Chris Brown's Reviews
God of War is a genre redefining epic, a triumph for SCI Santa Monica, and the single best reason to own a PS4 in 2018.
With Into the Breach Subset Games rewrites the tactical gameplay rulebook by removing most of its pages. In doing so, it has created a superlative strategy game.
Crossing Souls is heavy on nostalgia, but somewhat shallow when it comes to gameplay. The result is a lovingly crafted ode to an era that's neither bodacious nor bogus.
Battle Chef Brigade serves up a delectable fusion of disparate flavours that create a dish far greater than its parts.
Hand of Fate 2 improves on its solid predecessor, but it's a couple of cards from a royal flush.
The Fractured But Whole is more of the same. It's occasionally hilarious, but often misses. Not even an updated combat system and interesting new skills can disguise that fact that it is just The Stick of Truth in a different and less-interesting costume.
Frustration and reward go hand-in-hand in Cuphead. Your fingers will feel the pain of extended play sessions, but your face will be fixed in a fierce (albeit slightly pained) grin.
Divinity: Original Sin II is the best game I have played this millennium.
Death of the Outsider is a fitting conclusion to the Dishonored franchise. It embraces everything the series is known for, while offering up smart refinements and more immediate player agency. If not for some pacing issues and narrative missteps in the final act, it could have been the best entry yet. Instead, it must settle for being merely being great.
War for the Chosen adds a huge amount of content and a number of new mechanics to an already brimming game. It's a generous package that ought to please and frustrate (in a good way!) XCOM devotees.
Final Fantasy XII – The Zodiac Age is far from the perfect game, but it is one of the few in the series I bothered to complete. From its lofty melodrama and rewarding combat and character systems to its missed story beats and sloggy late-game, it's an adventure I will not soon forget. More importantly, it's one I do not want to forget, which is more than I can say for almost every entry in the series released since this game first saw light 11 years ago.
Wipeout Omega Collection is the triumphant return of an icon. Its blistering speed, slick visuals, and thumping soundtrack are everything you'd ever want from a Wipeout game, even if – upgrades aside – it is everything you've already had in a Wipeout game.
Get Even is a strange game. It's almost schizophrenic in its execution, but The Farm 51 should be applauded for trying something different. It represents what I love about independent game development: it maybe a little rough around the edges, but it takes risks and provides a truly unique experience. For that I applaud it, even if I cannot unreservedly recommend it.
Poignant and powerful, What Remains of Edith Finch has set a new standard in storytelling. Don't be put off by its brevity – these are two of the most enjoyable hours I have ever spent in front of my PC monitor.
Perfectly executed upgrades to both the audio and art bring Full Throttle brilliantly into the 21st century.
Syberia 3 is just flat-out bad – an ugly, buggy, irritating, insulting title that should never have seen the light of day.
Yooka-Laylee is an unabashedly old-school platformer with modern presentation. It is challenging and occasionally infuriating, but it's also extremely rewarding. Playtonic have proven that just because something is old, that doesn't mean it should die.
Beamdog has enhanced the core game with no affectations or game changing alterations, allowing Torment to speak for itself without being muffled by the clanking and crashing of technical clunk. The result is a spectacular adventure for those willing to accept its various eccentricities and advancing years.
Judged purely on its own merits, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a good game. But this is BioWare, and Mass Effect being merely good feels like a failure. It's a little clumsy in places, and daft in others, but I found it mostly endearing despite these quirks.
A mechanically strong stealth title with some of the most eye-rollingly awful dialogue I have ever been subjected to. Styx as a character is obnoxious, unlikable, and immersion breaking, but he does wield some of the most impressive and well-designed infiltration abilities in the genre. I just wish he would shut the hell up.