Boris Drew

I came into Outer Wilds with high expectations. I left with some of the best memories I've ever made in a video game. Absolutely astonishing from start to finish, Outer Wilds is one of those games that just goes to show the big developers have it all wrong - video games can be more than just shallow nonsense. Outer Wilds is an open world mystery in a changing space environment, but it's so much more than just that. Through deep story and fascinating worlds the game sucks you into its universe and won't let go. You'll be compelled to explore every inch of the solar system to discover the truth behind why the sun is blowing up at the start of every time loop. Everything you'll find will bring you one step closer to the startling truth. Nothing in Outer Wilds is wasted - something I hardly see in modern video games. The time mechanic plays a large part in Outer Wilds, and after every 22 minutes you and the solar system blows to bits. Thankfully, most challenges don't require the full 22 minutes to complete, but a few areas in the endgame and the game's final mission did test my speedrunning skills. Outer Wilds is one of the best video games of all time, and it's hands-down the best puzzle game of all time, even surpassing greats such as Portal 2. An engrossing story, fascinating and varied worlds, and thrilling puzzle and exploration gameplay makes Outer Wilds a must-play. Seriously, if you haven't played this game, stop reading this right now and go buy it. You won't be disappointed.

It is incredibly disappointing that Sega and Paramount cannot seem to hire decent writers who know anything about the Sonic universe. While those who are unfamiliar with the Sonic series or those who don't know its storytelling potential might enjoy the film, in reality the Sonic the Hedgehog film falls flat in so many areas. The first and foremost blunder is that this is a hybrid animation and live action film, and since it takes place in the "real" world there's none of the interesting areas and characters Sonic is known for, bar Sonic and a Jim Carrey version of Robotnik. A fully animated film would have had the potential to use the entire Sonic universe, but this world is limited to only the series' characters. The writing isn't very clever either, and mainly consists of Sonic being some strange alien that Robotnik wants because of his speed or something. With a lack of Sonic characters there's not much interesting in the film at all, save Jim Carrey's acting and a few Sonic action scenes. I'm surprised people love this movie so much, especially when just reading the IDW comics is a far better experience. Sonic the Hedgehog is a movie you should see - but don't fall for the hype. It's a very poor use of the Sonic universe. Just go read the comics or play the games. Let's just hope Sega improves in the sequel!

"Guardian! Eyes up, Guardian!" With these words I am welcomed into my first session of Destiny 2, Bungie's fantastic massively multiplayer online (MMO) shooter. Seconds later I'm delving into territory of the Eliksni, dodging bullets and firing my own. Rushing out into the open air I find myself in a firefight with a massive six-legged walker. My Destiny journey has begun, and it's not one I'll ever forget. I wasn't going into Destiny expecting much. It was a game I heard little about. I was just going to check out the graphics and gameplay for a while and then delete it. Or so I thought. What I quickly discovered was a solar system full of excitement, adventure, and top-of-the-line storytelling. Destiny quickly rose to the top of my gaming list and has remained there ever since. It combines what games do best (or what they should be doing best) into one fantastic package. Storytelling-wise, there isn't too much that beats Destiny 2. While new players might be a bit overwhelmed by the hundreds of lore pages and references to past tales, they'll eventually get used to it and possibly enjoy the story as if they had seen the Red War. Destiny's story is massive, and while I can't even begin to do an overview of the huge good-vs.-evil struggle going on here, trust me - Destiny's story outdoes itself. Graphically Destiny is pretty great, even if the visuals aren't the very best available. Some areas, like the Dreaming City and the inside of the Keep of Shadows, blew me away when I first saw them and they still impress me after I've seen them dozens or even hundreds of times. The voice acting in Destiny is phenomenal. 99% of lines are extremely well-acted and interesting. And to match the quality of Destiny 2's story is the quality of its gameplay. Frantic firefights and hundreds of guns and armor makes Destiny 2 outdo the likes of the original Halo titles (which Bungie developed themselves). Destiny features excellent campaigns, quests, and even PvP and unique PvPvE modes. There's probably something in Destiny that almost any gamer will like, from finding secret areas and collectables to battling other players in fast-paced modes. And you won't have a small amount of content to play either. After you beat any campaigns for DLC you buy, there's plenty of missions and things to find, and new things are added all the time. Destiny also features a grinding system, and while it's not my favorite part of the game, being able to work your way up to the best gear you can get is rewarding. Grinding shouldn't deter you from the game, especially when Bungie has been getting better about having modes all players can play even on lower power levels. Even after thousands of hours you'll still have more things to play in Destiny unless you're play WAY too many video games. Destiny 2 is a phenomenal experience. It certainly deserves more attention then it gets - especially saying it's a free title. If you haven't tried it yet you certainly should. You won't be disappointed.

