James Berich's Reviews
Make no mistakes; Far Cry 6 is, without a doubt, the best Far Cry game in a long time. The game brings back the exotic locations we've been missing since Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4 and adds yet another charismatic antagonist to its storied pantheon of villains. But more importantly, it's a joy to play, with a unique arsenal full of character and breadth of content that is not only comprehensive but engaging.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut is easily the best way to play the game. The additions are numerous and bound to help players make their journey across America much more palatable. If you're someone who gave up on Death Stranding because you found it to be too frustrating or long-winded, the Director's Cut additions could be enough to lure you back. If you're someone who's played the game to death already, there's probably not a whole lot of reason to come back given how little extra content there is.
Life Is Strange: True Colors brings together likeable characters, a novel power, and a beautiful setting to tell a story that'll have you engaged from beginning to end. It's a little bit predictable but everything else – the writing, the locale, and just the general vibe – cement it as one of the strongest entries in the series.
No More Heroes III is the best No More Heroes experience this far. A streamlined structure, some fantastic writing and direction from Goichi Suda and some of the tightest combat the series has ever seen makes No More Heroes III the best in the series. There's some technical issues that we've come to see from the Switch, especially in the open world, but these are otherwise minor blemishes on a remarkable artistic achievement.
Psychonauts 2 brings together classic platforming, an engaging story and well realised combat in a package that feels reminiscent of the best platformers of decades past. Even better, it does this with a visual flair that's unmatched by its contemporaries. It might be more of the same, but given how unique it is, that's hardly a bad thing.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles brings together two volumes of one magnificent story that no Ace Attorney fan should miss. The characters are fantastically kooky, the plot is as compelling as ever, and the writing is the series at its funniest. While there are some minor pacing issues with some of the cases, it's a fantastic package for fans both new and old.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD makes great efforts to improve the original to make it the definitive way to play the series' origin story. Whilst the game's initially poor pacing has improved, the game can still be slightly tedious and repetitive. Putting that aside, the dungeon design, item ingenuity, and some of the boss battles are series highlights that no Zelda fan should miss.
While Bloodline doesn't reinvent the wheel or take any substantive risks, it does a great job at bringing together the new world of Legion with old world of Watch Dogs and Watch Dogs 2 to offer a short but focused Watch Dogs experience.
Biomutant is a vibrant and beautiful looking game that unsuccessfully attempts to leverage so many different aspects of open-world games from the last decade. It buckles under the weight of its own ambition and is sorely lacking the focus needed to offer a stand-out open-world experience and carve out its own identity.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: HD Remaster is an oddly self-aware remaster that does its best to make itself approachable for everyone by remedying most of its flaws. The new difficulty, new skill inheritance options and fully voiced dialogue all help to make the game feel modern and approachable for new audiences. It's just a shame that, for a HD remaster, it's not as visually impressive as it could be.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition stands tall as one of the best remasters that I've ever played. The amount of care and effort that has gone into restoring the original Mass Effect along with the other two games is unmatched. While there are some underlying minor design issues with the original game, Legendary Edition is the best way to experience the Mass Effect trilogy. Period.
In a genre that often isn't for everyone, it's hard to see who wouldn't enjoy what Subnautica: Below Zero has to offer. It flourishes an enthralling sense of exploration and progression with a serviceable narrative to boot. It's not without its flaws, but there's nothing quite like it besides its predecessor, perfectly encapsulating the curiosity and dread that comes with exploring the deep.
All in all, Wrath of the Druids is a great addition to Valhalla’s already well-bolstered package. Visiting Ireland, learning about its rich history and mythology is something I’d never thought that I would be interested in. But Wrath of the Druids is so engaging that it’s hard not to recommend to people who enjoyed Valhalla. Just don’t expect it to reinvent the wheel, but instead, bring a few more.
Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind are both well written adventure games with engaging stories. A striking visual overhaul does a great job of bringing both games into the twenty first century, without a doubt. Though this isn't enough to do the same for the gameplay, which could have used a bit more streamlining.
While Resident Evil Village channels the best bits of several Resident Evil games, it stands on its own to be something never done before in the franchise. A macabre potpourri of European, gothic inspired styles of tension and horror, Resident Evil Village is a worthy follow-up to Resident Evil 7: biohazard and one that any self-respecting horror fan shouldn't miss.
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... is a fantastic celebration of a game that, even after a decade, feels unmatched in how it tells its incredibly unique story. The visual overhaul is excellent, and the combat better than ever. However, some archaic quest design acts as a deft reminder that this is a game from ten years ago. Without a doubt, though, this is the best way to experience NieR where it all began.
Outriders combines immense variety, aggressively geared combat and fun abilities to offer a third person shooter like no other. It's filled to the brim quality content – bringing a stellar campaign that's constantly throwing new things at the player and a compelling well-designed post-game experience in Expeditions. Teething issues with online aside, Outriders is poised to be one of the biggest surprises of the year, and you should definitely give it a go.
Bravely Default II is a fun sequel that does it's best to improve on it's predecessor. While the dungeon designs are simplistic and the side quests lack variety, it's hard to ignore what Bravely Default II does well. A combination of great artistic and audio direction and an engaging battle and progression system make Bravely Default II stand out from the rest. Make no mistakes. It's an earnest throwback to an often forgotten era of RPGs and a stellar modernisation of the classic Final Fantasy formula.
Little Nightmares II isn't content with just iterating on its predecessor, instead improving on it in practically every way. The puzzles are challenging and rewarding, combat surprisingly functional, and the imagery is as striking as ever. While trial-and-error design bogs down Little Nightmares II considerably, it's far and away a better game than the original.
The Medium is Bloober Team's most ambitious game in terms of scope and scale. It successfully leverages fixed camera angles and strong sound design to create a horror experience that's unashamedly nostalgic. Despite its successes, the game fails to capitalise on its unique dual reality mechanic and ultimately feels too similar to the studio's prior efforts in Blair Witch and Observer.