Dragon’s Dogma 2 Is Great, The New South Park Game Isn’t, And More Of The Week’s Gaming Opinions
Screenshot: THQ Nordic / South Park Digital Studios, Skystone Games, Square Enix / Claire Jackson / Kotaku, Image: 343 Industries / Bungie / Bethesda / Xbox Game Studios / Square Enix / PlatinumGames / Kotaku / santiago1012 (Shutterstock), Capcom, Square Enix, Capcom
Capcomâs new action-RPG Dragonâs Dogma 2 is sparking a fascinating range of reactions from players, and weâve got a few of our own. Weâve also got thoughts on why the new South Park game, Snow Day, is such a disappointment, more commentary on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthâs hotly contested ending, and more.
Screenshot: THQ Nordic / South Park Digital Studios
About halfway through the first mission in South Park: Snow Day, I found myself pausing the game and checking my phone as I desperately looked for entertainment. Thatâs what we professional and very serious critics call: Not a good sign. – Zack Zwiezen Read More
Image: 343 Industries / Bungie / Bethesda / Xbox Game Studios / Square Enix / PlatinumGames / Kotaku / santiago1012 (Shutterstock)
In a video game, youâre only as good as your weapon. Try getting through Elden Ringâs hardest boss battle without a powerful sword, or a tough multiplayer match in Halo 3 without nabbing the Needler and unloading on an incoming Ghost. Even the most elite-level gamers among us owe some of their talent to the quality of the tool in their virtual handsâthatâs why Call of Dutyâs gun customization is such a hot-button topic. – Alyssa Mercante Read More
Screenshot: Skystone Games
When I was younger, my friends and I would play Grand Theft Auto III differently than how the developers intended. Instead of completing missions and side activities, we would use cheat codes to give ourselves all the guns, a good car, and then save the game in that state. We would then each take turns loading up that save and trying to outlast the cops for as long as we could. I know plenty of other people who played GTA like thisâas a weird, roguelike round-robin game of carjacking and mayhemâand now, someone has built an entire game recreating that classic experience. – Zack Zwiezen Read More
Image: Capcom
I remember watching the February 20, 2013, PlayStation 4 announcement live stream, eager to learn what the new console would bring me. It was a lengthy affair and looking back I barely remember what was announcedâExcept for one title that etched itself onto my mind: a Capcom dungeon crawler called Deep Down. I got a PS4 later that year, and eagerly awaited the gameâs release. The years passed and it never came, stuck in development hell and relegated to vaporware status. Yet I still canât let go of what it would have been like. Now, after playing Dragonâs Dogma 2, I think I know. – Willa Rowe Read More
Image: Square Enix
Iâm filling in some gaps in my RPG history. Iâve been playing series like Final Fantasy since I was a kid, but there are countless other landmark RPGs Iâve rarely touched, including the fantasy RPG Mana series, which splintered off of Final Fantasy Adventure in 1991. The only installment in the long-running franchise Iâve played, in fact, is Children of Mana on the Nintendo DS, which I loved! Nonetheless, Iâm on a journey to right my wrongs, so when I was presented with the chance to see the first mainline Mana game since 2006 at PAX East last week, I had to check it out for myself. – Moises Taveras Read More
Image: Capcom
One of the first quests you undertake in Dragonâs Dogma 2, Capcomâs new action RPG, has you traveling from the town of Melve to the capital city of Vernworth. Itâs a slow journey that starts and stops several times along the winding roads leading to your final destination. You need to dispatch goblins making the road dangerous, rest at a campsite to replenish your health, and when you eventually do get access to an oxcart that will let you sit and rest while you travel, things donât go much quicker unless you completely doze off to pass the time. Most of this quest is a quiet story of walking from one place to the other. – Willa Rowe Read More
Screenshot: Square Enix / Claire Jackson / Kotaku
Iâve had more than a month to consider Final Fantasy VII Rebirthâs ending, and itâs not often that my feelings about something get worse with each passing day. Yet, here I am, thinking about how Square Enix has chosen to cap off the middle section of its planned Remake trilogy, and Iâm even more puzzled by how hard Rebirth commits to being non-commital in its eleventh hour. Iâm sympathetic to the idea that this is not the ending to the story, but Rebirth feels less like a proper springboard for a new conclusion and more like buyerâs remorse on what could have been a bolder cliffhanger. – Kenneth Shepard Read More
