I can’t play the Spyro trilogy for the first time again, nor can I approach it with the same innocence and sense of wonder that I did when I was ten years old. I still love the series, but games have changed a lot since Spyro first came out. There have been 20 years of evolution and innovation since Spyro the Dragon was made, and I’ve seen how games have been refined and enhanced since then. I’ve changed a lot too. I’m a critic now, and I pick games apart and analyze them for a living. I can revisit Spyro from a new perspective, but now I experience it as an echo of the original - a snapshot of my childh

Next to major first-party titles like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon: Forbidden West , one of the biggest new game announcements from the PlayStation 5 gameplay event was the reveal of Resident Evil 8: Village . Just like Resident Evil 3 Remake before it, Resident Evil 8 rumors have been floating around online for the majority of the year, revealing a ton of new aspects about the game from its medieval castle setting to the introduction of werewolves, and a redesigned Chris Redfi

As a VR enthusiast, it’s hard to understand why the Oculus Quest 2 still hasn’t hit critical mass. It’s not a matter of cost: the Quest 2 is half the price of the PS5 and Xbox Series X and less than a third of a 30-series GPU, and unlike all of those, is widely available. It’s not due to a lack of content either. There are hundreds of games on the Oculus store, and at least a dozen I would consider must-plays. There are even more if you have a decent computer to link to, like Half-Life: Alyx , Star Wars Squadrons, and my personal favorite, Insomniac’s Stormland. I don’t think it's an accessibility issue either - at least not for the vast majority of potential VR players. Resolution and high refresh rates have virtually eliminated the disorientation of early VR, and even if you’re especially squeamish, every game has plenty of settings built in that help eliminate any discomfort. If you ask me, the Quest kotor 2 Restoration project ought to be as ubiquitous as the equally-priced Nintendo Switch, but as of this past July, the Quest 2 has only sold four million units to the Switch’s

VR remakes like Resident Evil 4 are a much easier sell to non-VR players than other games in the medium. I can preach about how remarkable Half-Life: Alyx is until everyone hates me (which happens often) but it's impossible to really understand how great that game is unless you play it for yourself. This has always been a huge barrier for VR, which is why Oculus was so keen on developing a wireless model that could more easily be taken on the go and shared with friends. People need to try VR before they really get it, but remakes of classic games like RE4 might just be compelling enough to convince people to take the dive sight unseen. "It’s Resident Evil 4, but you’re actually walking through the village yourself" is easy to wrap your head around, and a pretty intriguing premise

The classic 2D Pokemon era is something fans can't get enough of. Each and every game oozes with charm, making them some of the coziest titles fans can check out for themselves. While most of the entries do not have the dramatic qualities associated with some of Studio Ghibli's greatest games, they deliver immersive and charming worlds filled with colorful personalities. They are a fantastic escape from real

She was in possession of the location of numerous potential Jedi and Force-sensitive children, which made her invaluable to Darth Vader and especially the Emperor. She eventually dies at Vader's hands, but not before proving she was one of the most underrated Jedi in the or

RE4VR doesn’t function like a remake or remaster at all. When I play it, it's a way of experiencing something I’m intimately familiar with. It’s somewhere between nostalgia and deja vu - like going somewhere you’ve only been in your dreams. When I’m fully immersed in a VR game, it's the closest I ever get to that childhood feeling of getting totally lost in a game, and the familiarity of RE4 makes that even more profound. I know every inch of this game, yet somehow I’m also seeing it all for the first t

As a silent protagonist - with the exception of all manner of grunts, yelps, and screams - Link is only able to communicate in a certain number of ways. However, all of the characters around him speak fluently, expressing their struggles and motivations through eloquent dialogue as Link can do nothing but stand and watch. But he doesn’t need to talk, his baby blue eyes and determined body language saying all that needs to be said when it comes to establishing an unwavering promise to help his loved ones and save the wo

Fans of Ghibli's darker content will love what Omori brings to the table. This psychological horror RPG throws players for a loop, lulling them into a false sense of security over and over again before scaring them out of their wits. The mystery that plays out in the background is a tantalizing one and will shock players to their very core when they learn about the dark and disturbing truth at the heart of this video g