Perish offers a great world to explore and a surprising amount of graphical prowess for an indie roguelike. The setting is intriguing and the combat varied and engaging enough. The game stumbles with framerate drops and a gameplay loop that may not have been finetuned to perfection, though if you have a crew to play with, Perish still offers a good amount of fun that's worth your time.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet represents the power struggle between innovation and execution. There's so much promise in the idea of a fully integrated, cooperative Pokémon game, yet the final product I experienced with Pokémon Violet falls short of those aspirations. There's still a lovable structure found within the game, driven by a more immersive world design and a new generation of adorable mons. Though the polish is lacking, failing to completely realise the ideas put in place and falling short of expectations.
I’m glad I was able to dive back into a game I genuinely consider to be one of my favourite shooters from back in the day. It feels a little more cliché now than it did back in 2007, but you can still see why Crysis was able to make such a name for itself. With more than serviceable gameplay and narrative, Crysis Remastered is worth a play for those who are yet to check this title out. Although with visuals that feel a little underwhelming, I wonder if those who already own the original would get much out of this remaster.
Bright Memory: Infinite will go down as a largely impressive game held back by glaring shortfalls. The frenetic and uniquely compelling shooter/hack ‘n’ slash combat as well as the breathtakingly realistic visuals make for a worthy experience alone. Unfortunately, that narrative is told in a less than elegant way and the quick sprint to roll credits hold Infinite back from reaching its true potential.
Trolley Problem, Inc is a decent exploration of morality and philosophy, culminating in a provocative experience that will likely linger beyond its rather short playtime. It’s cleverly presented, even if it can verge on the side of overly simple. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t maintain the same level of intrigue generated by its opening questions, failing to include real-world politics in a satisfying way. It stumbles one too many times, with moments of brilliance being met in equal measure by disappointing shortcomings.
Undoubtedly fun for a fright night with friends or a YouTube reaction video, Choo-Choo Charles will find its place comfortably as a not-so-serious meme game with some good horror ideas. There's a charm to the whole experience supported by the fact that its short runtime means it never overstays its welcome. However, the game's shortcomings are simply too obvious to overlook. Requiring more polish, depth, and variety, Choo-Choo Charles doesn't have the longevity needed to be anything more than a fleeting piece of sharable internet entertainment.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster has all the components of a great game. It has mature themes and storytelling, an idea for a mysterious and captivating narrative, and the ability to replicate a style of game that’s been embraced by gamers for the last decade. Unfortunately the game also stumbles across a few hurdles that it was never able to recover from.
I sailed into Windbound with hope and excitement and unfortunately sailed away with disappointment. It’s not all bad, not by a long shot. But there were enough confusing design decisions and awkward control issues to put me off this game completely.
LONE RUIN is a game that's simply too short for its own good. A lack of content means the experience is over long before it ever should be, and any additional difficulty modes and a survival mode don't do enough to justify the small scope. The experience is saved somewhat by good gameplay and a great spells/upgrades system, though not enough to call this one a real must-play.
Redfall is an interesting concept with some valid ideas, some cool lore, and some great moments driven by solid visual design and a knack for leaning into the supernatural. But with a vapid and dull open world, bad mission design, constant backtracking, and a plethora of performance issues—this release ends up sucking the life out of you one glitch at a time.
Orangeblood throws you into an alternative history timeline where you control a party of girls taking on the dirty and corrupt underworld of a Japanese municipality. It’s a game that merges cultures and aesthetics in a uniquely interesting way, but also struggles to find its footing at the same time.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice scratches the Souls itch but does so with some uniqueness and refreshing ideas. This game is not for the faint of heart, however.
Baba Is You is genuinely impressive. Changing the rule set of the game as you play is a powerful and compelling tool.
It may not be a flawless victory, but Mortal Kombat 11 puts up one hell of fight.
DARQ certainly doesn't overstay its welcome, presenting a short and concise experience. But when is short too short?
I can forgive the game for a lot of its shortcomings, although there’s something about Borderlands 3 that I absolutely cannot forgive – its technical problems.
What frustrates me the most about Anthem is that the things that work in the game's favour are really well implemented. It feels like a complete waste to have these awesome traversal and combat mechanics utilised in such an uninspired game
...the longer you play the more problems you notice and the more you realise that the game simply doesn’t feel complete or coherent. I don’t think Generation Zero will be remembered fondly in the future, if remembered at all.
Divinity Original Sin 2 is that perfect sequel, it knew what made the original great, understood its weaknesses and then went balls to the wall to attempt to make the best product possible. Without a doubt, Divinity Original Sin 2 is up there with some of the best games released this year, and up their with some of the best CRPGs ever released.
There is a chasm the size of middle-earth itself that separates the ingenuity of the game’s Nemesis system and the snorefest that is the game’s ‘point of interest’ system