Chris Hyde
The Long Journey Home has some great ideas. But ultimately it is a victim of its grand ambition. Repetitive, often frustrating gameplay further mar the experience.
A title that grabs your attention and has you hooked almost immediately. But after a while, the repetition and constraining design choices will put you off.
Layers of Fear 2 starts off scary but runs out of ideas quickly. It tells an interesting story but is marred by out of place action sections.
The Mystery of Woolley Mountain is an average point and click game that loses its spark by the end. A good mix of puzzles is offset by an unengaging plot and characters.
Pic-a-Pix Pieces is more of the same nonogram puzzles, with nothing new to bring to party. It's functional and simple, but don't expect anything more.
A compilation that will appeal to die-hard fans mainly. Others might fancy a dabble but will soon be put off be the repetition and lack of challenge before moving on to something else.
Stay has so much promise, and initially gripped me in a very personal way. As the story goes on though, ridiculous puzzles and multiple restarts will frustrate you, souring the overall experience.
Wanted: Dead starts off strong with plenty to learn and enjoy, but towards the end bogs itself down by trying to be difficult, forgoing what made it good to begin with.
Bloodshore is a short and sweet FMV game with good acting and characters, let down by a lack of branching narrative and a sometimes passive gameplay experience.
The Llama of Wall Street DLC packs a small punch but is still fun to play. It still feels just like Tropico 6, which will disappoint some, but be great news to others.
The gyro controls are a welcome addition, but Resident Evil 5 on Switch feels inferior to other formats thanks to a sub-par framerate.
As a single experience, Headline: NoviNews works quite well, despite having some dark outcomes. But it's lack of depth means you'll get little from playing it through a second time.
As an audio and visual package, Gris is stunning. However some missteps in gameplay prevent it from being something special.
For some, Flood of Light will be a relaxing, thought-provoking puzzler perfect for a rainy day. For others its slow pace, frustrating collectibles and difficulty will mean reaching for another title instead.
The VideoKid clearly loves the 1980s, and it hopes you do too. But strip away the nostalgia and you're left with a pretty basic experience. Unless you REALLY enjoyed Paperboy, you're better off looking elsewhere.
Part one of Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse sets a decent standard for the franchise. In a return to its roots it shows that a beautifully imagined 2D world can still be engaging and relevant. Its puzzles are varied without being over-strenuous, but the game's narrative makes them feel somewhat linear, which could put some gamers off. Overall though it's a worthwhile purchase, assuming the second half can maintain the same standard or even surpass it.
NES Remix actually stands as a Nintendo example of an iOS game. Loads of pick up and play charm, mixed with the Nintendo magic. Memorable games, numerous challenges, and great MiiVerse integration creates a nice little package for a reasonable price. Some however will resent these being the same games they've played (and paid for) numerous times already. The remixed stages serve as a reminder to what this game could have been, but as such its content, whilst entertaining, will not be new and different enough for everyone.
Lord Winklebottom Investigates is a charming, funny point-and-click adventure, you'll just need to rewire your thinking to navigate its logic.
Scarf offers a short and sweet platforming experience. It's perfectly enjoyable to play, but you'll likely be left wanting more when the credits roll.
51 Worldwide Games will have something for everyone. It won't knock your socks off, but you'll have plenty of fun with the variety on offer.