Before The Storm Episode 2, Brave New World, is packed full of nods to the original Life Is Strange but the brashness and immaturity of Chloe is starting to wear thin.
A returning character turns Episode 3 of Telltale's Batman: The Enemy Within AKA Broken Mask into an action packed and tense period in the series.
Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier is a game at odds with itself that's near-essential for fans of the film series but a snoozefest for anybody else.
Factotum 90 is a solid, if simple puzzle game that doesn't require too much from the player. If you want a test, you won't find one here because it fails to capitalise on the mechanics it has. It lacks polish but that premise and split-screen controls are interesting enough to get you through the games 30 missions before they overstay their welcome. Factotum 90 occupied me for a solid 6 hours and this feels like a solid return on investment for a budget handheld game.
Dynasty Feud is an ideal game to add to a party playlist among friends (who you wouldn't mind becoming enemies). It's a fast-paced, well designed, thrilling 2D platform brawler with a bold but basic art style and a catchy soundtrack in which anything can (and invariably will) happen. Matches can change in an instant because of the changeable nature of the characters, environments and abilities which lean into the unpredictable but can be mastered with practice. It's a shame that the online modes seem so unstable, even with a stable internet connection, but Dynasty Feud seems like a game best played together on the same TV (but always just out of arm's reach) anyway.
Vesta is an interesting and often tense puzzle game that lacks that final polish and tries to do too much. It feels like the game should have stuck to what it does well – the puzzle designs, the soundtrack and bold visual art style – instead of trying to include combat which results in the core mechanics being at odds with themselves. Vesta is at its best when it's challenging your grey matter rather than your thumb reaction speed and thankfully, it does that more often than not.
After a small lull in the series with the third episode, What Ails You puts Batman: The Enemy Within back on track to be the most original and intriguing re-imaging of the Dark Knight's rogues gallery and among Telltale's very best output to date. If you're not playing this series, you're missing out on some fantastic gaming water cooler moments and some of the greatest character driven storytelling for years.
Crossing Souls leverages the classics from the 80's while telling a powerful tale of the space between life and death.
The Fall Part 2: Unbound tells an interesting and often complex tale of an artificial intelligence but it's often too obtuse with it's puzzle solutions.
Mulaka is unlike anything I've ever played before and oh so very familiar at the same time. It's a game that has obviously had a lot of thought put into making it feel authentic to the Tarahumara beliefs and ideals and you can see the incredible effort that has been made to bring the North Mexican folk tales, myths and legends to life.
This game might be touted around the internet as an easy Platinum trophy for the hunters but unlike so many other games that have released over the past few years that only exist to peddle a Plat, there’s actually a game underneath the taught, muscley surface of Mr Massagy. Sure, it’s short and simple but it still provides a few laughs along the way.
Rad Rodgers might take its inspirations from the Apogee masterworks of the 90’s but it needed more modern day thinking to avoid mediocrity.
Bridge Constructor Portal is a complex, frustrating but often gratifying experience that *almost* makes the most of its Portal theme.
So QUBE 2 is a smart, deeply satisfying puzzle game that makes you feel like a genius at times. It has a well thought out and implemented plot too. It’s just a shame that it’s so short lived, leaving you begging for more when the credits roll.
Episode 1 of the Council AKA The Mad Ones sets out to subvert the status quo of narrative based adventures but stumbles on some of the basics.
Assault Gunner HD Edition is a game filled with substandard visuals, repetitive, unvaried game play and a plethora of small niggles which really mount up. The game might have received some positive reviews on the PSVita but the jet boost to the West and to the PS4 has not been kind on this game.
Fortunately, the typical NIS charm and tight, top down dungeon battling are enough to carry Penny Punching Princess, despite the drawbacks with its greatest feature. If you’ve got slender, nimble fingers, you might get a lot more out of this title that I but even with those issues, there’s more good than bad with this cash guzzling revenge trip.
A re-skin of ★★★★★ 1000 Top Rated, Slyde is a “buy-a-Plat” game that’s dressed up as a glitch riddled slider puzzle. The Finger Guns Review
The fifth and final episode of Telltale's Batman: The Enemy Within AKA Same Stitch secures the series as a triumph in narrative design and the greatest re-imagining of the Joker to date.
A sublime concoction of old school RPG’s and an innovative idea, Minit is a bloomin’ brilliant game.