Days Gone is not a perfect game. It never quite reaches the narrative mastery of The Last Of Us nor does it manage to instil the same awe-inspiring exploration games like Assassin's Creed have managed so successfully in the past. Its zombies are far less intimidating than those in Dying Light and some of the core gameplay loops, including Deacon's motorbike maintenance, are outright detrimental to the entire experience. Yet as I played through the 65+ hours of this open world game, Day's Gone really started to grow on me. So much so that if you can persevere with the issues, Day's Gone opens up in the best possible way to deliver a memorable and narratively compelling adventure well worth experiencing.
In an endless sea of looter shooters, multiplayer battle royales and microtransaction-riddled titles, Plague: Tale Innocence is a breath of fresh air. With a simple, 10 hour narrative and a well paced story, Plague Tale backs up its compelling plot line with some cleverly evolving gameplay, with each of its deliciously dark chapters an absolute delight to play through. Created by a passionate team of 40 or so people, Plague: Tale Innocence is a reminder of what this medium can produce with a bit of creativity and passion, leaving this reviewer saddened when the journey ended. Despite the visuals not quite matching traditional blockbuster game standards, the atmosphere and general aesthetic of the game more than makes up for this, making Plague Tale: Innocence one of the best games of the year.
The Blackout Club is a multiplayer game with a great concept but questionable execution. Acting as a stealth title and boasting a unique premise, The Blackout Club blends core sneaking mechanics with a handful of stock missions that slowly reveal more about the world around you as you play. Held back by some clumsy AI, a repetitive mission loop and a distinct lack of challenge until deep in the experience, The Blackout Club is an experiment worth checking out but unlikely to be something you stick around with for the long haul when the game ironically becomes much more enjoyable.
Kart racers are tricky games to get right. Dwarfed by the mammoth success of Mario Kart and the recent release of Crash Team Racing, Team Sonic Racing is a surprisingly solid but ultimately forgettable addition to the genre. Taking the best elements from both of the aforementioned games, this Sega racer makes the most of its high-speed courses but is held back by some repetitive gameplay and a lack of variety with its tracks.
Aside from a few gripes I had with this, Winds Of Change is a wonderful little visual novel. While the story does feel a little expository-heavy at the start and the latter periods feel very plot-driven rather than orientated by your characters' natural choices, this charming PC game has enough going for it to make it worth checking out. I love games like this and the world building, lore and general characterisation are good enough to keep you invested for the long haul. There are options to go back and replay with different choices but if I'm honest, I felt no desire to once I finished the game. Winds Of Change is a nice surprise and while it could certainly be better, the game itself is solid enough to recommend, especially given it's relatively cheap asking price.
Technical issues and graphical glitches aside, Man Of Medan is a pretty good title, with a creepy atmosphere and enough jump scares to keep you on edge through most of the game. The characters themselves, with a few exceptions, are generally unlikable though and it’s something Until Dawn had issues with too through much of its run-time. While I understand that generally in horror movies you’ll find the same thing, the archetypal characters and cookie-cutter characterisation offers little substance to build empathy with these people, and much of the time spent playing this you’ll find yourself progressing passively, rather than genuinely caring whether these people make it to safety or not.
Regardless of your feelings toward Final Fantasy VIII, there’s something timelessly endearing about this often-forgotten title. The plot progresses well, the characters grow into their roles despite a rocky start and the soundtrack is one of the best in the series’ history. The gameplay is largely unchanged and the battle assist options do cut out some of the grind, which will appeal to those looking to experience the story again without the need to grind through levels. It may not be the remake fans have been crying out for, but it is a solid reminder of how charming these early turn-based games were back in the day, and well worth a play all these years later.
With the dust now settling on Telltale’s time in the game industry (before the name has subsequently been snatched up ready for a revamp), The Telltale Definitive Series is a celebration of the hard work put in by the numerous people employed by the company who created these games. Featuring all four original titles, the 400 Days DLC pack and The Walking Dead: Michonne, for the first time all these games, plus a slew of special features, come together to make for one impressive collection, especially given the asking price.
There’s a lot to like here and on the pitch, Pro Evolution is easily one of the best football simulators on the market. In terms of polish, the game suffers from some aesthetically janky menus and a cumbersome team management screen. The loading times are a little too long, especially during on-pitch breaks like throw ins and corners, while the commentary is pretty woeful all round. Compared to FIFA though, Pro Evo is all about performance, rather than aesthetic, and where it really matters, the game absolutely delivers.
