Alex Donaldson
- Final Fantasy IX
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
- Star Fox 64
Alex Donaldson's Reviews
If you missed Bayonetta's Wii U outing, this is the perfect time to catch up.
Dynasty Warriors 9 is a perfect example of why you should be careful what you wish for.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 remains exhilarating fun, but some of its new additions prove bigger doesn't always equal better.
Detective Pikachu doesn't offer an enormous amount of actual game to play, but what's there is hugely charming and entertaining.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze may be a simple port, but if you didn't own a Wii U this title is a must-buy.
Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition lives up to its name: it's the best version of this game, and this game is also the best in the Warriors series.
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A beautiful, challenging and often utterly brilliant throwback to the golden age of Japanese RPGs that somehow scuppers its chances of being a true classic through an ambitious but ultimately flawed narrative structure.
Minor as the additions the Plus expansion brings, Sonic Mania is still one of the best 2D platformers in recent memory, and is definitely the best Sonic game in a very long time.
A strong port and the best way to play these flawed yet brilliant classics
That's when it feels most special, and it's then that what Insomniac has achieved here is most plain. Much of its design is familiar, but it appears here in a refined, polished form that makes it an easy recommendation.
Get some friends, some beers, some button mashing and some toe-curlingly tight encounters and you'll find the spirit of the original alive and well – and that's all that matters in the end.
What’s surprised me most about reviewing it is that I hadn’t fully made peace with that fact and yet I loved this game anyway – something that’s arguably a testament to how well it executes on its vision.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate does indeed live up to its name. It’s a brilliant game today, as it launches, but tellingly it also leaves me incredibly excited about the future.
Parkitect is the management sim I’ve been wanting for years
By taking its grim post-apocalyptic world above ground into wide, open areas, Metro Exodus adds a smart and engaging twist while retaining the series’ identity.
This is a game that’s elevated by that choice of art and the way that design interlaces and works to create new play opportunities within the sweet sandbox of each level.
It’s a confident game that plays it safe, offering simple iterations and smart tweaks to the already well-trodden and successful styling of the series to offer up an entry that, at the very least, is superior to its direct predecessor.
Hopefully this is just the start, with similar quality releases of the latter three games and hopefully a further sequel yet to come following this. Rest assured – these are a fantastic way to revisit familiar adventures for existing fans and a must-play in the genre for everybody else. At last, they’ve got a current release definitively worth bothering with.
Nintendo Labo VR is basic, but it’s immediately more fun than its expensive peers