Stupid Never Dies makes a strong, if extremely weird, first impression. Wrapping roguelite progression around the system of an action-RPG and setting that story in an inventive punk-inspired world of monsters is an inviting hook. Plus, it's hard not to feel some affection for the dimwitted hero and his undoubtedly creepy quest to revive the supposed love of his afterlife. But the inventive world and a few neat ideas can only carry this game so far, and I ultimately struggled to look past the repetitive and often imprecise combat. 

The world of Stupid Never Dies has been completely taken over by monsters who emerged from inside the Earth's crust. These monsters are very conspicuously inspired by classic silver screen incarnations and popular B-movies, all filtered through a '90s or '00s pop-punk aesthetic. It's a stylish blend of influences that immediately identifies this game's goofball, self-effacing tone. 

When these monsters took over the world, they all but wiped out humanity. In the aftermath, a new caste system emerged, with zombies considered to be little more than cannon fodder in the fight for monster supremacy. Zombies who refused to fight in the war are seen as even lower than that--protagonist Davy is one of those, a teenage-looking undead who's more of a lover than a fighter.

In fact, Davy shambles his way into the adventure accidentally. He's just hungry, and happens to eat a weird glowing egg he finds laying around. This turns out to be a Phoenix Egg, giving him the ability to absorb power from other monsters. He doesn't really care to use this newfound power until an associate, Dr. Frank, tells him he may be able to use it to revive a dead girl named Julia who he's been infatuated with. Julia is a random human that Davy found in a freezer, and Davy sets his sights on reviving her solely because he imagines they would be a happy couple. 

This motivation doesn't give Julia any agency--we don't know whether she would even want to date a zombie, let alone Davy specifically, and that creates a problematic vibe for the setup. If the story treated this with any degree of seriousness it would be downright toxic. But this is not a serious game, and Davy is very pointedly presented as a complete dumbass, so I at least think we as the audience are supposed to recognize the obvious folly in his lovelorn puppy act. Still, it's a bit ick. 

This uncomfortable setup is also just quickly drowned out with lore and jokes. There's a ton of exposition at the very start to introduce you to this world, but a lot of it is delivered with a sort of "just go with it" haste. It seems at once proud of its stylish mash-up and embarrassed by i

If Nintendo Switch Sports Resort's sole mission is to make you look and feel stupid and have a ton of fun with friends and family, then Nintendo has accomplished that mission with flying colors (and flailing arms). Considering Nintendo's other outings with its motion-controlled sports games, that shouldn't come as a surprise--nor should the feeling of a sore arm the next morning: a feeling that I consider nostalgic at this point.

Switch Sports Resort delivers the best showcase of sports and modes, making it feel like a complete experience and the most cohesive package in the series to date.

For the nostalgic-driven players, it's easy to notice which sports from previous games aren't included among the 12 here, like Chambara, Badminton, and Disc Golf. But in place of those missing games are what I consider to be the greatest hits of the series, joined by welcome additions like the tension-fest competition of Thumb Wrestling.

Of those 12 events, there are three "Leisure Sports" (game modes that don't require the player to be standing or exerting the use of a limb to flail), which include Prop Plane, Skateboarding, and Power Cruising. With the exception of Thumb Wrestling, the other eight more traditional sports will require you standing up in front of your TV, Joy-Cons in hand, and using physical gestures to mimic the act of playing the sport. You'll swing your whole arm for Tennis as if wielding a racket; raise your arm back and then swing forward to bowl; or, in the case of Archery, hold a Joy-Con in each hand, raising one arm forward and pulling back with the other to simulate drawing a bow--it all still feels awesome, just as it has since the original game. The Switch 2's HD Rumble is used well to enhance the experience with better feedback. In archery, for example, the controllers simulate the tension of the bowstring.

Like playing actual sports, your enjoyment mileage will vary. If I'm not good at a real-life sport, then clearly something is wrong with the sport and its in-game version. This was the case while playing Switch Sports Resort's rendition of Table Tennis against friends. I was terrible at it and therefore I blamed the game. However, someone I was playing with was doing well and seemed skilled in what they were doing. While I refused to believe that I'm the problem and that it isn't a skill issue, that experience proved to me that it is, indeed, a skill issue, and I just suck at Table Tennis. And it's fine!

This scenario captures the essence of playing this game with friends: the natural banter that comes with the playful competition in sports. Because while this particular player was able to beat me at Table Tennis, I absolutely destroyed them at regular ol' Tennis--a legacy sport in the series, and one I've loved since the original 2006 game. "Friendly" competition or showboating skills aside, each sport achieves what matters most: They're all fun to play.

