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I have no idea what it would be like to explore an alien planet with a toxic atmosphere in real life, but No Man's Sky sells itself with a sense of authenticity that I really have no choice but to believe that this is what it would feel like to take one small step for man.
Ubisoft have crafted something extremely special in Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, and it's absolutely worth the time, effort, and patience to see it all the way through to the end. The references, the tone, and the way it all works with the Switch's portable nature makes it one of the platform's best by a good mile.
I’ve had a great time levelling and fighting with my Necromancer so far, and am super excited to be able to play the game with friends when the game is released for everyone very soon. As long as the monetisation strategy doesn’t get in the way of the game being fun to play, I think this could be a game I get hooked on for a while.
As a next-gen update then, Control does a decent job of taking advantage of both the power and unique features of the new generation of consoles, especially if you happen to be playing on a PlayStation 5. While the ray-traced effects might not make this a must-replay, it’s still a far better and (crucially) more stable experience than the game has ever been on consoles, not to mention the joy of playing with the 60fps option instead. At the end of the day Control is a game worth checking out for the first or fifth time, so now’s a better time than ever to get on that.
Kratos is here to contemplate his future purpose and learns to forgive himself for his past deeds while still acknowledging and learning from them, making for a potent mix of the Greek and Norse sides of the franchise with some returning characters, locations and other bits that I wouldn’t want to spoil. It’s a treat for longtime fans as well as a very appreciated bit of history for those who jumped on in recent entries.
Somewhat appropriately, Echoes of the Fallen feels like a vague echo of CBU III's epic RPG, faintly calling back the game's excellent combat and intriguing Fallen lore in mostly expected ways. With The Rising Tide promising a substantial new chapter with plenty of content and the final piece of the Eikonic puzzle, fans will have to wait until Autumn 2024 for a deeper return to Valisthea, though for now this serves as a brief but welcome last check-in before the year's end.
The Rising Tide is exactly what a Final Fantasy XVI DLC expansion should be. It's got a beautiful, mysterious new region to explore, an engaging questline with great new characters, hugely satisfying new additions to combat and plenty of extra challenge for those ready to seek it out. It doesn't do much to fix the main game's few flaws, but what's here is some of the most compelling and exciting content in the entire game.
Broken Roads attempts to put an Australian spin on the classic Fallout formula. Unfortunately it succeeds just as much at aping vibes from the modern iterations of those games, as just like each of them, it’s also releasing in a dramatically buggy state. At this stage, I can’t in good faith recommend a purchase of the game at launch.
While the bar wasn't that high to begin with, Separate Ways is far and away the best piece of DLC ever released for a Resident Evil game. It manages to succesfully build on top of the already rock solid experience that Resident Evil 4 provides to offer up the spotlight that series super spy Ada Wong has always deserved. With a heady mix of horror, action and even espionage, Separate Ways' incredibly modest price of admission makes it a no brainer. It's an absolute achievement from the development team and not to be missed.
I jumped into The Smurfs - Village Party on a whim, hoping to feel the same dumb glee that I did when burning through Garfield Lasagna Party's trophy list. To my surprise, Village Party's ambitions rose much higher than a lot of games like it, but unfortunately the ensuing fall was much, much deeper than I could have imagined. This isn't worth your time, your kids' time, or anyone's.
I struggle to think of a positive experience over the thirteen-odd hours I spent playing this game. Gollum is uninspired and dated and The Lord of the Rings fans deserve better than this.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of nice things to say about The Martin VR Experience. Virtual reality has the potential to be a major entertainment and media platform. For that reason, I want to encourage major filmmakers and storytellers to experiment with the platform sooner rather than later but c’mon, let’s hold ourselves to higher standards than this.
7 Days To Die has a compelling premise and concept that slowly disappears as players begin to play more and more of it.
Back In 1995 does an earnest job at trying to emulate the experience offered by the survival horror canon of the nineties, especially visually. But beyond it’s looks, 1995 fails to recognise why those games were so great, and is unfortunately an inferior experience because of it.
When Capcom released Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City I thought they couldn’t put their publishing name to a title any worse. It felt awfully generic, it didn’t play all that great and it liberally reinterpreted Resident Evil in a way that rubbed me the wrong way as a fan.
While I enjoyed a fraction of my time exploring Martha is Dead's gorgeous Tuscan farmlands, the thing I'm most thankful for is how mercifully short the game is. The closing credits shocked me back into coherence like a bolt out of the blue to cap off what is-and I'm being generous-an interestingly imperfect experience.
As far as kart racers go, Nickelodeon Kart Racers is a disappointing case of missed opportunity. Nickelodeon, as a brand, is rich with properties though barely any are appropriately handled here too, with a roster that's quite frankly anemic. Instead, Nickelodeon Kart Racers offers some serviceable kart racing that's ultimately devoid of any personality. Some kids who don't know any better will find some enjoyment here, but most probably won't.
I don't know if my expectations were too high, but due to a unforgettable soundtrack, lacklustre strategy mechanics and largely boring gameplay, Patapon is an interesting concept, which couldn't decide whether to focus on the music or strategy elements and ended up in an awkward and messy middle ground.
Ultra Street Fighter II: The New Challengers feels like a lazy afterthought from a developer reluctant to commit fully to the Switch. It's so frustrating given that Street Fighter II is itself a classic game, but Ultra does little to provide reason to purchase it yet again. Way of the Hado and an Art Gallery are nice touches, but ultimately superficial and fail to justify the game's price tag.
I consider myself a pretty big fan of those Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. It was everything to me when I was a kid and it does sadden my inner child to have played this game. It'll appeal to some that are new to the franchise who may want to tune out and just wallop on endless, nameless clay men for a few hours but, as a long-time fan, I found only disappointment with rare sprinklings of flair.