End of the gods.
Akhil Arora’s video game reviews from 2022 took him back to Norse mythology, the Mushroom Kingdom, and post-apocalyptic America.
Beyond PUBG
“To most, especially those in India, Krafton is essentially the PUBG company, and rightly so. But Krafton sees a bigger future for itself—one inspired by the likes of EA, Tencent, and Blizzard. Until 2021, Krafton was a developer. Now, it’s thinking bigger, and to that end, it’s trying to become a publisher for smaller studios.”
God of War Ragnarök
“What I love about combat in God of War Ragnarök is that it’s a lesson in how you can do more with less. There are just two weapons here—the axe and the blades—but still such a variety of play. You can charge your weapons with frost or fire, hold down buttons to trigger special combos, and of course, line up attacks in a coordinated fashion to maximise damage dealt. What I don’t love is how the game limits what you can see.”
Gotham Knights
“Drawing from the refined toolkit that powered Batman: Arkham and Marvel’s Spider-Man, WB Games Montréal has produced a cookie-cutter superhero experience that’s not looking to push any boundaries. It’s got flair in parts, an attempt to do a bit of heartfelt storytelling, and limited ideas for what an open-world Gotham can be. But it’s also lacking charm, the oomph and drive to its narrative, and the desire to be something special. Gotham Knights is a cash grab in the era of superheroes—and nothing more.”
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
“Do I appreciate the increased ambition? Yes. Am I turned off by the controversial additions … ? A yes to that too. But that is the price we pay for the world we live in. […] Kingdom Battle felt like an innocent little experiment. Now, with success on their backs, there is hunger for more, and both Ubisoft and Nintendo are seeing dollars in their eyes. Mario + Rabbids is akin to a franchise now—and it shows.”
FIFA 23
“Cross-play could have the best thing in ages to happen to the 11v11 Pro Clubs … but sadly, we’re stuck with a game and a developer that refuses to pour resources where they are needed. Instead, everything is funnelled into [FIFA Ultimate Team]. […] But the thing is, EA doesn’t have to care because there’s no competition. […] In a monopoly, you are the default choice. That’s great for FIFA 23, but football fans are paying the price.”
The Last of Us Part I
“[A] night and day difference here, something you can only realise when putting the original and the remake side by side. As I did. Loading up The Last of Us Remastered on a PS4 Pro … I discovered that the environments, their lighting, and the shadows seem rudimentary in comparison. And that’s saying something, considering the PS4 Pro Remastered variant claimed to offer ‘high-quality shadows’ at 4K resolution.”
Stray
“[Kudos] to the developers for recreating what it’s like to slinker as a cat. From the gait to the jumps, Stray really nails feline movement. [… It also] replicates beloved cat memes, including their love to stick their heads in a bag … and jumping into cardboard boxes […] Like that spectrum, Stray swings between a variety of genres, from heartfelt anime to atmospheric horror, and from sleepy backwaters to pulse-pounding thriller.”
Gran Turismo 7
“For those looking for a dedicated simulation racer where you can spend hours tuning and practising to get the best out of the car and yourself, Gran Turismo 7 will no doubt appeal. But I don’t think it’s for racing game enthusiasts, it’s for racing enthusiasts. A great racing game is more than the details—it’s the whole package, it’s how it makes you feel. […] Gran Turismo 7 isn’t [that] kind of game […] I’m happy to be called elsewhere.”
Horizon Forbidden West
“[A] lot of the right ingredients but it’s let down by the pitfalls of AAA game design. Too often now, big event games are conflated with how much they offer and how long they last. [… Studios] feel pressured to give players a lot to do if they are forking over so much money. That is an unnecessary and unfortunate correlation, one that is holding back games such as Horizon Forbidden West from being tight experiences that don’t feel the need to pad things out.”
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
“Rather than a new Uncharted game then, what’s more likely (unfortunately) is a PS5 version of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, the PS4 remaster of the first three Uncharted PS3 titles. A studio like Naughty Dog shouldn’t be ground down into churning remasters of its old games—it should be looking ahead to new entries or new IP. But this is just the world we live in.”