Dragon's Dogma 2 Is Great, The New South Park Game Isn't, And More Of The Week's Gaming Opinions

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Capcom’s new action-RPG Dragon’s Dogma 2 is sparking a fascinating range of reactions from players, and we’ve got a few of our own. We’ve also got thoughts on why the new South Park game, Snow Day, is such a disappointment, more commentary on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s hotly contested ending, and more.

A screenshot shows Cartman in South Park Snow Day yelling at kids lying on the ground.

About halfway through the first mission in South Park: Snow Day, I found myself pausing the game and checking my phone as I desperately looked for entertainment. That’s what we professional and very serious critics call: Not a good sign. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

A collection of video game guns sitting on a shelf.

In a video game, you’re only as good as your weapon. Try getting through Elden Ring’s hardest boss battle without a powerful sword, or a tough multiplayer match in Halo 3 without nabbing the Needler and unloading on an incoming Ghost. Even the most elite-level gamers among us owe some of their talent to the quality of the tool in their virtual hands—that’s why Call of Duty’s gun customization is such a hot-button topic. - Alyssa Mercante Read More

A screenshot shows a player dressed as hotdog surrounded by cops in Maniac.

When I was younger, my friends and I would play Grand Theft Auto III differently than how the developers intended. Instead of completing missions and side activities, we would use cheat codes to give ourselves all the guns, a good car, and then save the game in that state. We would then each take turns loading up that save and trying to outlast the cops for as long as we could. I know plenty of other people who played GTA like this—as a weird, roguelike round-robin game of carjacking and mayhem—and now, someone has built an entire game recreating that classic experience. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

Knights wearing armor fight against a dragon in a large chamber

I remember watching the February 20, 2013, PlayStation 4 announcement live stream, eager to learn what the new console would bring me. It was a lengthy affair and looking back I barely remember what was announced—Except for one title that etched itself onto my mind: a Capcom dungeon crawler called Deep Down. I got a PS4 later that year, and eagerly awaited the game’s release. The years passed and it never came, stuck in development hell and relegated to vaporware status. Yet I still can’t let go of what it would have been like. Now, after playing Dragon’s Dogma 2, I think I know. - Willa Rowe Read More

A screenshot of the main party in Visions of Mana.

I’m filling in some gaps in my RPG history. I’ve been playing series like Final Fantasy since I was a kid, but there are countless other landmark RPGs I’ve rarely touched, including the fantasy RPG Mana series, which splintered off of Final Fantasy Adventure in 1991. The only installment in the long-running franchise I’ve played, in fact, is Children of Mana on the Nintendo DS, which I loved! Nonetheless, I’m on a journey to right my wrongs, so when I was presented with the chance to see the first mainline Mana game since 2006 at PAX East last week, I had to check it out for myself. - Moises Taveras Read More

Heroes stand on a hill looking out over a large city on a cliff

One of the first quests you undertake in Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom’s new action RPG, has you traveling from the town of Melve to the capital city of Vernworth. It’s a slow journey that starts and stops several times along the winding roads leading to your final destination. You need to dispatch goblins making the road dangerous, rest at a campsite to replenish your health, and when you eventually do get access to an oxcart that will let you sit and rest while you travel, things don’t go much quicker unless you completely doze off to pass the time. Most of this quest is a quiet story of walking from one place to the other. - Willa Rowe Read More

Aerith and Cloud pick candy from a vendor.

I’ve had more than a month to consider Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s ending, and it’s not often that my feelings about something get worse with each passing day. Yet, here I am, thinking about how Square Enix has chosen to cap off the middle section of its planned Remake trilogy, and I’m even more puzzled by how hard Rebirth commits to being non-commital in its eleventh hour. I’m sympathetic to the idea that this is not the ending to the story, but Rebirth feels less like a proper springboard for a new conclusion and more like buyer’s remorse on what could have been a bolder cliffhanger. - Kenneth Shepard Read More