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Every Review From Game Informer's Hiatus
Game Informer is back. Even though we haven't been writing for the site for the last few months, all of Game Informer's editors have remained in touch with the industry, keeping up with the latest news, trends, and most importantly, games. To kick off our comeback with a bang, we set out on a mission to review as many games during our hiatus as possible, and today, we're pleased to debut 29 reviews. With scores spanning from a 5.5 to a rare 10/10, here's every review we wrote from our hiatus.
1000xResist
Despite minor flaws, 1000xResist has firmly established itself as one of the most groundbreaking stories in video game history. | Our Review
Arco
Arco's thrilling, compelling story enthralled me with its seamless blend of gameplay and narrative. | Our Review
Madden NFL 25 (2024)
Madden NFL 25 is a consistently good entry in the annualized franchise, but it does little to push for the highlight reels. | Our Review
The Casting of Frank Stone
Though the developer has some horror highs in its catalog, The Casting of Frank Stone rests six feet at the bottom of it. | Our Review
Star Wars Outlaws
Moving between planets and wandering Outlaws’ dense cities is where the adventure shines, but shooting your way through your current gig so you can make it to the next is also compelling, if sometimes a little simple. | Our Review
Astro Bot
Astro Bot can proudly stand beside the PlayStation icons it so fondly celebrates. | Our Review
NBA 2K25
Despite the persistent pressure to spend on microtransactions, NBA 2K25 shows the long-reigning dynasty might still have some gas left in the tank. | Our Review
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
With climactic setpiece moments dosed heavily throughout each mission, endlessly enjoyable third-person gunplay, and impressive swarm tech that pits you against hundreds of enemies at once, little time is wasted on anything that isn’t fun in Space Marine. | Our Review
The Plucky Squire
Jot’s big adventure is presented as a children’s story, and it’s hard not to feel like a kid playing it in the best and worst ways. | Our Review
Mouthwashing
Mouthwashing is an existential horror show with unique visual effects, brutal dialogue, and surreal consequences that kept my eyes locked to the screen for the entire three-hour playtime. | Our Review
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
We finally got to experience a full, proper, no-asterisk Zelda adventure without having to explain, “Actually, you play as Link,” and are am grateful for the experience. | Our Review
Silent Hill 2
Despite the difficult revelations Silent Hill 2 unveils along the way and how uncomfortable the experience made me (by design) I was eager to immediately start the journey again after seeing the credits. | Our Review
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Despite the overly drawn-out final act and the poorly tuned final boss, Metaphor: ReFantazio’s journey is well worth embarking upon. | Our Review
Neva
Grief catalyzes a blossoming partnership that anchors this exceptional action platformer. | Our Review
Batman: Arkham Shadow
It may not be the revolutionary VR title that unequivocally makes the platform become widely adopted, but I would absolutely count it among my favorite VR experiences alongside games like Beat Saber and Half-Life: Alyx. | Our Review
Sonic X Shadow Generations
The potent combination of Sonic and Shadow Generations makes a strong case for being the best package of 3D Sonic content we’ve ever seen. | Our Review
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Ultimately, Dragon Age: The Veilguard delivers on the promise of every Dragon Age with its strong characters, engaging combat, and a classic BioWare role-playing experience. | Our Review
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind
It may not be an all-time standout among beat 'em ups, but Rita’s Rewind is the Power Rangers’ best cooperative outing yet. | Our Review
Marvel Rivals
With a huge roster of free playable characters , a satisfying gameplay loop, and the fast matchmaking, Marvel Rivals executes a simple concept with skill and finesse. | Our Review
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
The Great Circle reminds me of why I fell in love with Indy in the first place and should be a template for how to craft new interactive stories in this legendary series.| Our Review
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a fantastic reminder that the franchise that began on the Super Nintendo in 1994 is a real competitor for Nintendo’s best 2D platforming series, an extremely competitive landscape. | Our Review
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
While not a gigantic leap forward, chalk up another good outing in this hidden gem of a Metroidvania series. | Our Review
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Buoyed by the excellent returning dice gameplay, incredible sci-fi writing, and a fantastic score, Citizen Sleeper 2 is a worthy sequel, even if its UI and finale didn’t quite match the heights of the rest of the package. | Our Review
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
KCD2 is challenging, demanding, and often unforgiving. But, like the sharp blades I smithed in-game, through fire, it forges an exciting, surprising, and unforgettable fable. | Our Review
Avowed
Obsidian's new role-playing release follows a familiar formula but packs a lot of entertainment into every corner of its vibrant world. | Our Review
Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
An absurd tone with surprising pockets of earnest pathos, fun characters, and bombastic action are all present and accounted for here. | Our Review
Monster Hunter Wilds
The Forbidden Lands are an enticing new playground for the series, and I look forward to spending dozens more hours uncovering Monster Hunter Wilds' secrets. | Our Review
Wanderstop
Watching Alta grow and accept her limitations will stick with me and make me reflect on my own inability to turn off and just relax. | Our Review
Assassin's Creed Shadows
In Assassin's Creed Shadows, playing as Yasuke and Naoe is as powerful as the treacherous Shogun at the heart of this adventure, even if the story doesn't match the gameplay's towering heights. | Our Review
Every Winner At The 2025 GDC Awards
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Assassin's Creed Shadows Review – Don’t Stop Me Naoe (Because I’m Having A Good Time)
Reviewed on:
PlayStation 5
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Mac
Publisher:
Ubisoft
Developer:
Ubisoft Quebec
Release:
<time datetime="2025-03-20T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">March 20, 2025</time>
Score: 8.5
Avowed Review — High Fun Per Square Foot
Reviewed on:
Xbox Series X/S
Platform:
Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher:
Xbox Game Studios
Developer:
Obsidian Entertainment
Release:
Obsidian’s impressive track record in role-playing games is reason enough to stand up and pay attention anytime the studio wades back into the genre. In the case of Avowed, the reasons stack up higher, since it’s a standalone first-person adventure set in the studio’s imaginative and vibrant fantasy world of Eora, previously established in the Pillars of Eternity series. The resulting game isn’t especially innovative and is unlikely to change anyone’s understanding of these types of experiences. But not every good or even great game needs to break the mold; Avowed succeeds with a tried-and-true formula, and keeps the priority on fun progression systems, combat, and exploration. If the footsteps feel familiar, at least it’s a path that leaves a person smiling.
