Metro has certainly been an interesting series, as it’s one of the rare entries in the FPS genre to focus entirely on singleplayer experiences. While it may not be at the level of Bioshock or Machinegames’ stellar Wolfenstein reboot, the Metro series has done a fine job of combining stealth and survival elements with an atmospheric setting. The second game in the franchise, Last Light, improved on the original game by bringing in a much more interesting narrative. While the brand-new Metro: Exodus may have a slightly less compelling story than Last Light, the third game of the trilogy continues the upward trend of the series and marks another step forward for Metro due to its quality gameplay.

Exodus differs from the other titles by taking players outside of the underground Metro system for most of the game, and before long it becomes clear why this decision was made. The diverse locations explored on the journey feel like a breath of fresh air for the series, and the open world levels spread throughout the game offer exploration opportunities that are incredibly rewarding. There’s enough variety in enemies and weapons to make combat feel great, and upgrades for gear come only to those who take genuine risks to find them. A brutal, entertaining Hardcore difficulty brings these elements together to make for one of the best survival experiences of the generation, and Exodus stands as a game that is better to play on its max difficulty level because of this. To be clear, however, the game isn’t perfect. One of the key issues from the previous games, a (mostly) silent protagonist that meshes poorly with a supporting cast that’s average-at-best, remains. It’s a flaw that makes for dozens of awkward conversations and caring about the results that come from your choices is harder because of it. Further, load times are much more bothersome in Exodus than in any other Metro game, as the bigger levels throughout the game’s 15-hour story take up to a minute to reload if you die. The positives far outweigh the negatives, though, making Metro: Exodus a worthwhile pickup for anyone seeking a challenging survival experience.

I was very late to the Nintendo Switch party. While everyone was enjoying The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, I was saving up money and waiting for a sale or a price drop. However, as more and more games kept releasing, that money I had set aside dwindled until it became nonexistent. For a while I started thinking I’d never get a Switch, but with games like Metroid Prime 4 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 on the way, I knew I couldn’t give up on the dream. So, as soon as 2019 hit, I pulled from my savings account and finally made the jump.

Having spent a little over a month with the console, I’m confident enough to talk about it. In this article, I’m going to grade five different aspects of the Switch (the games, the hybrid console gimmick, the online functionality, the battery life and the storage space) before giving it an overall rating. I’ll also be adding a tip to every section for those who are planning to get a Switch themselves, so be sure to check those out in order to make that first day setting things up as painless as possible. With that in mind, let’s get started!

I see Tetsuya Nomura’s series, “Kingdom Hearts,” as a Gordian Knot. It may have started out as a beautiful story about a child learning about the responsibility he was given seemingly by chance, but, through a deluge of convoluted storytelling over 13 years, it has become a twisted knot of storytelling fans believe to be unsolvable. This confusing story embedded in the cheerful plot driven by satisfying gameplay has been the muse and joy of many dedicated fans over the years. For this reason, some have concluded that this game is truly unreviewable and should not be attempted.  I, for one, have no issue trying anyways. What follows is a boy that grew up with the Kingdom Hearts series trying to explain why he enjoyed the eleventh game in the series...or is it the tenth?