Hardcore Gamer

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Marvel’s Midnight Suns pulls all its different elements together to create a memorable tactical RPG. The combat is the main event and its execution resulted in every battle being an enjoyable event, whether it was taking on a nefarious supervillain or relieving Hydra of the ownership of a valuable artifact. Outside of battle, life in the Abbey is full of activities and social interaction with other super heroes that greatly flesh out its RPG elements. The dialogue trees aren’t the most in depth ever created, but they’re fleshed out enough where they help the world feel alive and worth saving from Lilith. The end result is a game that isn’t just a must play for superhero fans, but one that should be experienced by RPG fans in general.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Need for Speed Unbound brings plenty of style and builds upon the high stakes dynamic established in 2019’s Heat to create an engaging and enjoyable open world racing game. The large emphasis on story falls flat once again particularly during the slow opening hours, and the online mode lacks some of the best aspects of the single player mode, including police and Takeover events. Fortunately, the excellent performance and smart overhaul to the turbo system ensures the moment-to-moment gameplay always feels great, and the huge amount of unlockable vehicles, customization options and optional activities and collectibles means there’s always plenty to do each time you make the trip to Lakeshore City.

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Gungrave G.O.R.E. marks Grave’s return to blasting everything in sight. Fans of the earlier entries in the series will be happy to see the gameplay has remained largely the same, which is charge into battle with guns blazing for pure action-packed carnage. Mindless mayhem and destruction can be a good time and that’s exactly what this title delivers, which works as a double-edged sword for Gungrave. Because of how basic and repetitive the gameplay can be, it’s easy to lose interest after a few levels and not find the experience of playing it fulfilling. On the other hand, there are times when it’s good to just turn the brain off and have fun, and when that mood strikes, Gungrave G.O.R.E. is just what the doctor ordered.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Evil West deserves a spot among the best games that take place in the wild west. This isn’t the first time cowboys have faced off against vampires, but this is one the better attempts at fusing the opposing genres. From the time Evil West sinks in its teeth, it immediately becomes a game that’s difficult to put down. The story is told through cutscenes that are long enough to get the point across without affecting the pacing. The real star of Evil West is the combat where using the obscene amount of firearms strapped to Jesse’s back to supplement melee attacks couldn’t have felt more intuitive. Not everyone is a fan of westerns or horror, but anyone who’s a fan of either owes it to themselves to play Evil West.

• XSX/S
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Pentiment is a short but sweet adventure from Obsidian, one that plays to their strengths when it comes to dialogue and gives players enjoyable mysteries to figure out. While there are hiccups at times with the story structure and the climax, it’s still a captivating journey through a rather tense period in history, but one that also seems oddly calming thanks to its likeable characters and visual flairs that bring Tassing to life. It’s another unique venture for the developer that pays off, and is one for fans of mysteries and adventure games to check out.

• PC
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

It’s hard to recommend Somerville purely on the basis of what loosely-tied and ultimately lacking material its narrative provides. A story, so to speak, devoid of a satisfying conclusion (not least if you’re going for all possible endings) wherein the vague explanation throughout doesn’t always work in its favor. Having said that, the same hands-off approach to its puzzle design does provide more than enough positives to render the game an enjoyable-enough trek. At least for those willing to toss such lacking explanation on its world to the side. Complimented by a style of presentation unafraid to shake up its framing from time to time, as well as respectable visual left-turns along the way. Somerville may lack the foundation or staying power to justify its narrative’s more personal but muddled intent, but its gameplay and philosophy on letting players figure things out for their own still wins out overall.

• PS5
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

God of War Ragnarök is to God of War (2018) as God of War II was to God of War. God of War II may not have changed much mechanically, but it made nuanced improvements to gameplay, story and level design, all while injecting much-needed variety into the enemies and environments. These improvements yielded a fantastic sequel that remains one of the best entries in the franchise. Likewise, God of War Ragnarök successfully takes the foundation of God of War (2018) and makes various refinements to improve the experience. The story is bigger, bolder and filled with engrossing twists and narrative moments, yet never forgets its characters and their personal stories. Visiting the nine realms is fantastic, though the quality of each varies greatly. Combat is as rich, deep and satisfying as before, with a handful of new twists that add variety to the mechanics. The only real downside is the unsatisfying companion actions and the poor Sigil Arrows, though the AI remains faithfully competent. It’s all packaged together in a beautiful presentation, that despite being saddled with cross-gen technology, still remains one of the best-looking games of the generation. God of War Ragnarök doesn’t change the game, but it successfully builds on its predecessor’s foundations to deliver a compelling, layered and engaging title that’s as fun to play as it is to look at. This is one war that Kratos and players won’t want to prevent.

