Ryan Brown's Reviews
It is ostensibly still Knack though, bland characters and all, so if you disliked the first game for its weak story, this isn't going to win you over. It's not a must-have, but as a cheap, easy-to-grasp game to entertain you or your kids for a short while, you can't go too wrong with Knack 2.
Before the Storm evokes everything wonderful about the first game, with even the loss of Max Caulfield and her time-rewind mechanic not as great as one might think. This is fan service at its best. If you were a fan of Life is Strange, you'll love this opening episode and the tease of what's coming in the following episodes.
Criticising the very point of the game might seem unfair, but I can't change my own tastes and can only speak from my own experience. If procedurally-generated worlds sit better with you and you enjoy dungeon-crawlers and action games, chances are this one's for you.
Each of the games in Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 are classics in their own right, even if they don't quite match up to the fan favourite Mega Man 2. These are faithful ports with no apparent technical issues present, so there's not much to complain about.
For those already fans of the series, it's more of the Splatoon you love. It could just as easily have been called 'Splatoon Deluxe', but there's more than enough here to keep anyone from getting bored. As the Switch's big release of the summer, owners of the console will find it difficult to resist Splatoon 2's charm. It's a great shooter alternative to Call of Duty for kids and still a heap of fun for adults.
This is not a game you want to have to wait for - it is a must-have for a console that it feels to have been made for. It is, as I say, a masterpiece.
Motion controls are a bit lacking, but ARMS is still immensely fun even with standard button controls. I'll definitely be mastering my technique in online matches long after I've beaten Grand Prix with every character. It may not be for everyone, but this is absolutely the Splatoon of fighters. I can't wait to fight you all online.
With so many optional collectibles, RiME succeeds in filling the collect-a-thon void that other titles have failed to fill. I'm looking at you, Yooka-Laylee. This is a game about exploration, discovery and adventure. It is not a game about killing your enemies, but rather figuring out a way to avoid them. It is a game about solving puzzles as you take in beautiful environments and a wordless narrative.
These are devastating flaws, but its core is still promising. It's not a terribly complex arena game, but it is competent and I can see it being good fun for hour-long plays at get-togethers. However, unless its online mode picks up, it'd be difficult to recommend this to anyone not looking for a party game.
Though it perhaps worked best on the PSP, with alternative control methods and 4K graphics, it's a welcome addition to the PS4 library and I can only hope that more PSP classics receive similar treatment.
Lasting a few hours, this additional content may be too brief to justify a purchase from those with only a fleeting interest in the game. One of its three colosseums is frustrating to play, and the only new musical track can hardly be heard over cheering sound effects. However, for hardcore fans, three new varied challenges, a secret boss fight, a range of customisation items and a tragic story that lives up to the base game makes what was already one of video gaming's greatest accomplishments even better.
Despite its straightforward gameplay, Little Nightmares is a title worth putting in the handful of hours that it'll take you to complete, and you'll be surprised by how much ends up sticking with you.
The Disney Afternoon Collection is clearly the work of a team who care a great deal about video games and their preservation. Extras include high-quality images of design documents, cover arts, posters and more - many of which had previously been considered lost. A lot of love has gone into every frame of this, right down to its menus, and I cannot wait to see which titles developer Digital Eclipse tackle next. However, whilst some titles are platformer gems, others are somewhat unextraordinary and I can't imagine newcomers would stick with any titles.
The harsh reality is that I wanted to love it just as much as anyone else. The team is clearly talented and Yooka-Laylee is a work of passion, but it's simply not enough. Yooka-Laylee is simply a chore to play and it relies too heavily on past glories and self-referential humour.
There's some real fun to be had here in spite of its nuisances and both platformer fans of old and newcomers alike will find this enjoyable.
NieR:Automata is one of the finest games I have ever played. It is a genuine masterpiece.
Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers is a repetitive, boring disaster of a game, and almost offensive in its disregard for the vibrant characters it's utilising. To suggest that kids would find any degree of enjoyment from this would be a disservice to their intelligence.
With an attractive art style, generally fun gameplay, catchy music and some fantastic narration, Manual Samuel isn't just another clumsy physics-based simulation game - it stands alongside Octodad and Surgeon Simulator as the cream of the physics-based crop.