Header image for Pepper Grinder
Review

Pepper Grinder Review - I Dig It

I love me a good platformer, whether is be a AAA title like the excellent Super Mario Bros. Wonder, or smaller projects like 2022's Shovel Knight Dig. Every good game in the genre needs a hook to it…

March 28, 2024 | 12:00 EDT

The Open Roads logo against key art depicting a forest and a pink sky
Review

Open Roads Review - Driving Motivation

Appropriately enough, Open Roads has traveled a long and winding path to launch. Revealed in 2020, the road trip adventure was originally being worked on under the Fullbright name, but then…

March 27, 2024 | 12:00 EDT

An image of Call of Cthulhu: Arkham and its various included player resources, like a map and fake newspaper.
Review

Call of Cthulhu: Arkham Review - Supplemental Strangeness

A long-time favorite of tabletop RPG players, Call of Cthulhu brings the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft (and his successor storytellers) home. First released in 1981, and currently on its 7th…

March 21, 2024 | 09:00 EDT

Dragon's Dogma 2 Review Art
Review

Dragon's Dogma 2 Review - Arisen Once More

The original Dragon’s Dogma was always such an elusive game to me. I never had the chance to play it when it came out back in 2012, but I always held a sort of peripheral awareness that it was…

March 20, 2024 | 11:00 EDT

A promo image of Alone in the Dark, showing Edward Carnby and Emily Hartford in front of the game's logo, darkness surrounding them.
Review

Alone in the Dark Review – Southern Gothic Hospitality

Discerning horror fans are aware of Alone in the Dark's legacy. The original 1992 release was a pioneer of survival horror, introducing many ideas, tropes, and gameplay elements that would be refined…

March 19, 2024 | 10:00 EDT

Outcast a New Beginning screenshot showing a man in an orange top gliding over a lush forest heading for a coastal fishing village
Review

Outcast: A New Beginning Review - A Social Outcast

While you may be forgiven for thinking that the days of the white-as-the-driven-snow pulp action protagonist are over, our Outcast: A New Beginning Review might make you think twice.  If you're in…

March 17, 2024 | 10:00 EDT

Header image for Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection by Aspyr.
Review

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection Review - You Can Kill Gungans

Ah, Pandemic Studios. Playing Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection reminds me of its original development studio, and how much I adored both this team's work. Known for games such as Destroy All…

March 13, 2024 | 09:00 EDT

The Thaumaturge screenshot showing a man standing in a desert and staring at a nearby well
Review

The Thaumaturge Review - Isometric Adventures

Our The Thaumaturge Review will tell you what we thought about the latest dark isometric RPG from Seven Developer Fools' Theory. If you enjoy this review, you might also want to see our recent…

March 6, 2024 | 12:00 EST

Snufkin looking over Moominvalley in Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley
Review

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley - Keeping Cozy Games Fresh

As an enthusiast of cozy games, let’s face it, it’s been a while since we’ve had anything innovative come out. Sure, there’s a new farming sim coming out basically every month, but there’s only so…

March 5, 2024 | 01:52 EST

Pacific Drive key art with a screenshot showing a giant swirling red vortex of death with the words PACIFIC DRIVE in all caps blasted across the entire image
Review

Pacific Drive Review - Beep Beep

This Pacific Drive review will tell you how we get on during our West Coast adventure in this atom-flavored, mad-science romp.  If you enjoy this review, you might want to check out our other…

March 5, 2024 | 01:30 EST

A spread-shot cover of WWE 2k24, showcasing several of WWE's iconic wrestlers and characters in a key art to celebrate Wrestlemania's 40th anniversary.

