Hardcore Gamer

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

The Crew Motorfest is easily the best entry in the series to date and serves as a new launching point for the franchise. It has needed an identity of its own for a long time and while it may seem odd, going back to what made the first couple of Forza Horizon games work well while keeping some of The Crew 2’s vehicle variety intact winds up being a winning combination. Every race type is executed well, with the street racing and open-wheel being true standouts, while the visual design shines and accents the audio with a slick soundtrack and impressive sound design.

• PC
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

An immensely clever and unique game, Chants of Sennaar expertly captures the power of language through its well-crafted cultures and its intricate and perfectly-challenging puzzles, turning the art of translation into a captivating bit of gameplay. By the time you’ll have validated your last glyph, you’ll still be left wanting more, but what we have here still makes for a terrific journey that is not to be missed out on.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Drawing heavily from classic RPGs of past console generations, Sea of Stars creates an exciting new adventure that’s also a worthy tribute to the classics. It proudly flaunts its influences but does so in a way that pays homage to them. The original story and characters are entertaining and engrossing enough to keep the roughly thirty hour playthrough enjoyable. The story does rely on genre tropes at times which leads to predictable moments, but given the nature of this type of game, that’s to be expected. Sea of Stars doesn’t break any real innovative ground, but does a great job of combining so many elements of older games into a modern take on the classic formula. As such, it’s a title that should be enjoyed by any fan of classic turn-based RPGs.

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Goodbye Volcano High is a terrifically-crafted slice of high school drama that succeeds thanks to the strength of its lovable cast of characters, amazing music and a sweet story about perseverance in the face of uncertainty, be it the possibility of your best friends moving on or the possible end of the world. It's one to recommend, and while it may not be this year's greatest visual novel (if only because the genre has a lot of heavy hitters this year), it is one that does indeed cap off the summer gaming season with a bang.

• PS5
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Blasphemous 2 has earned its place as one of the great metroidvanias. While it can be punishingly difficult, it’s equally rewarding to overcome all challenges the game has to offer. It maintains everything that was good about the original but also improves on its shortcomings, putting a greater emphasis on exploration and character building. When it comes to overall gameplay, Blasphemous 2 is not a terribly innovative title, but it does an exceptional job of following the best examples of the genre and creating its own unique and unforgettable world. For any metroidvania fan, missing out on Blasphemous 2 would truly be a sin worthy of penitence.

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Less a case of biting off more than it can chew, Immortals of Aveum instead serves up a mixed bag of notable creativity, dragged down by issues both narrative and technical alike. While future patches may go some way to iron out the uneven frame-rate and inconsistent visual quality, the same can’t be said for a brand of writing that’s at best tolerable and at worst, potentially off-putting. Minus one or two secondary characters you’d be happy to see stick around for longer, yet are sadly ditched in service of a plot with brief but ultimately unfulfilled promise. If nothing else, Ascendant Studios could’ve done a lot worse given the tone and the design intentions placed here. What’s left is a game that while doesn’t always put its best foot forward, eventually finds a way to loop back round to feeling curious as to what it has tucked away out of shot. Though it may trip over itself one too many times, Immortals of Aveum‘s rewarding level design, puzzle-solving and potential for custom builds still offers a sufficient amount to carry this “magic-shooter” pitch through to credits’ end.

• PC
• 5 / 5
• États-Unis

Baldur’s Gate III had extremely high expectations set for it and has exceeded them. Not only is it a contender for Game of the Year in a year with many exciting titles, but it’s a continued evolution of what CRPGs are capable of achieving, building upon the legacy of the original Baldur’s Gate games mixed with some of the more contemporary gameplay elements found in Larian’s more recent games. The result is a masterpiece of a game that raises the bar for the genre. Baldur’s Gate III excels in every area, from music to graphics to story to gameplay. It’s a difficult task to recreate the open-ended possibilities of tabletop gameplay within a video game, but this is arguably the best attempt at doing so to date. Baldur’s Gate III is one of those rare games that’s nearly flawless in its execution and should be experienced by every RPG fan.

