Four years later, Stardew Valley is still the perfect gaming vacation
What happens when a non-gamer discovers Stardew Valley four years after it was released? Total obsession, complete relaxation, and plenty of virtual farming.
Nvidia GeForce Now review (in-depth): Great cloud gaming on a budget
Nvidia's GeForce Now is a cloud gaming service that offers access to games rendered on Nvidia's cloud hardware. It's not perfect, but it is affordable.
Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 review: Best controller ever
Microsoft's Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 might be the best video game controller ever made. It's an easy recommendation, provided cash is no issue, thanks to its extensive customization and durable design. Read our Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 for more.
Warcraft III Reforged review: A mediocre remaster
Warcraft 3 Reforged, a remaster of Blizzard's classic fantasy RTS, provides updated graphics and better compatibility with modern PCs. Yet a host of bugs and missing features make Warcraft 3 Reforged a mediocre update, at best.
Pascal’s Wager review: Finally, a Souls-like for your phone
Pascal's Wager is essentially a Dark Souls game on mobile devices. Somehow, that was not a complete disaster. While mostly imitating FromSoftware, the game also has a few unique ideas that add a nice twist of strategy to the standard formula, including a "sanity" system during battles.
PlayStation DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment review: Great upgrade, great price
The PS4's DualShock 4 controller now has two more buttons with the addition of the Back Button Attachment. The $30 accessory is the perfect complement to the original controller and adds two buttons. The design is a little bulky, but it's still a great accessory for the price.
8BitDo Zero 2 review: This gamepad fits in your pocket
The 8BitDo Zero 2 is the tiniest controller we've ever seen, giving you a great option for playing the Nintendo Switch on the go. You'll just have to make sure you take some breaks in order to avoid the hand cramping that comes with using a controller that is less than three inches long.
Ring Fit Adventure Review: A sweaty week in Nintendo’s ring
Nintendo's Ring Fit Adventure offers a refreshing take on working out for people of all fitness levels.
Hand Tracking on Oculus Quest hands-on review: My immersion!
At Oculus Connect 6, Facebook unveiled a powerful new addition to the Oculus Quest: Hand-tracking. Using the cameras already built into the Quest, the software is able to sense and recreate your hands and individual finger movement in VR. Is it too good to be true?
Call of Duty: Mobile is the best shooter I’ve played on a smartphone
Call of Duty: Mobile attempts to put the franchise's tight gameplay in the palm of your hand. It's largely successful, thanks to precise controls and attractive graphics. Call of Duty: Mobile will please fans, but probably won't win new converts. It arrives on iOS and Android later this year.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order review
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is hardly the most unique take we've seen in a video game adaptation of the franchise. Despite this, its blending of several games and Star Wars tropes works, resulting in a game that excels in both combat and in quieter story-focused and exploration-heavy moments.
Death Stranding review: Bridging the divide
Death Stranding is a technical marvel filled with innovative social components, which cements Hideo Kojima as one of gaming’s most crucial voices. However, its slow-paced, repetitive gameplay is often too high-concept for its own good, sometimes making the game more entertaining to look at than to play.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare manages to capture the essence of the original Modern Warfare trilogy without being held slave to its more antiquated elements. The result is Infinity Ward's best game in years, with exceptional strong campaign and competitive multiplayer modes and no-nonsense progression.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint review: A breaking point
Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a more varied game than its predecessor Ghost Recon Wildlands, but it remains too unpolished for a major AAA release from such an acclaimed shooter franchise. Microtransactions available for several different types of items don't help to smooth out the rough edges.
Pokémon Sword and Shield transform gym battles into a really big deal
With Pokémon Sword and Shield only a couple of months away from release, we decided to get some hands-on with it at PAX West 2019. The demo we played took us to a gym to face off against Water-type gym leader Nessa, and it quickly turned into our first-ever Dynamax battle with gigantic-sized pokémon.
World of Warcraft Classic review: Waste your time
Fifteen years after release, why is it that World of Warcraft Classic can so easily recapture a world that slowly left it behind? Its divisive art style has helped it stand the test of time, but the same can't be said about its core mechanics. There's still lots to love here, but plenty to loath as well.
FIFA 20 review: Volta brings flair to the familiar
FIFA 20 largely keeps teh franchise's standard pitch-based soccer intact with iterative mechanical changes, but it thrives in the street-based Volta Football mode, which is great for longtime fans and newcomers. The Frostbite engine is starting to show its age, however, and the game could use a new coat of paint.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening review
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a near-perfect remake of one of the best Zelda games. With a beautiful new art style, plenty of welcome improvements, and a ton more collectibles to find, Link's Awakening is brilliant for both newcomers and longtime fans. Chamber Dungeons is a dud, though.
Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition review: All pro, no fun
The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is a keyboard made for e-sports. It ups the performance and the mobility to suit the lifestyle of the competitive gamer but excludes a lot of the features that make the Huntsman line so great. Overall, it's a minimalist keyboard that does what it sets out to do.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare hands-on
After playing the beta, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's core mechanics feel as good as ever. The discovery of potentially predatory microtransactions, however, could undermine the experience. With microtransactions sullying the gameplay of Black Ops 4, we can only hope player criticism has been heard.
Madden NFL 20 review: Get ready to run
Madden NFL 20 brings Ultimate Team and Franchise mode to the next level thanks to the overhauled player ratings system and easy-to-follow progression. But the run game feels like a cheat code, and the new Face of the Franchise career mode is contrived and underwhelming.
Apple Arcade’s mobile spin on subscription gaming is definitely worth your time
Apple Arcade arrives on September 19, offering a game subscription service that grants access to over 100 games for $4.99. “Extraordinary” and “redefining” have been used to describe what’s to come to the service, and we played some of the titles included to see if they live up to those expectations.
Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers review: Embrace the shadow
With the launch of the latest FFXIV expansion near, we dove into Early Access to get a taste of what to expect. With a shift in the story and tons of new content, we found that Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers builds upon the critically acclaimed MMO in all the right ways. It's a contender for the best expansion yet.
Sega Genesis Mini review: As good as you remember
Taking us back to the glory days of Sega versus Nintendo, the Sega Genesis Mini proves to be the most charming way to play some of the very best Genesis games today. The only thing it's missing is the handy rewind feature, which is a disappointing omission.
HTC Vive Cosmos hands-on review: Flippin’ genius
HTC wants to make VR a bit more social with its latest Vive Cosmos headset. Featuring an inventive flip-up mechanism and built-in sensors, the Cosmos goes a long way toward making VR more convenient for use in your home. But does this $699 do enough to convince people to jump into VR for the first time?
NBA 2K20 review: Double dribble
For the first time in 2K series history, the story mode is engaging and meaningful in NBA 2K20. That's progress, and so is the inclusion of WNBA teams and players. Other than those important additions, however, NBA 2K20 feels like a lateral move on the court and in its most popular game modes.
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition review: No-Disc Dystopia
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition removes the disc drive and lowers the cost as a result, but the money you save isn’t worth losing physical games. The slightly more expensive Xbox One S will still be the better value in the long run when factoring in used game purchases and retailer sales.
Asus Chakram gaming mouse hands-on review
Joysticks might be the odd-one out in typical gaming controllers, but not with the Asus Chakram. It's a gaming mouse with a dual-axis joystick built into it, and it's a bizarre little rodent that few will find perfect for them. But for those that do, it could be a great addition to their gaming arsenal.
Lenovo Mirage AR with Marvel Dimension of Heroes hands-on review
Lenovo has widened its partnership with Disney to bring a Marvel superhero game to its Mirage AR phone-controlled augmented reality headset. With a new set of controllers, the system is a better gaming experience than the previous Star Wars edition, and we've given it a try.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne review: It won’t leave you cold
Colossal in both scope and enjoyment, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is more than the average expansion. A fun story complements the interesting new biome, while the monster list includes both old favorites and compelling new monsters to topple. Iceborne is a formidable, constantly rewarding challenge.
Gears 5 review: A much-needed win for Xbox
Gears of War 4 showed The Coalition could trace from Epic Games' work, but Gears 5 proves that the studio is capable of creating an innovative game all by itself. Huge leaps in storytelling, fantastic competitive multiplayer, and several cooperative options all add up to one of the best games on Xbox One.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a hair-raising ghost adventure fit for Halloween
During PAX West 2019, we went hands on with Luigi's Mansion 3 and explored one of the spooky hotel's haunted floors. Using new and old abilities, we fought off ghosts and solved puzzles in a way we've never experienced in the series before. In fact, this could be the best entry in the series yet.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake doesn’t need turn-based combat to be good
We played Final Fantasy VII Remake at PAX West 2019 and jumped into the renewed version of Midgard for the first time. After exploring and facing off with a few enemies, we found that while the remake ditches classic turn-based battles, it still delivers on the original game's satisfying tactical combat.
The Gears 5 campaign gets personal, adds more chaos to the bulletstorm
Gears 5 continues to build on what it established in Gears of War 4, adding open world segments, a new implementation of JACK, and a special focus on telling a more personal story. While the campaign makes refinements to the series' successes, it feels more like the groundwork for what comes next.