Ewan Roxburgh's Reviews
Firewatch is truly something special. It tells a beautifully crafted, character-driven, engaging story with impeccable pacing. It’s deeply reflective and thought provoking, not only in the context of its characters and their situations, but in a broader context of player interaction with video games.
Often in an attempt to appeal to everyone, you can appeal to no one. However, in the case of Final Fantasy XV, we have a rare exception. It sits comfortably somewhere between a traditional Final Fantasy experience and the Western action-RPGs currently setting new standards. A slightly muddled tone, narrative shortcomings, and a little too restrictive open-world are faults largely forgivable due to the game’s robust combat system. The benefit of ten years of development is evident in the fine tuning of the combat mechanics over the apparent attempts to keep up with the current open-world action-RPG trend. To quote Aristotle, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.
For Vita owners, Severed is a must-play, but if this game eventually gets ported over to mobile platforms or even to console or PC, I’m sure I’d say the same.
Guacamelee! 2 is a fantastic, almost flawlessly designed and well-paced action platformer, complete with charm, humour and heart. It builds upon the first game brilliantly, making Juan's latest adventure just as thrilling and hilarious as I'd have hoped.
LEGO Builder's Journey is a spectacular, absolutely gorgeous puzzle-platformer, with a surprisingly touching story the explores parenthood and creativity in a delightfully minimalist way. Stunning aesthetics enhanced by ray-tracing and DLSS combine with a soundtrack that amounts to one of the most beautiful games in recent memory. A little more commitment to the possibilities afforded by interlocking bricks would have completed the picture, but regardless is remains a game not to be missed by fans of LEGO, puzzles and a good, wholesome narrative.
Its not breaking any new ground here but its struck a chord with me at the right time, allowing me to experiment, explore and destroy at my leisure with a kooky cast of characters at my side, in my own time without ever feeling overwhelming.
Forza Horizon 4 offers racing fans endless, ever-changing amounts of fun. Few racing games are as dense with a seemingly infinite amount to do and collect. It's immensely liberating too, allowing you to play through it however you like. The open-world might have been better populated with environmental features and I wish the menus had been a little faster and easier to navigate, but it's a small price to pay for a game with so much under the hood.
If you want an insanely hard tactical combat sci-fi game, you got it. Good luck. If you’re able to stick with it, I think the systems and story are more than enough that you’ll enjoy XCOM 2 a great deal.
When everything comes together, there’s a beautiful flow to Unravel; there’s a tranquillity to moving through these stunning environments and exploring its past. Sadly, the game design and platforming interrupts this flow and breaks the immersion, weakening the impact of what is a relatively strong game conceptually and thematically.
We need more games like this, and more specifically, we need more 'Grow' games. Ubisoft Reflections take note, keep on this trajectory, make that difficulty ramp slope up ever so slightly and please, please, make another one.
Ty The Tasmanian Tiger, now finally on the PC, is definitely one to play if you missed it more than a decade ago. It holds up well as a 3D platformer, even if it remains somewhat polygonal, not only thanks to its clever levels design and assortment of specially powered boomerangs, but also to its unique, Australian charm.
Thimbleweed Park absolutely achieves what it sets out to, its unpredictable narrative contributing to a beautifully presented point-and-click adventure, worthy of being considered a true spiritual successor to the classics to which it pays homage. Bar a couple of design issues, Thimbleweed Park achieves something special, and longtime point-and-click fans should rejoice.
Gone are the days where Call Of Duty sets the trends, but Black Ops 4 does a great job of keeping up. Choosing which mode to play first every time I launch the game is a struggle, with each being unique and impressive in their own way. Black Ops 4's individual components may not be groundbreaking, but as a package, it's one of the most refined Call Of Duty games. Black Ops 4 is a complete and polished package with Treyarch's deft touch of quality.
This is the definitive Crash Team Racing experience. Nitro-Fueled is everything I hoped it would be, a faithful recreation of the classic game with added flair and personality. A lack of custom race settings and some superficial gripes are not enough to dissuade me that this is among the best kart racers available. Crash is absolutely back, baby!
Iterating on what Call of Duty diehards know and love, Vanguard has the potential to stand up alongside some of the series' best. Whether it be a bombastic, action-flick inspired campaign, endlessly addictive multiplayer or now-staple zombies mode, the game feels like comfort food. However, I remain doubtful that the game's new and updated modes will do enough to win over anyone that wasn't convinced with earlier iterations.
Bar a rather unexciting story, a little lack of nuance in the combat and a couple of misgiving regarding couch co-op, there is a hell of a lot to love and enjoy about Minecraft Dungeons. Rather miraculously, it's managed to pull off being both a game for all types of Minecraft fans and those seeking a challenging dungeon crawler. At launch, it's a little concise sure, but chasing that new loot means I'm not done with it yet, and likely won't be for a while still.
With a brew this good, you can be sure I'll be back for more.
Undoubtedly Dead or Alive 5: Last Round’s strongest selling points are its gameplay and its goofiness.
The problems Destiny has are not rectified by the DLC, but nor are they intensified.
There's nothing necessarily wrong with the tried and tested Ubisoft formula. However, it begins to feel more tired when the narrative potential falls short, the engagement and immersion I would have otherwise felt hindered by not taking the subject matter seriously enough. However, the slick gameplay, blending of stealth mechanics with a Far Cry like world, seamless co-operative play and well-fleshed-out solo experience prove Ubisoft's teams aren't resting on their laurels and are actively trying to build upon the formula.