, limiting the amount of movement and thus possible combinations.

Not to say the game doesn’t challenge you to think outside the box, the designs themself distinctly ask you to throw away everything you learned from high school geometry class. You’re just never gonna throw your head back in frustration and look up a guide after getting stuck for 10 minutes. If anything the game left me wanting more. With so few levels I’m at least glad they expanded with the Forgotten Shores and Ida’s Red Dream DLCs, which comes along with the Panoramic edition of the game. And with a second game already existing and a third one apparently on the way I have few worries for the future of the franchise. Monument Valley is a short, soothing title that’s more a small, serene burst than a long marathon. It knows what it wants to be and doesn’t try to be anything else. For such a straightforward game it does exceedingly well in giving some hearty competition to its indie peers.

Having only extensively played the original Motorstorm and ATV Offroad Racing for the PS2 a long time ago, my references for racing games are a bit sparse. Going into it, Forza Horizon 4 is the first contemporary racing game I’ve played for longer than 30 minutes (looking at you Need for Speed: Rivals). Interestingly, I learned the Forza series does a sort of eventual obsolescence kind of like the WWE games. Where after a few years the game loses online support and gets delisted from the store. At least it’s not for nothing, as apparently third party license expirations are responsible for it. As disappointing as that is, the game is just as vast without online support and there were only a few modes I played PvP anyway. It’s simply the reason I’m starting with the fourth game in the series instead of the first.

Even without vast racing experiences I can recognize the top quality in every inch of this game. The graphics are gorgeous, the sheer volume of cars vast, and the amount of different race types dizzying. By hour 5 you’ll have practically filled up the world-map with how many markers there are for things to do. The game is also extremely accessible while still having tools for more experienced users. Tools like the life-saving rewind mechanic, car tuning to adjust to certain terrains, and vast difficulty modifiers make it so you can have a breezy journey or a tough trial, giving you bonuses depending on how difficult you make it. Not without purpose, in-game credits or earned wheelspins act as a constant stream of new toys to play with. Having spent no extra money on paid DLC or extra content I was easily left with over 50 cars by the end of my journey. Much like unlocking new races, the game always has something new to earn and test out.

Moreover, Forza Horizon has a season changing feature. Every real world week changes the in-game season from spring all the way to winter, giving a new appearance to the world and requiring you to change how you race. A select few races have predetermined weather conditions, like the showcase races (a personal favorite of mine), but for the most part it’s a constant state. It’s here where you really figure out what works and what doesn’t. Seasons like winter and spring will highly favor vehicles with greater traction while summer and autumn are a bit more lenient with high-sensitive turns. Not just races are affected either. For instance during the winter season you could drive over a frozen lake to cut through an area and save time, or maybe you have to go around because a river bed has filled up during the spring season. On the whole I really dug this feature and how it incentivizes playing at semi-regular intervals to see all there is to the game. A personal toggle for seasons when alone would be nice, maybe we’ll see that in a sequel.

Now Forza did take some getting used to. The fine controls and turning sensitivity is unlike any racing game I’ve ever played before. However after a while it really started to grow on me. Forza absolutely isn’t a mindless nitro booster game, but the satisfaction you get when you finally nail the rhythm of the racing is just as gratifying as when you would go flying off a motorcycle in Motorstorm. Even without online play Forza Horizon 4 is an easy recommendation for racing connoisseur and newbies alike. If that’s a sticking point though, the fifth game that recently came out looks just as good, is PvP accessible, and is next on my list to try. Otherwise with how the developers said they don’t have plans to delist the game anytime soon and with how often it goes on sale, there’s no better time than the present to pick it up.

The first Zelda game I’ve played and a classic 2D adventure that holds up startlingly well for its age. A lot of older games fall into two basic categories. The ones that need a guide to enjoy it or even complete it, or ones that are too straightforward and plain to even have a guide. I would argue A Link to the Past falls somewhere within the middle.

