Matt Heywood's Reviews
Etherborn is now available, and it offers up some unique twists on the platforming, exploration, and puzzle video game genres. This is thanks to its brilliantly designed, and challenging levels, which are the puzzles themselves due to how gravity affects the player at each an every turn.
If you enjoy the rogue-lite genre, then Streets of Rogue will make you happy, but if you don't like things such as permadeath and stealth, you will find more fun in another title.
Blazing Chrome completely nails its homage to the Contra franchise, so much so, that it feels like a better version of it.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night may have shipped with a nasty bug, and it definitely has some rage inducing boss battles, but in the end its challenges and homages to the Metroidvania genre keep it feeling rewarding and very fun to play. Just prepare to be flustered.
The latest Indie gem to come from Devolver Digital is now here, and if you love oddball types of games that offer up unique gameplay experiences and sentient bananas, then My Friend Pedro will be right up your demented, side-scrolling shooter loving alley.
If you're a hardcore puzzle game fan that also loves non-linear world design, then you'll appreciate what Degrees of Separation has to offer. Otherwise, this pretty little Indie title is one you can pass on.
Unruly Heroes is a new multi-platform title from Magic Design Studios that features Action/Adventure style gameplay set in a beautiful looking, mystical land, with a narrative based on the Monkey King Legend. Its mix of platforming, combat, and puzzle-solving offers up a nice variety of gameplay, and while the combat controls leave much to be desired and can cause a bit of rage at times, the overall experience is still pretty enjoyable.
Gris, in my opinion, is a Journey-level game in terms of how it completely sucks you into its artistic experience and doesn't let your senses go until its credit roll.
Arca's Path VR's use of gaze controls really helps to make it feel unique but intuitive. It's a bit short, but still well worth the investment for the meditative experience it provides.
Darksiders 3 opted to strip itself down a bit when compared to what Darksiders 2 offered, but after spending time with it, the game’s relatively straightforward experience can grow on you if you’re into challenging games that don’t hold your hand. If you wanted more of what you got in the last game though, you will be let down, because this sequel leans more towards a Dark Souls-lite experience than a new Darksiders one.
Nickelodeon Kart Racers is an unpolished Mario Kart clone, but with that being said it manages to capture the excitement of a Mario Kart race, so it's worth checking out if you don't own any existing Mario Kart titles.
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 features many gameplay improvements over the original, and a deeper roster of superstar players thanks to the 2K umbrella, but unfortunately the experience is marred by the return of loot boxes that dictate which players you can even use.
Forza Horizon 4 and its new shared world offer up seemingly never ending gameplay options to get mixed up in, as well as one of the most beautiful looking video game visual presentations around. This is an open-world gaming experience worth getting lost in.
Destiny 2: Forsaken provides the most complete feeling Destiny experience to-date, which is due to its more structured campaign, the new weapons and skills, the new Gambit multiplayer mode, and of course all of the new endgame content you can play in its two new locations. If you've been away from your Guardian since last fall, now is the time to return.
This is a very slow episode for most of its main acts, but thanks to the shocking final act, it ends up being a worthy addition to the Telltale Walking Dead franchise.
EB: You should play this sequel even if you missed the original thanks to its great homage to the Metroidvania genre.
Vampyr offers up a very intriguing take on the iconic monster, while also offering up one of the deepest morality systems ever featured in an action-RPG. This is a game worth experiencing.
Incursion does a lot of things right for the VR FPS genre, but the lack of AIM controller support is a big misstep in this otherwise competent VR shooter.
Metalhead is back with another helping of the Super Mega Baseball franchise, so we took Super Mega Baseball 2 out to the ballpark to see what it is all about. Simply put, it’s a great follow up to the original that added in a few requested features from that title, so if you enjoyed the original, you’ll appreciate the sequel.
This classic holds up well on the Xbox One, so if you've managed to miss it all this time like me, it's highly recommended to play on a MS console for the first time ever.