Geoffrey Tim's Reviews
Yoku's Island Express is whimsical, charming and a joy to play. It's developed by people who have an obvious love and deep knowledge for both pinball and Metroidvania games, and frequently delights and surprises by taking established genre conventions and quite literally flipping them about.
Despite a few issues and a dearth of modes, Firewall Zero Hour is the best multiplayer shooter available on PlayStation VR, and one of the platform's best games. It's exhilarating, immersive, tactical team-based fun, and one of those rare VR games that I'll keep playing long after finishing this review.
The World Ends with You is a little less fresh and exciting than it was a decade ago. But, despite a few shortcomings and the loss of dual-screen play, it's still an incredible game and worthwhile for those who've yet to play it. There's not quite enough that's new here for returning fans though.
Despite the cut content, New Super Mario Bros Deluxe remains the most feature-packed, and dare I say fun 2D Mario game in decades. If you missed it on Wii U, own a Switch and love Mario, platformers, fun and just plain good games, there's no reason not to get New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe. There's just no real reason for those who've played it already to get it again.
It may not really do anything especially new, but Far Cry: New Dawn is an experience that encapsulates everything great about the franchise. It's instantly familiar to anyone who has played any of Ubisoft's shooters over the last couple of years, but it's a confident approach that works well as a colourful diversion at the end of the world.
The story's nonsense, but the actual minute-to-minute air combat makes up for that. It's almost always a joy to play, with combat that's empowering, satisfying and spectacular.
Overall, I'm a little disappointed with Luigi's Mansion 3 - though that's largely down to my own expectations. It's an undoubtedly good game that's competently made. It oozes charm and is filled with clever puzzles and fun boss fights. It's just that all the bits between those start to become tedious before the game's end.
Ring Fit Adventure isn't for everybody, but for Gym-a-phobes looking to add a bit of activity to their lives, it's a far better attempt at the gamification of fitness than Wii Fit ever was.
Paper Beast is a unique look at a reactive living world. It's a game that makes you feel like you're exploring an alien habitat through the lens of an interactive nature documentary. It's filled with (occasionally obtuse) natural, organic environmental puzzles. A personal and contemplative experience, Paper Beast could only be better if it were narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Virtuous has done a fine job in bringing Bioshock to the Switch, delivering a trio of intriguing games from the last generation. Performance is solid and stable, they look fantastic and they're still worth playing today.
Splatoon is a vibrant, colourful and innovative competitive multiplayer shooter that's beautiful, addictive and undoubtedly fun - but a lack of maps and modes could hurts its lasting appeal.
It all feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Had it been a compilation of all three numbered God of War titles, it'd be easy to recommend without hesitation, but as it stands now it's only really worthwhile for God of War neophytes.
If you've not played Quantic Dreams' pair of interactive dramas on the PlayStation 3, they're worth playing on Sony's newest console - if you can get past the lack of player agency as their inexorable progress pulls you through to their conclusions.
If you've not played Quantic Dreams' pair of interactive dramas on the PlayStation 3, they're worth playing on Sony's newest console - if you can get past the lack of player agency as their inexorable progress pulls you through to their conclusions.
Played alone it can be a chore, but with a group of friend or like-minded people, Tri Force heroes is inventive and fun; wonderfully distilled co-operative take on the Legend of Zelda.
Star Fox Guard is as unbearably tense, and frighteningly stressful as it is fun. It may look like a simple, throwaway digital game, but it could be better than the game its packaged with.
Don't Starve's overwhelming difficulty and complex crafting make for a stressful and gruelling experience. Embrace its charms, and you'll be rewarded with the joys of exploration and discovery.
Far Cry Primal does little to reinvent the series established formula, sometimes taking it backwards more than its new time period may suggest. It's filled to the brim with the familiar and fun Far Cry trappings, if that's what you want out a game. It's an enjoyable, gratuitously violent romp in the past. If you're looking for some sort of narrative impetus tying it together though, you're bound to be a little disappointed.
As a metaphor for the ties that bind a family together, Yarny and Unravel are exceptional; beautiful, and invoking a quiet contemplation, It's just hard not to wish it was a better game.
Harkening back to a bygone era, Flying Wild Hog's nostalgic re-imagining of Shadow Warrior is filled to the brim with bad words, b-grade jokes, buckets of blood, bullets and blades. And sometimes, that's all a gamer needs.