IGN

• PC
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

A singular survival game steeped in an unnerving world, Pacific Drive pairs meticulous management with intense excursions that will test your motoring mettle. Balancing its symphony of systems can sometimes be an overly punishing process, but the riveting tension of each run was enough to keep me on my toes even through some repetitious pain points. And when my battered station wagon came screaming out of the portal to safety with no doors and a dead engine, I always felt compelled to fix its faults, buckle back in, and maybe play with the Laika bobblehead on the dash. That frustrating hunk of metal was mine, after all.

• XSX/S
• PC
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Skull and Bones isn’t the successor to Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag that many seem to want, and it isn’t many of things Ubisoft itself said it would be at various points in its storied history, but the seafaring RPG we ultimately got is still surprisingly good. Sailing around the Indian Ocean firing cannons, mortars, and giant ballista at your foes is a fun time, the RPG mechanics and cooperative buildcrafting is as deep as the ocean with plenty of awesome gadgets to grind for, and the economy simulator is impressively in-depth. It doesn’t quite fulfill the promise of a decade-long cruise to port yet either, with a thin endgame, almost no story to speak of, and general instability that sometimes makes the adventure feel like a rough draft. But here’s hoping some of those shortcomings can be washed away by the waves of content already planned to come in an ambitious live-service roadmap that’s fast approaching. For now, its maiden voyage is a good start.

• PS4
• PS5
• 6 / 10
• États-Unis

Foamstars is at odds with itself. Its unexpectedly engaging combat mechanics, fast-paced matches, and cool music draw me in, but trudging through its flat single-player content, concerningly aggressive monetization, and horrendously slow menus has numbered Foamstars’ days on my PS5 hard drive. I also feel like I’ve already seen everything it has to offer, and its announced update plan looks glacially slow for a sink-or-swim multiplayer landscape currently full of great options. Foamstars’ ranked modes and maps may be exciting and nuanced mid-match, but the confounding time-gated queues around them don’t offer much motivation to grind up the ladder, which leaves me with very little reason to surf these bubbly waves no matter how much fun it may be.

• SWITCH
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Coming in the wake of Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s psychedelic splendour, Mario vs. Donkey Kong’s update of the 2004 Game Boy Advance version is a markedly more modest Mario adventure in scope, but I still enjoyed puzzling my way through its trap-riddled rooms while they lasted – particularly those found in its playful pair of brand new worlds that have interesting new takes on the decades-old mechanics. The lopsided difficulty of its main levels could have perhaps been better smoothed out so that it becomes more challenging as you go rather than easier, and some occasional control flaws seemed below the standard I’ve come to expect from Nintendo platformers, but its completely overhauled art is packed with personality and its two-player co-op mode puts a fun new spin on familiar gameplay. Mario vs. Donkey Kong might not be as polished as a Mini-Mario toy fresh off the assembly line, but it's just as full of charm and fun to play with.

• PC
• PS5
• XSX/S
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a fun action game with a solid concept and a stellar paranormal investigation system. Its story about struggling to let go of loved ones in death is worth hearing, even when its pacing occasionally gets sluggish and indulgent. The combat system also tries some interesting new things that largely work out, only dragged down by poor enemy variety and wonky controls. Still, swapping between the corporeal and ghostly planes instantaneously is every bit as cool when solving mysteries as it is during fights, and the writing and characters help carry Banishers across its rougher patches. That made saying goodbye to them fittingly difficult, decaying flesh and all.

• PC
• XSX/S
• PS5
• 6 / 10
• États-Unis

The Inquisitor takes place in a fascinating, dark world, and its story often puts you in strange and interesting situations. Searching for a vampire and trying to solve murders in a medieval town is a great idea, and it's compelling to search a scene for clues, to try to puzzle out the best choices in conversations and interrogations, and to attempt to stitch the whole thing together. But it doesn't pay off its ambition, whether that’s because of action scenes that are never really challenging or choices that are either too opaque to see where they're taking you, or take you to the same destination regardless of what you pick. The Inquisitor is always holding your hand too tightly as it points you at clues and destinations, and as a result, it's a detective game that does most of the detecting for you.

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Granblue Fantasy: Relink bucks the RPG genre’s usual trend of long and slow-paced stories, but the relative brevity of its campaign doesn’t compromise on the quality of its storytelling. Its mobile game origins don’t always translate over well, feeling a little thin in some aspects, but questing with friends in multiplayer is very exciting – even if the lack of crossplay is disappointing. However, Relink’s fun action combat and interesting cast of characters has kept me happily playing long after I beat the final boss.

• PS5
• 5 / 10
• États-Unis

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a thoroughly frustrating game to play. There are things to enjoy here, with combat that’s snappy enough to carry it through a genuinely good DC comics story artfully dressed in high production values. But everything else just falls down around it. Engaging mission design is nearly non-existent, the looter-shooter mechanics are tired and dull, and the grotesquely-repetitive postgame leaves little-to-nothing to do of interest. The result is a bit of a mess that doesn't ever impress with any of its numerous ill-conceived ideas. It's not bad, it's just disappointing from Rocksteady - pioneers of single-player story action chasing already outdated multiplayer trends. A City of Tomorrow built on the unstable foundations of yesterday.

