Visually stunning, creative puzzles, great audio, and a brilliant narrative – XING: The Land Beyond has it all! This game is the perfect embodiment of ‘best of both worlds’, you have a fully immersive and great looking VR game coupled with an even better looking and easy to control Flat version in one package. Sure, some of the puzzles may seem like things we’ve seen many times before when you look from the outside, but once you take control and encounter them yourself, things aren’t always as they seem. The whole game is held together with a very emotional and dark narrative about pain and acceptance as each character approaches the end of their lives.
Personally, I wasn't a massive fan of the original Nights of Azure, but I couldn't put this game down once I started playing it. The game feels like you are always progressing due to its time limits, whereas a JRPG would usually be a lot slower in its pacing. The combat is solid and you have at least three playthroughs of the game to complete if you wish to try and achieve the platinum.
Outcast: Second Contact is a love letter to fans of the original game, it has everything the original had (including its bugs) but with a new coat of paint and some useful new moves. Appeal have made the game more accessible to gamers today with the regenerative health and difficulty choices but you must understand that the game still thinks It's 1999 in the control department.
Candleman: The Complete Journey is a beautiful game in both its visuals and its story it tells. The music may be subtle in most places but the amazing quality of the ambient sound effects more than makes up for it as it creates an atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife! The level design combined with the lighting, the contrast between light and dark, and all the various hazards, create a truly original and enchanting experience you won’t find anywhere else. Literally, no other game holds a candle to Candleman in the puzzle-platformer genre.
Moss has simply raised the bar on all PSVR games going forward. Among its beautiful landscapes, pleasant music, clever puzzles and great narration is a story about a cute mouse name Quill who you will instantly fall in love with and be willing to do anything for by the end of the story. Some say we have been waiting for the definitive game to buy a PSVR for, I believe Moss has just stood up and taken that position. Be aware though, this is only part one of Quill's tale, so don't expect a grand finale as I'm sure we have plenty more still to come; however, what an introduction! I'm a #Quill4Life guy now and I believe you will be too as we eagerly await the se-Quill…
The Council is probably the best example of how to do a narrative, choice-based story which actually changes based on your actions and personality. The implementation of an experience system which allows for you to pick and choose which traits to obtain and upgrade offers a lot of depth and originality into a genre which has become stale with the 'interactive storybook' titles out there. The story is interesting, the events that happen will keep you questioning and the promise of finding out new things based on playing the game differently each time really adds to the replayability of this masterpiece. Don't be put off by the issue with the lipsyncing or the lacklustre accents, the narrative is great, the atmosphere is perfect and the mystery and suspense is up there with the best of games!
Moonlighter is a great indie title about adventuring into the unknown in search of both riches and information. Whether you're deep in combat within a dungeon, re-organising your backpack to make room for new items, or flogging your findings to the locals; the game will have you addicted to its gameplay and intrigued on what's going to happen next in the story. Sure, the first few hours may be slow as you get to grips with how the selling works and you work out how much you can sell things for, but once you get that locked down you won't want to stop playing.
Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! is pure heaven! It’s a management sim you can really get absorbed into and stay there for many hours at a time or just drop in every now and again for short bursts – particularly if you’re on the Switch. From the micro-management of your employees to satisfying all of your customers, everything can be adjusted and tweaked in order to become the greatest arms supplier in the land! One thing to be aware of though, the pun is strong in this one with almost every character being a pun of someone/something famous. If you like hilarious storytelling along with frantic and rather stressful gameplay, then this is the game for you! With the addition of the Herclueless DLC you gain even more content and many, many hours of gameplay.
Dead Cells is one of the best roguelike games you can pick up on consoles to date. Not only does it look and run great, but it’s also incredibly addictive and impossible to put down and stop playing. Sure, the first few playthroughs will leave you frustrated and annoyed as the permadeath kicks in and you lose all of your hard work harvesting the cells, but over time you’ll “Git Gud” and breezy through the first few areas. I seriously can’t think of anything negative or bad to say about the game – you’ll easily pour many hours of your life into Dead Cells as you try and reach the end and even more if you’re aiming for the platinum.
Devil May Cry 5 is easily one of my Game of the Year 2019 contenders, even though it’s only March! The smooth and fluid gameplay, combined with the over the top action and intense metal soundtrack, creates a truly demonic and exciting experience no matter what system you’re on. Although the story is a little fragmented and delivered out of order in places, the reconstructed narrative is just as wacky and creative as the gameplay! As a fan of the original games, I can’t help but love Devil May Cry 5. Not because it’s another game in the franchise, but because it’s clearly the best game in the franchise by a long shot and it’s also yet another amazing achievement from Capcom.
