, Metro Awakening gets a lot of things right when it comes to aping the look and atmosphere of those original two Metro games. The act of scavenging for resources and surviving using your light and gas mask feels great, but it’s mixed in with fast-paced combat that works fine on a flat screen but is overly cumbersome in a VR format.
Mario and Luigi: Brothership is an utterly charming reinvention of the brotherly RPG series that, up until now, had previously been left adrift for too long. By offering even more ways to traverse and do battle through the introduction of new Bros. Moves and Battle Plug modifiers, Nintendo has found a way to keep Mario and Luigi’s turn-based escapades fresh, while the new sea-faring structure offers a great means to explore various types of locations jam-packed with several micro-stories and mysteries to resolve.
Combat is sadly the weak link in this particular chain, but even then, it’s not an outright disaster and can offer a good amount of flexibility. Where it counts, The Veilguard succeeds in being the momentous fantasy epic long-time fans have been waiting 10 years for, jam-packed with interesting characters to meet and fun activities to do, all against the backdrop of an appropriately calamitous world-saving mission that surprised me multiple times. A few niggles aside, the future is once again bright for both Dragon Age just as much as it is for the RPG veterans at Bioware.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is easily the best the Bat has ever played in VR, iterating upon the design tentpoles of its flat screen counterparts to make roleplaying as the Dark Knight a real thrill. While there are currently some technical drawbacks preventing it from achieving true greatness, it’s attention to detail with regards to the world and what you can do with in it ultimately make up for these challenges and makes the game feel like a genuine part of the Arkhamverse. If you want to fully step into the boots of Batman like never before it being a Meta Quest 3 means it’s a high price for entry, but you absolutely owe it to yourself to play Batman: Arkham Shadow.
In the end, Shadows of the Damned was a game always deserving of being exhumed, hence why I’m relieved the remaster job performed here isn’t anything less than stellar. Garcia and Johnson’s spikey comradery still shines through all these years on, as does the entire game’s rock-and-roll attitude when it comes to gunplay, environments, bosses, and story. Throw in the cleaned-up visuals and silky smooth framerate, and Hella Remastered has instantly become the best way to play this bona fide cult classic. Name me another third-person shooter where your ammunition is literally made up of crunched-up bone pieces. Odds are you can’t, and it’s this roguish attitude that sees Mikami and Suda51’s first hellish collab comfortably stand apart from the action game greats of today.
Sonic X Shadow Generations might not dedicate equal time and attention to its two eponymous components, but it’s still a great way to experience one of the better Sonic the Hedgehog games and celebrate the Year of Shadow with a cool bonus campaign on the side. Sure, the latter is probably over too soon and provides a power set that is less flexible than it initially seems, but there’s plenty of collectible artwork and soundtracks to uncover when replaying levels either score chasing alone or online against friends. Overall though I can see why Shadow Generations could never have been its own standalone release, but as a way to sweeten (and darken) an already excellently put together remaster, this package is a fine addition to the Sonic Generations saga.
Unknown 9: Awakening is an ambitious single-player action game that takes some bold swings with regards to its stealth combat, character arcs, and universe building. And though it’s sad that the lack of budget and inability to get out of its own way with lore often means it doesn’t always deliver on them, there’s still enough ambition and creative choices made here that players craving a linear cinematic story in the vein of Uncharted should at least check it out. Stepping into enemies to kill off others is repeatedly fun, the globe-trotting venture is big in scope, and Haroona herself has many attractive qualities. As the first piece of a wider universe, Unknown 9: Awakening has its merits; I just hope that its many rough edges are sanded off in time for a potential sequel.
What could have been an overstuffing of gameplay styles old and new has quite literally turned out to be a jamboree of a good time for Mario’s most chaotic franchise. A few unbalanced mini-games and over-talkative tutorials aside, Super Mario Party Jamboree strikes a good balance between giving players options with how they’d like to play while also providing a good sprinkling of board game twists – most obviously through the new brilliant Jamboree Buddy system. If you’ve been previously left disillusioned by previous Mario Party games on Nintendo Switch, this is easily the best entry on the platform, guaranteed to give family and friends a fun but frenetic time.
Neva is a Ghibli-esque adventure of torture, triumph, and friendship that won’t fail to tug on your heart strings. Combining beautiful visuals, with precise platforming and combat that coats every action you make with endless heart, it’s easily one of the best games of the year and by far my favourite indie of 2024. I’ve never felt so emotionally attached to an animal companion – which is thanks to the carefully crafted bond Nomada Studios built between the wolf and the girl, and by extension, the player; none of them made me want to take as big a leap as the ones I took to protect her. My only criticism of Neva is that I won’t be able to play it for the first time again; but the memory will stay with me forever.
The creepy town of Silent Hill looks and feels marvellous to explore in Bloober Team's mostly faithful remake, being a good (but not great) way to revisit a stone-cold classic.
Metaphor: ReFantazio presents a few nips and tucks to a template true JRPG fans will recognize without ever losing the essence of what made its predecessors so enthralling in the first place. And true, while there are some areas where it would have been nice to see it stray further away from aspects that both Persona and Shin Megami Tensei popularised, it’s hard to complain when said titles are considered some of the best JRPGs ever made.
