One of the best FMV games to be released in years, ‘Who Pressed Mute On Uncle Marcus?’ is a brilliant combination of a relatable, oddball comedy and a whodunit mystery drama. The acting is superb, the script and editing is tight, it’s deeply replayable and it manages to balance its tone to take you on a really cathartic journey.
An essential game for fans of Borderlands, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a spin off that’s worth exploring. What’s more, this game feels like a turning point for the series as it becomes smarter and funnier than it is goofy and crude.
A bespoke table top adventure brought to digital life, Betrayal At Club Low is incredibly well designed and a lot of quirky fun. Like a battle of whits against a dungeon master that’s determined to make you smile as much as they are to defeat you, Betrayal At Club Low is a dark horse for sleeper hit of the year.
Despite a few niggles, Modern Warfare 2 is a real return to form for Call of Duty. A masterfully crafted multiplayer experience and an excellent campaign mode that pays homage to its predecessors while simultaneously feeling like its own thing come together in one of the best big budget shooters for years.
Some of its endings might leave you feeling a little derezzed, but the branching narrative journey you take to get there makes Tron: Identity an experience worth having. Thought provoking writing and incredible music are coupled with an enjoyable card game in a tale that tackles new frontiers in the world of Tron which will be essential for those the 'fight for the user'.
Explanations of the lore, the world, and your place in it are in short supply but over time, you live, die and learn, rewarding those that stick with it with some of the slickest, well implemented writing in gaming.
As imaginary sports games go, FutureGrind is one of the most rewarding on the PS4 – not because of any in game trophy or narrative pay off. No, it’s because everything in FutureGrind is achievable but challenging and any failure is because you’re thumb wasn’t fast enough or you weren’t paying enough attention.
That’s that take away message I have about Donut County. This game isn’t the only “game about a hole” out on the market but this is the one that feels like it’s been loved into existence rather than rushed out to be first. The visuals, the music (oh folks! THE MUSIC!), the character interactions, the little diorama during the credits all build up this quirky feeling to Donut County that make the plot and the game play shine.
Radial-G: Racing Revolved provides the kind of VR experience you were hoping for when you bought your PSVR. Strap in and hold on tight.
The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a fantastic re-introduction to PlayStation's forgotten mascot.
A combination of roguelike repetition and a shallow plot line might have been enough to derail EverSpace had it not been for the enticing game play cycle, slick space combat and a balanced progression system which keeps you coming back for more. There’s a solid 20 hours of content here (at a leisurely pace, I hasten to add) but the game fills those hours with clutch moments of survival that tell their own story set among some stunning celestial vistas. EverSpace is far more accessible than Elite: Dangerous, is more enjoyable than Dreadnought and is among the most visually arresting space based games on Sony’s 8th generation console.
WipEout Omega Collection is a turbo boost down memory lane for long time fans in which we get to play 3 of the best games in the series in their best possible light.
When I ask my kids what score they'd give Knack 2 out of 10, they say "ten hundred out of ten" but for me the filler and occasional confusing section mean that it falls just short of joining the likes of Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank in the annals of 3D platforming history but it's still a solid, polished and thoroughly entertaining game.
Unbox: Newbie's Adventure combines the new hotness with old school classics to come up with something unique. Sure, the unpredictable movement takes some getting used to, the combat is a little lacklustre in single player and the vehicle control is awkward but it does far more right than it does wrong.
Neon Drive is one of the best music rhythm games on the PS4 because it does the unexpected.
Veteran writer Bob Bates is back with the charming text adventure Thaumistry: In Charm's Way that harks back to the good ol' days.
Son of Scoregasm improves upon the original with an innovative risk vs. reward system that's perfect for short bursts of portable play.
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.
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.