IGN

• PC
• SWITCH
• PS4
• XONE
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Olija is a short-lived odyssey, and it would’ve been great if there were additional difficulties or any sort of incentive to replay its brief, four-hour campaign. But as a bite-sized 2D action adventure, it leaves a very strong impression thanks to a magical harpoon that makes fighting, moving, and discovering secrets especially rewarding. Its combat in particular packs a surprising amount of depth and flexibility, even if its enemies and bosses never really stepped up and demanded that I engage with that depth to defeat them. Much like Faraday himself, I don’t see myself ever returning to Olija’s mysterious world, but it’s an adventure I won’t soon forget.

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• MAC
• XONE
• PS4
• SWITCH
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Cyber Shadow is a wonderful merging of old-school aesthetic and modern design sensibilities, much like Shovel Knight was back in 2014. Sure, its story is forgettable and some of its checkpoint placements are far enough apart to make me hesitant to apply a “tough but fair” label without caveats, but the way it evolves and changes over the course of its seven to eight hour campaign thanks to excellent level, enemy, and progression design is exemplary. Combine that with what’s an early contender for best soundtrack of 2021, and it’s easy to see Cyber Shadow as the start of something great for both Mechanical Head Studios and Yacht Club Games.

• PC
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Everspace 2’s early access version is off to a great start, with enough mostly-polished content to allow for at least a dozen or so hours of gleeful blasting, puzzle-solving, and looting in space. Dropping its predecessor’s roguelike format feels like a good decision thanks to a promising story and a good amount of hand-built content. It’s just not all there yet, so when the story cuts off so does a lot of the motivation to continue. It’s definitely one to look forward to when it comes out of early access, which is currently planned for sometime in 2022.

• PC
• PS4
• SWITCH
• XONE
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Skul: The Hero Slayer is an original take on a well-established genre, using its novel head-swapping mechanic to put a plethora of unique playable characters front and center. Though both its story and boss variety leave something to be desired, the quirky characters and satisfying, fast-paced combat had me eager to bone up on my skeletal skills even after the credits rolled.

• PC
• PS4
• PS5
• SWITCH
• XONE
• XSX/S
• STADIA
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• ANDROID
• IOS
• PC
• SWITCH
• PS4
• PS5
• XONE
• XSX/S
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• XONE
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

Monster Train is a ticket to dozens – if not hundreds – of hours of challenging and surprising roguelike deckbuilding runs, thanks in large part to its mechanically diverse set of decks and the way they interact with each other when combined in different ways. This spin on the idea appears similar to the also-outstanding Slay The Spire at first, but aside from some basic concepts and a similar (but not derivative) cartoonish art style for its large cast of monsters, it’s a radically different game. One where learning the ins and outs of its strategies is constantly rewarding.

• PC
• XONE
• XSX/S
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Gears 5: Hivebusters is a short but intense series of single-player and co-op missions that provides a great introduction to the members of Scorpio Squad, and how they found a way to fight back against the Swarm. Even if Keegan, Mac, and Lahni don’t gel into quite as cohesive a team as Marcus, Kait, Del, and JD, the fun, varied fights in beautiful new island, jungle, and volcanic environments make for a tense, action-packed expansion. It’s an excellent reason to fire up Gears 5 again and see how amazing it looks and runs on a new Xbox Series X.

• PC
• 6 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• XONE
• XSX/S
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• PS4
• PS5
• SWITCH
• XONE
• XSX/S
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• PS4
• PS5
• XONE
• XSX/S
• SWITCH
• STADIA
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• PS4
• XONE
• SWITCH
• 4 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS5
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 6 / 10
• États-Unis