Ultimately, The Magic Circle relies on its pure intrigue to sustain the player throughout. It draws on decades of gaming history, offering a short, but poignant, commentary on the state of games today, whilst still managing to deliver something altogether quite different. Occasionally, the game requires your willing patience, but once a couple of hours have been sunk into this fantastic abstract meta game, you'll likely revel in its charm and inventiveness.
Undoubtedly, fans of abstract puzzle games will find a lot to enjoy here. But those not so inclined to stick with something a little frustrating and overtly self-insistent perhaps may prefer to wait for the next reboot of this intriguing but poorly executed experience. Where Journey uses the concept of abstract, indirect storytelling to its empowerment, Soul Axiom ends up leaning on it like a crutch when it suits, much to its detriment in terms of the overall experience. The confusing PR description of the game, which is nothing like the experience you actually get, is testament to that muddled framework. This is well worth a go, but it is not a polished gem by any stretch of the imagination.
When it comes down to it, Riptide GP: Renegade is not a significant step up from its predecessors, despite the developer's PR rumblings. It is, however, a flashier, more content heavy upgrade with a lot to get stuck into, whether you favour single-player or multiplayer. While there are some obvious flaws holding it back, such as the lack of interesting varied tracks, if taken at face value, Renegade packs a big punch for its price point. This is not a Wave Race-like classic, but it has potential.
In conclusion, ignoring the stat glitches, lack of private lobbies and the somewhat questionable way the game is packaged, what's underneath the hood is seriously impressive. Any dedicated racing nuts who feel like testing themselves at the wheel on console should look no further. While there are other console games, such as Project CARS, with more cars and more courses, claiming also to be serious racers, Assetto Corsa undeniably owns the genre on console now, due to its uncompromising and unwavering dedication to realism. For now, there's nothing better for that on console. It's just a shame that it lacks the polish and omits some major draws, such as private online lobbies, which stop it from being considered a classic.
Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo is a well-made rally game that builds wisely and extensively on top of a rich heritage of rally games. While it ultimately fails to make up its mind about whether it's a sim or more of an arcade racer, which does hold it back in some senses, there's still no question that it's a highly worthwhile package. It's crammed with content and offers hours of driving joy without quite the same amount of grief one gets from a DiRT Rally or Assetto Corsa. Milestone has impressed massively with their latest rally offering, benefiting exponentially from the insight and presence of Sebastien Loeb. Let's hope there's a sequel!
FIFA 17 is still an incremental step up in the series, but considering the bold assertions about what the power of the Frostbite engine would make possible, it is a somewhat underwhelming package overall. While The Journey must be applauded for attempting to offer something genuinely new, it's also not particularly brimming with any new content, either, besides its cut-scenes. With Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 looking very competitive, it's disappointing that this year's FIFA couldn't do more. It rather settles for the top four, instead of illustrating its title credentials. There's always next year, though.
On reflection, F1 2016 is a game that has enhanced itself significantly with this instalment. It accentuates the smaller details of the sport, but also makes a series of more wholesale changes, which makes the game seem more purposeful. The availability of proper lap analysis and telemetry data brings a proper purpose to practice sessions. It finally turns a too often pointless mode into the proactive, useable tool that it should be for improving driver performance. While it's not the perfect outing, it's a more serious and functional affair that will appeal to the purists two-fold. Codemasters has certainly learnt from DiRT Rally, which didn't deter less serious racing fans, but introduced the details to players in the right way. Although it is not quite perfect overall, it's an encouraging step in the right direction and still easily the most authentic F1 racing game ever made.
The knock-on effect the game's various problems is a somewhat hollow driving experience overall. WRC 6 is valiant in terms of its content and its knowledge of rallying, and fans of the sport and of the genre will find an enjoyable package here. However, the simple reality is that this year fans are spoilt for rallying games and there are many better experiences to be had. It targets neither DiRT Rally, on the sim-side of the spectrum, nor the more all-encompassing, centre of the road experiences such as Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo. The result is a somewhat diluted rallying title with plenty of substance, but less than ideal execution. This is yet another driving series that needs to go back to its roots.
Despite a few minor irritations, such as the odd bug in a MyCareer training session or a slight oddity in the animations, NBA 2K17 is basketball at its absolute finest in gaming terms. While it's obviously difficult to rank it alongside games of yesteryear, like the more arcade-centric NBA Jam on the SNES, when it comes to simulating the game on modern hardware, this is the purest, most authentic experience out there, bar none.
