2023 has been full of big name games making big splashes, from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Baldur’s Gate 3 to… Redfall. That’s right, while this year might have had some huge hits, it was also one full of truly eye-popping misses – in fact, IGN published more game reviews with a 4 out of 10 score or below in 2023 than any year since we switched to the 10-point scale by more than double, including our first 1 in about a decade. High highs were coupled with low lows, and all those nostalgic remakes and sequels came alongside a different sort of blast from the past thanks to a slew of underwhelming licensed games, be that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Skull Island: Rise of Kong, or The Walking Dead: Destinies.
The Anacrusis Review
08.12.2023 - 00:49 / ign.com
To say The Anacrusis is similar to Left 4 Dead would be a severe understatement. From hordes of mindless monsters, to deadly enemies that spawn regularly and use their special powers to put the party in a jam, to safe rooms that separate each act of an episode, this four-player co-op FPS sticks so close to its inspiration it could almost qualify as a spinoff. Unfortunately, that nostalgic mimicry allows for little in the way of interesting new ideas or even expected modernizations that might have made it more fun, resulting in a flavorless distraction that feels like it could have come out in 2008. Combat is bland and one-note, the graphics are well below the standards of today, and enemy variety is almost nonexistent. The only thing The Anacrusis really has going for itself is a unique disco-era sci-fi setting starring cheeky characters and groovy locales, which would be easier to appreciate if the rest of it wasn’t so woefully bland. It’s been 15 years since the original Left 4 Dead, but The Anacrusis feels sorely stuck in the past.
Alarmingly true to its roots, The Anacrusis has you casually jogging from safe room to safe room until a final showdown at the end of each episode asks you to hold out against an army of baddies. That familiar framework also includes mowing down hundreds of identical monsters (aliens here, instead of zombies) in a hail of blue lasers, which is undermined by some of the most forgettable gunplay in recent memory. Nearly every part of the combat is mediocre, whether it’s the hilariously unintimidating and low-res enemies, the generic laser weapons that all feel like clones of one another, or the eyebrow-raising lack of a sprint button. And even though there are only five episodes to pick from that can be completed in a total of less than four hours, many of the same areas are repeatedly reused, so you can’t even rely on fresh levels to keep things interesting.
Thankfully the otherwise monotonous trek through samey hallways is momentarily elevated whenever one of the special enemy types shows its face, like the Spawner who hides and spits out little turret creatures, the Grabber who ensnares one player and renders them unable to defend themselves until killed, or the Brute who just has lots of health and runs around stomping things. Learning to work as a team and deal with these tricky foes goes a long way in making things more interesting when you’re early on. Unfortunately, even these brief pockets of amusement quickly fade after you’ve been spit on by a Gooper or blinded by a Flasher a handful of times and familiarize yourself with their tactics enough to dispose of them in a few seconds whenever a new one spawns.
No matter what you’re fighting, the weapons you’ll use to do
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gamingbolt.com
22.12.2023 / 07:41
Microsoft Flight Simulator Adds European Cities Like The Hague and Brussels in Latest Update
A new update has been released for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Dubbed City Update 5: European Cities, the update has a trailer that you can check out below. As its name might imply, the update brings a host of European cities to the game.
gamespot.com
21.12.2023 / 20:29
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pcgamer.com
20.12.2023 / 17:09
Microsoft Flight Simulator adds a bunch of European cities, letting you grab Zagreb and try The Hague
I love how Microsoft Flight Simulator exists in the background now, like the distant roar of an overhead flight path. Not only is it just nice to have a shiny, new version of one of the gaming OGs there to pick up and play at any time, every now and then it drops an absolutely gorgeous new trailer showing off some wild technical wizardry or hyper-detailed new cityscape. That's exactly what's happened now, with Flight Sim's latest update inviting you to pay a flying visit to an eclectic collection of European cities.
boardgamequest.com
19.12.2023 / 16:57
Rauha Review
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thesixthaxis.com
19.12.2023 / 16:26
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review
Humans are horrible. You don’t need an allegory about the environment filled with blue aliens to tell you that. However, the joy of James Cameron’s Avatar isn’t in its humans, or the azure Na’vi, it’s in the vibrant, living world of Pandora. From the instant you start Frontiers of Pandora, it’s clear that Ubisoft has done an incredible job bringing this world to life, and while you bathe in the neon glow of its incredible wildlife, you’ll discover a people whose lives and culture you’ll want to protect.
pushsquare.com
16.12.2023 / 15:16
Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen Review (PS5) | Push Square
We're weren't totally convinced that Final Fantasy 16 needed story-based DLC, but now that we've played through Echoes of the Fallen — the first of two promised expansions — we're actually glad it's happening. If nothing else, this additional slice of adventure is a welcome reminder of how flashy and downright fun 16's combat can be.
blog.playstation.com
12.12.2023 / 11:43
(For Southeast Asia) Get ready, PlayStation Plus Season of Play starts tomorrow
Starting from tomorrow through January 5, 2024, we’re celebrating the holiday season with a month full of activities for our PlayStation community. As part of the PlayStation Plus Season of Play, PlayStation Plus members can redeem free avatars for PS5 and PS4 consoles, join eSports tournaments, earn points on PlayStation Stars and enter a competition for your chance to win amazing prizes. Activities for those who are not PlayStation Plus members are available as well.
screenrant.com
11.12.2023 / 15:19
"The Granddaddy of Survival Horror Returns" - Alone in the Dark Preview
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ign.com
11.12.2023 / 13:49
Alone in the Dark: The Final Preview
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ign.com
08.12.2023 / 20:09
The Finals Review in Progress
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screenrant.com
08.12.2023 / 04:33
"Gets Your Blood Pumping": The Finals Preview
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