Elden Ring Review - IGN

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Review - IGN

  Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, JapanNintendo

  

  Starts 07/29/2022UNVERIFIED78% CONFIDENCE4.2 years ago

  When it comes to over-the-top roleplaying games, it’s hard to beat the bonkers worlds and stories I’ve come to expect from the Xenoblade Chronicles saga. With Xenoblade Chronicles 3, massive improvements have been made to combat, quest design, and the RPG sandbox, while retaining the absurd and awesome environments, and a laser-focus on great characters and an impressive (if convoluted) story. Of course, while this third entry evolves in some key areas that make the epic journey more consistently fun than the two mainline games that came before it, it also repeats some of the same mistakes, including sloppy writing, weak bosses, and graphics that often leave something to be desired. Even so, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is already competing for the spot as my favorite iteration of this beloved series.

  $59.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Stray Review - IGN

  Los Angeles, United StatesAnnapurna Interactive

  

  Starts 07/19/2022CONFIRMED78% CONFIDENCE4.2 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1][3]: "…ling it gave me right from the adorable opening minutes. To be clear: you’re not a magic cat, not a…"

  A delightful cat-based platforming adventure in a cyberpunk world worth exploring.

  Silent protagonists are nothing new in video games, but Stray certainly pushes that concept to an interesting place. Part platformer, part traditional adventure game, this cyberpunk world full of neon-soaked robots transforms into a giant jungle gym from your perspective, which is just one foot off the ground. The concept of putting you in the paws of an average cat may be a silly one on the surface, but Stray uses that furry vehicle to tell a genuinely compelling story with some entertaining action along the way. Not all of its ideas land on their feet, but it was impossible to shake the fuzzy feeling it gave me right from the adorable opening minutes.

  $39.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Bayonetta 3 Review - IGN

  Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, JapanNintendo

  

  Starts 10/28/2022CONFIRMED78% CONFIDENCE3.9 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…is especially disappointing because it starts out so promisingly. It opens with a surprisingly dark…"

  I hold the Bayonetta series’ combat in such high esteem that I’d consider it in the top five or so combat systems of all time, right next to the Devil May Cry, God of War, Ninja Gaiden, and Batman Arkham games. It’s just incredible to look at, feels equally amazing to play, and is jam packed with opportunities for style and creativity thanks to the wide assortment of wild weapons at your disposal. Bayonetta 3 just further cements its legacy, strutting out with a surprising sequel in that it actually takes a lot of risks with changing up its established formula in an effort to revitalize a combat system that only slightly evolved between the first two games. Fortunately those risks pay off. Bayonetta 3 is an invigorated sequel with fresh new ideas that embolden its 13-year-old combat system, an impressive amount of variety throughout its 10 to 12-hour campaign, and more of that trademark sexy Bayonetta style that makes the series one of a kind.

  $59.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Hogwarts Legacy Review - IGN

  Burbank, United StatesWarner Bros. Games

  

  Starts 02/10/2023CONFIRMED85% CONFIDENCE3.6 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…eiving a Hogwarts admission letter that opens the door to a secret world. With Hogwarts Legacy, I’m…"

  Like many, I’ve been waiting for a truly excellent Harry Potter game since I was in the third grade. In that time, we’ve gotten some respectable LEGO Potter games, an underwhelming EA Sports Quidditch game for some reason, and even suffered through the fevered nightmare that is Harry Potter Kinect. But none of these has come close to fulfilling that fantasy of receiving a Hogwarts admission letter that opens the door to a secret world. With Hogwarts Legacy, I’m happy to say that we finally got a Harry Potter game that captures some of that magic. Its open world map absolutely nails the vibe of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it has spellcasting combat that’s stupefyingly good, the characters that inhabit it are charming and unforgettable, and it is positively brimming with countless diversions to soak up dozens of hours of your time. It may not be the most impressive technical achievement and it is certainly cursed with a lack of enemy variety, but none of Hogwarts Legacy’s issues can cast a Descendo charm on this triumphant visit to the Wizarding World.