In actually completing the game it’s perfectly feasible without a guide. You’ll be at a great disadvantage without certain sword or bow upgrades, but it’s definitely possible. Personally, I don’t mind looking up a guide to make sure I get all the upgrades for a game like this. Not only does it give me an edge in the fight, it lets me see all there is to the game. Some items and extra heart pieces could be discovered by tinkering around with the magic mirror at hinted points, though other puzzles were definitely a touch too esoteric. Truthfully, compared to its peers A Link to the Past is perhaps superior for its time when it comes to hints. I know that compared to the first game this one improved their in-game clues when something special was nearby, such as with discolored walls hinting at secrets beyond.

Needless to say the game can get pretty demanding, so I’d strongly recommend getting every secret you can, guide or not. Even at full health and armor enemies can take a quarter of your health in one hit. And for some reason they also added bottomless pits PLUS knockback, the bane of my existence and super out of place here. Some enemies can be more annoying than others but my real frustration was with the hit detection. It was very inconsistent and made hitting certain enemies at an angle a chore. There’s a spin attack but that hardly helps hitting further than 2 inches away from you. More often than not it’s better to keep a distance or position yourself so enemies walk into your slashes. Fortunately you do get more acclimated to it. As you conquer more dungeons you get used to the idiosyncrasies of the combat and it even approaches charming, knockback notwithstanding.

Much like Mario, the story here is recycled and barebones. Save the girl, kill the baddie. Okie doke. I refused to pay attention further than that except when it made me. I’ll wait for future installments to get invested in the story of Hyrule and its kingdom. What I will say is this: the ‘do you understand?’ prompts the game gave me after childishly explaining basic fantasy concepts over and over again started to get pretty damn funny. It was probably the most joy I got out of anything related to the story.

One important point is the inclusion of the dark world. Using a magic mirror you can traverse to a dark, desolate version of the overworld. To return you have to go back to a shimmer at the place you last traversed from. Some set points like the castle gates act as a guaranteed way back for when your shimmer gets stuck or inaccessible, a necessary addition I can confirm.The dark world itself makes for some extra puzzles and is required to get to certain sections blocked off in the main world. While not perfectly intuitive It’s a neat gimmick that works because the quick back-and-forth between worlds gives you a reference point for where you’ll end up. Some side puzzles are obtuse, but by and large the main objectives are clear.

Overall, A Link to the Past is a solid retro title that not only marks when the franchise first finds its footings, but also serves as a terrific starting point for inquisitive gamers who wish to start the long journey that is the Zelda franchise.

After playing this game on and off for nearly 6 years and 5500 hours, I can’t help but harbor a love-hate relationship with this game. At its core, Dead by Daylight is a basic title with some comparatively good mileage considering its depth. Every match regardless of maps, characters, or other factors has four survivors repair generators to power doors to escape the match. Oppositely, the killer is tasked with sacrificing the survivors to the entity by throwing them on hooks to deplete their health phases. There’s some auxiliary factors like hatches for alternative escape when you’re the last alive, totems that power killer or survivor perks, or items that boost repair speed or healing efficiency. But really the generator-repairing, teammate-helping, killer-escaping dynamic is what you’ll be interacting with 99% of the time.

This is where fatigue rears its head. This gameplay loop is all there is to the game. No alternate objectives, no different modes, nothing. Doing the main objective sucks. All it entails is finding a generator and then holding left-mouse next to it. Some “skill checks” will occasionally pop up to make sure you’re paying attention but you’ll never miss those unless you’re new or make a misclick on your part. The real fun of the game is in being chased by the killer or making a clutch save. This is where the reward for skill is most felt in the game. Being able to reliably juke, time stuns just right or otherwise express your skill is done beautifully here. There’s not many mechanics to be memorized but those that exist can be honed to the maximum efficiency. And for as little as there is in DBD there’s a surprising depth that can only be understood after dozens of hours playing. Even still, that can only go so far. Playing killer can break up that monotony, but with more pressure to do everything on your own there’s little time to dawdle. And they run into the same problem in the opposite direction of JUST being able to patrol generators and interact with their own power. No sabotage mechanic or side abilities/tools exist.

