Fundamentally, Tales From Off-Peak City is a walking simulator with some pretty straightforward puzzles thrown in. It lets you explore its surreal world at a glacial pace, but never gets boring. Unlike many walking simulators set in more realistic worlds where a lot of time is taken up traversing more mundane scenery, this is a world where practically every building and locale is a work of evocative art. If you’re a bohemian beatnik type looking to take a walk down the road less traveled then Off-Peak City is a vibe you can jam to.
WWE2K24 is a worthy addition to this long-running sports entertainment franchise. The developers have done a good job of listening to player’s woes and tweaking the formula to make something not revolutionary, but meticulously refined. There’s a vast amount of single-player grappling goodness here to enjoy, and that’s even before you get to the online modes and the inevitably bountiful community creations to come. WWE2K24 doesn’t quite finish the story but still adds a few enjoyable new chapters.
PAYDAY 3 isn’t the seismic improvement over PAYDAY 2 many might have been hoping for, but it is a refinement of the formula with a few fun new additions. Though the number of heists is currently at a modest number, they have a decent amount of replayability whether you use meticulous stealth or go in guns blazing. Despite a very troubled opening week, there are firm foundations for lots more heisting content to come here. Chains, Dallas, Wolf and Hoxton have come out of their latest heist with some scars to show for it, but with a few bags full of cash nonetheless.
Sprawl is a focused and fun boomer shooter, even though it whets your appetite for more than it ends up giving you. There’s some brilliant ambience and scenery that suggests a much richer, more complex world than you get to see in its straightforward levels, empty of people and things to do other than an army of familiar foes to kill. Nonetheless, the gunplay is top-notch, especially when mixed with some wall-running parkour action. If you’re looking for an entertaining FPS with a satisfyingly cyberpunky flavour then Sprawl is just the right implant to augment your Steam library.
Jagged Alliance 3 is a versatile strategy RPG, packed with personality and entertainment. You really have an opportunity to overcome tactical problems with your own personalized approach without being forced into playing a certain way. Any hardened SRPG mercenaries looking to take on a challenging but rewarding contract will definitely enjoy spending countless hours delving into the jungles of Gran Chien.
Like the older but wiser cast of characters, the puzzling gameplay has matured, taxing your wits, but not your patience, never leaving you so bogged down with frustration that you can’t enjoy the comedy. Some gaming franchises age like milk, some age like wine, but Return to Monkey Island has aged like the finest bottle o’ rum.
Sunday Gold is an intriguing mix of genres that really does a good job at capturing the intensity of a criminal crew going on a high-stakes heist. Sadly, its breakneck pace is often slowed down by too many puzzles that require tedious pixel-hunting to progress. Nonetheless, it’s well worth persevering for the stylishly presented story and exciting capers. If your cup of tea is cyberpunk cockneys havin’ a right laugh uncovering labyrinthine conspiracies and making a few bob in the process, then you’d best have it, my son.
When I was first asked what mark I’d give Death Stranding out of five, I said I would give it a question mark. It’s certainly not conventionally “fun”, at least not for the first several hours. It depends on how much the player is willing to embrace Kojima’s artistic vision and absorb themselves in it. Death Stranding simultaneously tedious and exciting, profound and inane, terrifying and laughable. Like the spectral beings that inhabit this post-apocalyptic America, it’s often shapeless and hard to comprehend. One thing is for sure though: it’s like no game you’ve ever played before. In a world full of pandering pablum and endlessly milked franchises, it’s extraordinary for a big-budget game to be so daringly different. Death Stranding: Director’s Cut doesn’t just re-invent the wheel, it re-invents the whole cart, and that’s why the definitive edition of Hideo Kojima’s opus is well worth playing.
Dungeons of Dreadrock is a bite-sized game that I’m sure would work perfectly as a bit of entertainment while waiting for a bus or train on its native mobile platform. However, it’s also great on the PC version as something to gently work out your brain while enjoying the fun narrative and very vibrant pixel-art graphics. This innovative puzzler combines clever yet accessible puzzles with a dash of humour to create a very enjoyable experience. Instead of just putting square pegs into round holes, you genuinely have to think outside the box, and finding the solution is always surprising and entertaining. Dreadrock is a dungeon well worth delving into.
