Royce Wilson's Reviews
If you like challenging games which require reflexes, juggling several different threats at once, and grinding through levels to improve your skills – and are interested in a sci-fi thriller – then Returnal will have a lot to offer. For gamers looking for a more accommodating action/adventure experience, or wanting something that doesn’t have more grind than a lensmaking factory, however, Returnal is not the game you’re looking for.
While from a gaming perspective it ends up a bit disappointing, from a “Games as Art” perspective there’s a worthwhile message here about the broader consequences of seemingly unrelated actions – messing with natural gas prices, for example, can cascade into triggering a civil war – and pointing out that the relentless pursuit of profit above all else is ultimately hollow and meaningless.
The new setting has plenty of charm and is just different enough to differentiate it from England, the story is well done and moves at a good pace, and there’s a lot to see and do.
As a single-player gamer, I enjoyed this addition to the world of Iron Harvest. There’s so few ‘new’ RTS games out there so I’m glad Iron Harvest is succeeding and growing, and hope there’s more DLC of Operation Eagle’s calibre on the way in the future.
Overall, I found Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart to be particularly enjoyable. It’s landed right in the Goldilocks Zone of gaming – not too difficult, not too easy, not too long, not too short, not too complicated, not too simple and there’s something in there for everyone.
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 isn’t a must-buy at the moment – but keep your scope zeroed for it on sale down the track.
If for whatever reason you didn’t previously have Ghost of Tsushima, then this is the time to rectify that shameful oversight. If you’re already a legendary ghost, then the chance to visit Iki Island is a worthwhile one – and even moreso if you’ve got a PS5 and a decent TV that can show off the enhanced visuals and features too.
There’s a lot of potential in Humankind, and hopefully the developers will keep working on the game, but right now it’s still only a pretender to the Civilization throne.
I really enjoyed Psychonauts 2; it was funny, it was quirky, it was imaginative, and it was well designed all around.
I had a great time with Deathloop and really enjoyed the experience overall. It’s fun, it’s stylish, it’s rewarding, and it’s a very good game which I hope we see more content (and sequels) for in the future.
Far Cry 6 is an explosive action-fest which represents a welcome return to form for the series, and despite a few mis-steps still manages to be one of the year’s standout releases.
I find myself feeling thoroughly ambivalent about Ty The Tasmanian Tiger HD. On one hand, it’s nothing special gameplay wise, but on the other hand, it is Australian themed and set, and in a good way, and we really don’t see that enough anymore.
On a next-gen console and an 8K TV, the dinosaurs look absolutely amazing and there is a surprisingly relaxing time to be had watching them going about their dinosaur lives, eating and drinking and wandering around. At least, that’s how it always starts. Then later there’s running and screaming – especially if you don’t keep your dinosaurs content or the power grid fails and the bigger, nastier, more carnivorous ones get out of their enclosures and decide to snack on some guests instead of the goats you’ve so generously been providing them.
With friends, this is a great, casual-but-challenging FPS co-op shooter experience that offers a familiar experience with a new twist and manages to establish its own space in the genre, too. It’s not going to be for everyone, but I like what the developers have done here and I hope they continue to grow and support Rainbow Six: Extraction for some time to come yet, so the game can reach its full potential.
If you’ve already got the most recent Uncharted games, the upgraded lighting effects and framerates etc aren’t enough to make this collection worth getting (especially at AUD$75!) – but if you missed them games previously, this is definitely the best way to experience them on your PS5 while we wait for confirmation as to whether there’s actually an Uncharted 5 in development…
Gran Turismo 7 is a technological marvel and a top-gear motorsports game to boot. It’s a love-letter to car culture, automotive technology, design, and history, and if you have any sort of interest in cars or racing games, this should be very much in the digital garage that is your PlayStation’s storage drive.
I think how much you’re going to enjoy this significantly depends on how much you’ve enjoyed the previous Asgard elements of the game. If you really like them, then having 30+ hours in that world will be a welcome addition to what must surely be one of the biggest open-world single-player video games in history at this point, and it is pretty cool to feel like a Norse warrior-god as you travel around the realm smiting people foolish enough to get between you and that quest marker. If, however, you find the mythological aspects of the game to be a bit ‘meh’, you can safely pass this one over – I mean, it’s not like there’s a shortage of stuff to do/find/explore in the rest of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, after all.
Overall, I couldn’t help but feel Weird West needed to be a proper RPG. The world is there; the setting is there, the atmosphere is there, writing is there, the story is there – but it hasn’t quite come together for me in this form.
This isn’t Ghost of Tsushima but it isn’t supposed to be – it’s a different, but enjoyable experience and one well worth experiencing if you’re a Samurai Cinema fan or looking for a new Samurai-themed sword-wielding adventure.
Broadly, however, Sniper Elite 5 is outstanding – it’s easily the best game in the series and offers a rich, rewarding and replayable adventure which can be as easy or as challenging as you like. The levels are well-crafted and detailed, the payoff when a shot or trap comes together is extremely high, and the ability to play from “the other side” is a welcome feature too.