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Star Ocean: The Divine Force feels drained of life. It has a strong, highly-customizable combat system along with a solid soundtrack, but there’s not much praise to speak of outside of that. The two hero option is a fun gimmick we haven’t seen since The Second Story, only observing one perspective of the story at a time, but the problem is that there are so few compelling characters. The cast and story is one of The Divine Force’s biggest downfalls, not to mention severely-fluctuating presentation values. Laeticia and Raymond are some of the stalest protagonists, lacking emotion and charm. There are also bizarre design choices that ruin the flow of progression, such as accessories being removed every time a party member is temporarily removed (which happens all the time) or not being able to interact with menus, maps or the world when there’s the frequent unskippable fluff dialogue whilst traversing. That’s not mentioning the boring dungeon designs, although the traversal in the open areas itself is at least fast and enjoyable. I couldn’t be more disappointed in how Star Ocean: The Divine Force turned out, to the point I’d rather go back and replay tri-Ace’s Infinite Undiscovery. You can take solace that The Divine Force is at least better than Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness as there are moments of intrigue, but they’re overshadowed by how severely underwhelming the overall package ended up.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

While Signalis won’t be leading to a full-on fifth-gen survival horror renaissance, if only because some of the genre’s past sins still linger, it still delivers an enjoyable adventure that perfectly captures the feel of the classic era while also doubling down on more detailed cosmic horrors and twisted visuals, capped off with some sturdy combat and impressive puzzle design. Those in the mood for a quick yet quality-filled horror game should check out Signalis, as it delivers welcome sci-fi scares.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

As stated in the opening, New Tales from the Borderlands doesn’t top the amazement of the original game. That still doesn’t stop it from delivering an impressive adventure game in its own right, however, filled with an enjoyable story about family, a lot of great bits of comedy, a deeper look into different parts of the Borderlands universe, and of course, the sheer joy that is L0U13. New Tales from the Borderlands ends up being a mostly worthy successor to one of the all-time greats…now here’s hoping we just don’t have to wait another seven years for a sequel.

• PS5
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Warner Bros. Montreal took a giant risk with Gotham Knights. Not only did the studio choose to forgo using one of the world’s most famous heroes, but also the top-rated Arkham series. What we have with Gotham Knights is an original setup filled with a great central cast and an intriguing tale of young sidekicks uncovering Gotham’s dark secrets and becoming knights themselves. When Gotham Knights works, it works well enough. The Court of Owls is a menacing enough foe and establishes the more interesting plot threads before the carpet is yanked out from under their feet and they’re replaced with a more generic, familiar villain. Combat is clunky and progression unnatural, but the unique playstyles of the four characters combined with a well-integrated gear system offer plenty of fun. It’s just unfortunate that the poor AI and camera take away from that combat. The game features a presentation that looks good, though generic, complete with performance issues. Gotham Knights has its moments of brilliance and fun, but never manages to step out of Batman’s looming shadow. These knights are more than sidekicks, they just aren’t heroes quite yet.

• PC
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Vampire Survivors initially feels like a nice bite-sized adventure, something to dip into now and then for the joy of orchestrating a little mayhem as the heart of bullet hell rather than its recipient. For the first few rounds, which generally last maybe ten minutes or so, it may not even feel like much more than a fun little time waster, and then the reward path opens up. A little extra power, a new level, new characters and the satisfying feeling of growth leading to true battlefield mayhem lead deeper into the game, with each new discovery layering onto the previous ones in a way that makes it almost impossible to resist the call of starting another run. Even when playing for the fun of it rather than chasing after a goal there are so many characters and upgrade options that each game is different than the last, running a constant balance between working a favorite build, finding something new,and making the best of the level-up items when they’re not what you would have hoped. Vampire Survivors is a long slow burn that never stops getting hotter, maybe not quite the first of the genre it ignited, but certainly the best.

