If you own a PS4 and are a fan of narrative driven single player experiences God Of War is an absolute must play title. It’s action packed main narrative and extensive side quests will keep you addicted for around 40 hours. The highly developed world and characters backed by incredible writing cements the team at Sony Santa Monica as one of Sony’s top first party studio’s. This game could easily be the best first party game released this generation. It’s likely pretty far away but I can not wait to see what they have in store for us next.
Whether you’re a newcomer to the Persona series or have had a lot of experience playing through the games in the past, I can’t recommend Persona 5 Royal enough. It’s story, while very long is packed full of rewarding moments, complex characters and fantastic music. So much so that right after sinking in 100 hours into the game you’ll likely want to dive right back in and experience it again with the game’s new game+ mode. While it’s length may put some people off, and that’s completely ok, those that stick with it are in for a great time and will realise why I consider Persona 5 to be one of my favourite games of all time. Well done ATLUS, this is how ‘complete editions’ of game’s should be handled.
The Last of Us Part 2, like the first game is a masterpiece. Naughty Dog are mostly unmatched when it comes to storytelling, animation, music and visual fidelity and that is very much still the case here. The story is heavy, dark and full of twists and certainly feels like ‘Part 2’ of the events setup in the first game. It’s a shame we likely won’t get another Naughty Dog title for another 5 years, because I can’t wait to see what they’re brewing up next.
After playing through Hades, I can 100% agree that all of the praise and awards have been absolutely warranted. The game is a masterpiece when it comes to game design, with all of it’s systems existing so cohesively they create one hell of an addicting and insanely enjoyable experience. It’s rare that a game manages to tick all of the boxes, but with Hades’ incredible writing and cast of characters, rewarding systems, it’s music and the way that it provides a fresh take on the roguelite genre, it’s certainly done it for me. Hades is a rare masterpiece in gaming and I certainly can’t wait to see what the talented team at Supergiant cook up next.
Elden Ring is a masterclass in design and worldbuilding. The challenge certainly won’t be for everyone but it’s rich world and incredibly rewarding gameplay has me wanting to spend so many more hours discovering everything that’s on offer. The team at FromSoftware have combined and enhanced the systems that made their previous games loved so much and injected more to make this game feel large and fresh. Above all else I’m glad the collaboration with George R.R Martin hasn’t been wasted, as the story is some of the best that FromSoftware have put out thus far.
Whether it’s the first time you’re experiencing this incredible survival story for the first time or the 20th, there really isn’t a better looking or performing version of the game. Whether you believe the game needed to be remade or not is beside the point, when so much has been done to make the game visually impressive while also more accessible, it’s opened up the game to be experienced by a whole range of new players. While I do wish the incredibly fun factions mode of the original had been included, The Last Of Us Part 1 perfectly blends incredible visuals and cinematic story telling in a way that only the technical wizards at Naughty Dog are able to do.
The team at Santa Monica Studios have caught lightning in a bottle twice in a row now. God of War Ragnarok is an incredible masterpiece, and an experience I have no issue recommending to anyone looking for a great video game. It’s story is driven by a stunning cast of characters and elevated by industry leading art, music and character writing. The game itself bleeds quality. I can only imagine the pressure the team had to follow up the legacy of the last game, but they’ve managed to improve on God of War (2018) in every way, while maintaining true to everything that made the game great. Ragnarok is certainly going to be in the mix when the next ‘game of the generation’ discussions happen again in the coming years.
Persona 4 Golden continues to be one of the greatest and well loved JRPGs almost 15 years since it’s original release and is now available on more platforms than ever. The Golden version of the game is by far the definitive version to play and you’ll have plenty of hours ahead of you to get lost in with an incredible cast of characters as you try to get to the bottom of an engaging murder mystery. The Persona series is consistently good, they’ve nailed what makes JRPG games so fun to play, and if you only have the ability to play one of the newly released 2023 remasters coming out this week, Persona 4 Golden is my recommendation for which one to pick up.
Metroid Prime is an absolute masterpiece. It was a gamble taking a 2D series and trying to adapt everything that made it great into a 3D experience but it paid off massively. Now with this remaster it has gotten even better and opened up the door to so many new players. With noticeable improvements to both the look and the feel of the game, this is now the standard I’ll hold all remaster projects to. I’m a massive fan of the Metroid series so any time Nintendo show it some love, it get’s me quite excited. I can’t wait to experience what’s on offer in the upcoming Metroid Prime 4 and more curious to see if we’ll be getting the same remaster treatment in the meantime for Prime 2 and 3.