Traveling across its diverse biomes, it doesn’t take too long to realize that Avowed isn’t the sprawling single open-world that some players might expect. Each area is tightly packed with content; whatever might be lost in the sense of some gigantic world is easily overlooked, since it’s so easy to hopscotch between missions, exploration areas, and battles. As a single large island with several distinct zones to explore, I was struck by how much fun was packed into each. Hidden caves give way to ancient ruins. Mountain switchbacks lead to a long-forgotten chest. Enemy camps blossom into fierce battles as monsters swarm out of unexpected holes. The world is curated and crafted, with a verticality and depth that helps small spaces feel bigger than they are.
Exploration is also mechanically engaging, thanks to a simple but enjoyable approach to parkour and navigation. I was surprised by the fun I had leaping and sliding through dungeons and towers. A generous fast-travel system lets you navigate to previous locations with ease.
I was also delighted by the first-person combat. While sometimes slower and more deliberate than many similar games, the sense of control and the balance between offense and defense was top-notch. Melee weapons have tangible weight and heft, and I relished timing up parries and counters while strafing around the field. The magic system is even better, with impressive visual effects and exciting interplays with the environment, like bouncing electric bolts or explosive objects. I had trouble warming to the ranged weapons, especially the finicky approach to guns; their focus on precision felt out-of-step from the otherwise mobile and often frenetic battles.
The approach to progression earns high marks. An easy-to-grasp XP system leads to some appealing abilities across several distinct upgrade trees, and it’s fun to pick and choose across them to create a custom class that caters to a particular playstyle. Gear acquisition and upgrades are also a good time, especially as you mix and match distinct pairings of right and left-hand combos for different items, and experiment with what works. Several unique weapons and armors I acquired left me happily puzzling over what to wear and wield, simply because the potential perks for each were so desirable. I also want to call out the inventory management and stash system (which can be accessed at any time), easing a burden for hoarder players like myself to be able to get back to the action quickly when too many treasures weigh my character down.
Avowed features a bright and saturated visual style that I found a welcome departure from the grim and muted tones of so many other first-person RPGs. The Living Lands setting is filled with strange plant and fungal life, and I love the nearly alien quality to the landscapes. With its distinct zones, the game also does a good job of changing up that backdrop every several hours, keeping the visual palette fresh just as you’re ready to see something new. However, some of that environmental variety loses a bit of its spark because of the limited types of creatures found there. I can only fight so many bears before they lose their charm. Too many of the same types of monster fights begins to wear thin over time, especially since so few of those encounters introduce genuinely new challenges to how I might approach the battle.
The overarching story got its hooks in me quickly; I savored the surreal and dreamlike quality of a strange voice that interjects in one’s journey, constantly forcing the player to question its nature as a friend or foe. As The Living Lands faces down a horrible plague, it’s rewarding to be the hero who must make the hard calls to serve your own interpretation of the greater good. The cast of companions is well-written and voiced, but I found it hard to connect with the individual party members. Each seemed to drop into the group without adequate reasoning for their presence, and their side stories never totally captured my imagination.
With Avowed, the team at Obsidian manages the rare feat of grasping the scope of the project they’re building, and hitting the mark on most of the places it aims for. It’s not the biggest role-playing game, or the most innovative, but as I played, I was constantly aware of how much fun I was having by just letting the game carry me forward. Avowed is a confident and fulfilling fantasy adventure without pretension, accomplished by a studio that knows what it’s delivering. It may not change your world, but its world should be more than enough to satisfy.
