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Showing posts from November, 2025

Unending Diablo IV: The Fever of Endless Becoming

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The Opening Gluttony: A Feast at Launch Some games ask you to be patient, to trust that the experience will eventually unfold, but Diablo IV is not one of them. It launches, bursting at the seams with everything you could want. It offers not one but many endgame experiences to indulge in immediately. It is the richest, boldest, most varied endgame experience to be offered at launch in years, in any genre. Other live-service games require months to build substantial offerings, but Diablo IV was released not only complete but also confident. The entire structure encouraged me to excess, to an entire world filled with activities meant to satisfy, and consume, every idle minute. As soon as you finish the campaign and you take those first steps, you notice the world is different. The parts of the map you had become familiar with during the main story started reshaping and expanding outward. "It doesn't end, it just keeps unfolding," is the sentiment...

Forza Horizon 5 in 2025: A Festival of Wheels and Wonder

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The Festival Lives On Driving into Forza Horizon 5 in 2025 feels less like jumping into a video game and more like stepping into a rolling, roaring festival of speed and sound. Sure, it's been a few years since its 2021 release, but somehow, the vibrant energy of the Horizon Festival hasn't dimmed one bit. In fact, it feels more alive than ever. Whether you're tearing across the dusty trails of Baja California, weaving through the lush streets of Guanajuato, or staring down the molten heart of the in-game active volcano, it's impossible not to get swept up in the sheer spectacle of it all. And even if you're someone who's played every single installment in the series, there's still something magical about the way Forza Horizon 5 invites you in and makes every moment behind the wheel feel like a celebration. A Playground of Possibilities Let's talk about the cars first because, honestly, they're the stars of the show and what players who buy PS5 ...

NBA 2K26 Review: The City Reborn

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How NBA 2K26 Finally Learned to Let the Game Breathe Every rebuild has that stage where the once dominant and flashy offence of the team learned to get a few stops. It's where the 'experts' say the team is "maturing", "buying into the system", or just advancing deeper into the playoffs. NBA 2K for years felt like that overachieving, volume scorer trapped on a losing team. All style, no substance, and the levels of defence that left you vulnerable were never-ending. The City, its 'crown jewel,' felt like a city ditched by civilization, a glorified basketball essay, more like a Times Square mall with dozens of stores shouting, 'buy me!' and descending into madness. With NBA 2K26, Visual Concepts hasn't blown up the roster. Rather, they have finally, positively installed a more defensive identity. The result is a more enjoyable and watchable team that, with a sigh of relief, not only feels it is playing to win, but actually does. In t...

Why Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a True Masterpiece

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Rather than simply polishing up another entry in the series, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart feels like it has been put into its own dimensional rift and emerged as something wholly transcendent. The game starts shouting at you from the moment you turn it on: “This is what next-gen hardware was designed for.” And boy does it live up to that promise! However, it’s not all bombastic spectacle; it's no less emotional or heartfelt than awe-inspiring cinematography. It’s not just another Ratchet & Clank game – they reimagined what it would be like. The Faces of the Multiverse Rivet is somebody we need to talk about. She isn’t simply a “new character,” and she is by no means a gimmick. Scrappy, charming, and bruised in her dystopian reality but never broken. You can’t help but cheer for Rivet when you meet her; this is a testament both to the writing and performance behind the character. They have an electric chemistry with Clank. While Cla...

Ninja Gaiden 4 Gets the Heart of Its Genre Right

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Ninja Gaiden 4 recaptures the heart of the Character Action Game genre. Although it doesn't do it perfectly, it effectively reminds those of us who played the genre's golden age why this series set the standard. I'm referring to the sheer, skill-driven action of the original Gaiden games. It's not about the quality of the animations, the reflexes, or the movements. There's a heart, a flow of gameplay, and a 'dance' performed in perfect harmony. There's not a single 'strike, dodge, or cancel' that is wrong or out of step with the player's will and intent. Having played the golden age of this genre, I was cautious in approaching Ninja Gaiden 4 . I've seen too many games leak into this market that claim to be 'difficult' but are too automated and devoid of 'gameplay' to be a challenge. I'm looking at you, padding the runtime with struggle. I'm happy to say that Ninja Gaiden 4 is not one of those games. It's a fo...