I’m sure serious rally-heads have had plenty of video game content to chew on that I’d never thought to dabble in, but I’m glad I got the chance to experience it in Forza Horizon 5, and I’m certain Rally Adventure will capture both diehards and newcomers like myself with the sheer exhilaration of its races and the franchise’s continued penchant for spectacle and accessibility.
It's not often that a game grabs me in quite the way Citizen Sleeper has. By stripping a video game adventure to its barest components and then manipulating those components to create just the right balance of hope and despair it successfully conveys the drama and danger of its small slice of sci-fi storytelling. Top-notch writing, impeccable narrative design and inviting tabletop mechanics accompanied by gorgeous art and music serve only to elevate it even more. Play this bloody game.
There's so much about Tchia that feels at odds with what I'm accustomed to considering "good" game design, but it's also taught me to throw a lot of those ideas out the window. Tchia is a game that's exactly what it wants to be, and that makes it something that everyone needs to play. It's refreshing, charming, earnest, honest and – most importantly – a heap of fun.
It’s all truly powerful stuff, in spite of the game’s relatively simplistic look, short runtime and sparse interactivity. What GoodbyeWorld Games has done with Before Your Eyes is execute on a novel concept with the perfect amount of restraint and a carefully-paced emotional journey to create something truly special, something that uses the medium of VR and the unique features of its target hardware to hit that much harder. If you’ve got a PS VR2 and a taste for artsy, contemplative indie experiences then you owe it to yourself to play this.
While maybe not essential if you've already seen everything there is to see in the game, The Spacer's Choice Edition of The Outer Worlds is a worthy upgrade for players jumping in for the first time or wanting to explore new choices and outcomes in a second or third playthrough. It's a bit of a shaky upgrade in parts, but the overall package is decent value and the core game is still bloody excellent.
Horizon Call of the Mountain is exactly the killer app that the PlayStation VR2 needed to really sell the promise of its hardware and feature set, even with a couple of stumbles. Clever VR spins on the series' staple gameplay systems, a compelling campaign, ridiculous production values, decent replay value and a genuine sense of wonder make it essential playing for absolutely anyone picking up Sony's next-generation VR headset.
Final Bar Line is another fantastic entry in a great rhythm series, propped up by an enormous catalog of essential video game music and a variety of fun and engaging (if slightly superfluous) systems. Whether you enjoyed the 3DS entries or you're a Final Fantasy fan ready to dive in for the first time, there's a lot to love here even with some minor frustrations.
The Cosmic Shake really does feel like a direct sequel to Battle for Bikini Bottom, taking advantage of nostalgia for both that era of 3D platformers and of course the source material of the show. A cavalcade of jokes and references delivered through inoffensive, if uninspired, game design, it's sure to land nicely with the right audience even if it doesn't seek to have its genre peers shaking like jelly.
SEASON: A letter to the future is the perfect example of art that could only exist within the confines of a video game, using player agency to convey its themes in ways that at times feel genuinely enlightening. It's a game that only gives as much as you deem to take, and only asks as much as you have to give. An instant classic.
Marvel's Iron Man VR was a great PS VR title, but it's an absolutely essential Quest 2 game. Everything that was great about its original iteration and its fantastic-feeling Iron Man power fantasy is still here, but it's all improved immensely by the freedom and performance offered by the new hardware. If you've got a Quest 2, this is a must-have in your library.
High On Life is the most video game-like video game to come from the minds of Squanch and Justin Roiland to date, and it shows the studio is capable of more than just lightly-interactive experiences packed with fart and cum jokes. Though it has plenty of those, too.
All that said, if you’ve played and enjoyed GRIS in the past – let it be known that this is undeniably the same game. While I’d enthusiastically advocate a replay to anyone, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the 4K120 presentation is reason enough to double-dip in place of any of the many other compelling indie releases of 2022. If you’re fresh to the experience, don’t hesitate a second, but otherwise consider whether you possess the technology to get the most out of this new port and/or whether you’ve had your fill of what GRIS has to offer before now.
There’s so much more to talk about when it comes to this hugely comprehensive upgrade to The Witcher 3, and probably a lot I’m yet to see first-hand in the gargantuan game, but I’m confident enough already to say that what you’re getting here is a lot for free. Even if you’re new, the game now comes with all of the excellent expansion content and improvements made to the game in the years since its original release, so it represents great value for money even before the new-gen upgrades. Without a doubt, if you’ve been on the fence about giving The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt another go around or dipping your toes in for the first time – now is your moment.
Not quite a remake, but well beyond what's expected of a remaster, Crisis Core Reunion is exactly the kind of reverent and carefully-considered re-release that fans of the original deserve. Not everything from the 2008 iteration holds up equally, but the updates are plentiful enough that it hardly matters. Whether you managed to catch it on the PSP or you're diving in for the first time – this is without a doubt the definitive way to experience the excellent prequel to Final Fantasy VII.
God of War Ragnarok is a triumph. Santa Monica Studio has successfully taken everything that was great about the last game and amplified it while correcting just about every problem area and then some. There are slight stumbles, but it's a constantly surprising, epic adventure that shows genuine growth in its characters, backed up by best-in-class combat and a menagerie of breathtaking scenes. This makes Ragnarök an easy GOTY contender and one of the best games I've played in years.
This long awaited follow up to Asobo Studio's cult hit doesn't come without grievances, but A Plague Tale: Requiem a rock-solid adventure that's grim and gorgeous in equal measure. Smart iteration on established mechanics and pitch-perfect pacing lead the way to a journey across some breathtaking locales that ups the ante in nearly every way by its shocking conclusion.
If you’re in it purely for the single player content, you’ll find a lot to love in Splatoon 3.
We Are OFK doesn't quite hit the mark as an interactive experience, but it excels with a compelling narrative hook built on fantastic character and dialogue writing. It also doubles as a genuinely great EP by a virtual band that benefits immensely from the context its five episodes provide. This is a stark example of a game that is truly special, even if it's not perfect.
It's not perfect, but Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a confident sequel that's best-in-class in the ways that matter most. Your favourite bits of the first two games are here, cherry-picked and placed into a narrative with a tasteful balance of earnest ideas and anime bullshit.
Stray is a brisk and relentlessly charming adventure that offers a very unique window into a gorgeous sci-fi world. It won't challenge your mind or your reflexes too much but it'll absolutely delight your senses. Importantly, it's a video game with a dedicated 'meow' button, and what could possibly be better than that?