Moral murkiness helps preserve the tension across Swansong’s duration. There’s always something at stake – your life, the masquerade, your integrity – and that does a lot to infuse some meaning into all the talking and scouring rooms for notes. I doubt that Swansong is set to become a vampire RPG of legend, like 2004’s Bloodlines, but it nonetheless makes vampires scary again.
Gripping supernatural subterfuge meets perfunctory mechanics. Worth it to explore the World of Darkness, though.
Turns out it's possible to be a turn-based Warhammer 40k game and still retain user-friendliness and pace. Who knew.
A documentary format worth expanding and repeating, more assists, and the same rough but rewarding racing.
It certainly isn’t a matter of a lack of talent at PES Productions. I don’t believe for a second the developers don’t know how to make a better game than this - we need only look at the last few PES games for evidence to the contrary. These are vastly talented, experienced, passionate people, working as best they can on a deeply flawed concept with a spectacularly poorly communicated plan. They don’t deserve chastisement on social media, though they’ll inevitably get it. But equally, eFootball 2022 still doesn’t deserve your time yet.
Still recognisably Borderlands, but the sense of place and improvisation elevates Tiny Tina's Wonderlands beyond expectations. The overworld map feels tacked-on, but Gearbox commits to the bit in every other aspect.
This fun D&D-infused cooperative shooter treads a line between fourth-wall prodding and juvenile, with unicorn queens and hi-tech weaponry
A well-judged modern adaptation of one of gaming's all-time great adventures. The PC port doesn't push beyond the PS5's limits though, and who knows how many releases will conclude this remake.
A fiddly take on management, survival and city building that you can still lose a weekend to.
In a series known for its scale and spectacle, climate change and technical issues are the new enemies
Familiar, excellent, and polished to a degree that hardly seems possible. If you love taking vintage Porsches for joyrides through environments that'd have a poet bawling then you're going to be very happy here.
Extreme sports made accessible to the point of basic. It's got a tin ear but a big heart.
In PR terms, it's the world's costliest public beta. There's a lithe control system in the wreckage, but it'll take many updates to dig it out.
Uncover a grim conspiracy and sweet-talk snooty bears in this genre-hopping indie game
Much like the sport itself, the driving is as impressive as ever. But the worries about management's business practices endure, too. Fundamentally, F1 2021 is worth it for the handling model.
Wobbly and unstable in all the right ways, and some of the wrong ones too.
Not the finest physics simulation ever, but good enough to convey a uniquely challenging discipline-plus, all the customisation items in the world.
With a newfound litheness on the pitch and deep data analysis, FM21 gives you an easy excuse to relapse.
Arcade offroad racing of the like we've played four times previously.
This is a gripping tale of crime families, sharp shooting and sharper suits – but has this remaster lost some of Mafia's charm?