  $69.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Sifu Review - IGN

  Paris, FranceSloclap

  

  Starts 02/08/2022CONFIRMED85% CONFIDENCE4.6 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…very short game. Its five levels can be completed in just a handful of hours, even right from the fi…"

  From the very first punch, Sifu is utterly uncompromising in its design. Absolver developer Sloclap’s latest martial arts beat-em-up is bold, its combat exquisite, its animation top-notch, its music outstanding, and its story – while very simple – is poignant and elegantly told. It’s also unforgiving and unapologetic, with pockets of frustrating moments during which I was certainly not in my happy place. But by the end, Sifu offered me a nearly unparalleled sense of mastery and accomplishment, and I can’t imagine that I would’ve enjoyed it half as much if it pulled its punches.

  $49.99

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• Gaming05/02/2023@PrettyGang

  The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild lands top spot on IGN's 10 Best Legend of Zelda Games of All Time

  Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, JapanNintendo

  

  Starts 03/03/2017CONFIRMED80% CONFIDENCE9.6 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…only” came in at number 3 here. When it launched in 1998, Ocarina of Time instantly defined what 3D…"

  The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild reinvented a 30-year-old series in a way we rarely see. After Skyward Sword offered a slightly more linear, story-driven campaign than most fans were used to, Breath of the Wild readjusted dramatically in the opposite direction. Suddenly you could go anywhere and climb anything in any order you wanted, and goodness gracious was there a whole lot to choose from.

  There are plenty of fair criticisms to throw at Breath of the Wild, with common ones being its lack of traditional Zelda dungeons and items. But what’s truly impressive is how much it maintained the heart of a Zelda game even as it altered nearly every system around it. To a certain extent, Zelda has always been about exploration and choice, and Breath of the Wild simply leaned into and enabled those aspects of itself above all else, now making the world a place that would react to those choices as well. There’s just so much to see, so many people to meet and secrets to find hidden throughout this long-since devastated version of Hyrule.

  $59.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  The Last of Us Part I Review - IGN

  Minato, Tokyo, JapanSony·…

  

  Starts 09/02/2022CONFIRMED78% CONFIDENCE4.1 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…on of Naughty Dog’s 2013 masterpiece to arrive inside a decade. Unsurprisingly, this remake takes fu…"

  You almost have to admire the hedonism of looking at The Last of Us Remastered, which is still visually impressive eight years later, and saying, “Yeah, that looks pretty good, but we can do better.” There’s very little left to be said about the original The Last of Us, a potent, post-apocalyptic cocktail of stealth, survival, and slaughter that’s revered for its haunting storytelling in an amazingly well-crafted world. You almost certainly knew that. It’s widely lauded as one of the best games of all time and one of the few to get a 10 from IGN, but I reckon you knew that, too. In fact, it’s a game so nice they built it thrice, which is where we find ourselves with The Last of Us Part I – now the third version of Naughty Dog’s 2013 masterpiece to arrive inside a decade.

  $69.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Review - IGN

  Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, JapanNintendo

  

  Starts 11/18/2022UNVERIFIED87% CONFIDENCE3.8 years ago

  It is still unbelievable to me that after 26 years of linear, straightforward RPGs, developer Game Freak really looked Pokémon players dead in the eye and said, “It’s fine, go wherever you want.” In the lead-up to the launch of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, I thought this claim would end up being a marketing gimmick, a little joke, something we’d all be mad about later. But from the moment I left the hallowed halls of Uva Academy, that promise has been wonderfully fulfilled, with open-world, open-ended gameplay serving as a shining beacon for the future of this beloved franchise. And yet, a finger on the cursed Mankey’s paw has curled anyway – Scarlet and Violet’s wonderfully innovative design is dramatically undermined by the numerous ways in which they feel deeply unfinished, with issues ranging from an incomplete world to massive and ubiquitous technical problems. So even though I want to celebrate how this generation reinvents and reinvigorates the world of Pokémon, I can’t without putting a great big warning label on it.

