Following up a game as lauded as Disco Elysium would be an unenviable task for any developer, but especially one as fractured as ZA/UM. With many of the key creative minds behind the detective RPG separated from the studio following an ugly, and very public, legal dispute, it's up to those left behind to pick up the pieces. That's a lot of baggage to carry going into a brand-new, albeit familiar, game, so it's not surprising how ZA/UM has tried to distance itself from too many comparisons with its previous hit. 

As a spy thriller, Zero Parades: For Dead Spies largely strikes a different tone than Disco Elysium. Aspects of it are still inescapably familiar, however, and it's this looming shadow--and sense of imitation--that prevents it from matching the same highs as its spiritual predecessor. Yet there are also enough fresh ideas for it to stand on its own two feet, even if its footing is slightly uneven and less creatively distinct.

Zero Parades' opening does little to quell the comparisons as you wake up on the floor of a small, dirty apartment. Hershel Wilk, codename Cascade, is here on an espionage mission. That's as much as both you and she know. The groggy spy was supposed to get more details from her mission partner, codenamed Pseudopod, but he's permanently indisposed--you find him unresponsive and sitting in a chair in his underwear, overlooking the city of Portofiro through the apartment's grimy first-floor windows. Rummaging through his pockets reveals an invoice for socks and a business card that simply reads, "All you need is a miracle." Figure out the rest on your own, agent.

From here, Zero Parades follows the Disco Elysium blueprint incredibly closely. It's another high-concept, combatless, and verbose RPG, played from an isometric perspective with an emphasis on dialogue choices and skill checks. Like its forebear, it also lives and dies on the strengths of its narrative and loquacious writing. In this regard, it makes a good first impression and carries it through to the end--albeit with a few notable caveats. 

Your skills, for instance, form different parts of your mind and will regularly comment on your dialogue choices and the world around you, sometimes providing you with helpful pointers, interesting observations, or quirky remarks. Unlike in Disco Elysium, however, they don't feel like defined characters of their own and are largely interchangeable. 

This is partly due to the game's writing failing to distinguish among the different parts of Hershel's psyche, but also because they all share a similar voice. I'm convinced Boo Miller's raspy performance as Hershel and her skills will be divisive, but her vocal-fry-infused delivery eventually grew on me. The issue is that there's not much deviation between one inner thought and the next, unlike in Disco Elysium, where each skill's defined written voice was also brought to life by either Lenval Brown or Mikee W. Goodman--the latter of whom is a master at creating disparate sounds. Zero Parades' espionage vibes don't quite suit the same kind of eccentric performances, but it's disappointing that they're so samey either way.

Following up a game as lauded as Disco Elysium would be an unenviable task for any developer, but especially one as fractured as ZA/UM. With many of the key creative minds behind the detective RPG separated from the studio following an ugly, and very public, legal dispute, it's up to those left behind to pick up the pieces. That's a lot of baggage to carry going into a brand-new, albeit familiar, game, so it's not surprising how ZA/UM has tried to distance itself from too many comparisons with its previous hit.

As a spy thriller, Zero Parades: For Dead Spies largely strikes a different tone than Disco Elysium. Aspects of it are still inescapably familiar, however, and it's this looming shadow--and sense of imitation--that prevents it from matching the same highs as its spiritual predecessor. Yet there are also enough fresh ideas for it to stand on its own two feet, even if its footing is slightly uneven and less creatively distinct.

Zero Parades' opening does little to quell the comparisons as you wake up on the floor of a small, dirty apartment. Hershel Wilk, codename Cascade, is here on an espionage mission. That's as much as both you and she know. The groggy spy was supposed to get more details from her mission partner, codenamed Pseudopod, but he's permanently indisposed--you find him unresponsive and sitting in a chair in his underwear, overlooking the city of Portofiro through the apartment's grimy first-floor windows. Rummaging through his pockets reveals an invoice for socks and a business card that simply reads, "All you need is a miracle." Figure out the rest on your own, agent.

The first season of the anime adaptation of Devil May Cry on Netflix was a refreshing remix of the Capcom intellectual property, and its second season wastes no time in using the momentum from its cliffhanger ending to leap straight into action. As subtle as a sledgehammer to the face, Devil May Cry Season 2 is a sharper and bolder follow-up, expanding its ensemble cast and amplifying the action in this video game adaptation.

Kicking off in the midst of the US's new war on demonic terror, spearheaded by a literal cowboy president--and orchestrated by sinister forces in the background--Season 2 is firmly in its numetal phase of action and storytelling. With Dante still on ice and Lady grappling with her guilt over her role in the slaughter of innocent demons, it's the introduction of Vergil that steals the show.

Dante's twin brother brings his signature stoic attitude to the screen as he finds himself on a destined collision course with his sibling. Johnny Yong Bosch and Robbie Daymond have a commanding presence whenever they appear as Dante and Vergil, respectively. But when they share the stage? It's a jackpot moment as we see more of Vergil’s past, his motivations, and the forces manipulating him.

The result is a story that's all gas and no brakes for its first half, before it finally slows down and takes a moment to breathe ahead of gearing up for the finale. Season 2 doesn't contain any narrative surprises, but because it doesn't need to do any setup work like the first season did, it has room to tell a tightly crafted story full of high-octane action and surprisingly tender moments.

