Dying Light 2 isn’t a massive reinvention of the original game, but honestly, it didn’t even need to be. It successfully manages to improve on the core aspects that made its predecessor so appealing, adding more content, set pieces, and improving on its presentation, whilst delivering that same thrilling feeling that captivated us all those years ago. The story may fall flat at times, but the fun of free running around the open world of Villedor will still keep me busy for many hours to come.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a delightfully intriguing and unique gaming experience that blends a wonderfully weird world with a great story and fast-paced combat. Despite some repetition in its open world activities, the pros more than outweight the cons. Tango Gameworks’ spooky adventure was worth the wait, and it is a game I can highly recommend.
Insomniac’s Spider-Man is a surprising game for sure. I never got the chance to play it back in its PlayStation 4 release and was admittedly skeptical it was going to be this good. I was very wrong: I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game thanks to a great story, fast-paced combat and traversal mechanics that are just way too exciting. Hopefully we can expect more quality ports from Sony going forward.
The Talos Principle 2 is something of a rarity in the gaming space. An extremely high-quality puzzle game that has a deeper meaning within its story, and interactions that make you think in more ways than one. This is on top of its breathtaking visuals, courtesy of the brand new iteration of the Unreal Engine. I cannot recommend it enough to any fans of puzzle games. The Talos Principle 2 is an absolute must-play.
The thirteen-year wait for Alan Wake 2 has been one surrounded by a lot of worry that it wouldn’t live up to the hype or lofty expectations. It is an occasionally uneven experience, but thankfully that doesn’t detract from the overall experience too much. Alan Wake 2 has been well worth the wait and is an absolute must-play.
To put it plainly, Helldivers 2 is one of the best cooperative games in recent years. An uncomprisingly fun shooter, which may even stand up with the titans like Left 4 Dead 2, Monster Hunter World and Halo Master Chief Collection. Games like these, as well as Helldivers 2, are the ones I have spent hundreds of hours in, and will most likely continue to play for years to come. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to spread some managed democracy. Freedom don’t come free!
I’ll admit I was pretty skeptical with the Switch port of Darksiders Genesis, based on the disappointing port of Darksiders 2 to the system. So I was pleasantly surprised by the successful port over to Switch, even though it is not perfect. It’s definitely worth playing, especially if you’ve never tried it before.
Despite some shortcomings regarding the game’s length and how Nemesis is used in the opening hours, the Resident Evil 3 Remake is yet another excellent addition to the franchise and a perfect way to bring that classic back to the spotlight.
Gears Tactics has managed to capture the essence of the Gears franchise and move it into an entirely new genre. The fun and fast-paced tactics-based gameplay is perfectly mixed with all the hallmarks of the Gears series with very few downsides.
The Switch version of The Persistence managed to exceed my expectations in every single way. Not only it’s a good proof that you can also port former VR games to a non-VR environment, but it’s also a fun horror-themed roguelike with great visuals and environmental design running pretty well on such underpowered hardware.
Getting XCOM 2 Collection running on the Switch is a technical achievement, however there were a number of cutbacks that needed to be made to make this happen. If you can live with some downgraded visuals and subpar performance, XCOM 2 Collection on the Switch is a must buy. Just make sure to keep it in handheld mode.
Amnesia: Rebirth is a return to Frictional Games' breakthrough franchise. It might not be as terrifying or tense as the original game and this will surely disappoint some fans. But for me, there was enough horror mixed into the top notch storytelling to provide one of the best survival horror experiences I’ve played in years.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a game that doesn’t innovate on the franchise’s formula, but instead focuses on refining it. Valhalla is a game worthy of your time and if you haven’t played an Assassin’s Creed game before or are looking at jumping back in then this is a perfect new entry point.
Visage isn’t just a simple a PT clone, but an evolution of that concept. Its scope is significantly bigger and it doesn’t feel like it’s just trying to copy it, as it clearly tries to implements its own ideas and become its own thing. Visage is a homage to countless survival horror games and movies that came before and it’s utterly terrifying and challenging. This is a horror game for horror fans and doesn’t hold back.
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.
Tormented Souls is a magnificent return to the classic days of 90’s survival horror, bringing in tense atmospheric environments that successfully replicate the good old days of the genre, especially with its excellent usage dynamic camera. The puzzles are great as well. This is one little gem tailor made for us old-school fans of the genre, who were craving for something more akin to the horror we grew up with back in the day.
I didn’t know what to expect from UNSIGHTED, but all I know is that I was pleasantly surprised by the results. It’s a game that features a really fun and fast-paced combat system, with some excellent world design, all tied together by a really unique time mechanic. This might be a game that will fly under everyone’s radar, but I would highly recommend UNSIGHTED to anyone looking for a good challenge or a fun world to explore.
The Crysis Remastered Trilogy is finally here on pretty much all modern systems. These flawed but wonderful tactical shooters have never hit their fully potential in terms of popularity and polish, but have always been enjoyable on so many levels. It’s even better now, all thanks to some pretty good remastering work coming from Crytek. The trilogy is well worth playing today despite its flaws, and I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Nanosuit.
Does Halo Infinite reignite that Halo passion? For the most part, yes! I will admit that there is a lot of frustration regarding the decisions in multiplayer and a rather static open world. However, the core gameplay experiences keep Halo Infinite fresh and one of the best first person shooters in years. Halo is back!
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is exactly what you would expect; more of the same sweet sweet gameplay loop. There’s a bunch of new monsters to fight in new and old locations. The only things letting down Sunbreak are the early game pacing issues, and depending on your tastes, not the finest roster of new monsters. Saying that, there is more than enough to keep you busy for many hours to come as you progress through the brutally tough Master Rank and endgame content. If this is the end of Rise, then Capcom sure have done it justice.