Ben received a digital copy of Life is Strange: Before the Storm from Square Enix for review.
While the campaign’s experimental short stories may just be the most interesting thing about Battlefield 1, this is not a niche experience to accurately portray the history its borrowing. This is a Battlefield game, and that means World War One in the Battlefield style, with all the compromises therein.
Ben received a digital copy of Project CARS 2 from Bandai Namco for review.
Being uniquely eclectic, Titanfall 2 is designed just well enough, and with enough layers so to not be entirely derivative. Hero simulations are so vastly abundant in this industry - so if you’re going to play one, you might as well choose from those who do it the best.
A varied and fulfilling selection of pretend-o-fights, bolstered by new features which don’t all work exactly as intended – but show tantalising promise for the future.
Masterfully balances the needs of old and new players alike – but online teething problems are a curveball Sony has to overcome for the game to truly prosper.
Exceptional when it all works, but for the third year running launch-day gremlins prohibit an even greater score.
A spectacular throwback to the era when wrestling games were must-own. Add live – or even quarterly – updates to 2K20 and it'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The restoration (in all but name) of FIFA Street and long-awaited upgrade to career mode finally make FIFA a game worth exploring beyond Ultimate Team
EA and FIFA part company with a game packing fresh content both on and off the park – but FIFA 23 is ultimately hamstrung by a pair of longstanding frustrations.
Enjoyable in almost every department, WWE 2K23 serves up joy for wrestling fans young and old, dedicated or casual. There really is so much to love here.
The most accomplished wrestling game of the last decade – only held back by gnawing MyFaction concerns. A shame.
The EA Sports stalwart is facing strong competition from Pro Evolution Soccer, but has come out fighting with plenty of style and just enough substance
Whichever side of the footballing gulf you plant your neon footwear, there's no question that EA's behemoth delivers bang for its megabucks.
Yakuza 6 delivers the series' signature poignant story, and is probably the best Yakuza has been narrative and production-wise. However, the game's trademark diversions have been trimmed back.
An accessible yet thoroughly entertaining competitive fighter, Dragon Ball FighterZ is a game for low-levels and super-elites alike.
Have you wanted to play Valkyria Chronicles again? Without actually playing the exact same Valkyria Chronicles again? But still have it exactly the same? But still different?
Alienation is a Mountain Dew and Doritos experience. It's a weekend game to satiate the teenage memories of LAN parties and junk food binges. An unregrettable one-night stand with that girl from ages ago. Another reminder that shameful, when done well, isn't that shameful at all.
For all the choices we’re given in Telltale games, they often lead to the same destinations. We can affect the littles outcomes, but can’t sway the larger ones, which by this point in the developer’s career is no revelation. It’s the illusion of choice that keeps us happy and narratively enchanted - a spell I’m quite okay to be under. Creating branches for every decision would simply be untenable, and even considering the limitations of this model - the stories themselves, however little we can change them, are worth exploring anyway.
Completely self-supporting; and that’s okay.