WWE 2k24 Review - Hollywood Apologetics

Personally, I’m glad wrestling isn’t a tired punchline of “fake-ry" anymore. In the beginning stretches of WWE 2k24, wrestling commentator Corey Graves defines wrestling as an art form, and I very…

March 4, 2024 | 06:00 EST

Header image for Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster by Nightdive Studios.
Review

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster Review - Return of the KEX

Without Nightdive Studios, it's a fact I wouldn't be as big of a boomer shooter fan as I am today. The work they do to make the inaccessible, well, accessible is an insane feat of game development.…

February 28, 2024 | 08:00 EST

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin header image for review.
Review

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin Review - Brutal, Yet Underwhelming

Plenty of boomer shooters launch first in Steam's Early Access, but rarely do they spend as long a time in development as Wrath: Aeon of Ruin. Still, a long development isn't necessarily a bad thing…

February 26, 2024 | 10:00 EST

Three pirates can be seen on a ship overlooking the ocean.
Review

Skull and Bones Review - Dead and Buried Already

As I set sail in Skull and Bones I am reminded of many experiences. There is a vague glimmer of the remnants of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag here occasionally, but most of the time I recall a lot…

February 21, 2024 | 10:05 EST

yordles having gun in Bandle Tale
Review

Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story Review

Take a breath and imagine you’re sitting in a whimsical forest with spring-time trees, purple crystal stalagmites, and butterflies flitting through the air. In the background, you hear gears grinding…

February 19, 2024 | 10:34 EST

The title of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden in cool blue letters in a dark background. Red can be seen below, sinking into a void.
Review

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Review – Frontier Spirits

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden continues developer Don't Nod's history of ambitious interactive narratives. It is a refinement of the team's character-driven thematic storytelling while still…

February 12, 2024 | 12:00 EST

A screenshot from the opening cutscene of Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, explaining who Ime is
Review

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior Review – Time After Time

Have you ever wanted to be in two places at once? We’ve all been there—and Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior cranks that idea up to 11, literally. This debut title from Sand Door Studio combines…

February 5, 2024 | 10:00 EST

A review image for Granblue Fantasy: Relink.
Review

Granblue Fantasy: Relink Review - A Grand Adventure

If you asked me what Granblue Fantasy was before December of last year, I wouldn't be able to tell you anything. It was after the release of the stellar Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising that I…

January 31, 2024 | 10:00 EST

Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth key art featuring two figureing holding bottles of liquor as a glowing golden kana character floating between them on a blue aura cloud
Review

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review - Top Tier Questing

It gets to a certain point in a long-running series where the latest entries stop resembling the originals. Luckily, that’s not an issue Like a Dragon has to contend with because it would be…

January 23, 2024 | 07:51 EST

Sargon shoots a celestial arrow into the sky in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Review

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review – It's About Time! (and Space)

Prince of Persia hasn’t been in the limelight for years, with its last mainline entries barely making a splash (Forgotten Sands, indeed). Thankfully, The Lost Crown brings it back to the forefront…

January 11, 2024 | 12:00 EST

The box for Warhammer Underworlds Deathgorge Daggok's Stab-Ladz Warband against a black background
Review

Warhammer Underworlds Daggok's Stab-Ladz Review - Schemes Let You Plan Ahead, But Make Pivoting Harder

As the exploration of the Deathgorge continues in the latest Season of Warhammer Underworlds a new warband has been released. Daggok's Stab-Ladz are a new Orruk Warband with a new plot related to…

December 23, 2023 | 05:05 EST

Featured image of the remastered Kingpin: Reloaded.
Review

Kingpin: Reloaded Review - Out of Ammo

The thing I love about remasters for old-school shooters like Quake II and Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is that I'm able to play these titles without having to jump through hoops for them to…

December 13, 2023 | 11:00 EST

A spread-shot cover of Pinball M, showcasing an emaciated hand in darkness preparing to pull a pinball trigger.

Pinball M Review - Tilted Terrors

There’s a certain novelty to pinball tables that always outweighs the potential of pinball itself. Quick tie-ins to popular IPs, voice clips from said IPs characters that are semi-relevant to the…

December 13, 2023 | 10:00 EST

House Flipper 2 Red House Exterior

House Flipper 2 Review - Electric Flipperoo

With the outstanding success of Frozen District’s 2018 game House Flipper, it seemed almost inevitable in this era of HGTV and makeover mania that a sequel would get developed, after a gratuitous…

December 12, 2023 | 02:36 EST

A scene from Avatar Frontiers of Pandora with the TechRaptor review text
Review

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review - Opening Pandora's Box

The world of Pandora has been a place people have yearned to visit for a decade and a half. While gamers got a chance to visit it in 2009s video game movie tie-in it's only this year that the world…

