Darryn Bonthuys's Reviews
Desperados III is an absolute hoot. The best strategy game of the year, cowboys and chaos never felt this good and this revival is one for the ages. It may be lethally challenging, but its gung-ho strategy is a masterpiece of design that's accentuated by lovable rogues, lively levels and a dedication to its genre that can easily outdraw any challengers to its throne.
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is the gold standard for what a blast from the past should and can be, as Petroglyph's efforts have resulted in a handsome and hefty package of classic strategy, passion and modern-day improvements.
A decade of gaming in a single package, the latest return to Pandora still stands tall as a testament to brilliant game design, and even with a few technical concessions along the way, it makes for one handsome pack of fun.
There's a good game buried within Those Who Remain's many shortcomings, but it blunders the final hundred meters of its dash for survival like a sorority girl outrunning a slasher in a forest filled with tree roots. Repetitive scenarios of item-hunting tarnish the more ingenious puzzles you're presented with, horror clichés sour an otherwise wonderfully tense atmosphere and a control scheme from hell drags a promising game back into the shadows, never to be seen again.
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is a short and sweet expansion of new stories, characters and gruesome action that gives fans more of what they love.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition proves that it is still one of the best examples this genre has to offer. A new coat of paint and smart gameplay changes brings this classic up to date for a new generation of gamers.
A story told with deft delicacy while not pulling any punches along the way, If Found is a gorgeous slice of storytelling told with deceptively minimal inputs and maximum talent.
Maneater plays its hand early, as the novelty of being an almost unstoppable apex predator thrown into an unforgiving ocean doesn't have much depth to it. What Maneater does have though, is a meaty world worth exploring, a fascinating system of evolution and whip-smart writing that adds colour to your deep blue killing spree.
MotoGP 20 will tick all the boxes for what a game based on the most exhilarating racing sport on the planet should offer, but it'll seldom exceed your expectations thanks to its sterile presentation and no-thrills approach on the track.
A vibrant and challenging puzzle game, Filament has a slick style that'll pump positive energy into your brain with every mystery that it throws at you.
Gears Tactics isn't just one of the biggest surprises of the year, it's a vulgar display of power starring everyone's favourite beefy boys in a bloody new direction that'll test your trigger fingers with pure heavy mental action.
Final Fantasy VII Remake isn't the retelling of a cult classic that you're expecting it to be. It's a lengthy and deliberately slow-paced walk down the Midgar memory lane that leisurely basks within the warm glow of nostalgia, but at the same time it's an exhilarating and cinematic explosion of action that not only celebrates the impact of the game which rewrote the rulebook for an entire industry in 1997, but also everything else that followed in its genre-defining wake.
What begins with a disaster ends with love, sandwiching in a meaty filling of guns, conspiracies and Wendigo testicles along the way in Borderlands 3: Guns, Love and Tentacles. Not a bad way to spend a weekend, when you're officiating the union between beast and melee attack. I now pronounce you man and knife.
Resident Evil 3 Remake continues to the raise the bar of what it means to be a remake. It can feel rushed in places, but the sheer terror of Nemesis and the return to form of Jill Valentine makes it an experience you don't want to miss. Just be sure to bring extra clean underwear along for the ride.
Kyloton's approach to speed in TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 2 is one that still carries with it absolute love and reverence for one of the greatest races on the planet, mixing a passion for performance and geography into a thrilling spectacle.
DOOM Eternal is the most metal game in all of creation. It is rage and fire, the purity of armed combat dialled up to eleven and unleashed on a horde of eyeballs that simply aren't ready for the retina-searing action that's about to burn a new circle of hellish good fun into those ocular organs. Long live the Doom Slayer, long live the king of first-person shooters.
There’s a banging soundtrack, the visuals look sharp across the Switch’s multiple playable formats and the action still feels as deliciously old school as ever. Everything you could possibly want from a white-knuckle schmup ride with Syder Reloaded.
Warlords of New York is a massive leap forward for The Division 2, a fun diversion that aims to be less repetitive and more engaging. There's a big picture being developed here, one that'll make the trademark grind of The Division 2 more addictive than ever before as civil war rages on in the streets of the divided states of America.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue DX may be nostalgic to true believers of the original Blue and Red Rescue Team games, but it's a more shallow experience for everyone else that makes for an entirely forgettable experience.
Whether you’re pining for the good ol’ days of sim management madness or you’re new to the idea of simulated insanity in the workplace, Two Point Hospital clearly has the cure for whatever ails you.