Chris McMullen
Like Gas Station Simulator before it, Food Truck Simulator could benefit from a little more polish. And, also like Gas Station Simulator, you’re paying money to pretend to have a job. But expanding your little business and being the best Food Truck Guy, shaving seconds off each time you fry, never gets old. As mundane as its premise may seem, Food Truck Simulator is a real joy.
Should you buy Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord? If you’ve got the slightest taste for big battles or an interest in medieval conquest, absolutely. Don’t expect the depth of, say, Crusader Kings III, but for fans of medieval warfare this is a real winner.
Is Iron Man VR the best VR superhero game out there? No – that honour has to go to Megaton Rainfall. But it’s still up there, and thanks to the Quest 2’s superior tracking, this is a much better experience than it was on PSVR. And so, you’re a Meta Quest 2-owning Marvel fan, you won’t regret stepping into Tony Stark’s iron underpants.
Part management sim, part roguelike, Undead Inc. has a few rough edges but it's still a treat for wannabe Umbrella Corp CEOs. Just remember to leave your ethics at the door.
If you're prepared to stomach the game's less appetising sections, you'll still get a little Joy out of We Happy Few.
This grim, pixellated gorefest successfully channels the spirit of 8 and 16 bit shoot-'em-ups but doesn't stand up to sustained play; spend too long with Butcher in one sitting and it starts feeling like an infuriating grind.
If you're willing to put in the time to fight your way past its flaws, then you'll get some enjoyment out of How to Survive 2, but there are better zombie shooters and survival games out there.
Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition has more value as a curio, as a piece of gaming history than it is as an actual game. It's worth playing to gain an understanding of what all the fuss was about and to appreciate how important and revolutionary it was. And it will make you laugh; you could even get a few friends round to share the experience. Just don't expect it to live up to the hype.
Ultimately, if you're already a fan of lengthy visual novels then Chaos;Child is worth investigating but if not, this isn't the game to introduce you to the genre.
The game is so wilfully and bafflingly intent on blocking off said fun that you'll need all the persistence of a bin-raiding fox to reap Super Lucky's Tale's rewards.
If you've got the patience, Chaos on Deponia's charming world is worth a visit, it's just a shame about the company.
Rogue Aces can be an entertaining blast and is sufficiently different from the competition to be worth a look. But its repetitive nature does it no favours and means it's best taken in small doses.
Taken in small doses, the game can be a fun, challenging experience – as long as you step away before frustration sets in. And if those issues could be fixed in time for a sequel, I'd be up for a second visit to The Spectrum Retreat.
Even if the game’s visuals don’t appeal to you and you’ve never tackled any other games in the series, it still warrants investigating. Corpse Party: Book of Shadows’ frequently disconcerting and often bloody payoffs, as well as periodical dollops of psychological horror, make it worth tolerating the game’s less engaging moments.
Step through Vivette’s doors, by all means, but be prepared for an uneven stay.
It won’t scare your socks off, but if you can avoid getting bogged down by The Sinking City’s clunkier elements, there’s enough to enjoy here.
If you’ve already played Two Point Hospital to death and desperately want more content – you’ll need to have unlocked at least seven hospitals in order to to play this – then Pebberley Island is worth a look.
Underneath it all, Pathologic 2 is an engaging and disquieting game, one that has the potential to be something really quite special. But its survival mechanics are unnecessarily suffocating and take much of the joy out of it. Until Pathologic 2 is cured of that particular problem, be prepared for an uneven slog.
Ion Fury is flawed, but there’s plenty of gruesome fun to be had here, more so if you’ve got fond memories of 90s shooters. If Voidpoint/3D Realms can tighten up the game for an expansion pack or a sequel, I’d definitely be up for more Bombshell. Just don’t expect this outing to blow you away all the time.
Battlewake can be a blast in small doses and is a good way show off the PSVR’s potential (unless the person you’re showing it is prone to seasickness).