Jack Bampfield
Rocket League is mechanically simple, but utterly brilliant because of it.
Sound design is at it's best when you don't really notice it, you just absorb it – and that's exactly the case with Overwatch; I'd go as far to say that its sound design is revolutionary
Stardew Valley's art style is vibrant and reminiscent of the SNES days, but it perfectly fits the overall aesthetic and feel of the game
Subnautica is one of the original Early Access triumphs, and in my view, the best of them all.
If it’s your jam – like it is mine – then Wargroove offers literally endless potential. And even if level designing isn’t really your thing, it’s still a lot of fun to play around with.
Planet Coaster gives you such an incredible degree of freedom in creating what you want that any obstacles just become part of that meticulous process of building the perfect park.
There are plenty of moments in Legion that make you smile, and playing with friends has been the engaging social experience that WoW has missed for a long time
The PC port of Monster Hunter World isn't perfect. But despite its flaws, no other game compares to the thrill and sheer wonderment that beating a monster in a perfectly co-ordinated group can bring. In its purest essence, Monster Hunter World is simply about killing monsters to make better gear to kill bigger monsters. But boy, when it all comes off – which it does impressively frequently – no game comes close to it.
Dontnod didn't necessarily need to make The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, but I'm really glad that it did.
Youropa is a unique puzzle game in how its puzzles are approached, and how it wants the player to approach them.
When Ski Lifts Go Wrong is very much like Poly Bridge from Dry Cactus, and that’s no bad thing.
It may be repetitive, but flying around with the ODM gear and cutting up Titans is just fun enough that it never really became a huge issue
For a genre that is continuing to grow thanks to the monumental success of Overwatch, Gigantic is a bigger splash than I expected.
Though funny at almost every turn and a rather competent first game from Billy Goat Entertainment, the fact that Her Majesty’s Spiffing leaves you flat-footed on a cliff-hanger that may never be resolved is a real shame.
I very much enjoyed my time with AER Memories of Old. It's not perfect; it's a little on the short side, its puzzles are a bit lacklustre, and it has an overt religious message — although if anything, that it adds to the world that AER creates.
After completing We Were Here Too, I couldn't help but wonder if it took the series anywhere new, or whether it could have simply been classed as an expansion to the first. In the end, what I wanted from this title was more; I wanted to do more puzzles in this world, in this unique way, and that's exactly what We Were Here Too delivers on.
In the end, Battle for Azeroth makes some great improvements in the levelling experience, but faults in its class design and the less rewarding Azerite system mean that overall, it takes too many steps back from Legion.
I'll no doubt be sinking many hours into FIFA 19 in the months to come, but I do wish the effort put into the game by EA Sports hadn't been spent on the modes I'm not really keen on.
Wreckfest can have sustained periods of standard race after standard race, but it delivers its best parts when trying to keep that fresh.
Starman offers a pleasant couple of hours to sit and relax while focused on the game.