Overall, Somerville has a fantastic and intriguing world that’s begging to be explored from the off. Wonderful art and sound design compounded with excellent character animations really bring this narrative adventure to life, but a smattering of bugs, lacklustre puzzle elements, and an ambiguous story that left me feeling unrewarded after posing so many initial questions, really hampered the experience.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is a fantastic stealth game with an intriguing story (once it finally gets going) that Xbox Game Pass subscribers and fans of the original really shouldn't miss. Requiem's gorgeous, yet bleak and harrowing world is a joy to explore, and thanks to expanded combat and additional options that allow you to approach stealth sections in whatever way you see fit, the gameplay really is a step up over Innocence. A few performance issues, some slightly underbaked characters, and a constantly whispering Amicia do detract from the experience, but overall, Asobo has created a fantastic sequel here that demands a playthrough.
For the most part, As Dusk Falls excels as an 'interactive drama.' With wonderfully crafted and relatable characters, superb voice acting, and unique art direction and animation style that lends itself to the story. The first few chapters alone are excellent, and they’ll have you gripping onto your controller when things are tense and utterly deflated when you’re forced into making a tough decision. The game is only let down by a weaker second act and a rushed final chapter, but overall, it’s still a great narrative adventure filled with dramatic moments, tension, and tough choices.
Grid Legends is one of the cheesiest games I've ever played, thanks to its Drive to Glory story mode. Putting that to one side, there is a good racing game here with an excellent AI system (that can go a bit awry), some beautiful and well-designed tracks, and cars that feel great to drive. However, Grid Legends is dragged down a bit by the easily-forgettable story mode, and the game is just far too easy even on the highest difficulty. Still, there is a competent racer here that offers plenty of thrilling moments and enough cars and modes to keep fans of the genre happy.
Simply put, Life is Strange: True Colors is a must-play.
With Little Nightmares 2 Tarsier Studios has once again dreamt up a wonderfully unnerving world filled with grotesque and fantastical creatures that is a horrifying pleasure to explore.
All in all, IO Interactive has stuck with what it knows best with Hitman 3: gorgeously crafted open playgrounds for the player to wreak slick and murderous havoc in.
Developer Tomas Sala has created a unique and engaging aerial combat game with The Falconeer.
Ubisoft is known for making great open-world experiences and Watch Dogs: Legion is almost that. With a darker storyline and a wonderfully re-imagined London that is the star of the show, the third entry into the franchise feels as if it’s slightly matured from Watch Dogs 2. The new ‘play as anyone’ mechanic is innovative but sadly soon becomes redundant. Numerous bugs and glitches also mar the overall experience. Having the game crash several times and losing about 20 minutes worth of progress each time is not something that should be happening with a big-budget title such as Legion. Even after downloading the latest hotfix, crashing issues still persisted. This will likely be fixed with more patches later on down the line, but it will still be disappointing for those who purchase the game on day one. However, if you can keep a stiff upper lip about some of the bugs, you’ll have a lot of fun with Legion. Even if someone does end up calling you a twatwaffle.
Overall, Tell Me Why has an engaging narrative that will keep you glued until the end.
Asobo Studio has created something special with Microsoft Flight Simulator
Minecraft Dungeons is a superb dungeon crawler with something for players of all ages.
Gears Tactics is a fantastic strategy game.
Bleeding Edge is definitely worthy of your time – hopefully more so in the coming months when fresh content is added.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has the best campaign that I have played since the original Modern Warfare.
A fantastic text-based adventure that will keep you coming back for multiple playthroughs. Combined with a fantastic soundtrack and superb writing, Electric Sleep is a must play.
If you're looking for a first-person shooter that is slightly different from the standard run of the mill FPS, Tannenberg is the way to go. Gameplay, the feel of the guns and map choice is all solid and makes for a great experience, but Tannenberg is held back by its lack of players and a mediocre class system.
A hilarious 2.5D platformer which will have you wanting to play on due to the fantastic characters, solid storyline and first-rate voice acting. Flipping Death has a good mix of puzzles but is slightly let down by its somewhat forced platforming sections.
Roarr! The Adventures of Rampage Rex - Jurassic Edition doesn't have a lot going for it. Dull gameplay paired with technical problems and a hideous soundtrack makes this Switch title – despite the cheap price tag – one to avoid.
Airheart - Tales of Broken Wings is an intense twin-stick shooter that at times will have you on the edge of your seat. However, Airheart is let down by the vast amount of grinding it takes to reach its endgame, and with minimal story elements peppered throughout, it's hard to see a lot of players following through right to the very end.