Glitches max.
In the year of the COVID-19 pandemic—2020—Akhil Arora’s video game reviews covered the biggest franchises on the planet, from Spider-Man to The Last of Us, and from Watch Dogs to Assassin’s Creed.
Cyberpunk 2077
“There’s nothing too special about anything that Cyberpunk 2077 offers; nothing especially that deserves the amount of hype and attention that has been cast in its direction. But what makes it all the more disappointing is the terrible package it’s being offered in. […] It is entirely unacceptable that performance on current-gen consoles is so poor, despite several release date delays. […] Not a single soul should have to pay full price for this debacle. At least not until the developer proves that it’s fixed everything.”
Immortals Fenyx Rising
“Having ideas is one thing, you’ve to execute them too. [The] combat is generally bland, and it’s only when you get involved in boss battles that prove to be more satisfying, as they involve a bit more strategy. But even that turns rote if fights go on for too long because you settle into a loop. Charge up your special attack, use it, add some light attack stabs, dodge incoming attacks, and refresh your special attack. Rinse and repeat. It’s thrilling for a minute but if I have to execute the same strategy for five minutes non-stop, you’ve lost my interest.”
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
“[So] expansive that it feels rather aimless. The story gets lost in the hours you spend wandering around chasing side quests—which offer endless variations on a finite number of templates—all in the hopes of levelling up the infinite global power tree or finding gear that you will then need more resources for to upgrade it. And for all the explanations on the new mechanisms offered in the menus, it lacks in clear instructions at times, be in with resources, exploration, or the importance of side quests.”
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
“[Lacking] in originality but thankfully built on a solid core that needs a few tweaks. It’s a successful expansion of Insomniac’s Spider-Man universe, but it’s a new paragraph, rather than a new chapter. Hopefully, it will give us the latter next time around. And though it’s also good for representation, it still has a ways to go. […] For now, Miles [Morales] continues his upward trajectory. He walked in 2018, so he could fly in 2020.”
Watch Dogs: Legion
“[Going] in guns blazing will attract so much enemy firepower that you’re likely to find yourself overpowered. Even if you manage to sneak in quietly, there’s always the risk of being spotted by a human or a drone. […] I found it much better to remain at a distance, hack phones to distract opponents and security cameras to discover a path to the target, use drones to move around facilities and then use the all-new ‘spiderbot’—an eight-legged drone—to get the job done.”
FIFA 21
“[Full] of goals. With FIFA, EA Sports is constantly engaged in a balancing act between attack vs defence. And it’s a process that continues after release, with some FIFA titles transforming into a whole new beast by the time we’re ready for the next annual iteration. At launch, FIFA 21 is a goal fest. I’ve had a lot of high-scoring games on FIFA 21 where the result looks more like cricket scores, and I’ve also broken my personal best scoring record, with a final score of 20-0.”
Mafia: Definitive Edition
“[Half-baked] in every respect. The updated story is handled better but still suffers from some glaring gaps. The improved visuals aren’t up to 2020 standards—and oh, they are just a façade. There are new combat mechanics but they don’t do enough to lift the shooting bits. Mafia: Definitive Edition is crying out for a stronger hand at the wheel and a deeper rethink, for in its current state, it’s oblivious of the fact that it’s been 18 years since the original.”
Tennis World Tour 2
“Ultimately, Tennis World Tour 2, with its steep learning curve and stocky animations, is a game that will largely appeal to the hardcore tennis fan. It’s nowhere at the level it needs to be, but it’s also operating in an environment without any competition.”
India’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake
“While [Ubisoft India Studios managing director Jean-Philippe] Pieuchot is touting it as a AAA title, the first look at the game … isn’t very promising, in terms of graphics. For a title that uses the same engine as Assassin’s Creed Origins, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake looks nothing like it. In fact, it looks [like] something that belongs to the previous era.”
Marvel’s Avengers
“[Nowhere] as annoying as the problems with combat though. If you can look past the latter—and it’s not easy—you’ll find a story that’s largely well done, especially when it comes to Kamala [Khan]’s role in it. Its best moments are the narrative interludes, be it the early fun, charming, and giddy moments she shares with the Avengers or the quiet moments, like the time she drinks a giant cola, plays with a Hulk bobblehead toy figure, and puts on a pop song on the radio in Bruce [Banner]’s car.”
Raji: An Ancient Epic
“The big charm of Raji is its unique visual, aural, and scripted landscape, owing to its Indian roots and thanks in part to the fact that it’s rarely depicted on screen in the video game arena. We especially loved Raji’s background score and sound design, which incorporates local folk instruments such as the sitar (necked bowl lute), tabla (twin hand drums), bansuri (side-blown flute), ravanahatha (bowed stringed violin)—and ornaments in Raji’s payals (anklets).”
Ghost of Tsushima
“With the use of shakuhachi (bamboo flutes), koto (a long zither), shamisen (three-stringed lute), taiko (Japanese drums), and biwa (short-necked fretted lute), Ghost of Tsushima sets itself apart from the score of most video games—and even most mainstream movies. The calm it instils is disturbed by the fires of combat, where the score serves to augment the violence.”
The Last of Us Part II
“[Builds] off the much-acclaimed story from the original and expands on previously-established themes, most of them stemming from the cycle of violence keeps repeating. That includes familial bonds, religious intolerance and fanaticism, and confusing revenge with justice. Through it, The Last of Us 2 subverts expectations and forces you to reckon with the actions of the characters you’ve come to feel for. In some ways, it’s similar to Black Panther.”