Hayes Madsen

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Hayes Madsen has covered video games for nearly 15 years, with work appearing at Inverse, IGN, Rolling Stone, and more. Before writing about video games he worked as a local reporter in Denver, Colorado. When not working, he’s most likely regretting the decision to play every single RPG that releases.

Latest articles by Hayes Madsen

Geralt in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Remastered on Xbox

The Witcher 3 Remastered review: "An exceptional update that refines the rough edges to make a great RPG even better"

By Hayes Madsen Published 2 October 26

Review This sprawling RPG epic has simply never been better

Review

In a world filled with live service games, MMORPGs are finding new ways to flourish

By Hayes Madsen Published 25 July 26

Saturday Read The lead developers of Final Fantasy 14, Warframe, and The Elder Scrolls Online take us through the demands and realities of running a successful MMO

Saturday Read

Cyberpunk 2077 is a better role-playing game than The Witcher 3

By Hayes Madsen Published 27 March 26

Opinion Opinion | Give me Night City over The Continent any day

Opinion

Kliff sits at a pond in the middle of a lush green forest in Crimson Desert

100 hours of Crimson Desert made me realize how perfect Breath of the Wild is

By Hayes Madsen Published 20 March 26

Opinion Opinion | Both are stunning open world games, but the Zelda series' first Switch adventure reigns supreme

13 Comments

Opinion

25 years later, Onimusha developers break down why Capcom's samurai action series is primed for a comeback

By Hayes Madsen Published 5 February 26

Interview Anniversary | Capcom's Satoru Nihei and Motohide Eshiro discuss their journey, from Onimusha 2 to Way of the Sword

Interview

007: First Light is "not a role-playing game" because it's James Bond's story

By Hayes Madsen Published 15 December 25

Interview Interview | IO's Rasmus Paulsen weighs in on what makes First Light a unique entry in the Bond canon

Interview

Hi-Fi Rush screenshot of a cityscape with an Xbox Series X five year anniversary overlay

Hi-Fi Rush is the perfect Saturday morning cartoon game for some whimsical '90s chaos, but the bassline isn't the heaviest thing about it

By Hayes Madsen Published 18 November 25

Now Playing Now Playing | How one of the Xbox Series X era's finest Game Pass games went from zero to hero

Now Playing

Splatoon 3 screenshot of Inklings and Octolings on two different teams on the street

Splatoon 3 took Nintendo's paint-'em-up series to new heights – and while doing it, proved shooters need more imagination

By Hayes Madsen Published 20 May 25

Opinion | And that's just the soundtrack!

Splatoon

A screenshot from Super Mario Odyssey showing Mario throwing Cappy in New Donk City.

Spend 60 hours in Super Mario Odyssey and you'll see why it's one of the best games Nintendo has ever made

By Hayes Madsen Published 2 May 25

Opinion Opinion | 8 years on, Super Mario Odyssey remains one of the Switch's crowning achievements

Opinion

A thumnail crop of Splitgate 2 key art showing orange and blue portals and teams of shooters running between them

Splitgate 2 improves on the FPS' intoxicating blend of Halo and Portal: "You no longer have to get hung up on which button you meant to press"

By Hayes Madsen Published 27 February 25

Hands-on Hands-on | Splitgate 2 blows an already unique idea up to an even bigger scale, and it might just be why it succeeds

Hands-on

Revenge of the Savage Planet hopes to follow in the footsteps of Metroid Prime

By Hayes Madsen Published 17 January 25

Big in 2025 Big In 2025 | Raccoon Logic brings a bigger, bolder take on interstellar exploration and capitalist hijinks

Big in 2025

Astro Bot dressed as God of War's Kratos

Team Asobi's gigantic 2024 proves it's time to free Astro Bot from PlayStation's past

By Hayes Madsen Published 23 December 24

Year in Review Year in Review | PlayStation’s best exclusive in years could be so much more on its own

Year in Review

Nine years later, Trespasser is still the best Dragon Age has ever been – and I can't imagine playing The Veilguard without it

By Hayes Madsen Published 15 October 24

Opinion Opinion | Solas’ big moment is locked away in an epilogue DLC, and it feels like required reading for what comes next

Opinion

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