Just Cause 4 (2018)
Developed by Avalanche Studios, Just Cause 4 follows Rico Rodriguez – now with a grappling hook and wingsuit – through the most standard of open-world adventures.

Despite several new mechanics, a larger open world, and bizarre weather events, Just Cause 4’s novelty wears off like a hastily painted sheen of gold paint on an off-brand plastic toy from the dentist’s office. The entire game has essentially been experienced after the first 3.2 microseconds.

However, for those of whom that have no problem with this, the game is stupidly entertaining – just like all the previous Just Cause installments. Doing just about anything will cause an infinite horde of enemy soldiers coming in any imaginable vehicle to descend upon you – all of whom pose absolutely no challenge. The entire world, including the hapless civilians, can be used as a sandbox for goofy mechanics like balloons that raise anything 50 meters in the air, to which rockets can be attached. Everything else, though, is inexcusably bad. The storyline is comically uninspired, and the graphics are somehow worse than the previous iteration.

However, by all but completely turning off the brain, one can actually find genuine fun in Just Cause 4. The effort to create something interesting and creative is clearly there, and the game seems endlessly hilarious when played with a friend. I honestly cannot recommend picking up this title nor avoiding it.