Weird West sometimes gets its wagon wheels stuck on the sand with its exciting but underdeveloped ideas. Nonetheless, it’s still well worth a fair few silver dollars for being an ambitiously open-ended Action-RPG with a truly unique story and ambiance. So saddle up, partner. We’ve got some outlaws and zombies to hunt!
If you sometimes get tired of plodding, greyish-brownish-greenish pseudo-realistic military shooters, this is the antidote. Dazzlingly colourful, unrelentingly fast-paced, unrepentantly zany and bursting with potential for player creativity, Shadow Warrior 3 is absolutely joyous to play from start to finish. So after 25 years, do I STILL want some Wang? You’re damn right I do!
Expeditions: Rome is a profoundly in-depth RPG that manages to achieve much of its lofty ambitions with verve. There are a few potholes in this otherwise flawless Roman road, especially with how steep the learning curve is, but they should get smoothed out in time. For those who loved the tactical machinations of X-Com, but wanted a bit more character development and a personal story, Expeditions: Rome is more fun than visiting the Circus Maximus and Colosseum with a full amphora of wine.
For those who want a brutally raw retro-styled shooter where constant carnage is the order of the day, Serious Sam 4 will sate the bloodlust of even the most maniacal gamers. Not only that, but it’s genuinely funny and well-written, and the trials and tragedies Sam experiences tugged at my jaded heartstrings far more than I expected them to. Many would not enjoy Serious Sam 4 because gunning down endless waves of slavering aliens and mutants becomes brutally relentless – but if you’re a hardcore shooter purist, that’s exactly what you’re looking for.
There’s some legitimacy to all of the gripes, and that’s why I can’t give The Trilogy the perfect score that these titles would have merited individually when they were first released. Though the teenager in me might balk at giving any of these games less than 5/5, the 35-year-old me can’t deny that they are a bit janky and dated in parts, and much of the work done to update the gameplay has been insufficient or uneven. It definitely seems a big ask to expect folks to pay £55/$60 USD for these more minimal remasters when the Mafia trilogy, for example, was recently given a much more thorough root-and-branch remake of the first game along with the remastering of the other two titles. Still, even though a new coat of paint can’t cover every imperfection (and creates a couple new ugly streaks in the process), Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is still a serviceable update for three absolute classics. With the quality of life improvements and visual upgrades, it’s still a fine way to enjoy three amazing games beloved by so many.
Rogue Lords is an innovative mix of roguelike and RPG elements with clever new concepts to tax your tactical mind. There’s a constant one-more-encounter compulsivity as you look to make your band of villains ever more powerful, and a huge scope for creativity provided by the reality-bending devil mode. For an entertainingly strategic experience where you have free license to indulge your dark side and wreak havoc with a variety of ghosts and ghouls, Rogue Lords will sate your wicked desires.
Evil Genius 2 is a surprisingly addictive (evil) management sim. Despite there being a bit of repetitive busywork to do, there’s plenty of global domination wickedness for even the most power-hungry megalomaniac to sink their avaricious teeth into.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Definitive Edition is a classic fantasy RPG of truly epic scope hobbled only by niggling technical issues on this console release. As much fun as I was having romping across the land slaying monsters, righting wrongs, and making pleasant conversation with the well-written characters, I couldn’t help but feel I wasn’t enjoying the experience on the ideal platform or on a stable build. Still, if you’re a stalwart devotee of swords and sorcery, and these trying times have left you without access to a decent gaming PC, then Pathfinder: Kingmaker is well worth a choice plot in the barony of your PS4 games library.
Biped, with its cute, wide-eyed robots that look like neon Fisher Price toys, lures you into a false sense that you’re in for an easy ride, when in fact you’re in for a surprisingly deep and challenging action-puzzler.
If you’re looking for a fun card battler carried along by a beautifully presented story then Monster Monpiece will appeal to you – as well as your walrus creature!
However large a developer’s budget might be, there’s just no substitute for inspired design, which Rabi-Ribi has in spades.