Chris Brown's Reviews
An inventive and outlandish puzzler that executes with bloodthirstily aplomb.
Fallout 4 is a welcome return to the wasteland. An interesting and well-told central story is hobbled by the open world, but this is Fallout and that open world is a joy to explore. PC players will justifiably grumble that the game is obviously designed first and foremost for a couch and controller experience.
Blood Bowl 2 is a deceptively simple yet tactically deep turn-based sports game well worth your time. For maximum utility, avoid the campaign mode and join a league as soon as possible.
Until Dawn is the best cinematic horror game to torment players this past decade. It doesn't hit every beat, but by morning you will have experienced terror, tension, and tragedy, and killed a few of your friends – if you even survive that long.
Harebrained Schemes has again struck gold within the Shadowrun universe. Refined Decking and brilliant writing as well as some genuine surprises breathe life into the fantastical future Hong Kong setting. Sadly, some pacing and level design issues stop it just short of the heights it was reaching for.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen mixes the well-worn and overplayed clichés of the genre with just enough new stuff to keep things mostly fresh. Its story may be completely disposable, but the world itself is fascinating. It also has the honour of being one of the best-executed ports I have ever played.
4A Games have rekindled my love for the world that was left behind. A post-apocalyptic journey out of darkness with a uniquely eastern European accent. Equally gorgeous and grotesque Metro Exodus is sure to please newcomers and the returning faithful alike. I just wish the road was a little smoother and with fewer bugs skittering about.
With wonderful combat and more charm than any game I can name off the top of my head Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is a very easy recommendation from me despite a few undercooked ideas.
Remnant: From the Ashes is a spectacular co-op experience when played with friends, and a potentially frustrating one when played with strangers. While procedural generation can lead to some monotony, a solid combat engine and incredible creature design make it a punishing, yet incredibly satisfying joy to play. The game is held back by several bugs and crashes, but this shouldn't stop you from giving it a go.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is just as charming and endearing now as it was when it first came out almost a decade ago. While it does look and play better on PC it would have been nice to see more improvements and a few quality of life additions to bring the game up to modern standards.
Disco Elysium is one of the most interesting games we've seen in decades in terms of its themes and writing. A conversation heavy investigative RPG that leans very heavily on the genre's pen and paper roots. We've not seen this type of RPG in quite some time, and certainly not one as well executed as this. If you like your RPG's densely worded I think you'll find a lot to like here.
Darksiders Genesis is not only immediately fun, it is also immediately recognisable as Darksiders despite the move to a new genre and completely different camera angle. Strife is a very welcome addition to the Darksiders canon, and when paired with War they have helped elevate Genesis to the best entry in the series in the post Vigil Games era.
If you're already a Persona fan, Persona 5 Royal offers up even more of what you love, taking an already massive game and upsizing it to epic proportions. This is a must-have for JRPG fans, but it is also one that might be a little too much to swallow for newcomers.
Never boring and often exhilarating, The Old Blood is another polished love letter to an older breed of shooter. While not as deep or interesting as The New Order, this standalone expansion provides enough visceral entertainment and interesting story beats to keep players more than engaged for its 6-8 hour running time.
Grim Fandango Remastered makes a terrific game widely-available once again, but more could have been done to update this returning classic.
A gleefully tongue-in-cheek throwback to shooters of yore, Shadow Warrior offers fantastic melee combat and a truly beautiful world to discover and then slaughter in.
Returning to Aventasia was a delight. I revisited all the sights I loved and caught up with the good folk who made my last foray into their lands such a joy. The fact everything looks exactly like it did all those years ago was a comfort, but I couldn't help but think they really should have given the place a bit of a spruce up after all this time.
A Bunnylord, gruesome pixellated deaths, politics by force, and sliding while shooting...After reading that, you already know if Not A Hero is for you.
While not as complex or challenging as many stealth games, Republique still manages to provide a unique and interesting game experience, and its strong narrative focus and rewards for exploration make it well worth picking up.
Episode 2 contains all the elements we've come to expect and deeply admire from a Telltale series, but it's too thinly spread to achieve top marks.