December 6, 2023 | 06:05 EST

Key art from Against the Storm
Review

Against the Storm Review - An Ambient Roguelite City Builder

When it comes to city builders, I’m a bit picky about the games I play. Cities: Skylines is a bit too time-consuming and meticulous for my liking, but Dorfromantik is a pretty puzzle-builder that you…

December 4, 2023 | 01:56 EST

Image of a city in SteamWorld Build that is well-connected with roads and has lots of different buildings
Review

SteamWorld Build Review - A Dig-Lightful City-Building Adventure

Since the inception of the SteamWorld universe, we’ve been treated to games across different genres, such as SteamWorld Dig and SteamWorld Quest. Thunderful now explores the City Building genre with…

November 27, 2023 | 09:00 EST

An spread-shot cover of Roboquest, showcasing a large yellow robot standing alongside a young girl and a blue robot against the backdrop of a large spherical robot.

Roboquest Review - Rust Belt

When it comes to the FPS branch of roguelikes and roguelites, you won’t find a universally praised title in the same way you would for say, a dungeon-crawling roguelike, or a deckbuilding roguelite.…

November 18, 2023 | 11:00 EST

Spirittea Review Key Art Showing a red clad character praying at a shrine in the woods while the game logo fills the top right corner.jpg
Review

Spirittea Review - Once More, With Spirit!

Cozy games have been experiencing a bit of a renaissance lately, and our Spirittea Review should make it pretty clear that they’re here to stay. If you haven’t heard already, Spirittea is a cozy life…

November 13, 2023 | 02:47 EST

Cuisineer main menu featuring main character Pom in the center.

Cuisineer Review - Looks Better Than It Tastes

Way back at PAX East 2023, I sat down with publisher Xseed Games to try out this little upcoming game called Cuisineer, all about a girl named Pom who came back from adventuring across the world to…

November 7, 2023 | 03:09 EST

my time at sandrock review yan explains basics to me and mi an

My Time at Sandrock Review - Build Your Own Desert Oasis

I confess I am usually not a farming sim person. I don’t like these small town things, and something like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon usually bores me to tears. However, I was enlisted to help on…

November 6, 2023 | 01:00 EST

The logo for Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, showing Kazuma Kiryu in a black suit lighting a cigarette.
Review

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Review – Yakuza Greatest Hits

To an extent, writing this Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name review feels unnecessary. The game feels less like a fully-fledged Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios title and more like a premium…

November 6, 2023 | 10:00 EST

EA Sports WRC key art showing a brightly colored rally car driving through a dusty area kicking up a cloud behind itself
Review

EA Sports WRC Review - Will You Rally!!!

Our EA Sports WRC review will let you know what we thought of the latest rallying sim from masters of the genre Codemasters. Codemasters have had a long history with rallying games, and EA Sports…

November 5, 2023 | 11:00 EST

The Talos Principle 2 Preview Image with the TR Review Overlay
Review

The Talos Principle 2 Review — A Praiseworthy Puzzler

It took only an hour or so for The Talos Principle 2 to get me hooked. The sequel to Croteam’s 2014 puzzle game promised bigger worlds and notoriously tough brain teasers. For the most part, those…

November 2, 2023 | 12:00 EDT

The Lord of the Rings - Return to Moria Review - Cover Image Gimli Drinking Brew at a Table
Review

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Review - Even Darkness Must Pass

Both survival games and games based on licensed properties can be pretty hit or miss, and a survival game based on a licensed property is, in my estimation, an even bigger gamble. In our The Lord of…

November 1, 2023 | 08:00 EDT

A spread-shot cover of Jusant, showcasing the game's logo and the main character walking towards a rocky pillar that goes off-screen.