The second episode even tries to shake up the usual way animated stories are told, shifting between documentary-style interviews, different animation styles, and alternate viewpoints on all the chaos erupting around them. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of Season 1’s amazing sixth episode–an almost wordless showcase of stunning art direction and storytelling–but it’s clear the creators are trying new things, which is a theme throughout Season 2.

If there's one universal consensus amongst Devil May Cry fans, it's that the first sequel is a dreadful departure from everything that made the first game so special. A rushed development cycle, boring gameplay, and a version of Dante who had the charisma of a boiled egg as its star, it's the black sheep of the series. In contrast, Season 2 salvages several interesting elements from the game, reusing and reimagining characters to give them a second chance in the spotlight. Arius is transformed from a one-note megalomaniac and into a fleshed-out villain with grand designs of godhood, while the looming threat of Argosax the Chaos raises the stakes further. Redemption for Devil May Cry 2 is the biggest surprise this season, and over the course of eight episodes, this adaptation brings out the best of an infamous game.

The other big surprise is Season 2's primary villain, Arius. Allied alongside the zealous Vice President Baines (with Ian James Corlett taking over from the late Kevin Conroy), Arius shines as the architect of chaos who's hellbent on resurrecting an ancient evil. Voiced by veteran actor Graham McTavish (Outlander), Arius serves as the perfect foil to the Sons of Sparda as he outmaneuvers them with cunning and raw power gained from both his Uroboros Corporation and mystical Arcana.

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Once imagined as an open-world spin-off of the Forza Motorsport series, Forza Horizon has grown into the main event. Across the last five games, the globe-trotting, open-world racing series has taken players from the Australian Outback to the beaches of Mexico and beyond. But one location has been on the community's wishlist for years and years. In Forza Horizon 6, we finally head to Japan, and it's the pairing of this huge, diverse racing playground with best-in-class gameplay that makes Forza Horizon 6 so hard to put down.

In Forza Horizon 6, the Horizon Festival has descended on Tokyo and the surrounding region, taking its brightly colored decor and cheerfully car-obsessed people to a map that feels larger and more interesting than any before it. The last few entries of the series had been chasing the high of Forza Horizon 3's Australian map, but here, the team has finally raised the bar. Drifting through Shibuya Crossing, barreling down snowy roads in the Alps, and cutting stylishly through bamboo forests or past the country's iconic cherry blossoms are among the many thrills the open world offers.

Like its predecessors, Forza Horizon 6 reimagines Japan, taking artistic license to condense its many different settings into one drivable area, and it's done so thoughtfully that arriving in a new region often feels like a cinematic event. The enormous roadside snowbanks in the northern part of the map are intimidating, blanketing the streets in shadow, while speeding past the bullet train in the opening set-piece proves right away that developer Playground Games still understands what makes this series memorable. Simply put, it is the exploration of the game's map that is its best feature, even more than racing through it.

Once imagined as an open-world spin-off of the Forza Motorsport series, Forza Horizon has grown into the main event. Across the last five games, the globe-trotting, open-world racing series has taken players from the Australian Outback to the beaches of Mexico and beyond. But one location has been on the community's wishlist for years and years. In Forza Horizon 6, we finally head to Japan, and it's the pairing of this huge, diverse racing playground with best-in-class gameplay that makes Forza Horizon 6 so hard to put down.

In Forza Horizon 6, the Horizon Festival has descended on Tokyo and the surrounding region, taking its brightly colored decor and cheerfully car-obsessed people to a map that feels larger and more interesting than any before it. The last few entries of the series had been chasing the high of Forza Horizon 3's Australian map, but here, the team has finally raised the bar. Drifting through Shibuya Crossing, barreling down snowy roads in the Alps, and cutting stylishly through bamboo forests or past the country's iconic cherry blossoms are among the many thrills the open world offers.

Like its predecessors, Forza Horizon 6 reimagines Japan, taking artistic license to condense its many different settings into one drivable area, and it's done so thoughtfully that arriving in a new region often feels like a cinematic event. The enormous roadside snowbanks in the northern part of the map are intimidating, blanketing the streets in shadow, while speeding past the bullet train in the opening set-piece proves right away that developer Playground Games still understands what makes this series memorable. Simply put, it is the exploration of the game's map that is its best feature, even more than racing through it.

Much of the game's appeal comes from its incredible flexibility in difficulty settings and its driving model, bringing back a lengthy list of options that previous games have also enjoyed. Fine-tuning your experience is entirely up to you, and while the default settings masterfully walk the line between sim and arcade racing, you can lean more toward one or the other with a huge selection of customization options. This gives each player the flexibility to experience Forza Horizon 6 on their own terms.

If you want driving controls that demand precision and punish you with a more realistic damage model, you can have them. If you want more assists, like having the game gently aid you in braking, you can have that, too. There's even an auto-drive function, where your vehicle will head to the destination marked on your map, or even race for you, if you really want it to, leaving you to focus on other joys as you define them.

The series' popular rewind function also means that, whatever you decide, you'll have a proverbial eraser on-hand to quickly fix any mistakes. It's all as challenging as you want it to be, and Playground doesn't care what your preferences are--it'll accommodate. With its sunny disposition, Forza Horizon 6 makes it clear once more: This is your festival, and what fun looks like is entirely up to you.

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