Some sports are easier to engage with than others. Tennis, Bowling, Golf, and Boxing are the most pick-up-and-play friendly, but that doesn't dismiss the depth of skill that can be learned and applied. Golf takes advantage of the Joy-Con's position, so newcomers will need to pay attention to the angle of your swing, while experienced players will naturally consider how much the Joy-Con is tilted. In both cases, it feels intuitive. Golf remains one of the more chill sports to give your arms a bit of a rest and offers a wide variety of courses with varying difficulties.

It's not often that a live-service game gets any sort of attention after the servers have shut down, but there was something special about Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius. It was more than just a mediocre gacha-based RPG with Final Fantasy branding slapped on it--it featured a fully original story with unique characters, a fully fleshed-out setting, and plenty of that unmistakable Final Fantasy flavor. So when Square-Enix announced Final Fantasy Resonance--a full-fledged single-player remake of part of Brave Exvius's story--there was excitement. Former Brave Exvius players could revisit the setting they loved, and those who hadn't played could enjoy the story without all of the gacha baggage.

Retooling a live-service, gacha-monetized game into a single-player experience is no easy task, however, but Square-Enix clearly felt that the legacy of Brave Exvius was worth the effort. And while Final Fantasy Resonance succeeds admirably in retelling the saga of Rain and the battle against the Veritas, it does have a handful of shortcomings that keep it from becoming the next great Final Fantasy epic.

Resonance brings us to the world of Lapis, where adopted brothers Rain and Laswell are doing routine tasks for the Grandshelt Knights. Things quickly escalate, however: The pair encounter a mysterious armor-clad warrior, who's powerful enough to shatter the kingdom's Earth crystal before setting the kingdom's castle ablaze. One near-death encounter and mysterious-young-girl rescue later, Rain and Laswell learn that more armored sentinels are seeking to destroy the remaining crystals that maintain the world to settle a long-simmering grudge. Thus begins a grand adventure with twists, turns, mysteries, revelations, and an ever-growing party of traveling companions--the classic FF formula we've come to love. For the most part, it hews close to the original narrative of Brave Exvius, with some detours and extra exposition along the way. 

In many ways, Final Fantasy Resonance feels engineered as a callback to the olden days of the series. Story- and progression-wise, Resonance feels more in line with the 16-bit Final Fantasy games: mostly linear with some side trekking you can do if you feel so inclined. The narrative pacing is brisk, though it does take time to savor individual character arcs, like Rain and Lasswell’s rivalry, Nichol’s sense of familial duty, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Rain’s father, Raegen. There are some fun little additions, too, like side quests that offer additional insights into the characters and setting, and on-field conversations you can trigger where characters banter about themselves.Places you visit offer hidden trinkets and treasures if you’re willing to poke around suspicious nooks and take side roads, making exploration satisfying. The HD-2D graphics also feature frequent callbacks to pixel-based Final Fantasy titles that eagle-eyed nostalgia fiends will find delightful. The soundtrack is excellent, offering new versions of classic Final Fantasy songs as well as its own set of defining music leitmotifs. With its presentation, it's easy to imagine Resonance as some sort of lost "middle step" between the pixel and polygon eras of FF.

For the most part, the game is a visual treat: Detailed sprites have fluid animations, and environments are packed with artistic flourishes (the water city Olderion and its surroundings are a personal favorite). The cinematic sequences also attempt to do action and camerawork in ways not yet seen in Square-Enix's HD-2D games. When it works, it looks great, but there are also times when odd-looking compositing of the pixel art over the background or an awkward animation takes you out of the moment. Still, it's hard not to respect the effort, even if there is a lot of reuse of Brave Exvius a

In 2019, Infinity Ward rebooted Call of Duty's Modern Warfare series, delivering a gritty and polished campaign featuring Captain Price and the assembly of the iconic Task Force 141. Despite the strong start, the series' sequels stumbled a bit, with  Modern Warfare 3 in particular standing out as having a weak story and open-world missions that missed the mark. But with Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward returns the series' campaign to strength with a satisfying narrative and well-crafted missions for an epic conclusion to the rebooted series.

