Terraformers: First Steps on Mars

Showa American Story succeeds in crafting an unforgettable, eccentric B-movie world. However, its deliberate jank and niche style mean its general polish still lags behind other modern AAA action games at this point. The sheer density of cultural parodies is impressive, but whether the game can sustain this tone over a dozens-of-hours-long campaign without exhausting players remains to be seen. Coupled with its current shortcomings in combat depth and mechanical feel, Showa American Story is shaping up to be an incredibly unique, highly flawed, yet undeniably fascinating ride.

In an age where single-player first-person shooters are slowly going extinct because they only make money for their publisher once while multiplayer live-service shooters vie for our time and attention on a daily basis (and often contain lots of bullsh*t, like microtransactions and/or drawn-out gameplay loops), Metro 2039’s single-player-only craftsmanship and attention to detail after my first few hours with it have me already prepared to call it my favorite first-person shooter in a long time.

Game of Thrones: War of Westeros is shaping up to be an impressive RTS, especially for folks that are looking to scratch that base-building fantasy itch. Still, from the other three launch factions, to the campaign mode, to even how larger matches will play out, all remain as much of a mystery as the release date for Winds of Winter. But for fans that have been hungry for some base-building, PlaySide looks poised to deliver quite the feast.

Red Faction still has the best destruction in games ever.

Not only were my fears of the roguelite loop unfounded, but the Burnout roots baked into developer Fuse Games’s DNA was joyously evident in every moment I spent on the track with Star Wars: Galactic Racer. And the times I wasn’t going hundreds of miles per hour when I was on foot did a great job of further Star Wars-ifying my experience. I’m incredibly optimistic about what I’ve seen from this long overdue spiritual successor to Episode 1: Pod Racer, and I can’t wait to play more of it.