Brodie Gibbons's Reviews
Forever Ago is all at once powerful, funny, and sad, telling one of the year's most aching stories about how debilitating the mix of grief and isolation can be. Sadly, the story's vehicle is a rather dull, paint by numbers point-and-click adventure that, to Forever Ago's detriment, refuses to shy from the mundane distractions of a life trying to be lived.
Though fault can be found with its meaningless side quests and examples of knuckleheaded dialogue, Gears of War: E-Day gets so much of its core loop right. It's hard to recall a game nailing the desperate, helpless feeling of invasion quite like this, and E-Day sets a new benchmark for Gears' iconic gunplay. More than anything, E-Day is a technical crown jewel that delivers an audiovisual experience that, on Xbox, is unrivalled.
Well Dweller's simplistic approach to the metroidvania genre creates a neutral void that the Kyle Thompson adventure ultimately lingers in. On one hand, it's beginner friendly and won't deter gamers not hungry for a Soulslike challenge, while on the other, it's simply not bold enough to break new ground within the genre. Well Dweller remains an enjoyable folk tale romp that, for anyone looking to take a chance on a metroidvania, is safe as houses.
Marvel's Wolverine is an explosive, fiery comic book video game that wears its gratuitous violence as a refreshing badge of honour. Sadly, the violence's vehicle, the game's combat, amounts to little more than mindless slashing, waning a while before the game's credits roll. Its narrative, which does peak in the final act, shows flashes of heart in an otherwise predictable, paint-by-numbers arc. I can confidently say that Insomniac's Spider-Man is hands-down the best Spider-Man game ever created-I can't say the same for their Logan here.
It might be far and away bigger than any Hot Wheels game that has come before, but a certain dash of magic has been sacrificed at the open-world altar. Milestone's care and reverence for these die-cast 1:64 scale miniatures is utterly unmatched, and their ability to deliver a brand of fun in keeping with the Hot Wheels name is commendable.
Orbitals is a brisk, enjoyable interstellar romp that will perhaps, at the end of the day, be more fondly remembered for its authentic approach to vintage Japanese animation than its ability to bring friends together. That's not to say it doesn't succeed as a co-op puzzler-it does-although I think it falls a hair short of its contemporaries in terms of chaotic creativity and scope.
Pro Jank Footy is a tremendous mess of a game, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. It boils down a complicated sport into its purest, fundamental arcade form before breaking it through a chaotic overloading of its simple systems. It's fun, it's hilarious, though its biggest flaw, if it even is one, is that it's best played with mates.
Despite missing its iconic multiplayer component, enormous replay value, welcome modernisations to both gameplay and visuals, fixes for decades-old pacing issues, and a three-piece prologue make Campaign Evolved an exceptional way to experience Halo’s legendary single-player campaign, which remains a sci-fi blockbuster to this day.
Lifted is a special little game that manages to effortlessly charm despite its imperfections. It’s a throwback to classic platforming I didn’t know I was needing, all the while being the Back to the Future sequel I know I have dreamed about for decades. I hope it’s not the last we see of Ari Buktu, and I’ll happily board his time-travelling elevator again—anytime.
007 First Light is all things a Bond game should be. It’s exciting, unpredictable, and delivers a jet-setting adventure full of that hallmark intrigue. As a spy game, it’s expectedly solid. But as an action game, it’s somehow even better as IOI declare themselves the go-to for spy thrillers, and Patrick Gibson, in a time where new blood is badly required, declares himself Bond, James Bond.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight might be the best LEGO game yet, delivering a fun, family-friendly take on all of the brooding bat’s biggest moments, plucked from every medium, and lovingly recreated brick-by-brick in an epic open-world capable of matching even Rocksteady’s best. It’s the Batman game Gotham deserves, and it absolutely is the one it needs right now.
Like the franchise’s other many iterations, Forza Horizon 6 is an exceptional masterclass of car racing, genre-defining in terms of both arcade and simulation, set within a spectacular, abridged open-world of Japan that’s begging to be explored.
Were it structured like a Dark Pictures game of old, Directive 8020, through its derivative but fun riff on 'The Thing', would be seen as something of a return to form. Sadly, their attempt to evolve the product has resulted in a poorly paced gameplay experience that, by the end of its run, is little more than a sadly stagnant monster closet.
Mixtape, through its expertly curated catalogue of songs, pulls together a genuinely heartfelt and nostalgic story about all of the friends we make, and invariably lose, in our formative years. As a cross-section between music and wasted youth, Beethoven and Dinosaur’s sophomore title is undeniably special. It’s an ode to the importance of music, how it shapes us and reminds us of who we are, all wrapped up in a bow and delivered through playable vignettes that are all killer, no filler, and a stark reminder of how fucking fun it was to be a kid.
Saros is an utterly sizzling romp through a sci-fi cosmic horror show that showcases Housemarque’s pedigree for spectacular, arcade action. Not only is Saros a user-friendly evolution of Returnal's core systems, which were already near-perfection, but it’s an exceptional, technical showpiece for a console that makes faultless performance seem magical. If Returnal was a reason to invest in next-gen, Saros pays that belief off again in what is currently a one-horse race for Game of the Year.
Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a tremendous, modern take on the boomer shooter. It has wonderful level design and gives you the right tools to explore it without restriction, mostly. Despite serving up meaty cases that have enormous ramifications within Mouseburg’s social and political landscape, the player is given zero agency to work them and, as such, Mouse falls agonisingly short of being a true detective fantasy.
Although it maintains the spirit of the original Super Meat Boy, Super Meat Boy 3D, as a reimagining, doesn’t quite evolve on its ideas enough to strike a chord. Rather, it reframes them, and it’s these new perspectives and angles on Meat Boy’s frenetic platforming that prove to be the biggest bother of all. It’s still fun enough for the most part; however, I struggle to look beyond the compounded frustration and needless death—in a game about dying, no less.
Although it doesn’t quite have the heft to go bumper-to-bumper with games like Forza Horizon or Burnout, Screamer is an incredibly sound arcade racer that, unfortunately, cocoons so much of its exhilarating, challenging gameplay in a bloated campaign that claws for any semblance of focus.
Despite not overhauling the companion-led gameplay at the core of Planet of Lana, this sequel does a tremendous job at expanding its universe, giving greater depth to its characters, and delivering another gorgeous, cinematic adventure that tugs at the heartstrings.
Romeo is a Dead Man, I feel, is a tremendous example of style being enough to shoulder the burden that comes with a lack of substance. So much of the game’s action, along with its systems, feels antiquated enough that it shouldn’t be memorable at all. Yet with innovative art direction, a Suda-typical contrast of ideas, and unconventional, albeit confusing, story craft, Romeo is a Dead Man’s style proves irresistible.