Code Vein is an exciting, rewarding, and tenebrous venture into the Souls-like space with a fantastic class system, explosive combat, and dark narrative – hindered only by its lack of visual prowess and odd UI design.
Borderlands 3 does very little to reinvent itself. It plays it safe, sticking to the tried and tested formula that made the original games such a success. A must-play for fans of the genre and past Borderlands games, but much of the same for anyone else.
Much like its iconic Lancer Assault Rifle, Gears 5 functions as perfectly as it was designed. The developers threw on a chainsaw of character, narrative, and content to make an over-the-top, thrilling experience from start to finish. Gears 5 is a badass game, and you'll come away feeling more badass than the legendary Marcus himself.
Blair Witch is a great entry into the genre. Fans of horror games, with a heavy focus on narrative and walking, will find plenty of scares and edge-of-your-seat moments. However, those looking to dive deeper into the narrative of Blair Witch may come away a little disappointed.
Control is a treasure trove of storytelling that is supported by great dialogue, intriguing characters, and stellar voice acting. When paired with its badass combat, it proves to be the complete package.
Brilliantly crafted boss encounters, challenging enemies, immersive environments – Remnant: From the Ashes has everything you could want from a Souls-inspired game and more.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a fantastic entry in the series, and has quickly become one of my favorite RPGs of the modern era.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a thrilling and rewarding adventure into the MetroidVania genre. It is a fantastic entry level title for those yet to familiarize themselves with the genre, and a brilliant entry of quality and character for veterans.
Judgment is a must-play for fans of the Yakuza franchise and a fantastic entry level title for those a little put off by the time required to catch up with the Yakuza series. It offers a fun and challenging dive into a wonderfully crafted game world, whose only disappointment is the result of the quality of past works.
Conan Unconquered is an often fun and always brutal experience that will keep you returning for beatings time after time, if you can excuse the already questionable paywall content, economic issues, and lack of game mode variety.
Team Sonic Racing is an absolute blast as a local multiplayer game. The team based mechanics offer an injection of fresh and exciting ideas into an otherwise stagnating genre, making it a must-play for fans of the series. The online races can be a little chaotic at times, but with a bit of patience and a lot of luck, there's plenty of fun to be had here.
Rage 2 is a chaotic, fun, and rewarding adventure that combines a light but interesting narrative with explosive combat and a well-structured open world. It won't blow you off your feet, but you'll have plenty of fun blowing everyone else off theirs.
World War Z has some moments that are an utter blast – the special zombie types and impending doom of a zombie tower bring pure excitement. However, these moments are few and far between, leaving a shell of game with very little content, a lack of creativity, a near non-existent story, and a disappointingly shallow progression system.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes World Mission delivers on story, mechanics, replay value, depth, and combat. It's a near complete package that's sure to appeal to all fans of the Dragon Ball universe.
Tom Clancy's The Division 2 raises the bar for the looter shooter genre. Put simply, it is the complete package.
Death End re;Quest struggles to do anything to entice players from outside the JRPG space, but for fans of the genre, there's plenty on offer here. The story is compelling, the characters are diverse, the combat is fantastic, and it is one of the freshest JRPGs I've played in years.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a solid experience for fighter plane enthusiasts, but it plays things too safe. Sticking to a tried-and-tested formula that has ensured the series' success and continuation for nearly 25 years is a sound strategy, but it lacks in innovation and any new exciting creative direction.
Just Cause 4 is a fantastic playground of chaos, giving players the tools and creative options to sow seeds of complete mayhem. It's only when you step away from that mayhem, following the path of the campaign put ahead of you, that you'll find repetition, lack of character, and a disappointing open world.
The Walking Dead is a franchise with such massive potential in the video game space, and Overkill's The Walking Dead shares much of that potential. Blasting through the higher difficulty levels with friends is great fun, and the initial few hours are a pleasure, but once you get into the meat of the game and its myriad of glaring issues, it quickly becomes apparent that this game is not living up to its own potential.
WWE 2K19 struggles to meet expectations. It's a mid-card talent with potential, but is too set in its ways to leave any lasting impact.