The key takeaway from Episode 1: Done Running is that the murderous zombies themselves are just merely a decoy that is meant to explain the state of the world. However, they are far from being the main threats in the story, as the human survivors themselves prove to be the ultimate threat to each other's survival.
Episode One: The Mad Ones of The Council launches a riveting, dark, and twisted story of secret societies, engulfed with key historical figures such as George Washington and Napoleon.
Rebellion has done a splendid job with reigniting the Battlezone franchise, and if the Gold Edition is anything to go by, then there is a great foundation upon which to build. The main crux of the game is to complete a lengthy campaign by traversing across the gameboard and completing a series of different battlezones to knock out the AI Core, who is controlling all the robotic enemies. The story just serves as a cheesy context for which Battlezone is set - but the fun gameplay and the added Nemesis difficulty does make this campaign a worthy enough experience to keep replaying for many mixed results.
Sparkle Unleashed is a good enough puzzle title that delivers exactly what is expected.
Onrush does well to fill that racing void as a non-serious arcade, 'destruction-derby type of vehicular mayhem' experience. However, as enjoyable and heart-pounding as the matches can be, the novelty eventually begins to wear thin and, once that happens, there is little else that can reignite the flame in this racer.
While Race Arcade does a good job of recreating the arcade racing style of old, with the top-down fixed camera and basic vehicle and track set-ups, as well as featuring time trials and local multiplayer, it is otherwise an uninspiring experience. Three of the six vehicles are worth racing due to their ease of use, especially against the AI, while the other three, being the sportscar, tractor, and UFO, are not worth bothering with at all because of how clunky and poor-functioning they are on the track. Race Arcade will also fail to set a party alight due to how one-dimensional the mechanic of racing seems to be. While the simple gameplay lends itself well to allowing for newcomers to jump in and adapt quickly, it also robs it of an immersive experience.
Madden NFL 19 is a sublime example of what can be achieved with a sports title. The "Real Player Motions" generates that feeling of not 'controlling' players, but rather living as the players instead. Seeing how lifelike all the players are within a match, and how they communicate with each other before and during plays, and then watching them seamlessly get into the next play, is freakishly uncanny. Franchise Mode is a huge mode to undertake with a large enough scope to get lost in, whether as a player, a coach, or a team owner, while Madden Ultimate Challenge is a complete time-hog due to the addictive nature of collecting player cards to boost the team. Finally, Longshot: Homecoming continues the story of Colt and Devin, and while it offers a nice little detour, it does not offer a lot more to the experience.
Assetto Corsa: Ultimate Edition is an impressive display of technology. With a powerful graphical engine, the large assortment of vehicles sitting at the 178 figure provides plenty of racing variation. With each car feeling very different to each other, patience and paying attention to every little turn, while seeing how the car handles, is the ultimate decider between winning or losing a race. Unlike other racing titles, which have a low barrier-to-entry for newcomers for their more general sense of play, Assetto Corsa is made by professionals, for professionals who truly appreciate the display of the vehicles, while paying great respect to the tracks and the challenge ahead.
For those worried about the simple gameplay and minimal graphical aesthetics will be pleased to know that Lumines Remastered holds up quite well on Nintendo Switch. While the graphics themselves are not as beautiful as they were over a decade ago, the coloured-blocks still delivers a certain charm that is compounded by the foot-tapping background music that keeps the experience alive. While Tetris purists may shirk at this block-matching alternative that messes with the formula a little, Lumines is worth a try. Whether it's high scores on the leaderboards, completing strategic challenges, or just filling the void for a couch-multiplayer title, Lumines Remastered has something for all lovers of arcade-type puzzle games.
If a walking simulator with an exploratory story sounds like a great experience, then The Station is one worth jumping into. Exploring the desolate space station, recovering audio logs, while solving puzzles and challenges may not make this the most innovative in the genre, but it is definitely one of the more enjoyable examples.
Defenders of Ekron is a Metroidvania-esque mech game, which sounds like a certain recipe for success. While the action is fun when everything is working well, the game-breaking bugs destroy whatever enjoyment this title had going for it, and they are too great to be ignored or overlooked.
Hitman: Sniper Assassin is a great little detour around the mainline game, as it does well to still respect many of the principles that the main series is built upon.
Steamworld Dig 2 is a wonderful addition to the Nintendo 3DS library, especially as the heavy focus of Nintendo's future focuses on the Switch handheld-console hybrid.
Play through the chapters from the film and re-enact some of the more iconic moments from the movie, although pinball aficionados who don't watch or are not privy to Star Wars may not find much to appreciate in terms of the details.
Aragami: Shadow Edition is a good stealth-based assassin adventure that plays more like an arcade game, as opposed to a gritty, realistic experience.
For fans of the original looking to jump back in, this is a fun detour that adds new abilities and locations into the mix, without trying to redefine the original point.
A Way Out is a phenomenal co-operational interactive movie that can be enjoyed both on the couch with a friend or spouse, or online. What makes the online aspect even better is that the partner doesn't even need a copy of the game, as they can join in easily. Vince and Leo have two contrasting personalities that see the calm meet the storm, as they both must put their differences aside to escape the prison they are confined to. With attention to detail within every nook and cranny, watching how their two stories diverge and converge at integral moments of the game is a fascinating experience that needs to be played through twice. Playing as both Leo and Vince will offer two unique story paths, as they both have different roles in solving puzzles, while narrative-forks provide a "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" element to the story.
This is a mess of broken mechanics that has a lot of potential, but unfortunately potential is all that it has going for it.
The ending brings about a satisfying conclusion to what is an epic saga
Batman: The Enemy Within is a blast of a follow-up season to Telltale's Caped Crusader, as Bruce Wayne plays a pivotal role in trying to bring down the villainous group known as the Pact.