One of the finest MMORPGs ever created, Lord of the Rings Online is a mind-bogglingly massive experience that everyone needs to try at least once in their lifetime. The game isn't only for Tolkien nerds (who will find much of the game's lore and quests very accurate to the actual world Tolkien created), but is also a great MMO. You can live out your Middle-earth dream - simply bake pies as a hobbit or become an elf and fight in massive battles against orcs. It's all your choice. The sheer size of LOTRO is one of its biggest draws. If you think a game like Breath of the Wild is big, just wait - LOTRO is literally 1,000 times the size of that map. Seriously. This is an accurate and detailed recreation of Middle-earth, and there's so much to do you can spend hundreds and thousands of hours in the game's world - and you don't even have to pay any money to access much of this content. Since at this time of this review I have a very, very weak laptop, I can't experience LOTRO in its full glory, so hopefully the game will eventually be ported to consoles so that others can enjoy this high-quality experience. Hundreds of hours of content, a massive map, and many different quests and battles to do makes Lord of the Rings Online one of the very best MMORPGs out there.

A timeless classic. Running away from Bluto and catching the falling objects has never been so fun. This is one of the few old arcade games that never gets old.

Games may change over the years, but the classic Sonic games will always stand the test of time - along with Sonic Mania. Sonic Mania is a modern Sonic game done in the style of the originals. It's actually not developed by Sega and Sonic Team, which is probably a good thing as only fans of the series would probably have been able to pull this off. Mania consists of 12 zones, each vivid and memorable. Most of these zones are new levels set in classic areas from the Genesis era of Sonic, whilst others are completely original. These new areas have a look and feel to them that is really unique in the series, and some are among the best zones in the series. Usually around this point in the review I'd talk about the game's story. However, Mania doesn't have much of one, mostly due to the fact that it, like its Genesis predecessors, doesn't have any dialogue or voice acting. However, each character has whimsical little animations that sometimes even made me laugh. I'm not sure why, though. It wouldn't be heresy to call Sonic Mania either the best Sonic game or the best platformer, as it compares well to both groups. This is really a solid game, and while it's obviously not perfect, it's very close to being so. Mania has a fair difficulty - not a cakewalk like Mario Odyssey and not an almost impossible nightmare like Cuphead. While some of the bosses are very challenging and you have a good chance of getting accidentally squashed by moving platforms in the levels, the real difficulty of Mania comes from its checkpoint system. While checkpoints are spread nicely throughout the levels (I never had an issue with finding and getting to one close by), Mania works like the classic Sonics in that when you run out of lives you have to restart the entire zone and not just the act. (Zones each consist of two acts.) This makes the game a lot more challenging, and I did have some very frustrating moments when bested by a pesky boss battle. However, though, as someone who's not too good at games, this game does have a fair difficulty. Mania also boasts a great soundtrack. Most tunes are remixes of the classic zones' music, and they're very catchy. I'm going to have the Green Hill Zone theme stuck in my head forever. Overall, Sonic Mania is a joy to experience. Unless you get squashed by Eggman for the billionth time. I'd recommend this game to both fans and non-fans of the series. Mania won't disappoint.

Sonic Adventure 2 is a so-so Sonic title, and even hardcore fans of the Blue Blur such as I may not even enjoy it. Sonic Adventure 2 is, obviously, the sequel to Sonic Adventure, and it improves and un-improves on its predecessor. Gone are the pesky adventure worlds that were confusing and annoying. However, an even peskier thing takes their place - you are forced to play as multiple characters. Now, the first Adventure game had multiple characters as well, but you weren't forced to play them - you can beat the game as only Sonic. However, this time around Sega decided to force players to grind through terrible mech and treasure hunting stages. These stages are longer and more annoying than the Sonic and Shadow stages, and they really slow down the game. I'm not sure why people complain about Sonic Unleashed's Werehog stages and then love this game. Thankfully, though, the Sonic and Shadow stages are pretty good, and while they're not the best 3D Sonic gameplay, they still hit the spot for good ol' platforming action. The story of this game is also a plus, and while the voice-overs are absolutely horrible and the animations are very clunky (even for the time this game came out), the final story moments are really well-done and memorable. The game is also quite challenging at times, and the final levels can be a real pain (or a joy, depending whether you like challenges where you have to die and restart the whole level all the time). I will say that some deaths I had felt like more of the developer's fault than mine, but maybe that's just me. Since I'm reviewing the Battle version of this game, I'd better cover those features as well. SA2 Battle comes with a great multiplayer "battle" mode, and while I was expecting some kind of arena thing, the Sonic stages are actually multiplayer races, which are a blast to do. The mech stages are just arenas where you shoot against each other, and the treasure hunting stages are a race to see who collects the most Chaos Emeralds first. The Sonic stages are by far the most fun, and it makes getting the Battle version worth it. However, there is not a multiplayer version of the 1-player campaign. While Sonic Adventure 2 has not aged nearly as well as other games of this era, it still is worth playing to this day. The forced stages are very pesky, though. And worst of all - you can't play as Big the Cat! No fair! ...I'm just kidding.