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Kirby and the Forgotten Land Review - IGN

  Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, JapanNintendo

  

  Starts 03/25/2022CONFIRMED88% CONFIDENCE4.5 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…ocalyptic setting, but after a wormhole opens above Dream Land, the ruined remains of a seemingly hu…"

  Kirby is no stranger to reinvention. His ability to transform himself into all sorts of shapes and sizes aside, the games he’s in often experiment with new settings and gimmicks as well – whether it’s rolling a limbless Kirby with the DS stylus in Canvas Curse, piloting mechs in Planet Robobot, or fundamentally changing how he transforms in Epic Yarn. Kirby and the Forgotten Land might seem like another addition to that list at first glance, this time warping the traditionally 2D structure into 3D levels. But in reality, this platformer feels like the next big step for a more classic Kirby formula rather than an upheaval of it, and it’s one that skillfully translates the things I love about Kirby into a fresh – but still familiar – new perspective.

  $59.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Horizon Forbidden West Review - IGN

  Minato, Tokyo, JapanSony·…

  

  Starts 02/18/2022UNVERIFIED87% CONFIDENCE4.6 years ago

  Successful sequels build on their predecessors in multiple ways – think Mass Effect 2, Assassin's Creed 2, and Uncharted 2. They all improve what came before them by conjuring up exciting new gameplay mechanics, developing characters through engaging stories, and switching up mission design to offer variety. In other words, they take a solid base and combine with new elements to create more advanced bonds, much like an alloy… or in this case, an Aloy. Horizon Forbidden West does this with aplomb, building on the already impressive foundations of 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn to tell a thrilling story full of familiar explosive combat against elaborate robotic foes and blockbuster action sequences, but also adding Witcher-like settlements to the map and filling it out with great side quests. There’s a genuine sense of exploration and loads of completely involving lore behind it all to uncover. The result is a fantastic open-world action-adventure that, despite falling into a couple of its old habits, emphatically delivers on the promises made five years ago.

  $69.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Need For Speed Unbound Review

  209 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City, United StatesElectronic Arts

  

  Starts 12/02/2022UNVERIFIED78% CONFIDENCE3.8 years ago

  2022 was a stacked year that featured indie darlings (Immortality), blockbusters (God of War Ragnarok), and smaller, surprise hits (Marvel Snap), so it shouldn't be a shock that a game or two slipped under your radar. But the biggest blink-and-you-miss-it release might be late November's Need for Speed Unbound, the latest entry in EA’s long-running street racing series. With Criterion Games (of Burnout fame) at the helm, Unbound had the potential to be one of the best racing games of the year—or a return to series form after a few missteps. But while aesthetically pleasing and featuring cross-platform play with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, the $69.99 PC game lacks satisfactory car handling and a thriving, in-game world.

  $69.99

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  The Callisto Protocol Review - IGN

  San Ramon, California, United StatesStriking Distance Studios

  

  Starts 12/02/2022CONFIRMED78% CONFIDENCE3.8 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…is on melee combat, at least during the opening hours. With weapons and ammunition initially scarce,…"

  A proper remake might be rising from the grave next year, but the festering corpse of Dead Space has come lurching back to life early in the form of The Callisto Protocol. This spiritual successor to the sci-fi survival horror series recreates the haunting blood-streaked hallways and space zombie-slaying hallmarks first established on the USG Ishimura back in 2008, and injects the gore with more awe than ever before thanks to some strikingly detailed splashes of blood and guts. Unfortunately, while the mutant dismemberment has never been more vivid, The Callisto Protocol’s shortcomings appear just as clearly. Occasional control annoyances, imbalanced combat, and a general absence of innovation result in a roughly eight-hour massacre that’s gratifyingly gruesome, but never quite as great as the series that inspired it.

  $49.99

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