The roadmap for the game boils down to an endless addition of new killers, survivors, and maps. With all but the killer powers being standardized or cosmetic. Now credit where credit is due. In the design department Behaviour does an A+ job. Whether it be their original characters or licensed chapters they more often than not do great at making a distinct chapter that fits well in the killer fog of DBD. That said, I would much rather they take a temporary or even permanent break from a new chapter and focus on adding to the depth of the gameplay loop. Like I said, getting chased is fun and the heart of the game. Everything else is just down-time until you do get chased though. Repairing generators isn’t a deep, interesting, or tasking experience. Why don’t they switch it up?

Dead by Daylight in the present is a decently popular game that would not be damaged by making more modes to experiment. It’s like they're too afraid of veering off from their simple but archaic gameplay loop in fear of messing something up. An unfounded idea because they have made a few sweet improvements to the game before. The Endgame Collapse mechanic was an awesome addition to the end of matches to prevent wasted time. Heck they don’t even have to make a new mode. Adding new ways to evade the killer besides pallets and windows, or new ways to reliably kill survivors besides hooking them would be a welcome feature. I mean they have a Public Test Build to test features before adding them to the main game, they should really use that more. Dead by Daylight is a fun evening game but I question anyone who can play this unendingly all the time. Once the honeymoon phase wears off it doesn’t have a large amount of endless staying power.

It’s no doubt a fun game to play with friends, but I would advise against taking it too seriously. People will argue until the cows come home about how unbalanced the game is in one direction or another. Most complaints are exaggerated or outright wrong. As a solo player you’ll definitely have a decidedly harder time, but experience and perks can mostly overcome this. It’s perfectly playable solo and rarely will you have an unfair time that’s not caused by external mistakes on the survivors’ part. Sure, some killers on certain maps can make or break the outcome. That’s just the nature of a game with so many different killer powers and map types. Though they could really use some more quality testing on the map design side. As good looking as the maps are, they are not the most well designed ones.

Believe it or not Dead by Daylight IS a game I would recommend. For all its missteps I still think DBD is a pretty good asymmetrical multiplayer game. Far too stagnant, but less obviously so if you know when to put it down and take a break. I’m hopefully optimistic about the future of the franchise with the announcement of more DBD universe games coming out, yet even without that Dead by Daylight is a game that holds on much longer than you think it would.

Something of a blast from the past, the original Burrito Bison is something I remember playing back in middle school in the computer lab. Back then there was only one “launchador”, one enemy, and fewer special gummies. It’s a lot more fleshed out here now. More upgrades, more minigames when hitting gummies, and new pounce abilities for different launchadors. It’s surprisingly fun. Really luck based, but decidedly addictive for a mobile game. With no real endgame it starts to wear after a while though. The bonuses and increasing money boosts give a reason to keep playing, but there’s only so many walls you can break through before you start to ask why you’re still going. Burrito Bison is a solid time-waster that’s improved on the foundation of the main game, but typical in its endless play monetization. Good enough to grab your attention, but limited in its shelf life.

To boil it down to one sentence, Transference is essentially a digital glitchcore version of PT. As you go through the main character’s apartment you revisit family memories using light switches to move between different versions of the world. Finding marked items unlocks FMVs which give more context to the family dynamic between you, your son, and your wife. From what I’ve gathered, you’re an ultra smart scientist who’s managed to merge/digitize the consciousness of yourself and your family, though bugs in the code are causing glitches that need to be resolved. By far the best part of Transference, the digital glitch effects and simulation aesthetic are sleek and well-implemented, but are woefully alone in that trait.

I tried to get into the story, but there’s too little here and too few standouts. It’s just another broken family saga all over again, sprinkled with admirable but extremely amateur acting. In Reality the story is more of a catalyst for the events than something to actively immerse in. In fact, I can’t even tell you how it ended even though I just played it a week ago. And even if I did remember it wouldn’t be worth spoiling. No turns or twists to be found here. Add to that your tasks are elementary. Safe, simple, and uninspired. A common sight in the era of PT clones. I’ve heard the game was better suited for VR, though I have a feeling I won’t be picking this up again. In a heavily saturated market where every new release is vying for your attention, Transference belongs safely in the backlog category.