Modern Warfare 4's single-player goes back to being a traditional and mostly linear experience that some recent entries have strayed from. There is only one open-world mission this year, and it is far more engaging than the previous attempts. Modern Warfare 4 doesn't introduce anything new or innovative, but it finds success with a consistently strong narrative and engaging gameplay built on nail-biting tension. Thankfully, you're never forced into any mission objectives that feel like silly chores or ill-timed distractions. Every mission in Modern Warfare 4 carries urgency and drives the plot forward.

That plot closes out the ongoing narrative surrounding Price and Task Force 141, but it also takes Call of Duty to Korea and introduces a fresh new cast of characters. The campaign intertwines two seemingly separate stories for an over-the-top, globetrotting affair across New York City, Paris, and Mumbai, in addition to several parts of Korea. This is the explosive Hollywood-style action you'd expect from a Call of Duty campaign at a quality level we haven't seen from the franchise in years--that includes the recent Black Ops entries.

One half of the game places you in the boots of Private Park, a young South Korean soldier, who has never experienced real combat before. Private Park and his squad are forced to fight back to save their country when North Korea launches an invasion.

The other half of the campaign follows the events of Modern Warfare 3 and the aftermath of John "Soap" MacTavish's death. In Modern Warfare 4, Captain Price is in a much darker place, going rogue to hunt down Makarov and also tie up any other loose ends with the villain's associates.

This new outlaw version of Price ties back to one of the most-telling quotes of Modern Warfare 2019, where he lays out his ethos on where the lines in war are."You draw the line wherever you need it, Sergeant," Price says. "End of the day, someone has to make the enemy scared of the dark. We get dirty and the world stays clean. That's the mission."

That line is seemingly in a place no one could have foreseen, as Price is furious and more willing than ever to get his hands dirty in pursuit of making everyone allied with Makarov scared of the dark. Being on the run leaves Price with very few allies, though. In a desperate attempt to reach the Archer (Mads Mikkelsen), who is another threat linked to Makarov, Price makes a deal with Valeria Garza and the cartel.

Price hasn't turned into a complete monster, but the cartel don't mind blasting through civilians in order to achieve their mission. This team-up makes for chaotic gunfights through Paris and engaging banter between the characters. Price is constantly trying to look out for civilians and wants to minimize the collateral damage, but Valeria just comically taunts him, calling him Papi and old man, as she operates with less strict rules. The extent to which Price is a co

When playing Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, I couldn't stop thinking about Symphony of the Night. Almost 30 years ago, that game reinvented Castlevania as a search-action game, and did it so brilliantly that it earned half of the "metroidvania" portmanteau. Belmont's Curse does not attempt such a dramatic shift. It doesn't change genres or reinvent the series as something entirely new. What it does, however, is achieve a brilliant synthesis, with every component operating at peak performance to deliver a new high for the series. Castlevania is back, and it is fantastic.

Put simply, Belmont's Curse is the total package. A sprawling map bursting with mysteries to uncover, joyous traversal tools that make roaming the map feel great, a story that balances a macabre tone with occasional lightness, a cast of creative and well-drawn characters, and hands-down the best combat of any Castlevania game--in fact, among the best combat of any 2D action game, period.

What makes all of these synergize so well is the addition of the tarot cards, which serve as an elegant way to fuse the game's disparate elements, and makes them all feel like part of one cohesive whole. At different points your tarot deck serves as mission signposting, environmental puzzles, pieces of story lore, characters to serve as dialogue for Rose, boss locations, and ultimately, your pool of spells.

You play as Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont, who has trained her whole life as the successor of the Belmont clan. Though silver-maned Trevor is still a capable fighter, Rose volunteers to investigate the otherworldly happenings in Paris, France, eager to prove herself worthy of the family name. But Rose is also afflicted with a cursed red mark on one arm, making her dangerously instrumental to the machinations of Dracula and his armies. 

The tarot deck is a set of magical cards gifted to Rose by her late mother, Sypha, who passed on the curse to her at birth. Each card represents a follower of Dracula, with honorific names like The Fallen, The Warrior, or The Builder. As you explore the castle you find clues that reveal story details and hints about how to find them, often both simultaneously, and they each have their own roles in Dracula's royal court. When Dracula's castle emerges in the heart of Paris--as you obviously knew it would, this is a Castlevania game, after all--the full deck is revealed, putting the complete array of monsters in your sights. Once you've tracked down and defeated one of Dracula's servants, their tarot card becomes an Arcana you can use as a spell, which then opens its own flexible progression system. It may sound complex, but the system is actually an ingenious way to merge different gameplay elements and make them all feel digestible and cohesive.

As an example, take the first boss, The Fallen. Finding him is a relatively simple task, given that it'