Steep is a solid, fun and fluid experience, well worth checking out whether you're a fan of winter sports or not, but there is a sense that the sequel (if there is to be one) will learn valuable lessons from the jumping-off point chosen here. Better yet, perhaps upcoming content will amend some of these drawbacks. With all that said, it's still an enjoyable and refreshing game quite unlike anything else available at this time. Next year will bring rivals, but for now, this is King of the Mountain.
Although this is a forgiving stance, there's just so much more that captivates: from the intense battles, and slaying of dragons, to the gradual sense of empowerment as the player's character grows and develops, distinguishing powers and abilities. There are so many hidden secrets in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, so many facets to unearth, and choices within those to fraternise over, it's hard not to be sucked in by its charm and intrigue. So long as it's appreciated for what it is, a revisiting of a classic that influenced practically all open-world RPGs that came after it, Skyrim Special Edition is a very stellar package which holds up very well indeed, despite it's issues, against more recent competition. If you've never played it, now is the perfect time, and with the advent of the Playkey service, it opens up the game to a much wider audience.
The Red Pack represents very good value for the asking price, though this may not be the case for players with absolutely no interest in trying F1 racing, as there's quite an emphasis on it here—but even then, the GT cars, Lamborghini and the Red Bull Ring are certainly worth having, as they improve the scope of vehicle in Assetto Corsa. Those with a season pass will see the Red Pack as another piece of excellent content, extending the life and enjoyment of this serious racing sim.
If one thing is certain, it's that the F-Zero brand would be in good hands should Nintendo ever choose to take this fruitful relationship with Shin'en Multimedia to a new level and entrust the property to them. Since there hasn't been a new title from Nintendo in so long, it seems like a logical thing to do. In the meantime, Fast RMX is an excellent arcade racer that will satisfy anyone's craving for speed and intensity, as well as gorgeous graphics that really show off the Switch's capability. As a full priced game, it would still stand out, but as a £17.99 download on the eShop, this really is a no- brainer for any fans of arcade racing. One of the best launch day games available.
Milestone is capable of and has produced drastically better and more authentic racers in the past. As previously indicated, those gems also tend to be the games that received the most breathing space.
This is a bold, distinct and very charming package.
Overall, Waku Waku 7 is an almost perfect port, which more than successfully transmits the spirit of the original arcade hit. While it does lack an extra layer of effort, which would elevate this piece of content amongst some of the best on the eShop today, this is still a captivating and unique experience that is well worth checking out regardless of experience with the genre.
Reflection upon Yooka-Laylee raises a genuine smile in a way that few video games ever do these days. Undoubtedly, this will sound like the stereotypical ramblings of a Banjo-Kazooie fan drunk on nostalgia; it's true that when Rare slipped into obscurity, setting to work on other types of projects, they left a massive void for this brand of quirky, humorous, collection-heavy platforming adventure. Playtonic has recognised and rectified this, reminding the gaming world that this sub-genre has fallen out of favour for far too long. While it leans on a unique contextual crux, considering the team's history and the Kickstarter origins of the project, the end result is something truly delightful in its own right. A brilliant successor that perfectly channels the creative energies of the N64 platforming era.
While there's plenty of light-hearted arcade fun to be had with this title, and despite the sizable helping of modes and content, somehow, the gameplay experience itself just seems a little bland and hollow. There's some real challenge in the latter parts of the single-player offerings, yet far before one reaches that point, there's a real chance players will be day-dreaming of more colourful variations of the theme, such as SSX Tricky or, more recently, Steep. Snow Moto Racing Freedom is a fairly decent package, but it's also not particularly polished or distinct. Future entries should address the dodgy central physics issues and general lack of personality.
In most senses, then, Everspace is quite an audio-visual treat, as well just as an excellent arcade 3D space shooter. While it's not perfect, suffering from a lack of design variance in some ways, it should be admired for committing to a fragmented sector structure, which does ensure every play session is fluid and action-packed.
A player would have to really love something rather ambiguous about BitMaster to actually persevere to its centre. It's nice that some sense of depth can be perceived in that regard, but the game could do a lot more in terms of incentivising this pursuit, since many of these additions seem arbitrary rather than purposeful. Instead it seems like the kind of title that will be consumed rather quickly, then put down just as quickly - and permanently.