Matt Gardner's Reviews
While you might not always get what you give, Harold Halibut has its moments, and at their highest highs, they’ll make you question things in ways you probably never have before. The overall game might not be so memorable in a few months, but some things about it will stick with you forever–and if Slow Bros learns from its missteps, a direct or spiritual follow-up could well earn the studio GOTY status.
Seedy Eye Software might’ve taken over 30 years to right past wrongs and nearly perfect the imperfectable, but Arzette is a triumph: a best-in-class game for a worst-in-class genre, and hopefully the start of a series that will continue to take things to new heights–even if it needs to be shackled to stupidity to achieve it.
I’ve reviewed hundreds of games, and this is the first time I can say with confidence that it’s pretty much impossible to find anything bad to say about COCOON. As such, I won’t manufacture criticism. It’s a must-play experience–a real 10/10, if I gave review scores. Which I never have. Even if I just did.
All these factors, combined with a stunning soundtrack that ranges between Vangelis and Nobuo Uematsu, make After Us a must-play game in 2023, and deserves a place on any game of the year list–not just one restricted to indies. For all those moments of satisfaction and glee, you’ll also feel uncomfortable, sad, and maybe even helpless–but again, maybe that’s the point. Sometimes you have to suffer to do the right thing.
There’s a season pass in the works, so LEGO 2K Drive’s foundations may be built on and refined–and its creators are certainly committed to adding to it and improving it in the coming months–but right now, it’s lacking those all-important LEGO hallmarks. You can’t fault the passion that clearly went into it, but it needs to evolve to hit the highs that many gamers will expect from it.
For all its hidden delights, its strengths shine brightest when you just want to stare into the distance, admiring a beautiful view. When these moments inevitably occur, time stops. There’s no rush. But you will need to carry on, you’ll check your map, and find something else to explore–and you’ll feel rewarded once again.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mE1yHMuYSIw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Ultimately, if all you want from a game is a massive sandbox with bases to take down in the company of friends, then Wildlands is actually pretty decent. But if you're looking for anything remarkable or memorable in and of itself, you won't find it here.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L5V0BTRtLRc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Horizon Zero Dawn is a brilliant, beautiful and bold action-adventure. With this expansive and ambitious game, Guerrilla finally have a masterpiece to their name, and, in Aloy, a PlayStation legend in the making.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AwiaxcC3WvI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Yakuza 0 makes for a perfect entry point to the series, and its unique blend of high drama and entertaining extras creates an action-packed, emotional journey where laughs come as frequently as tears. It's brutal and brilliant and so damn cool.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8GJiJiAcupg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> A fantastic, mind-bending, transmedia tale of time-travel and family, All The Delicate Duplicates is a short but thought-provoking experience that's as engrossing as it is complex.
An early contender for game of the year, Linelight is a minimalist, meditative masterpiece, and an excellent puzzle game that will utterly captivate you . If you're a genre fan in any way, or just like the idea of a chilled-out slice of pure gameplay, give it a look.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1LS05l55j30" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Watch Dogs 2 is a well-made game that tries hard to (over)compensate for the dour mood of its predecessor with a peppy script and a vibrant game world stuffed full of life and colour. But the game's ever-changing tone, confused narrative, and undercooked gameplay elements still leave room for improvement. It's a solid open world game, but rarely spectacular. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kw1dK-st_O4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The likes of Halo 5 and Killzone: Shadow Fall have nothing on Titanfall 2. Call of Duty is perennially stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to truly innovate, while desperately trying to stay fresh-yet-recognisable each year. Titanfall 2 is a game that can make one kill feel worth ten deaths. You’ll come for the blistering speed and agility of the action, but it’s the invention, the depth, and the unexpected heart that’ll make you stick around. That, and the fact that it’s just so damn fun. Forget the best shooter of the year; Titanfall 2 might be the best shooter of this generation. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vReOIwxI9JI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Aragami might have its foibles, but this purist take on stealthy puzzlers is a shadowy delight in places. Despite the patchy execution, the great ideas on show here suggest that Lince Works are definitely a studio to watch for the future.
An offbeat twist on a gameplay classic, Clustertruck is brilliantly bonkers, and a lot of fun.
RIVE is a gorgeous game that borrows plenty from its blaster genre predecessors to good effect, but sadly a lack of anything particularly original, and some truly punishing sections make it all too easy to leave behind.
Its linearity and lack of challenge do the ideas at the core of The Final Station something of a disservice. It's not a bad way to spend a few hours, but ultimately this apocalyptic train ride comes off the rails pretty swiftly.
Perhaps the game that best underlines the tenet that bigger isn't always better, No Man's Sky is undoubtedly a technical marvel, but it's also sterile, repetitive, and all too easy to put down.
The vast majority of Firewatch is an utter delight. It presents a gorgeous world that you want to sink into like a hot bath, with characters you're desperate to get to know. Unfortunately, that's all sort of squandered by an ending that fizzles out into the realm of the incredibly forgettable.
Slick, stylish, sweet, there are probably more superlatives beginning with S that I could use to describe Superhot but I think you get the idea.