Xbox Series X Reviews

Crash Bandicoot 4 finally gets its next-gen port. It’s About Time? Yes, it is. That barmy bandicoot is back on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X – but if you’ve waited this long, is it worth taking a plunge? That depends on how nostalgic you feel. Crash 4 is a throwback to a different time, and it pushes that idea often. It’s retro in almost every way that counts, including the difficulty. It’s a great game marred by occasional technical…

I knew my trip through RBI Baseball 21 was going to be rough from the second the tutorial started. Despite downloading the most “up-to-date” rosters, after choosing the Cleveland Indians as my favorite team, Francisco Lindor stepped up to the plate in his Tribe uniform. On the video screen, his trademark smile was sitting under his New York Mets hat. Then things went downhill. When sitting still, RBI Baseball 21 presents a pretty picture. I like the ballpark environments. The…

You seek untold riches, eternal life, divine powers – it leads to this accursed temple, a seemingly-infinite labyrinth of bottomless pits, deadly traps, and monsters. Collect mystical Relics and an arsenal of weapons to make yourself unstoppable. Battle through hordes of enemies in dark, cavernous passages filled with traps and secrets of all sorts – fire-spewing statues, explosives, hidden spikes, and worse. Corruption builds in you with every step – encourage or ignore it, but each powerful curse can be…

Despite being a critical darling in 2019, I completely slept on Control during its initial release. As a primarily PlayStation gamer in the past, I’d never played any of Remedy’s previous games. Fast forward to now and playing the Series X version of , I can’t believe I skipped the game previously. But I’m also glad to be playing the best possible console version of the game. The core setup of the game reminds me of one of my favorite…

There is a tipping point — different for every gamer — where the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze in a game. I reached that point in Yacht Games’ newly released Cyber Shadow a little more than halfway through.   The game demands precise platforming and measured combat, harshly punishing even slight errors. There is so much to like about the game, but after running through the same section 20 30 40 times, I broke. I turned off the game…

Hitman 3 gives back what you put into it, and man is it nice to play a game like that again. You can put zero effort into it, taking the path of least resistance and treating it like the action game it clearly isn’t. You’ll ‘finish’ it in about three hours, huff a bit and then move onto something that holds your hand a little more. Or you can see it for what it is: an assassination sandbox filled with…

In Greek mythology, dreams were personified as Oneiros, something I didn’t know going into this game but now that I’ve completed it makes perfect sense. In Oneiros you play as Liam. Liam wakes up late just like any other day, but something just feels different. Doors to his room are locked, the laptop’s hacked, the phone’s broken, and something just doesn’t feel right. The place definitely looks like his room, but at the same time, it just doesn’t feel like…

Summer in Mara is a single-player summer adventure. Take care of your own island, farming the land, and crafting new tools to survive. You can also sail away with your boat to new islands, meet unique characters and find hidden treasures. But the ocean wants you to fulfill your destiny and when it calls you, you’ll have to answer. Summer in Mara is a game about small details that will surprise you every time. Summer in Mara is an adventure…

We didn’t review the Xbox One seven years ago. We didn’t get a preview unit and nobody on staff at the time was interested enough to pick it up day one. Man, what a difference seven years makes, because the Xbox Series X is a triumph. Check out our One Dislike, Three Likes article about the Xbox Series X! This console has been built by gamers for gamers, and it comes through in every interaction you have with it. From…

John Wick Hex really clicked for me when, after clearing a level, I watched it back “in real-time,” versus the time-based strategic puzzle-combat gameplay. Watching the titular hero make his way through a street, punching, rolling, kicking, and shooting adversaries in under 10 seconds is a lot of fun. Of course, 10 seconds in “real-time” translates to about 5 minutes of gameplay, as the player tries to orchestrate all of Wick’s maneuvers.   The game — developed by bithell games…