• SWITCH
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons blends experimental elements with traditional Double Dragon gameplay. The roguelite design and the changing level structures encourage the player to complete the game multiple times to unlock all the additional characters to create experiences that feel less repetitive. This is a novel idea that works well for a couple playthroughs, but it can’t save things from feeling redundant forever. It’s fun for a couple playthroughs and does well at recreating the classic beat ’em up gameplay. Unfortunately, it also showcases the limitations of the genre, and even with the innovation approach the developers used to make subsequent play sessions different, most players will likely get their fill long before unlocking all thirteen additional fighters.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Disney Illusion Island is a great all-ages platform-adventure that works hard to appeal to players of any skill level. Even those finding it too easy should be able to enjoy kicking back with the Disney cast, all of which are well animated with their personality shining through in every movement. The large number of areas can feel a bit samey after a while, and a few more enemy types would have been appreciated, but the escalating difficulty and variety of rooms and secrets makes it hard to get bored. The map tracking of collectibles makes it hard to resist going back to explore and clean up an area, and even after beating the game there can easily be a few sections left half-done. It’s a huge amount of fun to get Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy together in a single large platforming adventure, and Illusion Island doesn’t waste the opportunity to play with its cast of beloved characters.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

While Oxenfree II: Lost Signals doesn’t hit the same heights as the original game, it still delivers another enjoyable adventure, once again serving up another unique ghost story that uses haunted technology to great effect, which succeeds thanks to terrific dialogue and well-crafted characters. Camena may be quite similar to Edwards Island in a lot of ways, but it still plays hosts to a nicely spooky trip more than worth taking, especially for fans of the first title.

• PS5
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

A feature-rich (at times astonishingly so) package of content — major, minor and entirely optional alike — Nihon Falcom have proven once again with Trails into Reverie why they remain one of the best and most renowned RPG developers still going. The story of Reverie may find itself branching out into three routes, but that holds no sway when it comes to presenting a familiar brand of quality. In a narrative that’s as much intriguing in its larger story beats as it is surprisingly effective in its accompanying smaller ones alongside. Add to this a combat system that’s still as fun to work out and tinker with, a wealth of customization potential and generally the kind of design philosophy that’s both ridiculously over-the-top yet thoughtfully engaging all the same, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie serves as both a culmination as much a proud celebration of the series’ grand accomplishments.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom checks all the boxes of what players would want from their annual expansion and then some. The new arcanist class was a joy to play and helped make the nine-year-old game feel new again. Storytelling is an area where The Elder Scrolls generally has no deficiencies, but even so Necrom’s story goes above and beyond in weaving an unpredictable and memorable tale where it’s impossible not to become emotionally invested. The new areas and companions were masterfully crafted in such a way where it’s easy to lose oneself in exploring the new landscapes and learning the backstories of the new characters. The Elder Scrolls Online has gone through several evolutions since its launch and Necrom shows that there’s still a lot great adventures to be had in Tamriel.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Aliens: Dark Descent is a fantastic, robust extension of the Aliens franchise that puts players in the middle of hardcore xenomoroph action. Through purposeful storytelling and fantastic callbacks to the Aliens franchise, this RTS features many tactical opportunities for fans of the genre. Game mechanics, like xenomorph aggression, help to keep pressure on players in horror fashion. Large mission maps that can be returned to again and again provide extra lore collectibles and side objectives that allow you to grow our command for better support. You start with barebones resources, but can level up marines and the technology they use with every successful mission. With varying marine loadouts, weapons upgrades and xeno technology at play, there’s an almost endless combination of tactics at your disposal in an ever changing mission that reacts to decisions. An interesting original story keeps players guessing as they uncover difficult truths that indicate sabotage through xenomorph infestation. From new xeno-types never seen before, to cultists, Weyland Yutani (they’re the worst) rearing its head and more, Dark Descent covers all the thematic bases. Any fan of the franchise will appreciate the narrative twists, humor and technical themes that are typical of Aliens. While gameplay and aesthetics have issues, nothing is game-breaking to the point that it interferes heavily with the experience. Players should note the possibility of game crashes and bugs, but future updates and patches could easily address these problems. Overall, Aliens: Dark Descent is an original game worthy of any strategy fan’s time that also lovingly expands upon one of Sci-Fi’s most important franchises.

