Nicola Ardron's Reviews
Swap Quest is a cutesy, tile swapping RPG and puzzle hybrid with clear mobile roots. It doesn't feel robust enough on console and is better played on mobile.
Planet of the Eyes is a competent puzzle platformer, short enough to be played in one sitting, but with a sterile and empty world it fails ultimately to leave any lasting impression.
Maize is an amusing title, it's puzzles don't really require any critical thinking and it is overly linear but it kind of works as a curio with some genuinely funny jokes dotted throughout.
Jailhouse Block is an action packed episode with some great humour and exciting set-pieces.
SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell is a repetitive game, but one that has enough draw to it to give you that “just one more go” drive.
A unique game that's visually distinctive and at times quite beautiful, but it suffers from a little unevenness in some levels which distract from the meditative experience it has been pitched as.
A fairly lacklustre remaster does nothing to diminish what makes Dragon's Dogma such a unique and memorable role-playing game. For fans of western style action RPGs it's a must play.
Jettomero: Hero of the Universe is visually very beautiful, but it feels like a game that contains a number of unfinished ideas wrapped up in a gorgeous package.
Echo is an example of an exceptional idea that is enough to carry a whole game. The clever use of AI creates unique challenges, but the lack of environmental changes and same enemy type throughout means that it does slightly out-stay its welcome.
By far the best first person shooter released this year. It is often brutal and totally unflinching in its depiction of the violence people do to each other, but it is also hilarious and moving and tells a very human story.
Below the Bedrock is a disappointing episode. It feels nothing more than filler in preparation for what I hope will be an action-packed finale.
Star Wars Battlefront II is a good video game, delivering a bigger and more detailed game than its predecessor. Much of the conversation will be around the loot box economy, but if you can look past that you will find a game that is as close to Star Wars magic as you will find.
The Sims 4 is a compelling game with tonnes of customisable options. Sadly, poor attention to the functionality of playing with a controller rather than keyboard and mouse, and a sparse tutorial make this version difficult to overly recommend.
The season ends with an action-packed episode that neatly ties up the core themes running through the season. It is lacking in the humour of some of the previous episodes and the violence towards the end feels a little out of place.
The perfect party game, great for short-bursts of entertainment but doesn't stand up to lengthy play.
InnerSpace is a visually stunning game that ultimately fails to connect. It wants the player to explore and uncover its secrets, but places them in an environment that is deliberately confusing to the point of frustration.
A marked improvement on the 2016 console release, it continues to be a marvelous simulation game with a compelling gameplay loop, but its systems often feel impenetrable for any but the most persistent players.
Samsara is a pleasant puzzle game that doesn't quite challenge enough to give you the unique satisfaction of the “ah-ha” moment when you solve something particularly difficult.
Improves on its predecessor in every way to deliver a satisfying puzzle game that, while challenging, never feels insurmountable; something that is down to the excellent communication and pacing of its mechanics
A game brimming with potential. Incredible attention to detail and the potential to create your own stories is tempered somewhat by a lack of guided content to keep players motivated.