James Berich's Reviews
Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition on the Switch is without a doubt the best way to play Devil May Cry 3.
Nioh 2 brings together everything that was great about the original Nioh and builds upon it. The yokai form, while flashy, does little to diminish the challenge and instead adds a fun new dynamic to an already engrossing flow of combat. While it might not look as such, Nioh 2 is a fantastic sequel and one that action fans shouldn’t miss.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla blends old and new to create a unique experience and one of the best Assassin's Creed experiences yet. It combines series-best combat, a compelling story, and mesmerising locales to dually offer a definitive Viking and assassin experience.
Demon's Soul is without a doubt one of the strongest PS5 launch titles, providing one of the most challenging, yet rewarding experiences. Bluepoint's treatment, although controversial, is immaculate and represents the best way to experience the classic that started it all.
Immortals Fenyx Rising is an epic adventure that perfectly leverages the rich, storied history of Greek mythology with a focused and honed version of Ubisoft's now-ubiquitous open-world design. Deviating from the norm, the game's unique design and structure help Immortals be one of Ubisoft's most focused adventures and easily one of their most enjoyable yet.
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.
Bayonetta 3 successfully reinvents itself in many ways to offer an experience that feels worthy of the title of sequel. It successfully shakes up the combat from the previous games by implementing new abilities that help keep things familiar but fresh. Some of the gimmicky battles bring the pacing down and dreaded, but ubiquitous Switch-related performance issues remain. As a whole, Bayonetta 3 eclipses its predecessor and is truly one of the most bombastic and enjoyable action games you can play.
Hogwarts Legacy is the Wizarding World game that fans have dreamt of for years. It offers a dense and rich open-world to explore complemented perfectly by a surprisingly robust and engaging combat system unlike anything else. While the story does live in the shadow of its predecessors, and managing gear can be repetitive, Hogwarts Legacy is a truly magical experience and utterly bewitching from beginning to end.
Street Fighter 6 rights the wrongs of its past with multiple modes for every player and strong battle systems like no other. It invites new players into the fold with well implemented, simpler control schemes, without losing sight of the hardcore player. The World Tour mode won't be for everyone, but Street Fighter 6 stands tall as one of the best fighters Capcom has made.
Immortals of Aveum is a steadfast debut that will assuredly put its creators on the map. It combines strong combat mechanics with an engaging story set in an even more engrossing world to offer up a satisfying and complete experience. While the gear system and some console resolution issues might be off-putting for some, Immortals of Aveum is one of the most pleasant surprises in an already burgeoning year and a spellbinding adventure that's well worth your time.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon manages to succesfully bring back and cultivate an experience reminiscent of the old games for newer audiences without losing sight of what made the previous games so good. While it's still relentlessly challenging and the story can be a bit drab, Fires of Rubicon is yet another success for FromSoftware with it's satisfying and fast paced combat.
WarioWare: Move It! is a return to form (pun intended) for the WarioWare series that feels long overdue. It cleverly utilises the unique capabilities of the Joy-Con in ways that haven't been done before, all while remaining both endearing and funny. While the simplicity of Party Mode is both its greatest strength and weakness, WarioWare: Move It! is easily WarioWare at its best and the most fun you'll have looking goofy.
Super Mario RPG is a strong remake of an already stellar game. It successfully focuses on improving the original in all the right places: a faster and snappier battle system, strong quality-of-life improvements and more difficult optional content. These improvements combine with the game's already quirky charm to offer an experience that easily eclipses the original. While it's overly simplistic compared to other RPGs, that's ostensibly the point. Super Mario RPG is an oddball piece of Nintendo's history like no other, and that alone makes it worth experiencing.
Dragon's Dogma II embodies the essence of what the original should have been. With its expansive open world teeming with dangerous but delightful encounters, enjoyable combat, and versatile vocations, it's an enchanting experience from beginning to end.
Battletoads is a victory for Microsoft, Dlala Studios and Rare. It successfully takes a brand that's been dormant for over two decades, breathing new life into it and updating it for the modern generation ardently. While it's a huge shame that Battletoads isn't playable online, and makes some missteps in it's third act, it's hard to deny that this is the most charming rendition of our favourite videogame amphibians. But most of all it's funny, and that's refreshing.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night doesn't reinvent the idea of what a Castlevania game should be, but it does a better job than any of its contemporaries at emulating that classic formula that Konami have long abandoned. While it's technically got a few issues they're hurdles that I am sure it will overcome. Still, in a market that's flooded with imitations, Bloodstained is the real deal. A true successor to Castlevania that fans and newcomers will easily sink their teeth into.
Alien: Isolation is close to a survival horror masterpiece that, while unforgiving, carries itself with an unbridled sense of style and class. It authentically recreates the look and feel of the original 1979 film while still feeling incredibly rewarding. Through some wizardry, the game plays just as well, if not better, on Switch, and is to be commended as one of the best ports the platform has ever seen.
Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle brings together two of PlatinumGames’ best, giving them a fresh coat of paint to stand up to the visual standards of this decade. Vanquish is the clear winner of the two here, with some visually fantastic improvements, but both play just as well as they did ten years ago. While it's disappointing that bonus content isn't included, they’re still games any action fan shouldn’t miss.
While some spirit has been lost in translation, Resident Evil 3 is superbly paced and one of the better modern Resident Evil games, and a chapter that any horror fan shouldn’t miss.
Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part One does a great job of setting up some genuinely intriguing plot points while also committing to the aspects that I loved so much about the base game. In the process, it’s bound to frustrate some players – it’s bloody difficult, has more platforming elements and the Marauders just keep on coming – but it’s still more of Doom Eternal and that’s hardly a bad thing.