Capcom have another masterpiece on their hands with the release of this remake. It preserves everything that made the original game so iconic but has also expanded on aspects and removed others to create a new, well paced masterpiece that honours the original game and has plenty of surprises for new or old fans. It’s certainly not going to be the last remake of a popular game we see that’s for sure, but it sets a new benchmark for how video game remakes should be treated.
Inside offers a short but incredibly fun and thoughtful experience that will leave me thinking about it for a long time to come. It’s thoughtful puzzles and physics based platforming guide you on a fast paced journey which by the end may leave you with more questions than you started with. The port for the Nintendo Switch is fantastic and is my recommended platform to pick this up on if you are looking to jump into this game.
Okami on the Nintendo Switch is straight up fantastic. Whether you’ve played it numerous times before or wanting to jump into it for the first time, the Nintendo Switch offers the definitive experience when it comes to the feel of the gameplay thanks to how accurately the Joy-Cons are able to pick up and display your brush strokes on the world. Fans of the action adventure genre will thoroughly enjoy this adventure through Nippon playing as Amaterasu. The story is long and does have some pacing issues but is well worth the payoff when you finally hit those closing credits.
Resident Evil 2 is a fantastic survival horror experience that has a brilliant world and puzzle design and even found new ways to scare me. There is a lot to experience in the game and will be fun to replay for years to come. This is how all video game remakes should be treated. It stays true to what made the original so great but wasn’t afraid to change aspects of the game to keep things fresh for veteran players and bring the game into the modern age and a real contender for one of the best games this year.
It’s easy to argue that Devil May Cry 5 is the best entry in the series yet. It combines the stylish, fast paced combat that has made the series great since it’s inception with new playable characters, systems and an engaging and well paced story making it an incredibly fun and rewarding game to play through.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a fantastic new IP from the team at FromSoftware. It’s an incredibly challenging experience set in a beautiful yet twisted rendition of Sengoku Japan. It’s certainly not a game for everyone though. The learning curve can be steep at times and learning the best approach for a boss can be a long stint of trial and error. But those that are up for the challenge and stick with it are in for a real treat.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a game I’m going to be coming back to and playing for a long time to come. It nails it’s characters and their sense of growth, has some really fun and strategic combat and gives you the freedom to control how things play out. It’s a long game, but it’s a great one. And if you too want to see all three story paths, it’s going to keep you entertained for a long time to come too.
If you’re looking for a JRPG to get stuck into and haven’t yet jumped into Dragon Quest XI, there’s no better time. The additions made to the Nintendo Switch version, along with the ability to take this lengthy game on the go truly do make it the definitive way to experience the game.
DOOM Eternal is the perfect example of a great video game sequel. It remains true to what makes the series great, but knows where to implement new tweaks to it’s systems to keep things fresh and interesting. The combination of it’s fast paced combat, satisfying weapons and fantastic musical score makes it one of the most rewarding games of recent years and continues to be fun even on consecutive playthroughs. If the series does receive a third entry I would love to see a slight changeup to both it’s platforming sections and it’s story telling, but even with things the way they are, DOOM Eternal is still one of the best first person shooter games on the market now.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake has re-envisioned the classic game, delivering a much expanded upon but faithful adaptation of the Midgar portion of the Final Fantasy 7 story. Providing brand new twists and turns to the narrative and plenty of great character development. It’s likely still years away, but I truly can’t wait to see what Square Enix have in store for us in the next entry in this multi part remake of one of the greatest games of all time.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition definitely provides value for money. The main story alone will take around 70 hours to complete, but there’s easily over 100 hours of gameplay on offer here for those players that want to spend more time completing the many side quests, building character affinities and of course completing the new Future Connected epilogue. I can’t commend the effort Monolith Soft have put into this release of the game. Not only has it been graphically overhauled and had it’s soundtrack remastered, it’s packed full of quality of life improvements that make it such a joy to play and also comes life’s with a brand new epilogue story, making sure even long time veterans of the game have something brand new to jump into and enjoy.