IGN Game Reviews – Spoken Edition

Dirt Rally 2.0 is a first-rate return to the more serious side of Codemasters’ off-road catalogue. It may be hot on the heels of Dirt 4 – with a couple of tricks pulled from its friendlier stablemate – but make no mistake: Dirt Rally 2.0 reasserts this spin-off series’ reputation as the premier rally simulator of the modern era. Dirt Rally 2.0 is designed primarily for hardboiled rally enthusiasts and returning fans, so new players may struggle initially.

Tetris 99 is the "This is Fine" meme in video game form – only instead of ignoring encroaching flames, you have to keep your cool during an onslaught of gray garbage blocks piling onto the screen from any of 98 other players in the match, making each moment more panicked than the last. Sometimes it really is fine, and the right sequence of movements mixed with a little luck returns my grid to a nice, orderly structure.

Editor's Note: Because Crackdown 3’s single and multiplayer modes are so different, and because the multiplayer was barely available ahead of time, we’re reviewing them separately. This review covers my thoughts on the single-player campaign; check back soon for my take on the Wrecking Zone PvP mode. Like a B action movie, Crackdown 3 is solely concerned with trying to deliver a hamfisted, high-octane, kaleidoscopically techno explosion-fest.

Editor's Note: Because Crackdown 3’s single and multiplayer modes are so different, and because the multiplayer was barely available ahead of time, we’ve reviewed them separately. This review covers my thoughts on the multiplayer Wrecking Zone PvP mode; you can find our Crackdown 3 Campaign review as well. Crackdown 3’s Wrecking Zone competitive multiplayer mode delivers on the promise of wanton demolition, and that’s seemingly the whole reason it exists.

With Weekly Shonen Jump hitting its 50 year anniversary last year, Jump Force is meant to be a celebration of the many legendary anime and manga series born from its pages. And to its credit, this anime/manga mashup fighting game certainly looks the part on the surface, with flashy combat and a roster of 40 characters hailing from 16 different series, portrayed with a unique aesthetic that takes popular characters and places them into the real world.

I liked the ending to Far Cry 5. There, I said it. (Spoilers for the ending of Far Cry 5 ahead, though the existence of this game probably already ruined that for you.) It may be an unpopular opinion, but I appreciated that, for once, we didn’t vanquish the bad guy, save the day, and walk off into the sunset. Joseph Seed kind of won. So I’m a little bummed that the very silly developments of Far Cry: New Dawn walk back a lot of that bleak, dark finale.

Gathering Storm is Civilization VI’s second - and probably final - expansion, and it cements this iteration’s place in history with a new round of interesting systems that we’ve never seen before in a Civ game. Things like natural disasters and diplomatic Grievances give us plenty to consider during all eras, and Firaxis backs up a dump truck’s worth of leaders and other content atop this already fully-loaded 4X strategy game.

Apex Legends is something of a zeitgeist stew, checking all of the boxes of recent trends all the way down to its grandiose but nondescript title. It’s one part by-the-numbers battle royale, complete with the descent from the sky, emphasis on scavenging for loot, and shrinking playable area. It’s another part hero shooter, featuring eight characters called Legends with unique ability sets built for steadfast teamwork.

God Eater 3 is one of those cases where, thankfully, stellar gameplay makes up for a generic and boring story with bad writing. You might have to dig a bit to figure out how to do some of the coolest moves and learn to live with some between-battles inconveniences, but once you get the hang of it there’s nothing else like it – even the otherwise comparable Monster Hunter series.

Someone at Chucklefish clearly got tired of waiting for Nintendo to bring back Advance Wars, because Wargroove’s turn-based tactics combat is as close to a modern, fantasy-themed revival as you’ll find. But this isn’t a game that relies only on its gorgeous pixel-art nostalgia to win your love: Wargroove is a challenging and extremely fun tactics game, with great multiplayer options and a level editor strong enough to make an entire tactics game of your own.

A mobile game in the style of Five Nights at Freddy’s probably isn’t what most people had in mind when excitement for a new Alien game started to stir. As a consolation, Alien: Blackout packs decent thrills for a quick playthrough, and its retro-future computer display interface and sound effects fit the tone and atmosphere of the universe perfectly. Calling Alien: Blackout a survival-horror game would be a gross exaggeration.

As my tiny boat sailed into the equally tiny port of the city-state of Portia, I couldn't help but look beyond the small town and toward a decrepit tower looming over its peaceful villagers; I wanted to go there, and it didn’t take too long before I did. My Time at Portia is perhaps one of the most pleasant post-apocalyptic games out there, every part of it full of potential and an interesting sense of optimism.

Some of my fondest childhood gaming memories are of being wowed by the first Kingdom Hearts and its recreation of Disney worlds I knew from my favorite animated movies and shows. But even viewed through the rose-tinted glasses of 17 years worth of nostalgia, those memories pale in comparison to Kingdom Hearts 3’s colorful, varied combat and huge, lovingly detailed levels.

Slay the Spire is one of those games where I found myself sitting alone at my desk just giggling as I played. Not because it’s exceptionally funny – though its well-written encounters can be that – but because some combo of cards that had chanced its way into my hand would just go off, and the result was an absolute thrill. I couldn’t help but laugh because, win or lose, that combo may never show up again. But boy, was it a blast in the moment.

The Hong Kong Massacre is Hotline Miami meets Max Payne on the set of a John Woo movie, and for the most part it’s every bit as violent and thrilling as that combination sounds. While the minimalist story presentation and some repeated environments and boss fights expose its slightly limited scope, The Hong Kong Massacre consistently delivers a brutal ballet of ballistics that remains gripping from the first shot fired to the last enemy downed.