Tetris Effect is a combination of brilliant dynamic music, spectacular visuals, and solid Tetris gameplay, all rolled into one must-have package. Not only will you be treating yourself to a great version of Tetris, but you’ll also be giving your eyes and ears a gift they’ll never forget. On top of the 1-2 hour ‘story mode’, you can also try out fifteen set modes/playstyles as well as participate in weekly challenges. There’s a lot of content and fans of the classic game will simply love what the developers have done with the license this time around.
Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~ DX was the most addictive and enjoyable game I played in the Arland trilogy. We have the same core mechanics we saw in Atelier Rorona yet there are a few small enhancements here and there which makes the game much more accessible and easier to pick up and play. I thoroughly enjoyed the kingdom building aspect, even though it was rather simple, as I enjoy games where I can see my progression and hard work in physical format. The timer is much more relaxed in this third title when looking in comparison to the others, this is a major plus in my opinion as I don’t like restrictive timers. in my opinion as I don’t like restrictive timers. For a third time, the magic of Arland drew me in and captivated me into its addictive and entertaining story.
Once I was absorbed within its beautiful world, I never wanted The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince to ever end. The visuals are stunning, the music is enchanting, the gameplay is addictive, and the story is emotional. Sure, you could see the game as one big escort mission, as you’re escorting the Blind Prince to the witch in the forest to restore his sight, but the platforming, puzzles, and combat all come together perfectly to deliver a truly emotional and magical story.
PQube Games have once again published an amazing Visual Novel with Our World is Ended. At times I felt like I was within Inception, as we connected to the new world in order to take down the new manifestation of one of our previous games, then it’s like we’ve taken the red pill and we’re being pulled out of the Matrix in order to return to real life. It’s all very exciting and each time you hook into the virtual world you’ll see new events and obstacles the team must overcome in order to survive and get out alive. Sure, there’s a lot of crude and toilet humour, mild small-boob body shaming, lolicon and shotacon questionable moments, and lots of perverted and borderline illegal-in-the-west moments, but it’s all in the name of comedy and fits in perfectly with the personalities of the characters.
A Plague Tale: Innocence is a brilliant new IP which satisfied me in every way imaginable. The visuals were simply stunning, albeit a little blurry in certain scenes, the voice acting and music were perfectly recorded and pieced together, the gameplay was broken up between stealth, exploration and puzzles, and the narrative was both exciting and engaging to play through. Despite the few personal issues I had with the forced combat segments, I thoroughly enjoyed playing through this alternative take on the deadly Black Death and how two siblings worked together to overcome the dangers they were faced with.
Ghost Giant is a must-own PSVR title, there are no two ways about it – if you own a PSVR headset, you need this game. Zonik Games have truly modernised storytelling as they not only bring interactive storytelling into the 21st century, they go even further and perfectly recreate the sense of awe and excitement through the means of Virtual Reality. Gamers, both old and young, will instantly fall in love with the beautiful art design, the awesome voice acting, the enchanting music, and the clever puzzles shoved into their eyeballs as each scene lights up for the first time. The story is also held together with the perfect pace and a very good narrative which everyone can enjoy.
Personally, I believe Cytus Alpha is the best rhythm-based game out on the Nintendo Switch, despite its little-known soundtrack. With over 200 songs to unlock, an intriguing story to uncover, and an online leaderboard to climb, there are literally hours upon hours worth of content awaiting your twitchy fingers! Launching with support for both touch and Joycon gameplay, the developers learnt from their previous release (VOEZ) and made the game accessible to all from the get-go (even though I strongly urge everyone to play with touch and not the Joycons if possible). The artwork is glorious, the music is amazing, and the gameplay is as smooth as you can get – I’m really struggling to find anything negative about this incredible game.
Control is easily one of the most enjoyable and technologically advanced games I’ve played this year. Although Jesse may only have one thing in mind, find her brother and get out of there alive, upon being appointed the new director of The Oldest House, things change. Not only have you now been appointed with the responsibility of all of the employees who haven’t succumb to the Hiss, but you must also find the source of this evil and stop it with all of your might – something you never thought you’d be tasked with when you woke up this morning. Using multiple powers, upgraded weaponry and abilities, and the help of loyal NPCs, you must take control of your destiny and show these evil intruders that they’re fired!
Whether you’re a fan of the game and have followed Clementine from the very beginning, or if you’ve never actually played any of the games before, The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series is by far the best version of the game to pick up today. Sure, you can purchase previous versions, but this one stands out above the rest with all of the fan content and beautifully horrific visuals.
If you’ve yet to experience Candleman on any platform so far, the Switch version is just as good as any other out there. The game is a brilliant indie puzzle platformer which utilises its ‘ten seconds of burn time’ mechanic perfectly, forcing you to be more reserved and cautious than you would be in a standard 3D platformer. As you progress closer to the goal, the mighty Lighthouse, the world becomes much more colourful, spooky, hostile, and daunting. The adventure our little protagonist embarks on is one which everyone should tag along on.