The Critical Corner

After a year and a half of waiting since we last saw the Night King using the recently resurrected Viserion to blast the Wall into pieces, it was going to be impossible for the Season 8 premiere to live up to such a long wait, especially with all the hype surrounding this shortened final season. Despite that, while “Winterfell” doesn’t come out of the gate roaring, the episode offers enough great character moments, reunions and important developments to rise above the usual slow Game of Thrones opening. For a series so defined by its sprawling, expansive narrative, nothing says more about the current state of the series than the current scope of the episode (perfectly captured in the newly updated opening credits), which happens almost entirely around Winterfell and Kings Landing. The series has contracted its story into something a little more cohesive, while still featuring enough characters within places to not feel like it’s gotten too small. While the ...

Many (including the developers themselves) have stated that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is not a “Souls/Borne”-like game. From its dedicated “jump” button, to its edgy hook shot/Spiderman-grapple mechanic, to its streamlined build (which causes all of its players to have to deal with the same builds and mechanics, only differentiated by how far a player is in the game), Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice has enough to set itself apart from other From Software titles like Bloodborne . Yet, despite what these people tell you, this game is still very much like one of the “Souls/Borne” games. It may just be From Software stape at this point, but Sekiro does not shy from the difficulty or game design of their other titles.  Now, is this a bad thing?  To most gamers, not at all. Right out of the gate, you will notice how beautiful and gritty the world of Sekiro is presented to you. From the realistic sword clashes between you and your enemies, to the gritty snowy...

Let’s not beat around the bush and get this out of the way: I believe Devil May Cry 5 is the strongest entry in the long running series. From its visuals to the sound, the gameplay mechanics and the characters, everything comes together to deliver a series highlight. But how so you may ask? Keep reading to find out! Devil May Cry 5 is the first in the series to use Capcom’s new RE Engine, debuting with the recent Resident Evil 2 Remake and it looks fantastic. Everything from the colossal Qlifoth tree that towers over the characters for most of the game, down to the tiniest textures on Dante’s Ebony and Ivory (or the nearly microscopic stubble on Nero’s chin) is rendered beautifully. I had to catch myself several times as the reflection from Nero’s gunfire reflected on the rivers of blood I had just freed from another demon’s ventilated corpse and remind myself that I was in a fight for my life. Detail is the word I keep coming back to as I write this, which is mostl...