Watch Dogs Legion is an enjoyable open-world adventure that provides you with a beautiful vision of dystopian London to explore, but its ambitious mechanics simply don’t reach the heights I was hoping for.
Star Wars: Squadrons is the dogfighting experience in the iconic sci-fi universe we've been waiting for, and the game is supremely passionate about making this something that genre veterans and hesitant newcomers can enjoy with minimal obstacles.
Frictional Games has crafted one of the finest survival horror experiences in recent memory with Amnesia: Rebirth. It never forgets what made the original so compelling, placing as much importance on the haunting things you can't see as it does on the ghastly monsters placed front and centre. However, tired horror conventions occasionally shatter the terrifyingly atmospheric immersion, holding this new Amnesia entry back from excellence.
After playing through the opening hours of this new and improved classic, I'm already smitten with its clever mixture of strategy and resource management. It does a tremendous job of making the genre accessible for a younger audience while seldom taking your intelligence for granted.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is an excellent platformer, and carefully builds upon the legacy established by Naughty Dog so many years ago.
Hanger 13 has crafted a gorgeous remake of an action classic, but the picturesque city of Lost Heaven and the characters that call it home are sadly lacking in substance, resulting in an adventure that could have been so much more.
Journey to Batuu is an enjoyable new game pack for The Sims 4 and a worthwhile glimpse into the Star Wars universe, but it sadly lacks ambition when it comes to doing something new with the property. At times, it feels like a glorified tourist attraction, and the lukewarm narrative doesn't pull you in enough to feel worthwhile. But for hardcore fans, this is definitely a journey worth taking for the price.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars marks the long awaited arrival of some stone cold classics on Nintendo Switch, even if it doesn't always give them the esteemed treatment they deserve to truly shine in the modern era.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is the best game Vanillaware has ever made. This entrancing tale of teenagers thwarting the apocalypse through the means of giant robots and time travel is truly one of a kind, subverting the tropes we’ve come to expect from anime and science-fiction to craft a story that easily sits amongst the genre’s best.
Marvel’s Avengers has proven to be a pleasant surprise, even if its live service identity arguably hinders the true potential of its world, story and characters. Engaging combat and rewarding progression have established a solid foundation for Crystal Dynamics to build upon with new heroes and scenarios in the months and years to come.
Tell Me Why is an engrossing narrative adventure that pushes inclusivity to the forefront, setting a new benchmark for queer representation in the blockbuster space. As a transgender person, this is the level of research and respect that I anticipate from games going forward, and knowing it has the backing of Xbox Game Studios gives me that hope.
Project Cars 3, at least on the base console versions, isn’t quite the polished sequel we were hoping for, but despite its foibles – and there are many – it’s entertaining. The racing can be fun, finding that niche of being accessible and competitive.
UFC 4 is an enjoyable trip into the world of mixed-martial arts which makes some ample improvements to the formula when compared to previous entries. While it can still feel underbaked and bland in certain areas, such as the career mode, it has been refined with a stellar onboarding experience that makes it super accessible to newcomers.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a triumphantly ambitious venture which pushes the boundaries of photorealism in the gaming medium. It requires a lot of horsepower and the support of Azure technology to accomplish such a feat, but these barriers are washed away when you're staring down at endless cities and thick jungles from thousands of feet in the air. It's breathtaking, and I hope it brings such simulators further into the mainstream.
Mortal Shell is one of the year's biggest gaming surprises, offering a deep, fascinating journey into a melancholic world. It takes blatant inspiration from Dark Souls and Bloodborne,. But innovative tweaks to its combat and progression mechanics let it easily stand on its own two feet.
Fall Guys is an absolute delight. It feels like a natural evolution of the battle royale genre that abandons the expectation of violence and exchanges it for a bright, colourful multiplayer experience that sinks its hooks in and refuses to let go.
This is the definitive way to experience Horizon Zero Dawn and the Frozen Wilds expansion if you're in possession of a PC to take advantage of its highest settings.
Black Forest Games' remake of Destroy All Humans is a worthwhile adventure for fans of the series and those who grew up with Crypto's antics on the PS2 and Xbox. However, you'll need to make peace with its outdated gameplay mechanics alongside tired dialogue and story beats, many of which feature a number of offensive stereotypes.
Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent open-world adventure from Sucker Punch Productions which adds some innovative ideas to a fairly stagnant genre. The game's depiction of the time period is generic and inoffensive, but that doesn't prevent it from being a stunning visual showcase and a worthwhile swan song for the PS4
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is a transcendant pile of garbage. It's both strikingly ambitious and laughably imcompetent in every regard, which is somewhat fitting given the iconic status of its predecessor. But all the campy brilliance aside, it's difficult to overlook its monolithic performance problems and decrepit approach to game design.