Shadow of the Erdtree is what I would call the perfect DLC/Expansion pack and it does everything I want from this kind of content. It builds upon the core systems that made the base game so great, without breaking what was already there, it provides so much new content when it comes to areas to uncover and bosses to defeat.
Sand Land is a game that is very Toriyama though and through. Sure, looking at games like Dragon Quest or Chrono Trigger, they are Toriyama-esque because of his assistance with character designs. But Sand Land is pure Toriyama. It captures his world building, highlights his character and mech designs and best of all it captures the sense of comedy that has been an integral part of many of his works.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a fantastic next step in the Remake Trilogy. It builds upon what was already established in the first game and has broken down the walls, allowing for a much more open experience that allows for deeper interaction with the game’s world and between the game’s characters.
Persona 3 Reload delivers on the long wanted dream of a Persona 3 remake. It brings one of the series’ best entries into the modern age with a ton of quality of life improvements and new features. It’s certainly a long story, but one filled with an addictive drive to uncover what happens next as there are multiple mysteries you’re simultaneously trying to uncover more about intermingled within the game’s other mechanics and the day-to-day social forward gameplay loop.
There’s a reason that many in the fighting community say that Tekken is the best 3D fighting game and this is another incredible entry in the series. Not only does it have an impressive launch roster of 32 characters at launch that each feel different from one another and cover a wide range of fighting styles, you also have the ability to customise their appearance using the game’s slew of unlockable cosmetic items if you’re into that too.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remaster is the definition of ‘more of a good thing’. It comes with the core game, which itself I still find to be an incredible follow up to the first game along with a surprisingly deep new mode with No Return and a slew of new features that enhance an already great game but now allows it to utilise the improved features of the PS5.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an amazing revival of a series that hasn’t been given much love in recent years and is an incredible addition to the Metroidvania genre. It’s combat, puzzles and platforming are really satisfying doesn’t overstay it’s welcome when it comes to overall pacing.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a faithful and welcome addition to the Avatar movie franchise. It takes the established world building and builds upon it with an original quest to provide a way for the player to experience the vibrant yet dangerous world of Pandora first hand. While it does have some room to improve when it comes to late mission and character design, it’s clear that the better parts of Ubisoft’s game catalogue have built Frontiers of Pandora up to what it is. Claiming its traversal and gun play from Far Cry, strategic use of planning and use of technology from Watch Dogs and its stealth and strategy mechanics from Assassin’s Creed.
Alan Wake 2 is unlike anything I’ve ever played. Not since Death Stranding have I experienced a game be allowed to be weird, and stick to it’s creative vision without the need to be confined into pre-defined and understood game designs or structures we’ve experienced hundreds of times before just to pull in as much cash as possible. Alan Wake 2 cleverly integrates music, as well as live action sequences to enhance the way it tells stories and I loved that it took the risk to do so.
This is how sequels should be. They should build upon the events of the original, introduce new complications for our characters, present challenges that will help them grow as they manage to overcome them and introduce new mechanics that change up the gameplay in new and interesting ways. Spider-Man 2 does all of that and more.
Sonic Superstars is a nice return to most of what made 2D Sonic so great in the 90s. It has fun and unique zones to explore, Chaos Emeralds and abilities to find and earn, and the addictive replay value of trying to discover each stage’s secrets and most efficient path all while having an amazing soundtrack to enjoy while you do it.
Overall, the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 1 has a lot on offer and has a lot to offer players, whether they are MEtal Gear veterans or are brand new and jumping into the games for the first time. While there are better individual versions of MGS1 out there, the value of having all of these games available in the same place, and running on modern consoles with the plethora of bonus features included can’t be understated.
Detective Pikachu Returns does continue to deliver a unique twist on the Pokemon franchise and the world and concepts this series has introduced continue to be interesting and pushes the franchise in a fun and different direction.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage brings back the feel of a classic Assassin’s Creed game thanks to its more focussed gameplay experience and the way the game plays out narratively. The returned focus of stealth based gameplay let’s you embody the mind of an assassin and the varied mission types allow you to put all of your skills to the test and achieve the outcome in the way you best see fit.
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai sits in a bit of a weird place, primarily because of the way it chooses to tell its story. It’s based on an existing anime and does cover the key plot beats of the story and the character motivations fairly well and is easy enough to follow even for newcomers. But due to its abridged nature, the anime or manga is still the go-to option if you come to like these characters and want to see everything this story has to offer.
Overall, Mortal Kombat 1 is exactly what I wanted from the next step in the franchise. It takes the story in a fresh new direction and opens up the MK universe even further and its Kameo system completely changes up the fighting gameplay, whether you play just solo or competitively online. I really liked seeing fresh takes on many of the series’ most iconic characters and am looking forward to jumping back into the game each season to play through the new Invasion, beat new bosses and collect new gear.
The game is very much what you make it, and choosing what you want to do, what systems you want to interact with or completely ignore makes for a really rewarding and diverse experience that most people are going to love.
Overall, Immortals of Aveum is a great first effort from the team at Ascendant Studios. The world itself and the story being told is really interesting and it features some great performances by its core cast of characters. The writing isn’t always perfect and there are some minor visual gripes but I enjoyed the what the game had to offer overall and am most keen to see where this world can be expanded on either in sequel games or via branching out into other types of media.
This game is the next big step in FromSoftware’s development journey honouring where they have come from and what they’ve learned since the last Armored Core game, containing a lot of the FromSoftware DNA when it comes to enemy and level design but is definitely a very different beast to the Souls games and Elden Ring.
I can’t wait to see what the Deconstructeam work on next. They’ve shown over a few games now that they can consistently craft great stories and characters and tread the line of cosy and heartwarming with dark themes and pull it off successfully and respectfully. I thoroughly enjoyed the roughly 6 hour experience of playing through the game and am looking forward to revisiting Fortuna’s journey another time through just to see the outcome of different choices and relationships.