• PS5
• 5 / 5
• États-Unis

Final Fantasy XVI will change what we think of the franchise moving forward. It’s groundbreaking on so many levels, elevating the thirty-five-year old series to new heights. The combat is highly engaging and invites creativity and experimentation by giving players a bevy of tools to play around with. The story is beautifully written, and although it takes nods from other fantasy properties, it builds its own unique universe to immerse one in. The presentation is also spectacular, marrying both visuals and audio in an orchestra of splendor. While there’s downtime in between the major story beats, players will still be on the edge of their seat throughout this lengthy adventure. This is a bold new direction for the franchise we wholeheartedly endorse, as while it doesn’t have the same charm as older titles, Square Enix have created something truly special. Final Fantasy XVI is the most captivating and cinematic Final Fantasy ever released, and will stick with us for generations to come.

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

The dream of marrying the classic Crash Bandicoot formula with a competitive multiplayer experience is a good one. It’s actually quite fun, as Crash Team Rumble proves. The unique blend of characters, powers, mechanics and maps can lead to wacky matches that prove the foundation for an incredible multiplayer experience is there. The problem is that Toys for Bob needed to fill that foundation to create an experience whose fun can last more than a handful of matches. Crash Team Rumble’s lack of variety in its modes and objectives creates a repetitive loop with diminishing returns after each match. While the characters and powers do inject variety into the core loop, there just isn’t enough content to sustain any long-term ambitions, especially a live service game with an up-front cost and upcoming Battle Passes. Crash Team Rumble builds out a fun and engaging skeleton for a Crash-inspired multiplayer game; it just doesn’t have enough meat on those bones to keep the experience engaging. This is one Bandicoot you may not want to unleash.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

F1 23 makes welcome changes and additions to the series with the most beneficial being the racing. My Team, Career and Two-Player Career have surface updates, but is largely the same. The new icons in the Champions Edition aren’t much to write home about outside of Nigel Mansell. I don’t think many would clamor to have Pastor Maldonado as a teammate. F1 World is a surprising addition that adds a whole new element to the series while Braking Point 2 is a good follow up if you’re in the mood for some drama. The team did include the Supercars again, but it’s buried in F1 World and the cars are exactly the same. There are still no classic cars or track options, which was a great addition but has been phased out in recent years. Also, a lack of a PSVR2 version when PC has VR is disappointing. The best element still comes with the actual updates to the racing physics and how the car behaves. F1 23 is a solid improvement in some regards over F1 22, but one can question if it’s enough.

• PS5
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Street Fighter 6 modernizes the series and feels like a true evolution that hits the likes of Hyper Fighting, Third Strike and SF4. This is possibly the biggest swing the series has seen and it worked out. With three time-consuming modes that will keep players engaged while offering a variety of balanced fighting across the board with solid online options, this is as complete as Street Fighter could be in 2023. Beautiful player models combined with updated and new fighting mechanics and controls make the game not only accessible, but also include the ability to master these characters. Outside of a handful of questionable design decisions and a soundtrack that lacks any memorable songs, Street Fighter 6 offers a complete experience for fans of the series while welcoming new fans to fighting games.

• PS4
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Based on the franchise’s history, Diablo IV has large boots to fill, but does an admiral job of meeting this longtime fan’s expectations. Diablo IV maintains the core gameplay that made it popular while combining the best elements of the the previous games. The continuous open world is an improvement over the completely separate acts with an intriguing story that feels more nuanced than the previous entries. All the elements of of a great action RPG are present, most importantly Diablo’s reward loop system where players can spend years playing through new seasons and characters to experiment with different builds and try to collect the best equipment. The gameplay is repetitive and simple but is still a joy to binge play, especially with friends.