Charles Tyldsley's Reviews
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a stunning game - a gigantic beautiful recreation of Greece, with wonderful ship combat, smooth traversal and plenty of satisfying gameplay moments. Unfortunately numerous design decisions lead to a mix of frustrating gameplay with numerous glimpses of greatness. It's not perfect, but it undoubtedly offers plenty of the series' best.
Marvel's Spider-Man is an absolute blast to play from start to finish. This is clearly an incredibly expensive game to make, one that shows an amazing attention to detail and level of polish throughout. Visually stunning, mechanically fun and just downright fantastic in almost every aspect. Whilst not quite perfect, it's easily Insomniac's finest hour
Immortal: Unchained takes the Souls formula and applies a sci-fi setting with an interesting focus on ranged combat rather than the genre's usual melee spotlight. Unfortunately it's let down by numerous bad design decisions, and a major lack of polish throughout, alongside plenty of frustrating elements. It's not a terrible game, it's just not a great one either.
Shadows: Awakening is a great singleplayer ARPG. It plays well and introduces some refreshingly unique mechanics to the genre. Unfortunately however it's let down by some odd decisions and numerous niggling issues. If you're a fan of the genre it's absolutely well worth checking out, if not though it's best to wait for a sale.
A solid but underwhelming co-operative shooter. Strange Brigade nails the 1930's campy aesthetic but is unfortunately let down by safe gameplay choices failing to push the title forward. If you loved Zombie Army Trilogy, you'll find a lot to like here. Whilst there's certainly fun to be had, at a full priced release of £39.99 the game could and should have been so much more.
Titan Quest on the Switch is a solid port. The game looks good, runs smoothly in portable and docked modes (most of the time) and controls well. Other players have experienced some fairly serious bugs, but in my lengthy time with the game things have been largely smooth sailing. Whilst the port is a little unambitious in scope and shows its age in spots, over a decade later Titan Quest remains a blast to play and is just as addictive as ever.
A solid remaster which has evidently had plenty of work put into it. Red Faction Guerrilla still holds up today thanks to its fantastic destruction which remains relatively unrivalled. Whilst some areas of the game do show their age, this is still a great game being sold at a fair price point.
Jurassic World Evolution is a lot of fun. An incredibly polished park management sim, wrapped in a gorgeously nostalgic package. Frontier continue to showcase their talent for creating these kind of games, but unfortunately a lack of depth lets the game down.
Summerset offers a good sized chunk of content, at a relatively fair and attractive price point. It may not be as grand as some of its competitor's expansions, but it is still one of the most enjoyable regions in the game. At the low upgrade price it's hard to feel shortchanged here.
Whilst each element isn't perfect, Vampyr manages to weave a brilliant dialogue system into a bleak yet atmospheric depiction of early 19th century London. The combat is serviceable, and the crafting system is basic. Yet the game is still a fantastic accomplishment - a refreshing reminder of just how important mid-tier titles can be.
Conan Exiles is a fantastic survival game, arguably one of the genre's best. Right now the game suffers from some ropey console performance, server issues and a range of bugs. But despite these issues the game is a whole lot of fun, especially with friends. Don't sleep on Conan Exiles.
State of Decay 2 is a lot of fun. Co-op really helps the game's replayability and the number of systems at work lead to some fantastic unexpected moments. The game is still a little rough around the edges, both in terms of bugs and performance, but it's possible to overlook some of the niggles thanks to the overall enjoyable and addictive gameplay.
There's fun to be had with Extinction, it's certainly not a terrible game. The combat and movement can lead to some enjoyable moments. But an unjustifiably high pricetag combined with some repetitive mechanics, frustrating lacks of polish, and an uninspiring narrative really damages the experience overall.