Hogwarts Legacy Review - IGN

More like this

• 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

  0.70

  00
• 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

  0.69

  00
• 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

  0.68

  00
• 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

  0.67

  00
• 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

  0.66

  00
• 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.

  $59.99

  0.66

  00
• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  A Plague Tale: Requiem Review - IGN

  Paris, Grand Paris, FranceFocus Entertainment

  

  Starts 10/18/2022CONFIRMED78% CONFIDENCE3.9 years agoHappened as dated, per ign.com^[1]: "…third-person action-adventure game that takes place in an alternate history version of 14th century…"

  Like a sugar-crazed child working their way to the bottom of a Halloween bag full of treats, A Plague Tale: Requiem is confident that the things which made the first game great will be even more delectable in ludicrous quantities. You liked massive swarms of rats? Well, how about we increase the number of them by a degree of 1,000! You enjoyed a gruesome and harrowing journey that tested the limits of your emotional resilience? Great, let’s increase your personal suffering by 200%! This follow-up to one of my favorite action-adventure games of the previous console generation turns the dials up to 11 in practically every way, and overwhelmingly benefits from those escalations despite sometimes being a bit heavy on the nihilism. With improved stealth action mechanics, a fantastic (and deeply depressing) story, and graphics that had me gawking, A Plague Tale: Requiem is an impressive glow up that’s easily worth the immense horrors it subjected me to.

  $59.99

  0.65

  00
• 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

  0.65

  00
• Gaming04/30/2023@ThePinGang

  Baldur's Gate 3 - Gameplay Trailer | State of Play 2023

  Ghent, Arrondissement of Ghent, BelgiumLarian Studios

  

  Starts 08/31/2023UNVERIFIED78% CONFIDENCE3.1 years ago

  Following a 20-plus year wait, RPG fans will finally return to the Forgotten Realms of the popular Baldur's Gate franchise. But the Dungeons & Dragons-based sequel has much more going for it than players' long-brimming anticipation. Developed by Larian Studios — the team behind acclaimed RPG series Divinity — Baldur's Gate III represents that rare dream pairing of a beloved property with the studio best suited to adapting it. Toss in the fact that this hotly anticipated PC game has been honed over two years of fan feedback-fueled early access, and we can't wait to party up and teach those ugly mind flayers some manners. 

  $69.99

  0.65

  00
• 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

  0.65

  00
• 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

  0.64

  00
• 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

  0.64

  00