Inventory management, encumbrance limits, ridiculous story, fetch quests galore, and never-ending cutscenes. The absolute inverse of everything I want in a game.
No Man's Sky has been compared to Minecraft, but as it sits that's not a very apt comparison. The game is, as a friend called it, a mile wide and an inch deep. It's a sandbox without the bucket and shovel. They have big plans for future updates, so perhaps it'll be a game to check out at that point.
Valfaris commits wholeheartedly to the heavy metal aesthetic and that yields some really wild boss fights and a soundtrack you won’t forget any time soon.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint proves adding more isn’t always better, with the addition of half-baked loot and survival mechanics that don’t really provide anything of note to the game.
I had a lot of fun with Extinction, especially the great swordplay and traversal, but it's held back by issues with the camera and the repetitive, bland story.
Metal Gear Survive is likely to see ongoing additions to improve it, and at this point I’d recommend waiting for some of those before jumping into it. Right now it’s a survival grind in the Metal Gear universe that’s more busywork than fun and it's only the gameplay carryover from Metal Gear Solid V that make it worth a look at all.
The game’s 31 missions will challenge even experienced wargamers, while still approachable enough for those new to the genre to pick things up. Worth checking out.
Call of Duty World War II is a retread of places the franchise has been before in. If the multiplayer worked it'd score higher, but this is just a broken game and an awful experience right now.
Watch Dogs: Legion sticks you in the shoes of characters you’d never have chosen otherwise, and it works more often than it doesn’t.
Darksiders Genesis is a ton of fun with a friend, but still a wonderfully competent and fun experience for solo players. Gathering Cores and playing through the Arena offer up some longevity to the experience as well.
This feels a lot like No Man’s Sky and Metroid Prime combined, and that’s a surprisingly fun combo. Strongly recommended for adventure game fans.
Charming and quirky, with a great soundtrack, Sparklite will hit gamers who grew up with 8-bit and 16-bit games with a giant shot of nostalgia.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a stellar first game in what could be a great series. It’s available ‘free’ for those with a subscription to Xbox Game Pass, but it’s worth the price of admission regardless. A great intro to the tactical strategy genre that eschews the stats-heavy side of things to keep it fun.
Alec Mason’s adventures on Mars are just as much fun as they were nearly a decade ago. Worth a look as a low-cost summer game.
Amazing graphics and spectacular webswinging/webslinging help overcome a sometimes-frustrating camera and repetitive missions.
What you’ll think of Sea of Thieves seems to depend on what you expected going in. Those that wanted a single player pirate adventure are bound to be disappointed by the relatively simple gameplay loop of going to find chests and returning to port with them, earning money to buy cosmetic rewards. Those looking for a multiplayer game with solo or co-operative play options are much more likely to be happy with what Sea of Thieves has to offer.
theHunter: Call of the Wild is a fantastic looking game, and does a great job of bringing some of the thrill of the hunt – and the chase – to the home.
The Final Station has a nice look to it and the generous checkpoints mean you will worry more about supplies than a surprise death. It’s a bit short, clocking in at about five hours, but worth a look.
If Episode One is just setting the stage, I can’t wait to see what the next four will bring. A must-play for Batman fans.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a gorgeous trip down Nostalgia Lane, but it’s not the slam dunk ‘must buy’ revisiting of a classic game that I expected it to be…and it better not be another five year wait until ‘Part Two’ arrives.