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Ben Sellwood

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Favorite Games:
  • Wave Race 64

97 games reviewed
70.6 average score
72 median score
37.1% of games recommended
Jul 7, 2021

The Eternal Castle is a fantastic experience with a stunningly unapologetic appearance that evokes strong retro vibes and has a very modern feel under its hood.

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Perhaps I don't appreciate it as it should, but I found this game a woeful yawn-fest. If you want a slow-paced mystery filled lateral-thinking inventory collect-a-thon; this might be up your alley. But if you want thrills and spills and any level of endorphin promoting action; save your time and your money.

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Jun 11, 2021

I'm a huge fan of the fighting and action games, but not so much of the shooters which all feel very samey. If there were a little more variety here I think this would be a glowing review, however the niche 3 genres it covers, though authentic and as you would expect from Capcom doesn't quite give everyone something to play.

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7 / 10.0 - Manifold Garden
Jun 5, 2021

I want to love this game, but I don't. It's an exquisite piece of design with a beautiful aesthetic that just needs a little more sense of direction in my honest opinion. Explorers and puzzlers will grow to love this game, but casual players looking for a coffee time headscratcher will probably grow tired of the scale and endless searching around for something to do quickly.

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8.5 / 10.0 - Cannon Brawl
Jun 1, 2021

Cannon Brawl is a fantastic mix of resource management, farming and fighting. I particularly liked the frantic race to gain supplies to outgun your foes. I would normally have looked the other way with this kind of game, but I had an incredibly good time playing this and the hours just flew away whilst I was completely absorbed.

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8.5 / 10.0 - Alvo
May 23, 2021

It has to be said that even as a bare-bones online military shooter, Alvo ticks all the boxes for me, and offers rewarding, realistic, ultra-fast gameplay that really puts you under the pump and forces you to think fast. The scope of possibility for Alvo is sky high and I really look forward to the next round of tweaks and additions, from a developer that seems to really listen to its community. If you're looking for an online shooter with a definite penchant for gritty action; Alvo is your game without a shadow of a doubt.

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Apr 21, 2021

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is clearly chopped down and squeezed into portable form, but where sacrifices in framerate, draw distance, pop-in, LOD and resolution have been made they're relatively minor and entirely forgivable in the overall collect-a-thon fun-fest you're able to play on your TV and on the move!

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Jan 13, 2021

The Pillar: Puzzle Escape is a very enjoyable game if you're into this sort of thing, but ironically, if you're into this sort of thing, you'll find it a cakewalk. Much more could have been made of this adventure to really work that grey matter and make it far more of a challenge for puzzle aficionados.

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Jan 10, 2021

DMC5SE occupies its own tried and tested safe space within the world of video games. It hasn't really progressed much since 4 and doesn't seem to have broken through any genre-defining boundaries to evolve itself beyond what it already was. As a series, DMC5SE is truly the pinnacle in terms of polish and content but by way of freshening things up: it plays it far too safe and sadly won't really blow your mind.

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7.5 / 10.0 - Swords of Gargantua
Jan 3, 2021

Swords of Gargantua is a repetitive slash fest with a small amount of design and enemy diversity, but it has something most games like this don't have: playability. The controls are a little off for movement, but the swordplay is fantastic when you knuckle down into parrying and combinations to elongate your lifespan.

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Dec 17, 2020

The failure to allow a stylus to be used is a huge oversight in my humble opinion, and, at worst, you could use your fingers to draw on the touch screen or place the level editor items around, and this would have been more intuitive and fun. Everything feels overly simplified, and though the more you play the more you get to experience, it's quite a task to endure it all.

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Nov 30, 2020

This is without a doubt the definitive version of this game that you should play over all other versions, but its drawn-out sequences and repetitive sequences still, unfortunately, prevent this game from becoming "Essential" tier gaming.

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6 / 10.0 - Godfall
Nov 23, 2020

Godfall is all style and no substance. The next-gen lick of paint certainly makes it an exquisite looking stunner, however, at its core is some lacklustre gameplay and some genuinely lethargic missions. The boss battles are exciting and momentarily engaging, and the art style incredible, but I'm left feeling more than a little underwhelmed and unfulfilled.

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7 / 10.0 - MindSeize
Oct 22, 2020

Thanks to a variety of weapons and upgrades this game had more legs than I had initially thought, and whilst it's fun to try to unlock everything and upgrade yourself to the nth degree, but with a formulaic approach to this genre it is just a little bit too forgettable as a game to really stand out in such a saturated market.

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6.8 / 10.0 - Party Hard 2
Sep 29, 2020

Party Hard 2 is a grower, not a shower. You have to ease into it and appreciate your surroundings to produce some truly inspired executions. If skulking and lurking is your jam, then Party Hard 2 is the game for any budding clandestine manslayer.

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Sep 23, 2020

Apart from chucking together some fierce combos and actually landing a superman-triple-backflip, I really couldn't find much enjoyment in staring at this overly drab flick book of a port. Sure the Switch is underpowered, but this is a real kick in the teeth for fans who would at least want a smooth albeit downgraded "off-road racing and lifestyle experience" on their hybrid console.

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7 / 10.0 - Hotshot Racing
Sep 12, 2020

Virtua Racing, Scud Racing, Daytona, Outrun: these games are synonymous with quality and class with that certain something only Sega could muster in the '90s, and yet here we stand in a COVID cloaked version of 2020 with a game as striking and endearing as you like, with visuals you can't help but gawp at and multiplayer playability that has through the roof levels of enjoyment. Hotshot racing does a solid job of replicating the arcade vibe, but fails to impart its own identity to really excel.

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5 / 10.0 - Windbound
Aug 28, 2020

Windbound should have been better. The potential and aesthetic are strong, but it is such an uninterestingly strict jaunt that I really couldn't find many redeeming features to make me want to play it any further than I have.

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7 / 10.0 - Superliminal
Aug 12, 2020

I really enjoyed this title. It caused me to think outside the box a few times, and gave me the impetus to proceed through its intriguing narrative. The use of forced perspective is absolutely genius to behold, but I feel that this is the prototype for something much bigger, more rounded, and more appealing in future. Pillow Castle is definitely one to watch as they have some really neat tricks up their sleeves.

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Jul 27, 2020

Scoring around the 7.5/10 mark in 2005, this "Remake" doesn't really improve anything over the original. Yes, the graphics are updated, and yes the HUD and interfaces are decluttered, but the core lacklustre quality of the "exploration" shines through worse than before.

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