It takes nothing away from the real triumph Silt is, though, with stunning visuals, disturbing sound cues, and an enjoyable gameplay loop. Silt represents what's so special about indies: a great game just outside the norm.
A small amount of texture pop-in aside, a very strong visual style makes Road 96 a delight to look at. Striking character art enunciates facial features, while environments and background vistas look beautiful. With a great soundtrack to boot, the game has an incredibly strong style. When the characters you meet along the way are just as striking in their conversations and political and social beliefs, Road 96 succeeds at weaving multiple tales through the lives of teens that just want to get the hell out.
Lake is the perfect pallet cleanser after a heavier title. It's refreshing to not have to worry about an end of the world prophecy, or an out of control god hell-bent on destruction. However, it's also that simplistic nature that holds it back from a first-class stamp.
Ghostwire: Tokyo feels like a step back from what Tango Gameworks has produced in the past. While its combat system is fun in bursts, it becomes repetitive far too quickly. The open world is jam-packed with busywork, and the story doesn't go anywhere interesting either. Excellent PS5 DualSense controller support, haunting elements, and nice visuals aside, Ghostwire: Tokyo will have to go down as a miss.
Gran Turismo 7 is a game for everyone: the racing enthusiasts, the novices, and anyone in between.
Elden Ring is the definitive FromSoftware game. With a refined combat system packing new ideas and an open world perfect for exploration, it sets a new benchmark for titles of this ilk to strive for. This is the Japanese developer firing on all cylinders — far and away its best creation yet. Elden Ring is an utterly essential PS5 title.
Dying Light 2 is a super solid follow-up to the 2015 original, building upon its fantastic gameplay loop with new traversal options for even more parkour fun. It's extremely disappointing, however, that the narrative and open world promises Techland made in the lead up to launch haven't been realised. Your choices don't have nearly as much impact as we would like, and the map is much more rigid than pre-release footage would have you believe. Still, Dying Light 2 feels awesome and empowering to play, and that can go a long way.
Battlefield 2042 is disjointed and incomplete at launch, but it's impossible to deny it still has that magic spark that made past entries thrive. There aren't enough maps and one too many bugs and glitches get in the way of the fun. However, with the excellent Portal mode to bolster it, Battlefield 2042 does just enough to get us on board. While we wish so many things were better, nothing else does it quite like Battlefield.
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One should, on paper, be the best game out of Frogwares yet. It brings back all those satisfying detective features of the past and couples them with new mechanics and interactions. However, many of them are either surplus or frustrating enough to where they sometimes detract from the overall experience. And with a lifeless open world that doesn't run particularly well at even the best of times, it's not an easy recommendation. What fans loved from past Sherlock Holmes instalments is still there, but you'll need to do a bit of overtime to find it.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is another incredibly solid but also super safe instalment in the series. Its campaign may be over in a hurry but it's still a fairly memorable one, featuring good characters and outstanding visuals. Multiplayer is another robust package, hosting a ton of content and the promise of more to come. The less said about Zombies the better, but this is a Call of Duty game doing Call of Duty things. Whether that's of any interest or not, you likely already know.
You could do a lot better than Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water this Halloween season; the PS5 has built up its horror library up just enough for there to be something else worthy of your time. Those cutscenes, though. Very creepy.
For as much uncertainty there has been surrounding Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, the final game has delivered. Fun and frantic combat provide the basis for a long, extremely enjoyable campaign featuring the characters you love and the tracks your kids usually screw their noses up at. A great title that deserves to be expanded upon in the future.
Far Cry 6 is the best version of Ubisoft's open world formula to date, but whether that's still a selling point to you is up for debate. The few advancements and new mechanics won't be enough to convince those burnt out to return for one more exotic trip, but if you're down for another lengthy checklist to complete, then the series has never been better. It's another healthy serving of comfort food; one that sticks to what it knows best while slightly iterating positively.
If it all proves too much, at least many of the vistas and scenes will soothe your mood with lovely visuals — especially as the sun sets. They don't quite look photo-realistic; there's a dash of flair and care that makes for a very pretty little title. It won't set the world on fire, but A Juggler's Tale has a pleasing aura that may resonate with folk who know what they're getting themselves in for.
Few games have the confidence and swagger of Deathloop. Packed full of charisma and wit, it's a game that can be played your way, with your own style and cunning. A very accomplished package of gameplay features supplies the goods, and the time loop delivers fun and deceitful opportunities over and over again.
Life Is Strange: True Colors had every chance of becoming the series' best game to date, but it's been let down by arguably its most important element: the story.
Hoa is a lovely little game that pretty much anyone of any age can enjoy. It's not trying to do something new, but rather whisk you off on a short, beautiful adventure full of positivity.
For fans of storytelling, The Forgotten City is a solid recommendation. Freed from the shackles of Skyrim, the full game tells a captivating story elevated by clever and humorous writing. With the interesting time loop mechanic creating further situations full of comedy and intrigue, settling down across a few evenings with The Forgotten City will delight. We just wish the combat was either improved or not there at all, and the technical setbacks weren't quite so rampant.
Last Stop is all about the story, making its three storylines the centrepiece of the experience. Characters introduced by them quickly become staples as their personalities and unfortunate predicaments take hold, all the while the overall plot takes shape and builds to a crescendo. It's disappointing that the vast majority of your decisions have little to no impact, but the ride Last Stop takes you on is worthwhile regardless.
Gameplay is unchanged, retaining the linear nature that guides you through a crafted campaign full of surprises and standout sequences. The English army of 1348 and rodent infantry burrowing underground create environmental puzzles with inventive solutions while combat is almost always a life or death situation. Miss your shot and doom is likely right around the corner. But so too is one of the most underrated experiences of the past few years. A Plague Tale: Innocence has always been a great game. PS5 makes it that little bit better.