• PC
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

A stellar visual overhaul and countless small changes and additions beyond it leave a significant impact, making Persona 3 Reload a more fully realized version of a beloved RPG. Although still dated in some respects, quality of life improvements and new features refresh its exciting turn-based combat and add depth to its touching story moments. Through an incredible new voice cast that embodies these unforgettable characters and an endearing soundtrack to reforge its identity, Persona 3 Reload tells a powerful, timeless story of tragedy and hope with sharp emotional sincerity. This is the kind of remake I’ve hoped for, and even after spending 70 hours to see it all the way to its conclusion, I still find it hard to believe it's real.

• PS5
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s overhauled combat system injects some welcome flexibility and flash into every turn, its difficulty curve has been pruned of nasty spikes to remove the need for repetitive grinding we endured in the last turn-based game, and its spectacular Hawaiian setting is crammed with enough enjoyable activities to overload even the most ambitious of holiday itineraries. A compelling, country-hopping crime story kept me on the hook like a freshly lured barracuda for the 50 hours it took to complete, and the vibrant new job classes and unique combat arenas ensured that the fighting continued to feel fresh. Sprawling, enthralling, and packed with dynamic brawling, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t just the best turn-based Like a Dragon game, it’s one of the greatest games in the entire series.

• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Enshrouded will likely be an instant hit for anyone who’s ever wanted to build a castle in a fantasy world full of danger, and it makes all that building fun and easy with an intuitive set of tools. But even if you don’t care much about crafting or building, Enshrouded’s RPG systems are already solid enough to carry you through its open world for a few dozen hours – even if its vague story isn’t all that powerful, its puzzles are forgettable, and its combat and movement systems could use some fine-tuning. Thankfully, there’s usually no pressure to do anything but try to unlock the next visually-breathtaking area, and that made for a smooth 62-hour journey.

• PS5
• PC
• XSX/S
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

Tekken 8 is an amazing new entry in the long-running series. Interesting tweaks to its classic fighting systems, a full suite of fun offline modes, great new characters, incredible training tools, and a vastly improved online experience all add up to a fighting game I will be playing for many years to come. By honoring its legacy, but continuing to move forward, Tekken 8 manages to stand out as something special.

• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

I'm pretty pleased with the first seven episodes of Stargate: Timekeepers. SG-1 and Atlantis have been off the air for 15 years now, and it sounds like we won't be getting any more Shadow Tactics games. So to get an experience that combines both of those bygone things I adore so effectively is a great surprise. I wish the story and characters had a bit more depth to them, and there are some issues with enemy behavior and missing keyboard shortcuts that could use a bit more polish. But overall, I would gladly venture forth through this stargate again.

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

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown captures not only what made games such as The Sands of Time so good, but it irons out a lot of the little issues that plagued the 3D games in this series by opting for a 2D perspective – and owning it. It also works extremely well as a traditional Metroidvania, sticking with tried-and-true elements of the genre but executing on them with precision. The story can feel a bit jumbled at times, but it's the fast and fun combat system, the tight and satisfying controls, and the stylish look and feel that elevate Sargon’s journey and make The Lost Crown a worthy successor to the best of the Prince of Persia legacy.

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

Turnip Boy has already committed a bunch of crimes, and he does even more in Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. While it’s not much longer than its predecessor and has similar pacing problems towards the end, this sequel has gotten a huge overhaul for the better. It’s changed genres from a dungeon crawler to an action roguelite, with massive improvements to the combat that help make that switch work. And with more quests to complete, more jokes to laugh at, and more secrets to uncover, it still holds onto what made its predecessor so charming. It goes to show that there’s always room for Turnip Boy in our lives, even if he’s killed way more people (veggies?) since the last time we saw him.

• PC
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

House Flipper 2 takes what made House Flipper weirdly addictive and cleans, paints, and builds its way to a worthwhile iterative upgrade on the renovation sim. A few visual tweaks give it a personality the original never quite managed, while the addition of the sandbox mode will give builders who want more power than paint choices the chance to run wild with their tools.

• PC
• 10 / 10
• États-Unis

Asgard’s Wrath 2 is the full-fledged VR open-world RPG I’ve always wanted to play, and for that matter it’s one of the best RPGs in any perspective I’ve played in years. With four unique characters and stories, fantastic and satisfying combat, intricate and rewarding RPG systems, a great story, and an entire roguelite dungeon-crawling mode thrown in just to show off, this masterpiece completely nails almost everything it tries – much of which has never been pulled off in VR. The Meta Quest 3’s killer app has arrived, and even after more than 90 hours throwing squids at gloriously shredded lizards and whipping across gaps, I’m still eager to jump back in.

• PC
• XSX/S
• PS5
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Despite an occasionally frustrating early game, Cookie Cutter is a thoughtful, creative, and (mostly) approachable metroidvania that embodies all the things you'd expect from the genre with its own distinctive style. If this type of game isn't usually your thing, then its fairly standard structure probably won't do much to win you over, especially when its map can sometimes feel a little less open than it first appears. But as a fast, frantic action game to keep you busy, you could do a lot worse than spending a little quality time with Cherry and her gruesome friends.