Adam S. D. Stewart's Reviews
Coming from someone who is completely new to extraction shooters, Marathon is a triumph. The excellent visuals, audio design and gameplay creates a game and world that wants you to have “just one more run”. Hell, I’m only writing this during the server maintenance downtime, otherwise I’d struggle to tear myself away! Bungie have succeeded in creating a world that is begging to be explored and experienced even if the lore and storytelling feels slightly secondary. It may feel overwhelming at first, but a little perserverance, and not much at that, will open up a game that is incredibly well made and demonstrates a lot of love and work.
Much like Aeta’s quest, players of 1348 Ex Voto have some challenges to face in getting through to the end. If you power through the various bugs and design issues with the combat, you’ll find a decent 7 to 8 hour game that gives you a bleak look into a plague-ridden Europe. Buboes and all, 1348 Ex Voto’s strong voice cast, great environments and lighting might not be enough to avoid a big white X on it.
Styx: Blades of Greed is a genuinely enjoyable stealth-em-up with satisfying kills, traps, and sneaking. Built on a world and story that started 12 years ago, newcomers might be a little lore lost but that won’t get in the way of you slitting throats, melting corpses, or mind controlling a soldier to his doom.
Possessor(s) took me by surprise. I knew nothing about it going in, bar the reveal trailer I watched as I discovered it. It is fun, funny, and heartfelt. It tells a fairly emotional story, one that reflects on humanity, our drivers, and what makes us human. Whilst giving us a whole load of demonic bad guys to murder.
Dying Light: The Beast is a gritty, emotionally charged game that builds on the series’ strengths while introducing new, and fun layers of gameplay. A few mechanical hiccups and pacing issues hold it back from greatness but it’s still a beast worth taming. A thoroughly gruesome and fun zombie survival experience.
ZOE Begone! is a classic shmup; bullets everywhere, and points to rack up. With it’s responsive gameplay, unique art style, and sound, it is a joy to play. It is gloriously addictive and can sit proudly alongside the likes of Cuphead as a shoot-em-up, providing you with that incredibly rewarding feeling when you succeed, and can finally get some well-earned sleep!
Hell Is Us isn’t just another third-person Souls adjacent action adventure. It’s a refreshing celebration of using your brain, relying on your gut, and trusting your instincts. Its endearing world, haunting enemies, and largely realised lore building are a testament to the developers’ understanding of the gaming mind. I hope this isn’t the last we see of the Hell is Us series; my instinct is that it won’t be.
Donkey Kong Bananza is the reason to own a Switch 2. It is not only the most fun I’ve had with a Nintendo game in decades, it’s quite possibly one of Nintendo’s best games ever. Layer upon layer, everything has been built with care and detail. It is fun, silly, joyous, jaw-dropping, and heartfelt. You simply must play this game.
Mario Kart World is a great entry into the Mario Kart series. The racing feels great, the tracks are engaging and varied, and the music and visuals are all at the high level you’d expect from Nintendo. The big new thing, the Free Roam, feels underbaked and a missed opportunity of the potential it could have been. It could have been transformative but instead sits as an option on the menu in a standard Mario Kart package I’ll unlikely bother with.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is a well designed way of introducing a brand new console with an array of features under the hood. I was quite struck by the complexities and considerations around all the minutiae of console design. However, the way it relays the genuinely interesting information can feel a bit tedious with a lot of reading and taking tests. The minigames and tech demos are fun, and nabbing all the medals are a nice challenge for completionists to keep playing through to that 100%. If you’ve got the cash to ensure you’ve got all the accessories needed to do so, of course.
Spirit of the North 2 has some great concepts and mechanics, set in a varied Nordic world. There’s certainly a lot to enjoy, and I did have fun with my Fox buddy a fair bit. When it clicked, it was great, but the litany of technical issues and some tedious, faffy traversal keep it from reaching the Northern Heights!
Exploring the world of Atomfall’s Wyndham, with its attention to detail, genuinely realised characters, and intriguing narrative, is truly endearing. Uncovering the mystery was a blast, even if the payload at the end fell a touch flat. The exploration, scavenging, and solving the mystery make it well worth your time. If you embrace Atomfall for what it’s trying to be, rather than expecting it to be Fallout Britain, then I suspect you’ll have a great time with Rebellion’s newest IP.
Sniper Elite: Resistance is the definitive Sniper Elite experience. Not being a numbered sequel, it doesn’t add many new things, but with a fully developed, compelling campaign, and an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop it is the most comprehensive way to experience a Sniper Elite game. Packed with satisfying kills, and a variety of ways to play, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better Nazi killer out there. Viva La Sniper Elite: Resistance!
Symphonia 𝄞 is a gloriously fun precision platformer with beautiful worlds, fabulous scores, excellent gameplay, and fun replayability. Most importantly, for me, it carries an important message about the importance of music, and its role in the world. It’s a must play if you’re a fan of platforming, enjoy music and a bit of a challenge; you’ll have an amazing time.
Enotria: The Last Song was just the summer holiday away from the more usual Soulslike games. It’s bright setting, great characterisation and great mechanics make a really fun, and challenging Soulslike experience. As someone who is involved in amateur theatre, I particualrly loved the focus on actors, the arts, and the framing of staging and stagecraft. It was a breath of fresh summery air on a playbill often filled withfamiliar but musty and dank acts.