Austin Wood
A joy to view but sometimes a chore to play, Last Day of June delivers a touching story that's worth finishing.
Resident Evil Zero HD is Resident Evil Zero in a prettier dress. I hope that's what you wanted to hear going into this review, because if not, I suggest you swiftly move on. I thought I spoke Resident Evil, but revisiting Zero 14 years after the fact feels like reading cuneiform. The only way I can possibly imagine enjoying the game is viewing it through glasses so thickly rose-tinted that any bit of nostalgia bait would seem a hidden gem. And in those circumstances I'd sooner recommend playing a dated game that's actually fun.
Destiny did not need all of its innumerable growing pains, and many of its scars will never fade and should rightly never be forgotten. But The Taken King is proof that it wasn't fruitless. This is the game we were excited for back in 2013, and that we were struggling to find over the past year. The Taken King is what Destiny should be and should have been all along.
Q.U.B.E. is still brilliant, make no mistake. It's clever, creative and beautiful puzzle-solving. But while the Director's Cut is the best version of the game, it isn't different enough to justify buying it again.
Traverser is a stunning experience that got put in the washer with a woefully average one. As a puzzler, it's truly top-shelf stuff, replete with player agency. But it's washed out by a generic frame.
A shmup for the modern gamer, Zenzizenzic is as bonkers as its name implies. It's also smart, efficient and unquestionably tight.
Munin delivers striking, if a bit crude, visuals and a pleasant soundtrack but is ultimately dragged down to the dragon's roots by technical hitches and design oversights outnumbered only by our titular protagonist's lost feathers.
Richard & Alice is a lesson in narrative that every video game developer should take a page from, and a testament to the power of its medium. Consistent, harsh and unafraid, it casts the everyman as neither antagonist nor protagonist, but as another survivor.
Windforge is a mess. The game's only redeeming quality is buried under so many obvious and unforgivable technical oversights that it's not even worth pursuing. Between game-breaking mechanics and game-ending bugs, there are plenty of reasons to spend your time with one of the many better examples of sandbox crafting.
Although hindered by its lacking game type and map selection, as well as a handful of missing features (to be expected of an early access game) and balance issues, Loadout is an enjoyably hectic shooting experience with an unexpected dose of platforming that shines among today's run-of-the-mill cover-based shooters.