Richard Walker's Reviews
Not much to look at, Butcher is an enjoyable slice of old-fashioned, gratuitously bloody and OTT side-scrolling bullet hell that's worth a pop, if that sounds like your cup of tea. Sorry. Your cup of blood.
Prey starts strong, then gets better and better as its compelling narrative gradually unfolds, and new terrors stalk the confines of Talos I. A sci-fi survival masterclass, Prey is quite simply sublime.
Creepy, surreal and sublime, Little Nightmares will get under your skin, curl up and stay there. Let it in...
Outlast II should have been everything that the first game wasn't. Instead, it's a bloated, overwrought, and incredibly frustrating survival horror game. Not terrible by any means, but not all that great either. Shame.
A slightly iffy script, one or two uneven performances and some questionable scenes aside, Late Shift is an intriguing FMV crime thriller worth checking out.
Successfully making the leap from the Wii U four years since its original release, LEGO City Undercover is still a fantastically fun and exciting open-world adventure.
Blackwood Crossing might be short but sweet, yet it's clearly an experience that's been made as a labour of love, and as such, it has a magical, almost ethereal quality that's impossible to forget.
Not played Bulletstorm before? Then the Full Clip Edition is pretty much essential. Played it and finished it? In that case, Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition is worth revisiting for a second time, although the smattering of added extras might not necessarily be reason enough. Still, Bulletstorm is still good, dirty fun that will punch you square in the crotch.
You might initially turn your nose up at Mass Effect: Andromeda, but stick with it and you'll be richly rewarded with a vast space opera that gets better and better. It has problems, but they pale into insignificance once you're swept up in the exploits of Mass Effect: Andromeda's Pathfinder.
Stupidly enjoyable and endlessly charming, LEGO Worlds is the gift that keeps on giving with different biomes – jungles, spooky forests, deserts, swamps, candy lands with gingerbread men and more - an adventure filled with quests and infinite scope to make whatever you want. LEGO Worlds is fantastic.
A solid but glitch-riddled open-world tactical shooter that falls agonisingly short of realising its full potential, Ghost Recon Wildlands is the very definition of a 'nearly' game. It's so very nearly brilliant, but there are a few too many problems with it that mar the overall experience. Shame.
A fighting game unlike any other, For Honor is an experience that grows increasingly enjoyable and rewarding the more you play. A game in which Knights, Vikings and Samurai do battle, For Honor is exactly as awesome as it should be.
A bigger and better game than its forebear, Sniper Elite 4 is ludicrously good fun, proving beyond doubt that there's infinite appeal in blasting Nazis' bits off. Scope it out.
An unusual game, Knee Deep is entertaining while it lasts, its offbeat, Twin Peaks-inspired murder mystery taking in some strange twists and turns to reach its unexpected conclusion. Cypress Knee is certainly a place worth visiting.
As a die-hard Resident Evil fan since the first game arrived in 1996, Resident Evil 7 hits all of the right notes while feeling like a natural evolution for the series. Building upon what makes Capcom's survival horror so special, while effectively telling an entirely new story, Resident Evil 7 is a fantastic game that ought to please those looking for scares and fervent Resident Evil faithful alike.
I'll admit that my interest in Telltale's well-worn adventure formula was starting to wane, but The Walking Dead: A New Frontier's opening episodes are proof positive that there's still plenty of life in it, as Ties That Bind Part 1 and 2 are both barnstorming episodes. Essential for any self-respecting The Walking Dead fan, regardless of whether you played seasons one and two in Telltale's series.
A clear labour of love, The Little Acre is an endearing and enjoyable adventure game whose main crime is being an all too brief experience that fails to provide a satisfying ending. Overlook these quibbles, however, and you'll find it hard not to relish your stay in The Little Acre's magical world.
Who'd have thought that a game ostensibly about Brexit could not only be so funny, but also provide a selection of clever puzzles to boot? Her Majesty's SPIFFING is all of these things and therefore an adventure game you should most certainly play, if only for a little bit of levity with which to see out 2016.
Infinity Ward's seminal Call of Duty gets the revamp it deserves; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered gives the 2007 shooter a new lease of life, enabling newcomers to see what all the fuss was about and veterans the chance to relive a classic. The best Call of Duty game just got even better.
Dishonored was a genuine surprise when it launched four years ago; an innovative first-person experience that confounded expectations. That Dishonored 2 manages to once again surprise and amaze as much as the first game did is testament to what Arkane has crafted here. Dishonored 2 is quite simply one of the greatest games this year, and quite possibly one of the best of this generation. Do yourself a favour and go get it.