Paul Hunter's Reviews
I had more fun than expected playing Dolmen and everyone who enjoys a good soulslike game should check it out. The environments are varied and look nice, the level design was appealing, it has great character and gear upgrades systems, and multiplayer was a nice touch. The real downside is the poor enemy A.I., so while combat was satisfying, aside from a few well-designed bosses don't expect a stiff challenge. Overall though, it's still a solid recommend.
Centipede Recharged takes a beloved classic and reinvents it for the modern era with exceptional graphics and inspired gameplay upgrades. This is the perfect game to unwind to when you've got an hour to spare or a great bite-size game to play between those all-consuming AAA titles. I'm hooked on this game and it's making me excited for the next Recharged titles Atari is cooking up, like Black Widow Recharged and Breakout Recharged. It would have been nice for the game to ship with more modes, but with it's incredibly satisfying gameplay loop and $9.99 price point, retro fans shouldn't hesitate to pick this game up.
I've had a lot of fun playing Habroxia 2 on PS5. At only $10 it's a steal and certainly a must-play game for shoot 'em fans on every platform. You can get the Platinum trophy in about ten hours, so it's great for achievement hunters as well. I play a lot of longer games, so whenever I get fatigued and need a break it's great to know that Habroxia 2 will be there to jump into for some quick and fun arcade shmup action.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood isn’t bad, but it’s not amazing either. It’s a serviceable Wolfenstein entry with some great standout parts—like the gunplay—but also has odd coop mechanics that detract from the gameplay. The difficulty feels unbalanced: you start out super weak and enemies are super bullet spongy. This eases over time as you gain levels and purchase gun upgrades, but it’s a slow grind.
At less than $40 to buy, ScreamRide offers a lot of excitement for its comparatively low price. You can ride, destroy, and create dream roller coasters, effectively giving you three games in one. When you add in a steady stream of user-generated content into the mix, ScreamRide is value proposition is very tempting.
The Saints Row IV Re-Elected + Gat out of Hell combo pack is well-suited for anyone who missed out on Saints Row IV when it released 18 months ago on last-gen platforms. If you've already played through that game, unless you're dying to play through a slightly enhanced edition, your best option is to pick-up the standalone version of Gat out of Hell, also available now.
Going into Forspoken I had cautious optimism, but I walked away happy with the experience. The gameplay is the real winner here: from the hyper-fast traversal to the deep magical combat there's a lot to appreciate. Yes, Frey and Cuff's dialogue often made my eyes roll but at least the game's lore is intriguing and worth exploring to its fullest.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake delivers exactly what I'd hope for: a fun-filled new SpongeBob adventure that takes the gameplay, graphics and vibe of Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated to the next level.
While I wasn't too thrilled about the Court of Owls storyline, thankfully the villain subcases featuring Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze and Clayface are top-notch. Batman fans shouldn't hesitate to grab this game and step into the knight.
Resident Evil Village Winters’ Expansion is a great add-on with its new third-person mode and new story campaign, but I thought The Mercenaries Additional Orders was the best new content. If you enjoyed RE Village, I'm convinced you'll be lycan this DLC expansion.
Evil West is a silly slaughter-fest that has gameplay I instantly got into and enjoyed.
Jitsu Squad is pure brawling awesomeness. The gameplay is buttery smooth, lightning-fast and thoroughly satisfying—exactly what you'd want from a beat 'em up. Mix in the eye-popping hand-drawn cartoon graphics, finessed animations and a thumping soundtrack and this game delivers the goods. It's a shame then that in its current state the content is a bit lacking, but hopefully, the Kickstarter stretch goals get rolled out soon as they'd make the game an unqualified recommendation.
The Devil in Me is Supermassive's best entry yet in The Dark Pictures Anthology series. The new gameplay mechanics push the series into the modern era (finally!), but it's the haunted antagonist Du'Met that's really the star of this horrorfest. If you've enjoyed previous entries in the anthology, don't hesitate to book your ticket to the murder hotel.
The Callisto Protocol is an impressive first release from Striking Distance Studios with sublime visuals and immersive 3D audio, all set in a captivating new game world I just have to see more of. The performance on PS5 is exceptional: buttery-smooth frame rates, crisp 4K resolution and one of best implementations of ray tracing and DualSense features I've seen yet. If only the combat was better this would be a near-perfect outing, but alas that aspect needs some major reworking.
Save Room is one of those games I didn't know I needed until I played it. It takes the most tedious part of Resident Evil games and turns it into a comedy puzzler with 40 levels that'll test your mental muscle and RE item management mechanics. I wish the game was longer, but given its budget price, it's hard to complain. This game is quite possibly the most fun you can get for the price of a sardine sandwich. What are you waiting for, stranger?
The Quarry provides plenty of scares with its engaging narrative, pristine graphics and superb acting from top Hollywood talent. The excellent licensed soundtrack also helps make this such a memorable experience. I appreciate the multiplayer options and accessibility features as well, which broadens the appeal and lets you control the game's intensity. It's too bad there's no New Game Plus and the story does stray too closely to Until Dawn, but neither downside means you should steer away. This is a high-quality interactive drama that absolutely deserves your time if you're a fan of the genre.
The Ascent is an excellent top-down shooter with a great cyberpunk aesthetic, exhilarating combat and some neat RPG systems to boot. If you like arcade action and fast-paced combat, this is the game for you. It's a great start to what I hope is a new franchise because I certainly would be down for a sequel, a few years down the road.
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is a real blast, especially Ghost Clash mode and the Party multiplayer mode. I really enjoyed all 20 activities and their inherent fun-factor encourages me to come back daily to see if I can beat my high score.
WRC 10 is my new pick for best game in the series with its new and enhanced game modes, livery editor, better graphics and improved physics. It's a nice celebration of 50 years of WRC rallies and I particularly thought the anniversary mode was an excellent touch. It's sad to see Kylotonn will soon pass over the torch to Codemasters, but great to see them wrapping up the series with the best entry yet.
Hot Wheels Unleashed was way more fun than I'd expected it to be. It's also accessible enough for young players while deep and challenging for seasoned racers. It's easily the most fun I've had playing an arcade racing since Mario Kart 8 on Wii U and that's saying a lot. Whether it's for nostalgia, for competition or purely just for fun, this is a game arcade racing fans don't want to miss.