A gorgeous and macabre tale that doesn’t shy away from its more fantastical underlying narrative. It’s not a perfect game, it definitely feels rather last-gen in some of its moment-to-moment gameplay, but an unforgettable story and unique mechanics hold it up high.
After four years of development time, Koji Igarashi has created the game that fans have craved for years. It’s a love letter, not so much to Castlevania itself but to the fans that helped him distance from publisher Konami. Ritual of the Night is not a perfect game, but it’s a bloody good game. If you’re craving for a new Metoridvania, or IGA-Vania, then this is definitely a title to put on your shelf… or digital library.
Void Bastards is full of personality—it’s also exploding with uniqueness. If you’re looking for a gorgeous survival title with unique gameplay, stellar visuals, a grand sense of humour and actually wants you to beat it; there isn’t much better than Void Bastards.
For those of you who love a challenge, Double Fine’s charming adventure is far from an easy game. With devious bosses, dastardly platforming challenges and that ever-so-engaging roguelike butt-kicking, RAD is another fantastic title coming out of Double Fine.
My Friend Pedro is at the forefront of sidescrolling action. While it will undoubtedly take a while to fully get to grips with its controls, the time investment is worthwhile. As soon as you finish, you’ll be returning to prior levels in an attempt to beat your score. It’s an addicting, adrenaline-fuelled, action-packed adventure that ends just a little bit too soon.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy is not only the best recreation of Masashi Kishimoto's work available for fans of the series, but the best way to bring new fans into the series.
Duck Game is a standout multiplayer title on Switch. While it isn't going to be as extensive as its modifiable PC counterpart, it's a solid port to a fantastic portable. With split Joy-Con support, Duck Game is a perfect game to chuck on with a friend for a short game of animal cruelty. So put on a silly hat, pick up a chainsaw and slide at Mach speed towards your opponent.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally here, but it ever-so-slightly misses the mark. However, after all's said and done, after worlds have been explored, friends have been made, and keyblades have been wielded – I'm so, so glad it's here.
There’s always fun, albeit repetitive fun, to be had. It’s a perfect match for the Nintendo Switch, it’s a match made in Mars.
The Missing is a good game with a unique mechanic (although I too remember Rebellion’s NeverDead) that houses a fantastic and touching story. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a game that will stay with you for years to come.
Trials Rising still feels like an extension of Trials Evolution. It may not feel like the true big-budget sequel that many still crave for, but then Trials is an iterative series. Instead, Rising is more of the same just slightly more polished than what we’ve experienced before. It’s not going to break minds, it’s just a great motorsport puzzler.
This is the zombie co-op shooter of the generation.
Looking back at it, Man of Medan isn’t the awesome successor to Until Dawn we wanted, but it’s a good step to delivering that successor. While it inherits a similar structure – and it’s bizarre performance issues – it just isn’t as enthralling as what came before. Some routes are disjointed and the cast and environment aren’t as interesting as the sassy clique that fought off the Wendigos, but it’s still a strong horror experience that makes for a fantastic co-op experience. The look on your friend’s face when you accidentally kill his character is one you’ll never forget.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare attempts to provide everything a CoD fan could want, albeit to mixed results. Its campaign is easily the best seven-hour experience the series has ever crafted, even if it’s political meddling of true events is particularly insulting. Combined with a solid multiplayer mode that has a mostly polished set of maps and a gun unlock system free from disgusting loot boxes or microtransactions and it should be an amazing title. Unfortunately, Spec Ops is broken and lets the game down.
Shenmue 3 is an acquired taste, very acquired, but it’s everything I ever wanted it to be. As a Shenmue sequel it’s fan-pleasing perfection. As an actual game it leaves some things to be desired: combat is clunky , facial animations are unpleasing and there are numerous translation oddities. However, at the end of the day, it’s a game I’ve awaited for years and I’m far from disappointed.
While the rejection of these moments of Dragon Ball Z’s story is upsetting, Kakarot still plays well. It’s the Dragon Ball Z game we’ve always wanted; warts and all, Kakarot is hands-down a ballistic and powerful adaptation of one of anime’s greatest shows. Just like how CyberConnect 2’s Naruto games vastly improved by the time the fourth and final entry came around, Kakarot only requires minimal tweaking to become one of DBZ’s greatest games.
If you want a smaller, condensed narrative within a unique cyberpunk world, Cloudpunk is an amiable adventure with a cast of creative, memorable characters. It could do with a proper map to allow players to fully discover everything throughout Nivalis’ varied districts, but as it stands, this distinctive sci-fi adventure is an awesome adventure on a budget.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not flawless. In fact, it’s a game that proactively attempts to guide you past its flaws every step of the way, but it is still a game I’m glad I played. It’s likely to bring the ire of hardcore fans: as someone who only has a passing knowledge of original I know for a fact where this story has massively altered. However, if you play FF7R, you will fall in love. Not with the game, and not necessarily its museum-exhibit world, but with its cast. In that sense, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is pretty darn great.
Straight out of a time portal, Super Magic Cane Zero feels like an XBLA game that never was.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is an absolute treat, even if it’s fairly basic.