Andy Manson's Reviews
Under the age of 30? This is absolutely worth your time. It’s quick, exciting and instantly accessible with genuine replayability. Over the age of 30? I don’t know...have you tried chess? Chess is really good...
The Detail is a genuinely interesting story with fleshed-out characterisation and a lovely look. With a little more attention paid to branching conversations and the consequences of your actions, season 2 of The Detail (fingers crossed!) could be pretty special. As it stands just now, season 1 is a pretty good proof of concept.
In breaking away from the norms of the genre, OPQAM has created the first shmup I’ve properly cared about in years, and that’s saying something.
I knew within five minutes that Firewatch was special. And, whilst the game itself isn't mechanically perfect, it didn't have to be. By the end of it, it had emotionally affected me in a way that perhaps no other game has.
Unfortunately, none of this is enough. HoPiKo is a great idea, badly let down by being suited to one very specific control scheme. In a wider sense, it's another release in a long line of mobile ports that just don't need to exist.
Metrico+ should serve as a pleasant surprise for Xbox One owners looking for something to tax the brain, whilst whiling away the time until the big releases start to roll through again. However, it’s actually a game that I’d recommend at any time. It’s a unique mix of puzzling and platforming in its own right, but tie in the abstraction that permeates every aspect of it, and it’s a surprisingly intriguing package.
Tokyo 42 is a tidy little package, representing another solid addition to the Mode 7 stable. For the princely sum of £14.99, there's a lot of game in there, and you could do far worse for your money.
Deadcore feels like something that should have come to console sooner. It’s not terrible by any means, and many will enjoy the thrill of climbing the leaderboard. The overall 'Tron meets Portal' future aesthetic was also something I enjoyed. Sadly though, it’s all just a little underwhelming.
Difficulty aside, Sine Mora EX is a unique and fun experience that sits memorable amongst the plethora of cookie cutter shmups. More importantly, it's just a genuinely good game in its own right. If you didn't play it in 2012, you should definitely play it now.
Ultimately, what sets LawBreakers aside from its competitors in a very crowded genre is its ability to create moments.
Windjammers is back, just as you remember it. And whilst that’s both a blessing and a curse, I’m just glad to have it back, and at a price that doesn’t make me openly weep. If you’re after another game to add to your collection of party titles, you could do a lot worse
Ultimately, the most disappointing aspect of JYDGE is the game that I could see it being with just a few tweaks. As it is, it’s a game with a great aesthetic and some neatly implemented ideas that just doesn’t do enough where it matters.
While I have serious issues with the pacing issues presented by the driving and resource management aspects, and the narrative sections can sometimes just feel like you’re pressing a button with little thought to advance, Road to Guangdong remains a game with enough charm to garner a qualified recommendation with me – if you can avoid triggering a Game Over, it’ll take up no more than 3-4 hours of your time and, for what’s there, that’s a more than fair investment.
A bright and breezy game that unfortunately drags a little at points, Paradise Killer is nevertheless an enjoyable jaunt that does something a little different with a genre that has a reputation for being somewhat dour. Absolutely worth your time – just be prepared to dedicate a little more of it than you might expect in the early stages.
An incredible simulation of the game of basketball, which might as well be a free-to-play mobile game with so many microtransactions at times. If you can resist the temptation to pour money in, it’s the best sports sim on the market by a fair distance. Unfortunately, this is the worst game in the franchise for attempting to exploit that temptation. Wait for a heavy discount to make any further outlay a more palatable decision.
The bastard child of DOOM, Devil Daggers and Tetris Effect, BPM: Bullets Per Minute is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year and a game I’d thoroughly recommend to anyone with a hankering for something different in the FPS genre. Just don’t expect an easy ride. Even on Easy.
Retaining what made the first game unique, whilst making it a much more rounded experience that you’ll be more likely to revisit, Surgeon Simulator 2 is a good single-player experience that becomes pretty special in online co-op. Gather some mates and it’s one of the most fun multiplayer experiences of the year.
A fun premise, solid mechanics and excellent presentation mean that Bartlow’s Dread Machine might be my favourite twin-stick shooter since Geometry Wars. Hopefully, it doesn’t get lost in the madness that is the end-year shuffle, as it more than holds its own and deserves an audience.
A perfectly serviceable remaster, Panzer Dragoon: Remake still feels like a missed opportunity to reinvigorate a franchise that deserves it. Would love to see what MegaPixel Studio could do with one of the sequels and a little more creative freedom, but this feels a little too difficult to recommend at the price.
A natural evolution of Absolute Drift, art of rally is a terrific passion project that serves as the perfect love letter to rally driving. Designed to be accessible to anyone, regardless of skill level, and with a huge amount of content, it’s a game that you could easily be playing a year from now and still finding new ways to approach it. As such, it’s an incredible value proposition and one of the best racing games in recent memory.