I remember playing this game a few years ago, back before the Reatomized version existed. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels a lot more difficult than it should be. And I’ll admit it, I’m awful at this game. The premise is you’re given around a minute to collect supplies and family members before a bomb drops and must hold up in a fallout shelter until help arrives. Before that you have to decide how to ration supplies, who should go out, and what messages to respond to outside the shelter. The writing is utterly hilarious, satirical, and the only reason I played this game as long as I did. Each in-game day you’re given updates on the family’s mood, hunger, and new developments that require choices. The most important choices being who to send out when and whether to let someone in. With chance playing a huge part every option to go out can be the last choice you make or the first step in getting help.

That’s where the difficulties become relevant. At lower difficulties you’re given more supplies to start and greater luck in encounters with others. Now maybe I just have the worst intuition known to man, but I always have such terrible luck in this game. Even on easy difficulty I was having trouble staying alive until the military arrived. With how many supplies there are it’s far too easy to be utterly helpless because you’re missing a single tool, or it broke when you decided to send someone out. 60 Seconds is like a series of endless unfortunate events. Every time I make a choice it goes as badly as possible, leaving my poor McDoodle family a poor broken husk when they wither away on day 60. Okay fine, it’s meant to be replayed over and over and each session is only around an hour. The problem is the game is super repetitive. Situations will repeat often, making each playthrough relatively the same. It’s like second verse, same as the first in digital form. It’s a fine game, but one I would recommend tenuously as not ideal for binging

Killer Frequency is a super neat indie game that puts you in the shoes of a late night 80’s radio DJ in a small town that’s being plagued by murders. Seeing that you’re the only one available and qualified to take calls, you're tasked with answering 911 emergencies when the police department becomes indisposed of. As a rogue whistle-happy killer descends on the town it’s up to you and your producer Peggy to use your wits and quick thinking to solve puzzles, suss out lies, stop the killer, and ultimately lead people to safety as you simultaneously put on an equally killer radio show. The gameplay mostly consists of choosing dialogue options while at your desk, inspecting clues, and occasionally going outside your room to explore the radio station or retrieve an item.

The radio layout is delightfully comfy, and the DJ setup is fun to interact with. I do wish they leaned more into it. Implementing some more radio mechanics and giving more to do than clicking the call button and putting on records would have been ideal. Not to say it should have been a realistic simulator game, just a bit more underlying connection to the actual work of a radio DJ is all. The soundboard was a start, but entirely cosmetic and easily forgettable. What we did get I loved, but it left me wanting slightly more, indie game or not. Even without that though Killer Frequency did a good job of immersing you into the mind and world of late-night hosting. It’s less a dysfunction of the game’s offerings and more so my own desire to get greater engrossed in the world.

I’m particularly impressed by how Killer Frequency is able to instill a sense of persistent isolation, with all the lone wandering you do around the station ratcheting up the tension effectively. I especially like the pace in which it slowly reveals more and more questionable parts of the locale in an organic way, going from benign to increasingly sinister. All in the purview of a small radio station at the dead of night. Each room is a new place to investigate, even letting you find hidden records and clues early if you look hard enough. In its totality the game is neither big nor a Sherlockian challenge, but it does a great job at making you feel like it is. Barring one exception, the game is remarkably proficient at hitting above its expectation in mood and pacing. We’ll get to that exception in a minute.

The story, writing, and voice acting give light to the rest of the game, making it more of a dark comedy soup than a horror title. The actual mystery and killer themself are given a proper breadth of seriousness, but folks like Ponty of Ponty’s Pizza and jazzy Sandra are there to break it up with some much welcome comedy. That’s to say the game is legitimately superb with its comedic timing, and quite well voiced all around. Every character knows when to be silly and when to be serious. It never feels kitschy or ill-timed, playing perfectly into the 80’s over-the-top slasher aesthetic. The dialogue choices also let you play into the comedy or go for a more straightforward approach, giving you a degree of control over the tone of the story. Of course that doesn’t mean the dialogue options are superficial, you’re just not punished for making light of the situation unless you’re doing so during a time-sensitive choice.