Blending the best elements of Final Fantasy, anime and Pokemon, Ni No Kuni’s arrival on the PlayStation 3 was met with critical acclaim when it dropped back in 2011. The game was certainly not without its issues though but this 50+ hour adventure was well written, well paced and incredibly fun to play. Returning to the current generation of consoles, Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch adds updated graphics and a smoother frame-rate but gameplay-wise remains the exact same game that launched all those years ago.
Fifa 20 has all the parts to make for a competent, impressive footballing title this year. I played Pro Evo last month and was pleasantly surprised by the fluidity and realistic football on display in that title and wondered whether Fifa could compete on the pitch. In a way it does, at least for a little while. Matches are genuinely balanced with a good use of physics and improved animations, but various glitches and bugs hold this game back from ascending to the level it should hit. The career mode is almost entirely unplayable if you want a realistic experience and unless you're prepared to put some serious time into Ultimate Team, Volta's short story mode may not be enough to keep you coming back for more.
Greedfall is a game I want to love. On the surface, this semi-open world, action RPG feels like a patchwork of different ideas and concepts, all of which executed acceptably but never quite brilliantly. With elements of The Witcher, Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls and The Council, this politically-charged title gets a lot right but it does so in a manner that's not quite as effective as it should be. With a development team of 35 or so people, Greedfall is an impressive AA title but some constant issues with the combat and environment hold this game back from greatness.
Amidst the ongoing PR fiasco of Fallout 76 and Bioware's disastrous looter-shooter Anthem, The Outer Worlds could not have dropped at a more opportune time. Acting as the spiritual successor to Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds is a reasonably polished, refreshing roleplaying title that puts story and dialogue at its forefront in favour of robust gameplay and mechanics. It's a timely reminder of how good these RPGs can be when you focus on creating a good game rather than a polished monetised model and the result is something that immediately feels familiar and enjoyable to anyone who's played Obsidian's previous games.
Having said all this, Medievil is a remake that'll almost certainly split opinion. On the one hand, the game perfectly captures everything the original did right, with faithful level design and updated visuals, whilst consequently carrying over all the baggage too, including the questionable camera and dated controls. As a fan of the franchise, I loved playing through this 6+ hour adventure again and the waves of nostalgia hit at every turn. As an introduction for newcomers in 2019 though, Medievil is a game that shows its age at almost every turn, groaning and bemoaning its luck much like our plucky hero Sir Dan.
Concrete Genie is quite simply a classic example of quality over quantity and aside from a few gripes with the final hour of the game, this is easily one of the best games of 2019. Not bad for a title that clocks in at around 5 hours. It’s a great showcase for how games can break free from conventional norms and illustrate an idea in a polished and clever manner. This is a game that personally resonated with me right the way through to the final scenes and one that’s absolutely worth its weight in gold. If you’re on the fence about this one, do yourself a favour and take the plunge. You’ll be thankful you did.
The simulation aspects are a big step-up from Planet Coaster and Frontier have been pretty quick to resolve some of the biggest problems with the game during its launch. While the online marketplace and steep learning curve may put some people off, Planet Zoo is a beautiful zoo tycoon game nonetheless, chock full of educational content mixed in with realistic animal behaviour. It’s not perfect but it’ll almost certainly serve as a worthy replacement for Zoo Tycoon for the time being.
Superliminal is a game that values quality over quantity and is all the stronger for it. With simple, inventive mechanics and an involving play-time between 2-4 hours, Pillow Games have produced a wonderful little puzzle game here.
Hideo Kojima reminds me a lot of George R.R. Martin and George Lucas. With a bit of restraint, these men have managed to achieve greatness in their respective fields. Without that overarching influence to keep them on the straight and narrow, and with free reign to conjure up something wholly self-published and original, these artists have struggled to reign themselves in and rekindle that early career magic, producing lacklustre and ever-so-slightly egotistical pieces of fiction. Death Stranding then, is Hideo Kojima following in that same vein.
While it may be simple in concept, Arise: A Simple Story delivers a real showstopper when it comes to its gameplay, offering up an innovative blend of aesthetic splendour and strong themes. It’s a beautiful, poignant journey not to be missed and one of the best games of the year.
SuperEpic: The Entertainment War may not be the best Metroidvania-style game, but it is the first I’ve played that manages to turn the topic of microtransactions into a positive gameplay mechanic. When it comes down to it, SuperEpic is a satirical, surprisingly balanced 16-bit platformer that juggles its simplistic premise with enough visual flair and charm to make it well worth the cost to play. While the actual gameplay loop remains unchanged through much of the play-time, the changing aesthetic and added enemy variety is a welcome sign and a clear conscious effort to inject the game with some excitement to prevent it stagnating.