Overcooked is the best chaotic, co-operative culinary game you've ever played
Hardcore PC platformer 10 Second Ninja was a delicious, if slight, slice of twitch gaming.
Its appeal lies in its delightful story and colourful cast, a compelling bunch that would indeed give the Pokédex a run for its money. If only it could find the mechanics to match.
The Devil's Daughter is an enjoyable thriller. Albeit one that doesn't always know its strengths.
While it results in brevity, there isn’t an ounce of fat here. Inside is a game to be devoured in one or two sittings, then, but its impact will be something to savour.
The major difference between this prequel and the cult 2008 original, is that the City of Glass is open-world. It initially seems counter-intuitive for a game about tight design and linear running lines to throw itself open, but DICE makes it work. Firstly because Glass isn't much like the bustling open-worlds you might be used to. Its rooftops are sparse with people, its architecture a gleaming minimalism splashed with vivid, communicative colour that guides your way.
Blizzard has made all the right noises about being committed to building on Overwatch, providing new heroes, maps and gametypes for free across the game's lifespan. With a tremendously successful start, there is no reason to believe this is a promise that won't be followed through on.
Signed-up members of the Uncharted club will allow themselves a smirk as Drake quips "hey, this isn't my first lost city, y'know?", but Naughty Dog --now one of the most respected developers in the world-- are careful not to leave newcomers behind. All you need to enjoy the yarn is here: set up by a script written with warmth, humour and confidence; delivered by a skilled and willing cast.
[T]his is when Star Fox Zero is at its best: a thrilling, fleeting and flawed joyride.
It would be easy, and not without justification, to suggest glazing over the narrative chutzpah and just enjoy the game. But Quantum Break's narrative and gameplay have a habit of bumping into each other. This is a game with plenty of good ideas. Too many, perhaps, with none given the room to flourish in what is a lavish, clumsy but often entertaining cacophony.
This exploration of Volterra and its practices by first-time Italian developer LKA is a gruelling, uneven but ultimately worthwhile trek through the peeling corridors of an all too real place. The story follows Renee, a young woman who was committed at Volterra shortly before World War II, as she returns to the hospital's abandoned husk decades later. While Renee herself is a fictional creation, her experiences are a patchwork of real-life patients pieced together from director Luca Dalco's extensive research. You are tacitly cast as a voice inside Renee's head, whom she talks to and questions as you explore the hospital, trying to piece together and make sense of her experience.
There are speed runs, challenges and endless survival modes to add longevity, but it takes a special kind of game to provide such a lean playtime with such self-assured verve. That is Superhot all over: stylish, confident and perfectly formed.
As you may have gathered, it is all thoroughly enjoyable.
I firmly believe that Street Fighter V will become the finest fight game ever. The basis is too strong for it to fail. It is too important to Capcom for them to let it slip. The prize is too big. But belief, however strong, is a shaky basis on which to unconditionally recommend a game. It is why this review remains scoreless.
In a stark textual introduction, this is the first thing you see in Firewatch. It is unusual to see the video game condition laid out so plainly at the start of an adventure. You are Henry. You are someone else. Get ready to play your role. It is an effective gambit, with deft writing settling you into the mind of this character. It is notable because many video games rely on you being yourself, or make an effort to cast you as a controlling observer. A puppeteer. But Firewatch says this with such conviction: you are Henry. But are you really? This is a character that exists, that has already been created. The choices you have in this introduction are slight variations. Firewatch is a video game that extols both the virtues and drawbacks of being someone else , conjuring an illusion of choice within a pre-set story and bumping against the limitations that ensue.
Short, sweet and really rather good.
There's a haunting elegance to Oxenfree that's there because each of its constituent parts are working together to create it.
While nothing can ever bring back their little boy, I am glad the Greens had that faith. And I am glad they were brave enough to share it with us.
When your mind and digits are one with the music, there is little to beat it.
But that focus is what makes Siege's multiplayer so good. In a year with a glut of good competitive first-person shooters –the sci-fi fizz of Halo 5 and Star Wars Battlefront or bombastic ordnance of Battlefield Hardline and Call of Duty: Black Ops III- Rainbow Six Siege's smart, sharp tactical nous marks it as one of the best.