Author: Danny Casey

One could argue that developer Bloober Team’s modernization of a survival horror classic was a very safe decision, but there are also many who would claim that last year’s Silent Hill 2 was an incredibly well-executed recreation of the 2001 original. In contrast, Neobards Entertainment’s Silent Hill f is a far more ambitious project. With a compelling protagonist who defies the series’ tendency to focus on gloomy, middle-aged men and keeps its firearms holstered in favor of a fighting system that is solely melee-focused, it provides a brand-new narrative in a wholly alien world. Silent Hill F is a triumph…

It only took roughly five seconds for Baby Steps’ utter weirdness to win my heart, as I’m someone who thrives on the unexpected, distinctive, and downright strange. With Bennett Foddy (who is also one of the developers here), this spiritual follow-up to the agonizing cult classics QWOP and Getting Over It is a similarly frustrating physics-based walking simulator that asks you to control the most awkward human ever made as you force yourself through progressively difficult obstacles. The outcome is among the most hilariously frustrating experiences I have ever had the pleasure of going through. Despite its most frustrating parts,…

In addition to being one of the greatest songs in Sonic history, “Live and Learn” seems to be a mentality that SEGA has embraced in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. Over the course of Sonic’s 34-year career, I’ve spent more than 35 hours drifting, boosting, and collecting rings on a great selection of tracks. Hours passed with ease as I honed my drifting skills, customized my cars, figured out the best race lines for time trials, and frantically competed with friends to win the Grand Prix. In a Grand Prix of 2025 kart racers, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds could have been just another…

A story-based, single-player DLC that allows me to revisit a flawless, single-player, story-based journey that I loved the first time around? MachineGames truly understands my language, unlike Marcus Brody, who is out of his depth. With a lot of puzzles and a series of incredibly evocative caverns, catacombs, and canals to explore through the heart of Rome, The Order of Giants is an approximately four-hour side quest for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. I was immediately captivated once more by The Great Circle after being away from it for some months. The Order of Giants is a great way…

I wrote, “LEGO Voyagers might already be my favorite LEGO game ever,” following a preview session in which I played the first 30 minutes of the required two-player, what-if-Hazelight-made-a-LEGO-game adventure from developer Light Brick Studios and arthouse publisher Annapurna Interactive. Between my first peek and my 14-year-old daughter and me finishing the full edition of LEGO Voyagers, where we played, constructed, and crashed our way through to the end credits in same-screen co-op, one less-than-ideal thing happened: it ended far too soon. Even though we thoroughly enjoyed it, the fact that it ended just when it appeared to be getting…

Developer Bloober Team has directed its efforts to creating Cronos: The New Dawn, a snarling, spiritual sequel to the Dead Space series, after delivering a small-town, psychological scare-a-thon in 2024 with the excellent remake of Silent Hill 2. Despite Cronos being a respectable creep show, I was a little let down because it didn’t impress me as much as Silent Hill 2, which is a difficult act to follow. Its rather uninspired combat fails to set this survival-horror shooter apart from the necromorph-dismembering series from which it obviously draws so much inspiration. The game is set in the ruined, futuristic…

An unending Persona 5 spin-off seems like a very good idea in terms of game pitches. What’s not to adore about intricate villains, turn-based role-playing games, and an abundance of opulent social connections? Presenting Persona 5: The Phantom X, Atlus’s most recent genre-bending entry into the series. This gacha-fied adventure has all the characteristics of its renowned source material, including exquisitely animated cutscenes and heart-stopping needle drops. What’s the catch? Well, once you get over its alluring early game, there’s a ton of complicated currencies to manage and a grind-heavy gameplay loop. It’s unfortunate because The Phantom X is a…

The promise of Wildgate’s spacefaring PvPvE mayhem was evident after just one match. Complex and thrilling competitions of cooperation and communication result from the highly cooperative chaos of operating a spacecraft, searching PvE dungeons for treasure, and defending against opposing crews. However, it has also become evident that there is still much space to expand on that intriguing idea after dozens of games and over 20 hours of gaming. The endurance of these cosmic battles is limited because there aren’t many characters, ships, or weapons to bring into battle, and after you’ve explored a few matches’ worth of dungeons, you’ll…

The transition from bareknuckling to swashbuckling may seem like a big leap from the year-rated pirate-infested waters of the Hawaiian islands to the R-rated streets of Tokyo’s red light district, but Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii has done it with confidence and considerable flair. Without surrendering any of the slapstick humor and engrossing diversions that have long been the series’ defining characteristics, this jovial adventure forgoes the pulpy narrative twists and turf war clichés in favor of telling a concise and lively story about treasure hunting and seafaring. In essence, Pirate Yakuza’s bizarre tale centers on the endearing…

Infinity Nikki offers so much to do that it can occasionally be too much to handle. You quickly discover that there are numerous in-game currencies, an infinite number of menus, and a plethora of colors after you have mastered running and jumping. Then there are the clothes: its lovely fantasy world offers hundreds of cute clothing items, accessories, and cosmetic choices. The Nikki games, a dress-up gacha series that was originally exclusive to mobile devices, have a lot of stuff built in. It features the typical optimism interspersed with sporadic melancholy in its narrative, as well as the cheesy images…