Hooray, Patrick! Thanks for the review, and I really like this perspective - Just as the real Assassins dissolved in time, so must this series, and frankly this would be the perfect way to end it if they didn’t need the money and they finally created a mode that properly explores the historical setting. I’m very…

I know AVClub didn’t really go for Horizon: Zero Dawn in general, but I actually found its approach to open-world exactly what I want it to be. And it’s the model, quite frankly, I’d love to see more developers follow.

At the end of the day, Super Mario Odyssey still has a checklist of Moons and a map for each level, so I’m not sure it’s a checklist and map per se that put you off a game. The problem seems to be that so many of these open-world games have repetitive, shallow gameplay; they don’t make the very acts of travelling…

HZD is plagued by the issues most open world games have, but I actually found it a breath of fresh air coming off The Witcher 3 (which, for the record, I also enjoyed, it was just feeling old after 100+ hours) thanks to engaging and difficult combat. I mean, nothing I did in The Witcher 3 felt as amazing as finally…

Going to disagree with you about Zero Dawn. Its open world but it has a linear quest structure that you can just follow. There is a huge map of things to explore with side quests, upgrades and other such things. But you can easily just stick to the main quest and have a very rewarding experience. Plus the story is far…

How did you wring yet another article out on this subject? Horizon was a great game, period. I admit to suffering some “map game exhaustion” (although I resist your efforts to turn “map game” into a thing) - I abandoned Fallout 4 halfway through, and when I recently loaded up Shadow of War, my urge to slaughter…

Love the whole “3D Hotline Miami” genre that seems to have popped up. Will have to check out High Hell.

I hope you have fun with the HZD DLC! /cheer

I’m in the leisurely postgame of Super Mario Odyssey right now, and I think I’m ready to play some other games as well. I’m near the end of Secret of Mana and I’ve been neglecting Vs VIII for far too long.

I’ve been most whole-hogging Persona 5 this week, and managed to make it to the sixth palace. I like to bump up my social links ‘til there’s about a week left, so I’m back in the real world grinding that.

I like that the plot is finally coalescing into something with real momentum — the school festival was pretty…

What Have You Finished This Week?

I knew of Devolver prior to last Summer’s E³, but wasn’t truly in my radar until their taped keynote parody. What a lovely company with such joie de vivre. If it weren’t the near antithesis of my playing style (or if it had some auto aim help) it might be a blast to play, pun not intended.

For this weekend, I seem to have gotten pretty well into a game called Hard West, which is a kind of lower-budget XCOM, but in the Old West, and with supernatural weirdness going on. The lower budget shows through in plenty of ways, notably the “tell, don’t show” approach which has a narrator explaining major plot…

Salutations~!

Still Super Mario Odyssey, still amazing. What’s really been getting me lately is how many details are in this thing. Another online friend pointed out that the water in Bubblaine - which, unlike every single other kind of water in the game, has a natural carbonation - causes a light but noticeable fizz in the Joy-Con…

Starts shipping to non-Kickstarter-backers in a li’l over a week. You can order it here.

Greetings from Essen!

This weekend will, of course, be dominated by Super Mario Odyssey. I’m recovering from a cold or sinus infection or something, so I’m really looking forward to vegging out with Nintendo’s cheeriest franchise to perk me up.

I actually got a free code for Fractured But Whole, and am looking forward to playing it if I can. I have a fairly new integrated graphics chip which SHOULD work, but apparently atm the PC port is pretty rough with the frame rate even for recommended specs, so I’m waiting around for a patch before I give it a spin.…

Fallout 3