Steve Farrelly
Where BioShock Infinite aggressively tugged on heartstrings, The Evil Within tears them from your chest and crucifies you. It strangles you with your own tendrils and feeds you your own beating heart, mouth locked shut and tied with entrails, forcing you to chew and swallow. But when the last sliver slides down the back of your throat, you'll look up and smile a sadistic smile before asking "more, please".
The most stunning open-world ever created
Its game-world is wholly realised and gorgeous to look at, but above all else, it tells such an incredible story in so many new and unique ways, it's impossible to ignore. Batman: Arkham Knight is a Batman experience no self-respecting fan should miss, and if Batman's not your thing, then make it your thing. You won't regret it. Trust me.
Fallout 4 is impossible not to recommend.
I'm not even done with this new content, and there’s that enticing New Game + option, along with the 100 level cap, and plenty of decisions and a different ending I never experienced in the vanilla game, but even so it saddens me to know this is it, for now, with the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf.
Forza Horizon 3 is the best in the series yet. It features some amazing parts of Australia, amazing Australian cars and fully embraces our country, car culture and just the general “Aussiness” or our country. Dynamic weather, gorgeous lighting in both day and night help highlight the absolutely stunning Australian setting we’re in, and we still don’t know what they plan on doing as far as expansive DLC is concerned -- here’s hoping they somehow join Melbourne and Sydney together in a new map to offer up more urban playspaces, or just gives us an entire Tassie to explore.
Rockstar, my dusty old hat is off to you. You've made this old videogame cowboy a very happy camper.
<div style="clear:both;"></div> </ish>.
Then, once repaired and ready to dare, she moves onto the next fashionista boss withholding this summer's must-have accessory -- a Charge Beam here, a Phantom Cloak there -- and takes no guff when procuring whichever suit upgrade it is she needs to get to her final destination.
I could have written an essay on its brilliant design, but instead I let it take me on a trip down memory lane while also feeling lucky to be playing a game in 2023 with such gravity, that it sinks everything else around it. Metroid Prime Remastered is perfection.
This is both a true sequel and a hoisted flagpole on what this series is and where it’s going into the future.
If The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild wasn't enough to push your switch to Nintendo Switch, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle definitely should force your wallet. Gaming like this is as rare as hens Rabbid teeth.
I was always a critic of a Greek god being in an entirely different realm with different rules. I thought for sure the game was just using Kratos and the God of War IP to get it over the marketing line, but I've been proven massively wrong. This is a God of War game, and it's fucking brilliant. It has old-school game-design coupled lovingly alongside a modern storytelling tilt, and it marries the two in a contemporary and meaningful way. And playing on PS4 Pro on a setup like my Samsung QLED 65" Q8C with HDR, it just screams quality. It has old-school game-design coupled lovingly alongside a modern storytelling tilt, and it marries the two in a contemporary and meaningful way. And playing on PS4 Pro on a setup like my Samsung QLED 65" Q8C with HDR, it just screams quality.
Let the adventures of "Spider-Cop" play out for as long as possible, Insomniac. We love them.
This is gaming at its absolute finest.
And between the three of them for completionists, we're talking at least 100 hours of gaming, but really, probably more.
For a game that centres itself around the idea of settlements, negotiation, alignment and choice, Valhalla does an amazing job of making you feel like the spotlight is always on you.
In gaming, it's often touted at specific genres, such as the <i>Metroidvanias</i> or <i>Roguelikes</i> of the space; pixel-powered knockoffs or homages to our favourites of yesteryear dotting the proverbial Indie landscape, servicing a wistful bit of throwback while also cashing in on its powerful pull.
There's just so much to learn and find and unlock in your first playthrough, and I'm not sure I even want to get into the prospect of follow-on sessions, armed with the knowledge that wood is your earliest friend and that you really shouldn't build with a hodgepodge sense of <i>whatever</i>, <i>wherever</i>, because I guarantee you it'll come back to bite you in your cute little lamb ass later.
Like an interactive painting, photo, or time-lapse video -- Forza Horizon 4 showcases the passage of time in an idyllic world where car racing is all but a religion.