Dylan Blight's Reviews
As the credits rolled for Venba, I began thinking about how this would be someone's favourite game of 2023 and maybe one of their favourites of all time.
Families can get more out of this as an entry-level Metroidvania. Still, even as much as the game succeeded in charming me at times with the core characters, it's hard to recommend this to anyone over the many other Nintendo Switch exclusive 2D platformers.
Although Speed Crew can initially seem confusing, once you click, you'll be yelling, "Pass the 3/4 torque wrench!" l
Aliens: Dark Descent is an excellent Aliens game, and I hope it's patched quickly to address the issues some players like myself are running into so I can wholeheartedly recommend it to fans. Because what's here is some of the tensest Aliens action I've played in a game, with a surprisingly exciting narrative to pull it all together.
Lego 2K Drive has thrown many popular arcade racer ideas together and asked, what works? For the Lego fan, this is going to scratch a specific itch. I don't think we need to see a "Scotty Smash" to fix this build, but to fulfil the desires of Lego racers, young and old; some tweaks will be needed in a sequel.
Combat feels more lively from the get-go, with Cal already able to use plenty of force abilities and feeling like a Jedi; the narrative is much more exciting thanks to a clear focus in the opposite direction of the upcoming events of the films, and instead into the secret untapped potential at the feet of all Star Wars storytelling.
Dead Island 2 knows exactly what it wants to be, and it goes for the jugular with extreme melee combat and dismembering slow-motion finishing moves.
If you enjoyed your time with Horizon Forbidden West, you'll want to play Burning Shores. It's the next chapter in the Horizon story, a stepping stone towards the next game while also giving you an excuse to fly, dive, and glide around this beautiful world once again.
I enjoy this world, and returning for one more adventure was a short but worthwhile adventure. However, if I play another game with any of these characters next, it better be post-Road 96.
There's little to dislike about Quill and Moss outside of how short it is, especially now that the technical complaints are cleared up. This is a beautiful entry into a VR series that'll hopefully have more than just one sequel, and Quill is a wonderful character who deserves more players to get to know her.
For fans of the Bayonetta franchise, there's a lot to love here, even if it's not the type of game you're used to playing. But it's the newcomers and fresh faces to the world of Cereza/Bayonetta, witches, demons and magical powers that Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is primed to impress the most.
There's not much to Zombieland: Headshot Fever Reloaded, but there's more than enough content here to fulfil fans of lightgun-inspired shooters.
As a certified #cutie game, it's hard to vote against playing Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe when it will make anyone with a heart smile.
There is an extended on-rails boat scene you can put non-gamers into to experience the headset, but as far as pushing the medium forward and being a showcase for the future of virtual reality, Horizon Call of the Mountain is just a pretty game with the core of a last-generation VR game.
A quick shortlist for one of my favourite games so far in 2023, Wild Hearts is a thrilling action RPG that's bound to scratch an itch for Monster Hunter fans while providing something alternative for fans of the genre.
And no matter how good it looks, it doesn't make up for the bland characters, the annoying world design with a useless map I didn't mention, the immature and ridiculous script, the odd sexism and the sense that you're playing something you'll likely regret.
Deep underneath, there's plenty of interesting lore and directions a potential sequel could go if Square Enix were to make one. However, for the 12-14 hours I played, making my way through the core missions and a handful of additional content, the combat kept me engaged amidst moments of the story, making me want to nod off.
I was surprised at just how tightly the narrative in A Space for the Unbound grabbed me, and it's sure to be either one of the indie hits of 2023 or one of the most under-played gems.
Lone Ruin is going to scratch an itch for those who love chasing high scores and trying to one-up friends.
The story here is dumb fun, with some purposely hammy and equally terrible dialogue, but I enjoyed it for what it was, as it felt like a bad B-movie. Combat gets somewhat repetitive with the length, as eventually, you enter a pool of the same but stronger enemies and the level design is, as stated, a simple throwback.