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Monster Hunter Wilds Review

Monster Hunter Wilds Review: Streamlined to Death

For an old-time fan like me, Monster Hunter Wilds is incredibly frustrating because it’s simultaneously one of the best and worst games of the series. On one hand, the monster designs are excellent, the combat is more fluid than ever, the environments are beautiful, and the map feels like a living, breathing ecosystem.

On the other hand, half of those things are held back by extreme contradictions to the game’s design that clearly exist due to an absurd level of streamlining. I hate writing this review because I am absolutely going to be screaming into the void. I’m just an old man yelling at clouds, but I gotta yell just to let the screams out.

Avowed Review

Avowed Review

Avowed is an interesting beast because it’s a game I kind of enjoyed, but I was constantly nagged by how much better it felt like it should have been. That’s a step up from The Outer Worlds, which I thought was a badly designed experience from the ground up, but it’s still disappointing in its own way.

There is a kinship between the two titles, though. Just like in The Outer Worlds, entire mechanics exist in a play pretend kind of way. You can point and say that there is a purple squirrel doing the Macarena in the corner of the room, but it’s not actually there. That works for a child’s imagination, but less so for video games that you actually interact with.

The Survival Game Genre Is Broken

The Survival Game Genre is Broken

Survival games are one of my favorite genres. I probably have more hours in Ark and 7 Days to Die than most other games. However, it’s also one of the least uniform genres I can think of. Most survival games have a huge identity crisis that stops them from meeting their full potential. Many individual games address some of these issues, only to balloon other ones.

I Miss the Game Helldivers 2 Used to Be

I Miss the Game Helldivers 2 Used to Be

Helldivers 2 isn’t the same game I bought at launch. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had the rug pulled from under me to this degree in a video game. In an overcorrection for mass appeal, Arrowhead has completely torn the game’s original vision asunder. From the game’s 60-day balancing rework onward, Helldivers 2 has become a much easier game even on the highest difficulty.