DOOM: The Dark Ages goes for something slightly different as it turns back time for a medieval assault on hell's legions. Not every change pays off, as the introduction of a mech and dragon adds very little to the overall experience. However, when The Dark Ages gets to the FPS action, there aren't many who do it better than id Software. Take some time to adjust to DOOM: The Dark Ages, and you'll discover another fantastically ferocious first-person shooter.
Like the drive back home from an away day loss, you’re left wondering: what was the point? Despelote laudably captures the emotion surrounding Ecuador’s qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but it struggles to craft a satisfying video game about it.
For the love of the game, Bend Studio has proudly brought back Days Gone with a PS5 version that truly shines on Sony's current-gen system - and even brighter on PS5 Pro. It's shrugged off the original PS4 launch to prove the title has always been great, and now with Horde Assault, it delivers a comprehensive package coursing with quality. If the original game released like this, perhaps we really would have a sequel by now.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the most refreshing and original RPGs in years, even if it's not immediately obvious from the outside looking in. The intriguing setup expands to provide an engrossing, excellent narrative with lovable and charismatic characters. The exemplary combat goes above and beyond its turn-based traditions with flashy fights and new ways to damage. This is the kind of experience that proves there's still so much potential and creativity in the bigger-budget video game space - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is simply sublime.
Atomfall commits to embodying everything it means to be British, and it comes out the other side all the better for it. The mystery at the heart of the alternate 1960s setting is gripping, forever teasing clues and solutions to a way out of its rural quarantine zone. Its combat systems and mechanics let the experience down, but Rebellion's latest peaks when it makes you the countryside's Inspector Gadget with a bunch of Leads to pursue and villagefolk to suspect.
Dungeons of Hinterberg presents itself as a virtual vacation, and it can really feel like one at times. Its chill concoction of combat, conversations, and puzzle-solving is always entertaining without being too challenging or obtuse. Come for the dungeons and you end up staying for the people.
A thoroughly enjoyable side game that looks to offer familiar Like a Dragon action with a swashbuckling twist, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a flamboyant distraction between mainline entries. The story doesn't compare favourably to the mainline entries and the new island areas quickly become repetitive, but the novelty of Goro Majima at the helm of a pirate ship never quite wears off. Stay for its frenzied action and jolly pirate ship battles and you'll have a good time.
Gratifying combat, enjoyable platforming, and an impressive list of abilities help Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist comfortably overcome any minor missteps, however. Aided further through vibrant graphics and flawless technical performance, Adglobe and Live Wire have once again come together to showcase Metroidvanias at their best.
Sniper Elite: Resistance serves as more of a stopgap than a full-blown sequel to Sniper Elite 5, so much of that experience - including its highs and lows - carries over two and a half years later. Its sniping action truly is elite, but the gunplay surrounding it still needs work. Equally, the Invasion Mode is again a standout while enemy AI remains frustrating at times. It is more of the same. However, when that similarity is a fairly unique model in the first place, Sniper Elite: Resistance just about gets away with it.
Following the launch woes of Modern Warfare 3, the FPS heavyweight series marks a very strong and impressive return to form in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Its single player campaign is one of the franchise's best-ever efforts, the multiplayer is jam-packed with engaging content, and the Zombies mode seems just as good as it always is when Treyarch is leading things. It never really went away, but Black Ops 6 feels like Call of Duty back at its modern peak.
Bloober Team has faithfully and respectfully recreated one of the survival horror genre's all-time greats, modernising Silent Hill 2 in all the right ways.
A substantial visual overhaul of Dead Rising is what will immediately stand out most, but where the Deluxe Remaster truly thrives is in all its gameplay touch-ups to make the classic play and feel like any other modern game. They all build to the definitive Dead Rising experience, where its time management feature can be properly appreciated.
We generally love the marriage between story and gameplay that Supermassive Games creates, but without the many advancements of The Dark Pictures Anthology, The Casting of Frank Stone feels far too simple. With an uninteresting narrative to boot, the first effort to expand the Dead by Daylight universe is a misfire.
Star Wars Outlaws gets by with a refreshed approach to the Ubisoft open world blueprints, fun traversal, and the themes and setting of a galaxy nobody could hope to replicate - but only just. So many of its core pillars, from the lacklustre reputation system to the basic combat and stealth mechanics, feel incredibly surface-level. There's little depth to invest in, leaving the game a fun enough investment in the moment that'll prove forgettable further down the line. It's a perfectly fine video game, which feels like an anticlimax given the IP it's attached to.
And while the differences between each zone are mostly just cosmetic, they all feel distinct enough with varied colours, enemy types, and overall themes. A chill soundtrack enhances the laidback and friendly tone kickstarted by the visuals and general gameplay direction, making Cyrpt Custodian a relaxing experience just as much as it is an entertaining one — an impressively accomplished game all in all.
As long as you can put up with some repetitive enemy design and the story not being all that, then Flintlock is worth a punt. It all comes together for a consistently good experience that never tries to break the bank to become something more. It does nothing insultingly bad; neither does it set a new benchmark for anything specific. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a good video game — nothing more, nothing less.
Shadow of the Erdtree delivers more of the same style of content you loved two years ago rather than introducing new ways to engage. That's enough to consider it a fantastic expansion, though it's hard not to feel like you're just going through the motions again. With a new land to explore, a fresh set of bosses to fight, and extra lore to consume, it's so much more Elden Ring.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU tells a touching, personal story of family, grief, and loss, but it's wrapped up in a game that makes appreciating that narrative a lot harder than it should be. A Metroidvania in only the most basic of ways, its combat and platforming are spoilt by basic design and structure, as well as controller issues and frustrating one-hit kills. At its best when left to simply tell its story, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU falters once you have to start playing.
Rise of the Ronin isn't a bad game; it's something debatably worse: completely forgettable. With dated open world design and a monotonous narrative, the cracking combat of a Team Ninja title is left to try and pick up the pieces. It manages to get the title in acceptable shape, and with its Bonds system and culture clash, just about forms an experience one could enjoy. Where it falls apart is the fact the open world is so intrinsically linked to all these features and mechanics that it's impossible to find pleasure in them for any respectable length of time. Rise of the Ronin is designed to attract a wider audience than Team Ninja titles past; what they find might put them off for good.
There are too many flaws at the heart of Pieces Interactive's Alone in the Dark reboot for a blanket recommendation, but anyone with a love for classic survival horror gameplay should - after a few post-launch patches at least - find a relatively worthwhile experience. The combat sections are awful and there's very little to actually spook you, but the puzzle-solving gameplay at the game's core shines. For that alone, it'll find just enough of an audience ready and willing to love it.