Nic Bunce
Bugsnax is a unique and wonderful experience, and a must-play for anyone who can get their hands on it. If you're lucky enough to have secured a PS5, make sure you make the most of PlayStation Plus and pick up your free copy while it lasts. If not, this game is still well worth your hard-earned cash.
If you didn't get a chance to play this as a kid or take the opportunity to play the remake, I'd strongly recommend giving it a go before Abe Soulstorm - the reimagining of the game's sequel - arrives on the PS5 next year. Though the humour is juvenile at best, with Abe often communicating in chuckles and farts, it is a perfect example of someone finding light and hope in utter darkness. We could all do with a bit of that right now, couldn't we?
Frankly, Double Pug Switch is just not a fun game. It's meant to be challenging, but the worst of this comes from sticky controls and a buggy game. Coupled with the intentional disregard for the safety of cute things, this is a game which ends up infuriating. Maybe it plays better on the PC or other consoles, but I cannot in good faith recommend it for Switch.
Spinch is a quirky and vibrant 2D platformer that will delight and infuriate in equal measure.
Ring of Pain is an excellent concept which is almost perfectly executed, but falls flat at the final hurdle. The gameplay is as engaging as it is moreish, which is why it's such a shame that the difficulty spike at the end ruins the experience. Hopefully this is something that's amended after today's release.
Spellbreak holds vast potential and is full of depths to explore, but it's not quite there yet, despite the 1.0 release. Sure, it's fun enough to play if you can sit down with two of your friends and bash out a couple hours' madness, but I forgot what the game was called once I stopped playing. With next to no lore within the game, and with every win or loss feeling the same, there's just not quite enough to make a lasting impression.
Ogre tale is one of the most Marmite games I have played in a very long time. If, like me, you're a Japanophile, you'll probably be able to look past the flaws. If not, you're going to hate the jarring dialogue jarring and incessant reference dropping.
I suppose if you don’t own anything else that will run this game, then this port is admittedly a way to play a game you’d otherwise have no access to. However, if you own literally anything else that will run The Outer Worlds, and don’t want a return to PS3 graphics with PS2 processing speeds, avoid this port like the Edgewater plague.
Despite its flaws, Red Wings: Aces of the Sky is a decent dogfighting game. The night flight missions show just how tricky it must have been, trying to pick out the enemy against the inky black sky, and the dogfighting is genuinely engaging, if a bit too repetitive and not quite historically accurate. If you're a fan of combat sims and you want to try something different to the modern fighter jets we're all used to, it's worth a shot.
All in all, fans of the franchise and genre potentially have a real gem on their hands with The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners , but it requires a lot of work to get there.
Persona 5 Royal is a stunning game that takes something which has already captured millions of hearts, and makes it even better. This is the quintessential Persona experience. If you're new to the franchise, this game is for you. If you're a seasoned veteran, there is enough new and improved content that this game is still for you.
This is the kind of game that makes you want to reach out and tell your nearest and dearest you love them. And you should — life's too short as it is. If you're a fan of games like Beat Saber, but something to unwind with, this is the game for you. If you want something that tugs on your heartstrings, this is for you. If you have a PlayStation VR and you like rhythm games, this is the game for you.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a game for those who adore the genre and want something bright, colourful and full of self-referential puns to end a long day at work. However, you have to be able to overlook some game design and quality-of-life flaws that can make the game frustratingly hard.
At the end of the day – the long hard day of being a naughty little goose – Untitled Goose Game is something truly unique and special. It's a beautifully clean and simple puzzle game which will have you howling with delight, both when you play it through for the first time, and when you pass the controller to your partner saying, "You absolutely need to play this game where you're a naughty little goose…"
Hamsterdam is a delightful homage to Golden Era kung-fu movies, but if the martial artists were all small mammals. It might get repetitive quite quickly, but if you're looking for something you can play in short sprints or something fun for your kids, Hamsterdam is a genuine treat.
Putting the weirdness of the character skins to one side, is Muse Dash worth playing? If you can pick it for a couple of quid, sure. The mechanics are intriguing, the music is alright and there's a fair amount or replayability, given the huge collection of songs available too. If you really want to collect all of the skins, there are a fair few to choose from, but too many of them will get you odd looks on your commute to work.
Giga Wrecker Alt. is a physics-based puzzle platformer that falls down in the same places as most games in the genre, but with interesting characters an intriguing story, it's a decent game on the whole. Just be aware that the difficulty is real, so if that's a deterrent, consider yourself warned.
I would be genuinely angry if I had paid money for this RollerCoaster Tycoon game. There is none of the tycoon fun of the original game, the rollercoasters are overshadowed by the shooting and the VR is slapdash at best. The entire experience feels like an alpha build of a rail shooter that someone decided to slap the Tycoon name on to sell more copies. I cannot, in good faith, recommend this game under any circumstances.
Red Matter is the most immersive puzzle game I've played in a long time, thanks in no small part to how well it makes use of VR is utilised.