Ed Nightingale
Shadow's campaign provides some of the best 3D levels of the series, but it's coupled with a dated and unnecessary remaster. If only Sega went all-in on the future.
Persona veteran Atlus flexes its expertise with a fresh take on high fantasy. What it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in grandeur and heart.
What Tales of Kenzera lacks in creative game design it makes up for in vital, passionate storytelling.
Rebirth is a playful take on an emo classic that's bloated but full of character in a bid to justify its own existence.
Respectable platforming and classic Sonic elements are undermined by inconsistent new ideas.
Missing the elegance of FromSoftware, Lords of the Fallen is let down by Soulslike clichés and performance woes.
A fascinating but flawed experimental musical game that fails to live up to some heavenly potential.
An expressive, characterful entry point for metroidvanias.
Vibrant and self-assured, Hi-Fi rush happily embraces the 00s' cheese - and is all the better for it.
A sensitive remaster of the PSP prequel that's recontextualised in the wake of Remake.
Teen angst, a diverse cast, and simplistic interactivity accompany a real life music EP.
Just as it did with Two Point Hospital, Two Point Studios has combined neatly overlapping managmenet systems with an irrepressably oddball charm.
It's a small gripe, though. Please Fix The Road isn't really trying to taunt you, it's trying to teach you its mannerisms. It's arguably a meditation on humans and nature, destroying environments only to rebuild them in organic and inorganic ways. But mostly it's just a wholesome and gratifying puzzle game that's impossible to be frustrated with. Even the title is polite.
Soundfall plays like an extended pop album, each level a three minute burst of music that initially fizzes and delights. Yet playing on repeat proves shallow. The music is killer, but the gameplay is filler.
Frenetic action and precise manoeuvring add to this cyberpunk game in which success wobbles on a blade edge
Flood of Light has an evocative mood, but its narrative is ultimately as lifeless as its central character. The gameplay centres on a single concept that’s mundane, fiddly and gets tiresome quickly. It’s not a bad game per se – it’s just not very exciting.
A unique and artful celebration of Russian folklore.
Lumines Remastered offers the opportunity to play an iconic puzzle game if you missed it the first time round. Now, there are no excuses.
This short little adventure is sometimes laborious, but it’s all so charmingly presented that any flaws are easily forgiven.