Gears 5 is a brilliant experience which can be enjoyed alone or with friends in equal measure. It keeps much of the series' core gameplay and feel, but also takes it in some new directions. It's great to see Gears evolving, opening the door for even more positive changes in the future.
I feel like I've ripped on Man of Medan a lot which is odd considering I actually enjoyed it. Sadly, you can't help but compare it to Until Dawn which quite frankly did everything better. Man of Medan is over far too quickly and doesn't have the same impact of Supermassive's previous entry. It is, however, a short but sweet enjoyable romp which is way better when played with friends.
Automachef is a bizarre yet interesting take on a cookery game. Saldy, a lot of what it has going for it also goes against it and feels a little off – excuse the pun – as a result.
Youngblood feels like Wolfenstein got drunk and ended up at the wrong party. It's still able to pull off some of the same old tricks, but it feels wildly out of place alongside RPG-style levelling from Destiny or The Division. The next entry needs to go back to the previous formula, let me shoot my way through hordes of Nazi's and spin a good yarn. Go home Wolfenstein, you're drunk.
A couple of stripped back features aside, Marvel Ultimate Alliance is a great series revival that should keep new and old fans busy for quite a while. With DLC coming later this year, it will only get better.
Etherborn has so much potential, but its best moments are over far too quickly, leaving little replay value aside from showing people how cool the design is.
Samurai Showdown is a strong entry into the sea of fighters, showing a lot of love for the original series, while also being able to appeal to newcomers. A few niggles aside, people are going to be playing Sam Show for a long time. EVO just got more exciting to watch!
My Friend Pedro is everything I wanted it to be. Smooth, stylish gun play, powered by creativity that makes you feel like you're making your own action scenes in a movie. What's not to love? Pedro is love. Pedro is your friend.
Warhammer: Chaosbane is a good, solid dungeon crawling action RPG, but outside of a well executed Warhammer theme it's just not doing anything new. I feel bad for underselling Chaosbane, as I did enjoy my time with it. However, it's standing in the shadow of Diablo III, a titan that's been doing it for a long time and that you can't help but make comparisons with. Warhammer: Chaosbane is good and it could mature into something great, but right now it pales next to its daddy.
On the surface, Void Bastards may just seem like another FPS, but there's an element of strategy layered in which sets it aside from the rest. It takes a bit of the old, mixes it with the new, splashes it with a comic style aesthetic to make a truly wonderful experience that will challenge you to make good decisions, enable you to play how you want and you get to be called a Void bastard, which is brilliant. It feels like a breath of fresh air in a sea of FPS games that all do the same thing.
Managing a racing team is a pretty niche topic for a video game, but if you have a curious nature when it comes to odd fringe sims, there's definitely enough depth and customisability here to give you a unique gaming experience.
Beat Cop is one perp that's best approached with caution.
Hideaki Itsuno, my hat goes off to you and your crew. It's only March, and yet Devil May Cry 5 is another clear Game of the Year contender. The silly arguments on whether the original DMC or DmC is better can stop now, because DMC5 is here and it's bloody brilliant. This is a proper return to form for the series, something that fans of both can get behind.
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove is a hard sell.
Fight of Gods was bad on PC and it's still bad on the Switch. It looks horrific on and off the dock, controls terribly and lacks any variety in modes to keep you interested. There are a lot of good fighters already available on Switch, and this has no place among them. It's just a bad game and there's not much more to be said than that. Do yourself a favour and save your pennies. Avoid at all costs.
The astute Civ player can shape the history of their nation and craft a story for the ages with with pinpoint accuracy. The Gathering Storm enriches this experience by giving you more ways to add subtle realism to how the world evolves around you and how you can directly affect it. With so many new and returning features, it’s hard not to recommend this expansion to Civ fans, turning an already great game into one for the literal ages.
Civ VI released two years ago for PC and has grown through updates, tweaked gameplay and DLC since then. The Switch version is just the base game, but that's more than OK. There's plenty to sink your teeth into, providing hours upon hours of unique experiences, accompanied by a divine soundtrack to really get you in the mood for building nations. Civ VI is a titan of a game and well worth your time, even if you've already spent hours on the PC version, because, now it's portable, which is potentially dangerous to those who have jobs. Now the threat of taking “just one more turn” can haunt you wherever you go.
At their core, both are solid, fun rhythm action games with kickass soundtracks that you can have a great time with, regardless of character knowledge, and despite the games being exact copies of each other. If you like the genre and have that itch, then get on your dancing shoes and enter the Velvet Room. The stage awaits.
This collection may not appeal to everyone, as when you boil it down a lot of these title feel the same. This serves more as a collector's piece, which isn't a bad thing; it's just very niche. As you can see though, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection does has a lot on offer. With thirteen titles from the off, eleven more coming the month after, and the various versions included, this anniversary bundle makes for quite the collection of portable nostalgia. Old games are very hard and it's important that we know where all the wonderful games we play today, started out. If you're interested in seeing those beginnings, then pick this game up and fill your boots.
Velocity 2X is a marvellous, quick paced experience with plenty of re-playability, that definitely finds its home on the Nintendo Switch. If you've never experienced Velocity 2X before then you are in for a treat. Get it in your (solar) system, now.