Chris Brown's Reviews
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a compelling interactive novella that draws players in with its beautifully atmospheric setting. The slow burn narrative doesn't quite land the final emotional punch it's aiming for, but it more than satisfies on every other level.
Invisible Inc. flawlessly fuses the stealth-based badassery of Splinter Cell with the tactical depth and ever present potential for catastrophic failure of the XCOM series. A beautiful Cyber-Noir turn-based espionage title that will leave you both frustrated and fulfilled.
By adding more content, more depth, and more choice, Enemy Within enhances rather than alters the core XCOM experience, and in doing so makes a great game even greater. A must-have.
SteamWorld Heist is a delight right from the very beginning. A beautiful stripped-back strategy game that ditches many of the genres bells and whistles in order to focus on the action, it offers an appealingly new perspective on one of the oldest genres in video games.
XCOM 2 manages to raise the stakes and challenge of its predecessor without ever becoming too frustrating. Defeat will be frequent and death even more so, but victory is all the more sweet for it. In short, it's bigger, better, broader, and even more brutal!
This is cyberpunk! An ugly-beautiful dystopia dripping with atmosphere. Emergent game play and the freedom to play how you want make Satellite Reign not only a worthy successor to Syndicate, but in many ways the superior game.
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.
Take one part Lemmings, combine with liberal but equal amounts of undead flesh and 8-bit pixel art. Heat vigorously. The resulting decoction is something more potent than its constituent parts that delivers a wholly unique and heady rush. This action puzzler will have you quickly hooked. Side effects may include compulsive level replaying, RSI of your click finger, and loss of sleep.
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.
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.
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.
Sonic Mania Plus on the Switch is the best way to play the best Sonic game in over 20 years.
The almost perfect marriage of elegant game design, evocative audio, and stunning visuals delivers a gaming experience far richer and affecting than I could have possibly imagined. It's not without a few flaws, but they are easily forgotten almost as soon as they have passed.
A Plague Tale – Innocence is the type of game that comes around rarely in the risk adverse gaming space. Bleak and beautiful it will leave an indelible mark on any gamer willing to enter its rat-infested world.
When most people think of the looter shooter sub-genre, they think of the Borderlands series. Borderlands essentially created the mould for what a looter shooter should be. Lots of shooting and lots of looting. I don't think any other looter shooter loots or shoots as well as Borderlands 3 does. Borderland 3 is the best game in the series, not by breaking the mould, but by expanding and deepening it.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is still a brilliant if flawed gem from one of the best storytellers in the genre. The journey is long. The path is fraught with dangers and more than a few missteps, but it's an epic adventure well worth the undertaking.
Beautifully presented and expertly executed, The Legend of Grimrock 2 is everything that made the first game great, only now there is even more of it. Wonderful puzzles and plenty of variety will keep eager adventurers entertained until the very end.
The Banner Saga is an absolutely gorgeous, engrossing RPG that features well-balanced and pleasingly tactical turn-based combat. It's a linear journey, but one that's definitely worth taking.
Borderlands the Pre-Sequel is everything you should expect from a Borderlands game. While the gameplay additions mix it up slightly, it often feels like a huge expansion rather than a stand-alone release. The quality is fantastic, the comedy is hilarious. There's more loot than you can wave a Dahl shotgun at, plus all the pulse-pounding bullet-spewing carnage you could hope for, but 2K Australia pulls back at the precipice of brilliance.