Death of the Outsider is a great game, having new powers and new features with Bille Lurk as the central character helps shave off any kind of series fatigue. We're excited to see where it all goes next!
When it all clicks, it is quite brilliant. When it all clicks that is, otherwise you're left with a game that's not quite going to win first place compared to the likes of Forza. Normally I try not to compare these things, but if you asked me to choose at the moment, even with the loot boxes - I'd say Forza 7 wins there in terms of delivering a better experience and racer out of the gate.
Conan Exiles genre-wise is a survival sandbox fantasy game, which cleaves to the ideas and aesthetic of Conan quite nicely. I've read virtually every bit of Conan literature there is to read, and seen the movies, followed the comics. As a fan of Conan in that regard I'm really happy with Conan Exiles since it brings to life part of Conan's world extremely well. From harsh desert climes, to deep jungles and frosty northern wastes, there's a lot to see and do here and many hidden dark secret places that can corrupt the mind just as much as they destroy the body.
The Great War has ended, and London is caught now in the grip of the Spanish Flu epidemic that devastated the city. This is the backdrop for Vampyr, and thus begins the tale of newly embraced Doctor Jonathan Reid, a brilliant physician and a man who is very much blessed and cursed by his new found powers. All around Doctor Reid, the shadows move, there are vampires who pull at the strings of Britain's government, and vampire hunters that seek to shove a steak through the good doctor's newly dead heart. It's a great backdrop for a story, and provides a slower paced, interesting narrative for anyone who engages their brain rather than their 'bash things in the face' button on the gamepad. If you're going to rush through Vampyr, know that you're going to miss a lot of subtle narrative and expanded story hidden within the expansive dialogue trees of every single character in the game.
It's nice to see a 3d ARPG that's not made by Blizzard get the bombastic sprawling fantasy epic feel fairly right. There are a few things that grate (the purple prose for one) in the game, and there's not many bugs that I've been able to detect - no broken quest chains or triggers that failed. Everything has been smooth sailing barring the dropped frames now and then, and even they don't actually spoil the game. The dual world and puppet mechanics provide a big draw to the game for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of the different characters as I progress through the huge game before me. There's a lot of dialogue to listen and read, so if you're into lore-rich worlds, you've come to the right place. The bonus here is that much of it is narrated by Tom Baker.
Once you have some meals to take with you, cooked using the things you grow, you can venture out in your rowboat (rowing devours your energy, especially with big waves) and explore the other islands for materials, crew, secrets and other plants/food that you can bring back with you and use in camp. This gameplay loop is fun, marred a little by the quick drain on your energy. Exploration is going to take you a long time, many repeated trips across the ocean and in some cases you'll only get a handful of materials for your troubles.
If youi're a Warhammer 40K fan, and you're a fan of Diablo-style games then Inquisitor Martyr is definitely a game for you. There are still a few bugs, and some mission triggers don't fire correctly at the end of certain missions. But, all that aside, it's a great fun game that's worth getting for sure!
There's a story going on here, about existence, simulation, and all that. It's not a story that sits well with some folks, and I can't say it's all that well written. It's oddly jarring to see it in No Man's Sky to be honest and the delivery of the textual parts of Atlas Rises always slams me out of the immersion of the game due to its reliance on 'choose your own adventure' narrative elements.
Fury Unleashed is a solid action puzzle platformer, with rogue like elements and it runs extremely well. The game is short, but there's replay value there and couch co-op for two players -- which is a rarity. A good little package and well made!
Watch_Dogs: Legion is big, it's ambitious, and it pulls off a lot of neat things with the city sandbox. The triumph is the play as anyone system, but also a weakness in that it can create a truly obnoxiously voiced character and personality. It encourages sandbox play and offers a lot to see, and to do. A strong post launch plan could see this really take off.
It's got the 40K atmosphere nailed to a T. It's got the sound, the sights, and the feel of 40K perfectly - but it's just let down massively by bugs, long loading times, horrible mission design and a lack-lustre campaign mode that not even the Emperor himself would condone. I feel it's a bit of a waste of old Gav's talents as a writer really and when you're dealing with a Librarian, the constant purge the xenos motivation comes across as a bit thin.