SYNTHETIK: Ultimate is a fun, fast-paced twin-stick shooter with a ton of gameplay variety that will keep you busy for hours. Even though the Switch version does fall behind the PC version with missing features and a few minor technical issues. It’s still a perfectly serviceable version I’d recommend if you want some chaotic single player fun.
Hitman 3 is an absolutely stunning ending to this trilogy, finally delivering a story that, whilst not mind-blowing, did subvert my expectations in the best of ways, all while delivering the same high quality gameplay and level design that fans have come to expect. It may not innovate on the previous titles’ core gameplay, feeling more like an expansion than a new standalone game, but it’s still worth your while, offering plenty of new content to dig into.
The Medium is right on the edge of being a great horror game, in many ways being the closest we’ve got to a true Silent Hill successor. Returning to the classic camera angles seen years ago has been a treat, whilst the dual reality pushed the genre forward in clever ways. Sadly, uninspired puzzles and stealth encounters bogged the game down quite a notch.
The PC release of Nioh 2 may not be perfect but it’s still well worth visiting. The locales are stunning, the combat is as great as ever and the boss fights will have you on the edge of your seat most of the time. I’ve died much more than I’d like to admit, but I’ve loved every minute of it.
It feels like this game was built purely because of the memes and to attract the streaming and YouTube crowds, just like Hello Neighbor and other tinyBuild games released in the past.
It’s been a surprisingly long time coming for CrossCode: A New Home, and it was definitely worth the wait. It’s an excellent excuse to dive back into the world of CrossCode with its interesting characters and phenomenal combat system. If you are fan of the base game then this DLC will give you a lot more to dig into.
Even with its blatant pacing issues, as well as the fact that this is, at the end of the day, an upscaled port of a game originally released three console generations ago, Stubbs the Zombie is still well worth checking out today. The charming story, carefree attitude and unique gameplay is something we really don’t see a lot of these days.
DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2 is a brilliantly designed expansion providing some of the most fun and fast-paced shooting action I’ve ever seen. Each of the DLC’s main missions provide plenty of variety and challenging encounters to really dig into.
Evil Inside is yet another failed attempt to recapture the brilliance of PT in a “full game” format, but it ends up missing the mark in every single way you could possibly imagine. This isn’t scary at all, it’s just boring, uninteresting, and most importantly, annoying, mostly due to the overabundance of loud noises and jump scares. There are much better PT-inspired horror games out there, so don’t fret with this one.
Monster Hunter Rise is an excellent continuation of the Monster Hunter franchise, feeling more like a refinement to its predecessor's already excellent Iceborne expansion. This is a game I will be coming back to over and over again. I’m very much looking forward to the PC release next year.
Godstrike is a passable attempt at a boss rush game. It is certainly a brutal challenge that will take dozens of attempts to get through, but it’s just not a very fun experience. There’s some potential here with the time mechanic not only being your health but also a resource that you need to manage. The problem lies on the lacklustre boss battles, which comprise the entirety of the game’s runtime, however.
For better of for worse, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 is pretty much what it was so many years ago. If you didn’t like the original release, then this won’t do much to convince you otherwise, and if you are coming from Automata, this is a weaker game in a lot of ways.
Resident Evil Village doesn’t reach the dizzying heights of my personal favourite game in the franchise, Resident Evil 2 Remake. It does, however, provide one of the best Action Horror gameplay experiences out there. Whilst it may seem like a successor to RE4, there’s a lot of the other games in here as well, making it one of the most complete Resident Evil experiences to date.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends has potential when it comes to its team-based, stealh-oriented heist gameplay concept. That cannot be discussed. However, issues related to its gameplay and how easily it can be exploited, as well as that overall sense that it’s not bound to retain its community for long, make it quite hard to recommend, even if I’m hopeful the developers will continute to support it over time.
Outbreak: Endless Nightmares is just a bad game. Everything from the awful controls, terrible pseudo-randomised level design, a paper-thin story that I can tell you nothing about, all make for a horrible experience. Then mix in needless roguelike elements that just don’t belong in a Resident Evil style title. It’s a recipe made in hell.
Song of Horror was a lot better than I could have ever expected. This is an inventive horror game that brings in scares through permadeath mechanics and unique story-driven moments. It’s a love letter to horror across multiple mediums that is incredibly inventive. Even though it doesn’t quite hit its full potential due to its visual and audio issues, this is a game that every horror fan should try out.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a much better game than I could have ever anticipated. It’s a very clever spin on the Monster Hunter formula, with a cutesy art style, turn-based combat that is easy to pick up regardless of your experience with RPG games, a serviceable story, and more than enough depth and sidequests to keep you busy for hours.
Chernobylite is a wonderfully unique game with multiple gameplay elements that make it stand out rather than being dumped as just another post-apocalyptic survival game.
The Ascent is a bloody good time that combines addictive twin-stick shooting, a spectacular cyberpunk world, and a rocking synth soundtrack that elevates every moment to the next level. I never wanted to put the game down, despite some shortcomings.
I don’t know what I was expecting from GRIME, but its unique absorbing mechanic, fast paced combat, and engaging platforming all come together. Whilst the genre of Souls-like Metroidvania’s might be becoming oversaturated, GRIME does more than enough to be deserving of your attention.