Gabs Tanner's Reviews
While the mystery and intrigue can only be obtained during the first play-through, Her Story makes use of a simplistic concept combined with FMV to create a personal and rich atmosphere.
Tales from the Borderlands – Episode One: Zer0 Sum does a brilliant job of drawing the player into the world of Pandora. Both fans of the franchise, and players being introduced for the first time, will appreciate the engaging characters and their story.
Tales from the Borderlands – Episode Two: Atlas Mugged continues where the first episode left off, with a return of the fantastic humour and intriguing story line. There is a focus on conversation between characters over action, meaning that there is little plot progression, but the use of humour combined with an investment in the characters makes playing the game worthwhile.
Tales from the Borderlands – Episode Three: Catch a Ride builds upon the set-up from the previous episodes and delivers a more intense atmosphere and deeper story development. Players who dislike quick-time events may get frustrated at times, but the majority give plenty of reaction time and serve to both hold attention and up the action.
Tales from the Borderlands – Episode Four: Escape Plan Bravo may disappoint some players with its lack of in-depth story and character development. However, the episode makes up for any faults with the constant character banter and some truly emotional moments.
Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power is a puzzle platformer with stunning 3D environments. Players will enjoy finding the solutions to puzzles by switching between the three playable protagonists, but may find frustration with the necessity to find most of the collectables in order to progress.
Gunman Clive HD Collection includes both Gunman Clive games. The art style may put some players off, and the game is very short, but the level design is both challenging and fun, with some huge bosses thrown in for good measure.
Blood Bowl 2 features a lot of customisation, with a focus on the player building the perfect team for their gameplay strategy. There is a heavy 'luck of the dice' element, which may frustrate some players, but serves to add to the board-game feel that the game is emulating.
World of Warships is a game that most players will be able to pick up and play due to the simple controls. Fans of the franchise are sure to have fun with the levels of strategy and assortment of ships to switch between, but there possibly isn't enough to entertain players with no real interest in naval warfare.
Prison Architect takes a while to get the hang of, but once the basics have been mastered, it offers multiple options for experimentation in its impressive sandbox. The Campaign and Escape modes give a good change of pace, while the quirky art-style and dark undertones grab the player's attention.
The art style and music in Read Only Memories does a great job of drawing the player into the game. However, too much attention is centered on the complex lore of the cybernetic future world, so characters spend more time explaining the features and practices that are available than furthering the plot.
Masochisia immerses players into the world and thought process of a young boy, on a very unstable and difficult road. The title is lacking in player agency, but still draws them in through the clever writing and unsettling art style.
Tales from the Borderlands – Episode Five: The Vault of the Traveler is a journey packed with action, laughter, and tears. Emotions are high, as players and characters alike question whether or not they made the right choices. Telltale has certainly created a powerful conclusion to the episodic series that successfully ties up all the loose ends.
Whispering Willows involves a lot of interesting concepts that unfortunately haven't been fully utilised. It's a pleasant experience that will keep players engaged for the few hours of gameplay it has, but the puzzles are very easy, while the tension and horror is lacking.
The Park is a single player experience good for a short game with lots of tension. There is a minimal amount of actual horror or action, with the focus instead being on a psychological journey for the protagonist, while surrounding the player in a tense situation and environment.
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water keeps the essence of previous titles in the franchise with its setting, story, art style and gameplay, while creating fantastic atmosphere and tension. However, the combat can be fiddly, while the necessity to traverse the same location multiple times, as well as the repeated information in the story text, may leave some players with a lacklustre experience.
Mushihimesama may be on the short size with only five levels, but packs in a range of difficulty modes to make up for it. It is a fun game, which makes players feel over-powered while attempting to dodge beautiful and well-designed bullet patterns.
Freedom Planet is a fantastic fast platformer with lots of content. The three different playable characters all have different styles and levels, encouraging replayability, while the levels themselves include multiple pathways and hidden collectables. Any negatives are small, and easily forgotten about.
Hard West is a strategy game that enjoys exploring its Wild West theme. There are strategy elements both in the RPG story segments, as well as the turn-based combat, which keeps the player invested. Unfortunately, too much time is spent outside of the gun-fights, and the RPG elements quickly get repetitive, meaning they end up being more filler than fun.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is an RPG that has players exploring the beautiful world of Mira, while helping the human race to survive on their new homeland. The story is slow to get going, but the game is packed full of side-quests and missions, meaning players will always find something to do. Meanwhile, the combat has an impressive amount of customisation, with a choice of weapons, skills, and classes, that allows the player to create fighting style tactics to suit their preferred play style.