The actual bread and butter of the game, its puzzles, are just the right amount of accessible. One could argue they hold your hand a little too much in finding clues, but you’re just as likely to find them beforehand anyway, and you could always decide to not accept hints for where something is. The puzzles themselves range from straightforward to moderately tough, a scope that works well here. Thankfully, you’ll never be asked to memorize something unreasonably long or constantly make timed choices, but I’d advise reading everything twice to make sure you’re getting the full picture. A lot of choices come with hidden caveats and clues that can be easy to miss, and in a game where every choice may be life or death it’s important to dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

This leads me into the only disappointment I had with the game. All throughout the game there’s a constant invisible threat of the killer showing up on your doorstep. With little to defend yourself with and having to venture out further and further away from your safe broadcast room, it’s all but spelled out this would lead to confrontation eventually. I thought for sure there would be at least one tense situation where you’d have to evade the killer as you sneak from hidden corner to hidden corner. There were more than a few clear moments where this could happen near the end but the time never came. The focus on dialogue and puzzle-solving is fantastic, yet I really think they missed an excellent opportunity to capitalize on the tension building with a little one-on-one traditional encounter.

Nevertheless, when push comes to shove the strengths of Killer Frequency far outweigh its weaknesses. While it won’t take longer than a day to finish it’s more than worth the pickup. I finished it in one marathon sitting around the same time of night the game takes place, no doubt helping immerse myself even more into the world. Truly all you need to have a good time is an appreciation for groovy music, snappy dialogue, and succinct puzzles.

A chip off the old block, I’m glad that Wolfenstein goes all out with its arcade influences. When you find yourself mowing down space Nazis on the moon with dual assault rifles, you know you’re not playing Battlefield anymore. On that, the combat is pretty quality. Nothing crazy or trailblazing here, but I’ll give bonus kudos for allowing all weapon types to be dual-wielded. My only gripe is they could have mayhaps made the shooting and movement a little more weighty. I know they’re emulating legacy titles, but at further distances and with the larger enemy health pools it was hard to tell if I was doing any damage before they keeled over.

The story was fine, some more character development would have been preferred. It’s Wolfenstein though so it’s no big deal. I mean the main enemy is named Deathshead, so the game’s not afraid to lean into its aesthetic. It embraces its narrative tropes and cliches just as it should. The choice in the intro mission to save one ally was an interesting quandary. I’m not sure the game needed it and I’m skeptical of its effect on the story, but it warrants another play before I decide on that. One thing I can get on board with is how they integrated the cutscenes. They’re short, load ultra-quick, and flow into the gameplay flawlessly. It helps break up the larger cutscenes with smaller transitions into the next objective.

This historical what-if is far from realistic, yet I couldn’t help but be absorbed by the little newspaper articles and written blurbs about how drastically different the world is from our own. Like seeing the rest of the game, it’s an unserious glimpse of a worst-case scenario where you're the best and only man that can fix it through stoic strength and rippling patriotism. Wolfenstein is a power fantasy inside and out. One that I think sticks the landing. Just know that what you see is what you get. That being a whole can of cathartic whoop-ass on some Nazi clowns.

The genesis of what would be the wide-spanning Hitman franchise, Codename 47 walked so its sequels could run. Being a bit on the older side, the game is a bit irregular in how it plays 23 years later. Most older games are clunky in movement, organization, or precise aiming. Hitman is meritoriously free of these issues. Where it does stumble is in its enemy AI, damage numbers, and its excruciating propensity to get you stuck on random geometry like foliage. The enemies must be trained by John Wick himself with how pinpoint accurate they often are, further helped by a very small player health pool that will have you watch Agent 47 collapse dramatically 4-5 times a mission on the low end. And for some reason, enemy aggro frequently persists even after retries, making restarts a necessity at times. Though sometimes even that’s not required, as some enemies will just shoot you on sight through no provocation. It makes for a tedious time when evading is regularly incentivized over openly disguising yourself or having fun with the missions.