• PS5
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

In 2019, Asobo surprised us all with a game that found a way to utilize AAA tropes in the pursuit of a compelling narrative. Three years later, Asobo have not only bested that prior effort, they might well have crafted one of the best follow-ups not just of this year, but of the past few years. It’s hard not to understate just how much more refined, fleshed out and expanded in scope A Plague Tale: Requiem both looks and feels. But it’s because the game is firing on so many cylinders where the former surprise of prior comes flooding back in a sequel that manages to exceed even such high expectations going into this. Terrific story and performances from its cast, smart progression, a compelling stealth-focused gameplay loop, an expanded palette in its visuals and a soundtrack that underscores the roller-coaster of emotion underpinning all of this. A Plague Tale: Requiem seldom loses its footing — a sequel and indeed a tale that’s both ambitious and compelling to the very end.

• PS5
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Overall, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a well-crafted game that has a lot of polish and a ton of quality content to enjoy. Each stage is large and full of different things to do no matter what kind of playstyle you prefer. There are many different roles to play whether you’re a ghostbuster or a ghost and the core framework of both roles offers a variety of mayhem to either solve or create. Changing up how you play each role is easy with upgrade chains and skill trees and it’s got a generous leveling up system as well to minimize grinding. It’s a good-looking game with room for improvement when it comes to reflections, but nails the sound design perfectly for a team-based Ghostbusters adventure.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

NieR: Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition combines top notch gameplay with an incredible story to create one of the most memorable and unique experiences in gaming. Certain concessions had to be made to accommodate the limitations of the Switch’s hardware. The graphics had to take a minor downgrade and there was animation stuttering in combat, but overall this is impressive port. Being able to play NieR: Automata on a handheld system is the biggest selling point with this edition, and the aforementioned concessions are a small price to pay for this ability. The gameplay and story are just as enjoyable and impactful as ever. NieR: Automata is one of the best games of the past decade and playing it on the Switch is a great way to experience it.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

No More Heroes III caters to a niche segment of gamers. Because of how well it embraces its absurdity, it’s a title not easily digested by everyone, but this is a must play for fans of Grasshopper Manufacture’s unusual approach to world building. Conventional battles are interspersed with unusual side job minigames to bring variety to the gameplay, even if mowing lawns to raise money for ranked assassin fights feels shoehorned into the plot. No More Heroes III’s quicker loading times and sharper graphics on PS5 are a welcome upgrade of the Switch version, but there are no other improvements or additional content to make a strong case to get this version if the original release is in one’s game library.

• PS5
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

What feels like the foundation for something ideally more substantial lying in wait, Arkanoid – Eternal Battle can only muster up a competent, but unimaginative, spin on the Taito classic in Battle Royale form. That’s not to say that its core mode doesn’t at least find a way to tempt you back for another round umpteen times over, but eventually the more you repeat its disappointingly shallow progression — and worst of all, its egregiously-difficult and frustrating final face-off — the more you feel your time is spent not cunningly plotting a course to victory, but instead merely wasted on a concept that should be better fleshed out. Eternal Battle is not without good ideas in spots, and while the effort on bringing another retro classic into the BR fold is appreciated, it’s far from the most emergent or compelling of takes in the sub-genre.

• PS5
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

On the field, EA Sports has offered an even deeper and more immersive experience with FIFA 23. HyperMotion2 doubles down on what was introduced last year with more animations that can be seen and experienced during play. The machine learning AI continues to grow as this remains the best AI in a sports game. The reaction, the flow and the strategy from the AI is excellent. Pulling off new shots, dribbles and getting the perfect pass to finally score a goal is rewarding. There are plenty of ways to try and pull plays off and this always keeps things fresh during the game. Pro Clubs is fantastic with its online aspect and VOLTA remains a fun mode, but there isn’t a lot that has changed with the modes in the game. The Women’s World Cup, which has been heavily advertised as a feature, isn’t available at launch. Cross-play is also limited to mostly FUT, which is disappointing and the team even released a statement that they knew going in that this was disappointing. This just opens the door to maximize the amount of FUT players rather than prioritizing a mode that will have more players at once. What makes FIFA 23 so great is the product on the field, but the lack of change in the locker room brings it down a notch.