Jusant Review - Quixotic, Melodic, Entropic

As climate change continues to be a point of unnerving discussion in regards to the future of the planet and humanity, its stature in video games has always been from the point of integration. There…

October 31, 2023 | 11:30 EDT

An image from our RoboCop: Rogue City Review featuring RoboCop in his classic silver armor.
Review

RoboCop: Rogue City Review - Good Shooting, Great Sleuthing

RoboCop: Rogue City takes a familiar formula -- cop shoots baddies while looking for clues -- and raises it to new heights by staying absolutely true to its franchise roots. We've covered other great…

October 31, 2023 | 05:00 EDT

Total War: Pharaoh - The Pharaoh is Perplexed
Review

Total War: Pharaoh Review - This Is Not It

When Creative Assembly announced Total War: Pharaoh, many expected it to be the grand return of the big historical Total War games, and sharing that hope, I celebrated.  Historical Total War games…

October 30, 2023 | 09:00 EDT

Image of Song of Nunu's key art.
Review

Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story Review - A Heartwarming Adventure

When I talked to Riot Forge Creative Director Rowan Parker earlier this year, he made it clear the publisher wanted to do justice to your favorite champion. He acknowledged that Nunu and Willump isn'…

October 30, 2023 | 03:00 EDT

Alan Wake staring at the camera from Alan Wake II with the TechRaptor image Overlay
Review

Alan Wake 2 Review — A Mesmerizing Murder Mystery

Alan Wake 2 is easily one of the best survival horror games I’ve ever played. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most problematic that I’ve reviewed. Does that make sense? Well, allow me to explain…

October 26, 2023 | 09:00 EDT

A featured screenshot of Ghostrunner 2, showing Jack with his sword drawn in a black and yellow background.
Review

Ghostrunner 2 Review – Run, Ghost, Run

I am sitting down to write this Ghostrunner 2 review mere moments after reaching the game's credits. My mind is flooded with a mix of the euphoric highs of finishing a challenging arcade experience…

October 23, 2023 | 01:47 EDT

The Jackbox Party Pack 10 loading screen with the TR review overlay
Review

The Jackbox Party Pack 10 Review - A Decade Of Brilliance

Jackbox Games has been a large part of trivia entertainment since the days of the PlayStation. With Fibbage and the Jackbox Party Pack titles they catapulted themselves to become THE party game to…

October 18, 2023 | 12:00 EDT

Hellboy Web of Wyrd key art showing a german expressionist background with hellboy himself walking on the right-hand side
Review

Hellboy Web of Wyrd Review - Clunky but Funky

It’s difficult to approach a Hellboy Web of Wyrd Review. Partially, it’s great to finally have an action game based on Hellboy that wasn’t made before we were allowed more than 20 polygons on screen…

October 18, 2023 | 11:00 EDT

The Shop screen from World of Horror with the TR Review Overlay
Review

World of Horror Review - Time To Spiral Into Despair

World of Horror is a roguelite horror title inspired by the look and theme of mangaka like Junji Ito. Taking severe inspiration from 1980s horror and computer graphics, how does World of Horror…

October 18, 2023 | 10:00 EDT

A spread-shot cover of Kona II: Brume, showcasing the main character Karl Faubert looking into the horizon, with a dark cloud in the shape of a moose head above him and the game's logo.

Kona II: Brume Review - Iced That Guy, To Kona Phrase

In the wake of winter coming thick and fast, it’d be remiss of me to not mention the 2017 adventure game Kona as one of gaming’s most comforting winter wonderlands. A wholly original adventure game…

October 18, 2023 | 09:00 EDT

The logo for Wizard With A Gun, with four wizards shooting fire, ice, poison, and tentacles from different firearms.
Review

Wizard With A Gun Review – Have Magic Gun Will Travel

Writing a Wizard With A Gun review is difficult. In many ways, you get exactly what the title says. A novel spin on a sandbox survival experience like Valheim or Ark: Survival Evolved, just with…

October 16, 2023 | 12:00 EDT

Key visual for Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
Review

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged - Into High Gear

2021’s Hot Wheels Unleashed was a fun-filled racing game that brought the toy race tracks of your dreams in game form. It hit the nail on the head with its selection of true-to-toy diecast cars and a…

October 16, 2023 | 03:05 EDT

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy looking at a giant Robot
Review

Sonic Superstars Review - Running With What Works

Sonic Superstars has a lot to live up to. Fresh off the well-received reinvention of 3D Sonic with 2022’s Sonic Frontiers, Superstars is the blue blur’s next outing in a strictly 2D adventure. The…

October 13, 2023 | 09:00 EDT