Jordan Oloman's Reviews
FIFA 23’s slick and dramatic virtual football is fitting for the series’ last hurrah under its long-time name, but familiar frustrations abound, and it still greatly undervalues some of its most beloved modes.
Lone Echo 2 is an enjoyable space drama with striking details and fun movement mechanics, but it lacks innovation and struggles to justify its eight-hour runtime.
Microtransactions still loom large, but small iterative changes and the horsepower of new-gen consoles combine to make FIFA 22 feel like a worthwhile upgrade without needing anything revolutionary or terribly exciting from EA's side.
Sackboy doesn’t have the tight movement tech of Crash Bandicoot 4 or the butter-melting charms of a game like Astro’s Playroom, but it’s well worth a look if you’re in the market for an innovative platformer that makes the most of the PS5’s exclusive features.
Valorant has already won over many esports and live-streaming stars and their millions of teen fans. If it can do what Fortnite and Overwatch have done and bring in more casual players as well, we will be talking about it for years to come.
The platforming is quite fun and the feedback loop works, so at the approachable price point, if you want something absent-minded to play as background noise for a catch-up conversation, then sure, but beyond that… it’s probably not worth the seven to ten hours of effort to complete it.
Death Stranding is the most unique big-budget game I’ve ever played, a socially-minded injection of inventive ideas into a genre that has long survived by being lazy and brutish. This ambitious formula-flipper is brimming with empathy and carefully courts cinematic influences, an ensemble cast and a world of eye-watering scale, delivering a sticky gameplay loop to tie it all together and create a console generation-defining experience.
Little Town Hero is a solid RPG with several unique, ambitious new systems that light up different parts of the brain than you may be used to. However, it also feels like it’s still in the prototype phase. The battle system is fun to figure out, but ultimately combat is so drawn out and confusing that it becomes exhausting. Unfortunately, it’s not as snappy and enjoyable in quick bursts as Pokemon, which may be the thing that doom’s Little Town Hero’s clear potential as a brain-teasing game to play on your commute.
A well-functioning port of a brilliant game with an unexpected identity crisis. Given the availability of other platforms, the visual compromise makes this technical marvel a difficult sell to first-timers and veterans.
What The Golf is a hilarious, addicting golf game that unravels the sport into clever puzzles and intrigue.
Don’t sleep on this one, it’s a trip.
Come for the crunchy combat and stay for the seductive systems that will keep you playing long after the compelling campaign has been conquered.
The Sinking City's engrossing premise is ultimately betrayed by counterintuitive systems and bleak monotony.
Yoshi's Crafted World doesn't use its clever conceit as well as it should or weave a poignant story, but it's still a solid and accessible Nintendo platformer.
Sekiro is an electrifying power trip that demands a lot from the player, but if you let it grip you it will be hard to pull its rickety wooden hand from your wrist. Every time I put words to paper I’m emboldened once more to head back in there. I’m inspired and terrified thinking about the friends I’ve made, bereft with Rot Essence, praying for me to surpass the next fork in the road so I can bring them back to life.
Crackdown 3 is bonkers chaotic fun but also a case of wasted potential. The series deserved an iterative revival but instead, we have the tried-and-tested Crackdown backbone with remastered visuals and a touch more chaos, sadly squandering the promise of its few interesting additions in the process
This episode contains the best scenes of the season so far, but it wastes an egregious amount of time getting to the point.
This is a game that wants to delight you. It is unapologetically hopeful, like nothing I’ve ever played, offering a seemingly endless font of positivity that is difficult to ignore. Alas, it is still very much a Kingdom Hearts game, and the staunchly unwavering architecture of it is felt in every U.I element and cutscene.
Whilst this isn’t the most essential Wii U port to come to the Switch compared to more inventive titles like Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is easily the best modern Super Mario Bros. game, and if you’re looking for that kind of fix after the 3D heights of Super Mario Odyssey, this 2D golden oldie is worth your money and your time.
Red Dead Redemption 2 studies the tired and tested genre of open world games with a keen eye before driving a hunting knife into the heart of it, rending it open and hanging its pelt on the wall with pride. It has mastered its prey and knows exactly how good it is, a sense of palpable confidence felt on every piece of ground you step foot on. This is a technical achievement for the ages, a mindblowing game, much like its predecessor that defines its console generation.