Stephen Malone
- Deadly Premonition
- Persona 4 Golden
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Whether through loyalty or lethargy, BurgerTime Party! just doesn't do enough with the original arcade game's formula to make this reboot worth checking out.
Neo Cab is a chilling cyberpunk story that never loses sight of its character's humanity.
Tokyo Dark is a solid if underwhelming detective noir story. It's good for a diversion but will ultimately leave you wishing it were something more substantial.
Death Stranding deserves credit for daring to be so unique, but the price of experimentation is often failure. It can sometimes achieve moments of tranquil beauty, but is usually such a frustrating slog that it's hard to appreciate the quieter moments.
Simulacra has some interesting ideas, but gets in its own way enough that it wastes the advantage afforded to it by its strong premise.
Tamashii can be completed in one short sitting, but between its nightmarish art, dark themes and clever puzzle-platformer gameplay, it'll stick with you for a long time.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics is a serviceable strategy RPG, but doesn't make use of its license or innovate in its genre enough to make much of an impression.
Ciel Fledge is bursting at the seams with ideas, many of them good, but with so little room for them to breathe, they end up stripped down to their most basic and least satisfying forms.
Dead or School is a surprisingly fun, polished hack-and-slash side-scroller with ridiculous fanservice that might turn some people off and a spotty script that struggles to make up for the repetitiveness of the combat.
The Complex is a decent little sci-fi flick, but its interactive elements only encourage you to dig deeper into a story and a gimmick that can’t withstand any real scrutiny.
Convoy is a solid tactical roguelike. While it doesn't offer much to make it stand out from the pack, and the repetitiveness doesn't give it the staying power of the genre's best entries, it is a fun distraction for people looking to switch things up from FTL.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is a great spinoff of Firaxis’ modern XCOM series, bringing with it enough changes to stand on its own. Unfortunately, the simplification of the formula may turn away series veterans and doesn’t give it the same lasting appeal as the other games in the series.
If you’re looking for a John Wick game, John Wick Hex probably won’t satisfy you. However, if you’re happy with a tight, smart turn-based strategy game whose main character happens to look a lot like John Wick, this is exactly what you’re looking for.
Everything Persona 5 Royal adds is a boon to the experience but, unfortunately, it’s not enough to fix the deeply-embedded issues at the heart of the original game.
The Dread X Collection is unique and worthwhile, offering ten different indie horror games. Your mileage may vary with each one, but you're likely to fall in love with at least one of the games here, and it may even lead you to finding a favourite new indie developer to keep an eye on.
Battle for Bikini Bottom isn’t an exemplary 3D platformer in and of itself, but it’s above average for licensed games and its clear passion for the SpongeBob property sets it apart. The Rehydrated remaster is a wonderfully accurate port that makes it accessible for old and new fans alike.
Deadly Premonition 2 is a competent sequel that comes close to reaching the heights of the original, but falls short due to sloppy gameplay, technical issues and an unwillingness to stray too far from its comfort zone.
Paradise Killer may not be for everybody, but by focusing so singularly on one niche aspect of games, it makes detective work more engaging and memorable than any other game of its kind.
Five Dates is a clever dating sim that does a lot of things right to stand out from the crowd, but unfortunately ends early enough that it can't leave much of a lasting impression.
While it may struggle to hold a solo player's interest, Phogs! is a fantastically delightful and easygoing co-operative experience.