Least counterable of all and most aggravating personally, Agent 47 loves nothing more than to find himself stuck on an errant polygon, doomed to strand me forever as I frantically move my mouse to free my foolish compatriot. The free-camera “camera mode” worked half the time to unstuck me, but a sizable portion of runs were completely ruined by this problem. Predictably, that would be the final nail in the coffin for me. After getting stuck for the umpteenth time I decided to cut my losses and quit the game after the jungle mission. Codename 47 is inextricably a part of gaming history, but there’s really no reason to play it over its subsequent titles.

One of many Dead by Daylight clones, Last Year stands out from the crowd in how polished it is. The game looks great, has a hearty heft to your movements, and the sound design is killer. Despite all that, it just doesn’t click for me. Last Year feels like one of those games that only really has veterans playing it, both because of its obscurity and its unfriendliness towards beginners. Everyone who’s playing it already knows the ins and outs and there is no swarm of new players ever flocking to the game. I didn't play nearly enough to speak extensively or intelligently on the balance, but some cheese tactics people pulled off were a bit questionable for a game that wants to be taken seriously. Still, for a free game you could do much worse. The method of respawning behind doors and having the Fiend able to appear anywhere outside of eyesight are novel ideas, it’s just not enough to overcome my overwhelming apathy for the game. Last Year also has buyable cosmetics if you’re into that. Though again, you really have to be already knee-deep into this niche community to even consider that.

Hades, being the first rogue-lite that I’ve actually played, was a bit of a blind experience for me. I’m vaguely familiar with the genre but I’ve never played a rogue-lite before now, and I certainly didn’t know anything about Hades itself. I saw a friend streaming it on Discord, it looked neat so I bought it on sale. Not yet known to me, I had just made one of the best gaming decisions of my life. So without further ado, let’s start with the story. I don’t have other rogue-lite games as references, but Hades has such a uniquely splendid balance of info-feeding, humor, and heartfelt story. By nature of being a rogue-lite, the story would always have to be told a bit irregularly. Not missing a beat, Hades takes full advantage of its Greek setting and provides a great in-universe explanation for respawning, why the main character Zagreus keeps traversing the underworld to reach the surface, and how this intersects with both his underworld companions and surface dwelling Olympian cousins, aunts, and uncles.

This is where the theme of troubled relationships takes center stage. True to mythology, everything is politics down where the sun doesn’t shine, with the complicated personal relationships Zagreus has with his father and family serving as the ultimate heartstring-puller and impetus for the game. I won’t spoil anything, but the development and conclusion felt as natural as it did rewarding. It was integrated so well into the gameplay loop too. Every run offers something new to learn about your dysfunctional family, or nets you progress on quest lines to meet and unite fellow denizens of the underworld. It got to the point that I looked forward to finishing a run and returning to the House of Hades. Not because I didn’t enjoy the gameplay but because I loved seeing my quests progress and decking out the palace with fancy new wares just as much, to the humorous chagrin of strict father Hades of course.

Then there’s the gameplay. My sweet beloved gameplay. With a varied 6 main weapons, 6 companions to call for assists, permanent mirror abilities, weapon variants called aspects, and keepsakes to boost stats, influence RNG, or grant abilities, Hades is ripe for theorycrafting. When I started I was intent on just sticking to the bow, as it was the only weapon I was decent with. By hour 4 I was hooked on rotating each weapon out in an ever-revolving door of variety. Each weapon forces you to play differently, whether that be a more tempered, long range approach or an in-your-face frenzy of attacks; they all offer a new flavor of challenge that I couldn’t help but sink my teeth into. It certainly helps that every weapon is viable at all levels once you learn the ropes. The primary method of upgrades are boons, blessings granted by olympian gods that can affect your weapon abilities as well as personal stats and attributes, such as boosting your critical chance or giving certain moves knockback.