I went into The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom wondering about where the direction of more classic Zelda games might go. Now, after rolling credits, I was delighted to see that Nintendo has (mostly) been able to find a nice middle ground about how to best pay tribute to this classic adventure series’ past while also incorporating elements of where it is now, thanks to the likes of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel. While it’s true that echo summoning is full of potential it also has its limits, as proven by that last pesky dungeon and many of the 127 featured echoes doubling up for one other. This, combined with the Nintendo Switch continuing to show its age via some less-than-ideal technical performance, holds Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom back from achieving true legendary status. However, Zelda’s time in the spotlight is still a refreshing and often surprising top-down adventure that, thanks to its central idea, comfortably stands apart from what’s come before.
Overall, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a genuinely well put together remake, but it’s one that by nature of its approach can’t help but stay caught between two eras. If you’re a newcomer wanting to play for the first time or a returning veteran with priors, there’s no doubt that this is the definitive version. That said, by nature of being so faithful to the 2006 version – aside from the significant graphical upgrade, new voice lines, lighting, better mechanics, and such – enough slight drawbacks slowly pile up to prevent it from becoming the ultimate perfect package it perhaps could have been. The emphasis on backtracking still annoys, as does the incredibly simplistic boss fights, yet there’s no denying that, faults and all, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster solidifies Capcom as the king of the modern remake.
If someone were to ask me why it is I love video games, I’d immediately tell them to play Astro Bot. No other title in recent memory has done a better job at instilling the sheer wonder only a medium as interactive as this can provide. Much more than a super-loaded sequel with even more creative levels and mechanics, Astro Bot celebrates the entire medium by delivering unbridled joy distilled into a charming 3D platformer. I never cry at games, but one extended sequence based on one specific PlayStation series saw me come extremely close. That sort of magic doesn’t come around very often, but it’s a kind of magic Astro Bot frequently thrives on. Should you enjoy games in any capacity whatsoever, you absolutely owe it to yourself to share in this magic too.
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is one of the biggest surprises of 2024 – one we all maybe should have seen coming. Not only is it a bigger, better sequel that improves exponentially via its visuals, gameplay, and sheer mode variety, it’s also a reminder that there can still be a place in everyone’s gaming palate for a rough-and-tough shooter that doesn’t care about being high art if treated with enough time, care, and passion. Sure, the reliance on lore will leave newcomers flummoxed and some Xbox 360 era sensibilities still bleed their way into mission design, but the crunchy combat, impressive graphics, and generous suite of game mode options stave off these minor quibbles. Regardless of whether you’re a Warhammer 40K person or not, Space Marine 2 is an essential addition to any avid shooter fan’s diet.
I had some amount of fun zooming through Tatooine’s dunes to Jabba’s palace on my speeder, commanding Nix as an extension of myself, and even uncovering fresh threads for Kay to wear. That said, the inconsistency of each open-world coupled with undercooked stealth mechanics, poor technical performance on console, and the frankly odd implementation of the Reputation system makes this not the open-world Star Wars game I was looking for.
In the end, Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club successfully bridges the gap between classic and modern visual novel formats with ease. Because while, on the surface, it appears to share a lot in common with the revitalised Famicom Detective Club duology for Nintendo Switch from a few years back, there’s also some slightly new changes made to its mechanics and presentation that makes it ripe for relative newcomers to the genre. While it’s true that some lines of enquiry outstay their welcome and the correct dialogue action isn’t always made blatantly evident, the story of “Who is Emio?” didn’t disappoint me by the time the final credits rolled.
Black Myth: Wukong is an exceptionally well-playing and slick Soulslike adventure stacked to the rafters with memorable boss fights, an in-depth upgrade system, and some seriously good-looking environments. The fluidity of its staff-based combat combined with the litany of spells, spirits, and creature transformations make it a truly unique entry in the genre, offering more than enough challenge for FromSoftware veterans while still offering just about enough leeway for newcomers to be able to enjoy this epically grand mythological story. Bar a few small niggles with location layouts, and my disappointment with the stance system, Game Science has still crafted a new way to experience Journey to the West in the highly polished and gratifying-to-play Black Myth: Wukong.
Cygni: All Guns Blazing might not entirely reinvent the idea of what a vertically scrolling twin-stick shooter can be, but it does do an excellent job of offering genre fans something slightly different by playing with depth, shield/gun prioritisation, and some seriously punishing, yet rewarding, sections. Yes, you’ll likely be done with the story in just a few short hours, and the narrative largely comes off as melodramatic, but Cygni: All Guns Blazing still sits comfortably as an impressive visual treat compared to its peers and one of the most cinematic genre entries I’ve played in recent years.
Dungeons of Hinterberg could have easily buckled under the weight of its many systems, locations, and most important of all, dungeons. Perhaps against all odds, then, the team at Microbird Games has done a wonderful job keeping its debut game’s various plates spinning with exceptional flair, creating a truly memorable world in the Austrian-inspired Hinterberg that is fun to explore, thrilling to be in, and packed with some of the most inventive (yet never stressful) dungeons I’ve played in a third-person The Legend of Zelda-like such as this in ages. True, while combat isn’t especially spectacular and it would have been nice to see Luisa’s customised gear better represented on her person, Dungeons of Hinterberg is still absolutely one of my personal indie game highlights of 2024. It's a cosy slay-cation worth taking.