Marvel's Midnight Suns Review - IGN

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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

  0.63

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• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  As Dusk Falls Review - IGN

  One Microsoft Way, Redmond, United StatesMicrosoft·…

  

  Starts 07/19/2022CONFIRMED78% CONFIDENCE4.2 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1][4]: "…n actions, this small town is gradually unveiled as a powder keg full of secrets, vices, and familia…"

  At first glance, Two Rock, Arizona is merely a backwater town occupied by little more than tumbleweed and a few rows of houses. But very little is as it first appears, and all it takes to reveal As Dusk Falls’ many layers of storytelling depth is one small, decades-spanning tragedy. And it’s all about the story, since this is a choose-your-own-adventure-style graphic novel that cleverly pulls ideas from games like Telltale’s The Walking Dead series and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Each member of this voice-acting cast of unique and interesting characters has their own, often conflicting emotional stakes that accelerate the story in seemingly hundreds of logical and intelligently connected directions. Through the powerful and often far-reaching consequences of your own actions, this small town is gradually unveiled as a powder keg full of secrets, vices, and familial bonds that run far deeper than any outsider is initially led to expect.

  $29.99

  0.62

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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

  The Quarry Review - IGN

  Novato, United States2K Games

  

  Starts 06/10/2022CONFIRMED78% CONFIDENCE4.3 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…people who love horror movies. From the start, it slowly builds tension and atmosphere, getting you…"

  Like many of developer Supermassive’s previous games, The Quarry is clearly made both by and for people who love horror movies. From the start, it slowly builds tension and atmosphere, getting you invested by constantly asking you to make small decisions that will guide its teenage cast of potential murder victims. By the time the blood started flying, every choice felt like one more step in a rolling disaster, and that made it nearly impossible to put down. When I went back to replay it again, however, it was impossible to ignore just how non-interactive much of The Quarry actually is. As a spiritual sequel to Until Dawn, it's a better movie, but a worse game.

  You follow the story of nine camp counselors who get stuck in the woods for one more night at the end of the summer, with nothing to do but throw one last party before they go back to their lives. There's something stalking them from the treeline (because of course there is) and your choices determine which, if any, of the counselors will be able to survive the night. This setup layers three fairly textbook horror plots on top of each other as you progress, but you can tell that Supermassive Games had a lot of fun figuring out how to connect them together. When you play, you may think you're in one type of horror movie, but you're often in another.

  $29.99

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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

  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

  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.

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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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• 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.

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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

  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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• Gaming04/30/2023@PrettyGang

  Elden Ring Review - IGN

  Shinjuku, Tokyo, JapanFromSoftware

  

  Starts 02/25/2022UNVERIFIED78% CONFIDENCE4.6 years ago

  In the 87 hours that it took me to beat Elden Ring, I was put through an absolute wringer of emotion: Anger as I was beaten down by its toughest challenges, exhilaration when I finally overcame them, and a fair amount of sorrow for the mountains of exp I lost along the way to some of the toughest boss encounters FromSoftware has ever conceived. But more than anything else I was in near-constant awe – from the many absolutely jaw-dropping vistas, the sheer scope of an absolutely enormous world, the frequently harrowing enemies, and the way in which Elden Ring nearly always rewarded my curiosity with either an interesting encounter, a valuable reward, or something even greater. FromSoftware takes the ball that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild got rolling and runs with it, creating a fascinating and dense open world about freedom and exploration above all else, while also somehow managing to seamlessly weave a full-on Dark Souls game into the middle of it. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Elden Ring ended up as one of the most unforgettable gaming experiences I’ve ever had.

  $59.99

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