Most boons are short, succinct, but exponentially potent with the right mindset and weapon. That feeling when you finally get that boon you wanted on just the right weapon approaches spiritual nirvana. There’s no better sight than seeing those damage numbers shoot out like hotcakes. The bosses fights are fantastic as well, and can be modified with pacts, a post-game modifier list that lets you boost enemies and debuff yourself for more challenge and reward. I’m not exaggerating when I say Hades has 100 hours worth of content on the low end. There is ALWAYS something to work towards. I would be juggling multiple quests, upgrading a keepsake, and collecting as much permanent currency as I could to buy some cool furniture for my room. With each run lasting only around half an hour the philosophy of just one more run took hold of me like nothing else. I was so glued to Hades that it became the first and only game thus far that I’ve proactively 100% completed. It goes without saying I’m absolutely pumped for the sequel and would implore anyone and everyone to give the game the greenlight. It even has a god-mode for those less acclimated to such hectic combat.

Apparently this game has some kinda story. Ok. I pretty much tuned out any time they went into a diatribe so I can’t tell you the specifics. What I do know are the important notes: demons are invading the planet after a researcher lets them in and you gotta kill them all. That works for me so let’s move on. The gameplay, ironically enough, reminds me a lot of the new Wolfenstein. I think Doom does it a tad better though. The level design and platform placements serve as great horde-round settings that really allow the player to go hog wild. The design philosophy is unmistakably focused on keeping you going a mile a minute instead of taking it slow and easy, evidenced by the inclusion of gratuitously satisfying melee ‘glory’ kills and by having health and ammo be restored by packs dropped by enemies. Along with how many guns Doom gives you, it almost feels like a safeguard against running out of new ways to brutally terminate the hellspawns. Not to mention the alternate firing modes and attachment upgrades that every weapon comes with.

Suffice it to say it makes for an addictive, messy wish fulfillment. Whether you’re slashing, punching, or shooting, you can’t help but unlock your inner childlike thirst for chaos here. Every tool is a joy to use in one scenario or another, though I have a particular soft spot for the Super Shotgun, glory kills, and the BFG, a large massive damage energy weapon that melts anything you point it at. To take another page out of 2014 Wolfenstein’s book, it even offers callbacks to old-school Doom levels in various secret areas of the map, but takes it a step farther with full-blown level unlocks that you can access from the main menu. Just as it was in 1993, Doom is as straightforward and accessible as a game about hell can be. Doom 2016 is everything it should be and more. A true return to form that’s not afraid to add more of what makes the franchise so special.

A colorful platformer from the minds of Spanish company Nomada Studio, Gris tells the haunting story of a young girl coming to terms with losing her mother. To do this, she’s tasked with collecting light across several biomes. Which is where the theme of color comes in. Gris uses bold colors to both represent emotions and make astonishing landscapes to traverse. From blue-accented underwater caves to windy red sand deserts, each section uses striking mono or dual tones that make exploring the game a veritable treat, all underlit by a serene, contemplative soundtrack that I just had to download after finishing the game. As you progress you’ll become increasingly antagonized by black ink creatures, who serve as the sole foes of Gris, requiring puzzle-solving to evade or outright defeat them. I’m personally a fan of them. They provide brief bouts of tension to show the young girl’s inner turmoil in addition to pumping in a dose of urgency to your actions.

Whether I was escorting a newly-acquainted buddy across lush forests or running for my life through Greek architecture from giant crows, my interest never dipped, nor did confusion or frustration rear their heads. It might not be obvious at first the true goal of the game, but as you near the ending and the young girl regains her voice and thus her ability to sing, it becomes abundantly clear what she wishes for and finally gains. Peace with her mother’s passing. It’s a somber feeling to be certain, yet as the credits rolled and she ascended the clouds, it wasn’t despair I was feeling. It was contentment. The obvious contentment from playing an A+ game, but also a closure for the main character that couldn’t help but leave me hopeful. While the story leaves little room for a sequel, you better bet I wouldn’t hesitate to hop on that quicker than a fly on honey.