Destructoid

Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels works even though it occupies a weird space. It doesn't play to Forza Horizon's strengths and, eventually, it doesn't even feel much like Hot Wheels anymore. It's claustrophobic and constricting in a way this franchise hasn't been before. In a twist of irony, it's the Hot Wheels aspect that prevents this expansion from ever performing anything spectacularly perilous.

Even if it wasn't a gross misuse of a license, Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days is a boring, buggy game with a universal selling point that's nowhere as fun, or as smart, as it thinks it is. And just like Joe Cabot, I'm so goddamn mad hollering at you guys, I can hardly talk.

I had a lot of fun with Endless Space 2, and I'm looking forward to putting more time in with it. Despite my initial reservations about diving into the deep end, I soon found myself invested in the stories that came from my triumphs and failures. There's a lot to like here if you give it a chance, and even if strategy isn't your preferred genre, you might find that it's worth your time to give ES2 a shot.

Fire Emblem Echoes could have been held back by its need to usher the second iteration back into the fold, but it still feels like a fresh new entry. It is weaker than the last few games, but those bars were set so high that I won't hold that against it.

For 40 hours you'll mash X through slow dialogue, then run around a dead environment, and then do more dialogue until you get to mash square against sponges. If Akiba's Trip is the shirtless jock who kicks the door in with beers in hand, Akiba's Beat is the timid cocktail-drinker standing in the corner with one hand in his pocket. Technically functional, but spiritually dead.

To put it bluntly, Seasons After Fall is "pleasant." A world with a great feeling experience that tends to knock you out of it when moving around. As much as I appreciate a game as relaxed as this, that relaxation never quite became true enjoyment. Like the central possessed fox, I felt like passive bystander as a disembodied voice willed my body to move.

If it wasn’t for this perplexing progression choice made by the developers, and if the story of Deemo: The Last Recital played out at the pace it should, the game would be easy to recommend. In fact, if you love rhythm games, ignore the score below and pick it up for yourself because the music selection is outstanding overall and who knows when next we’ll get something else like it.

Spark the Electric Jester takes mechanics from two of my favorite series growing up and combines them into one fantastic project that deserves the recognition I'm giving it. It might be uglier than Freedom Planet, but otherwise, it is an all around better game.

Funny enough, I leave Prey happy and content with everyone's story but my own. My version of protagonist Morgan Yu just didn't turn out how I wanted him to. He couldn't save everyone I wish he had, he didn't make all the choices I would've liked him to, he didn't even find the shotgun until much later than he should've.

I wish I didn't want to like The Caligula Effect as much as I do, but it's just tragic how far it falls from its own obviously lofty goals. For a game about a virtual world where everyone appears as their best possible self, The Caligula Effect is a walking worst-case scenario, representing the most disappointing possible execution on the huge potential of its best ideas.