Someday You’ll Return does some things well. It is a great psychological horror game with cool new platforming gameplay and a detailed crafting system. It also looks amazing! It is just a shame, then, that the story is as uninspired as it is, with voice acting that pulls you out of the immersion quickly. It has a lot of potential, but I would not call it a must-have just yet.
While Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York has a few negative points, it ultimately works well as a standalone title. Admittedly, it is a bit of a hard sell when compare it to the main titles in the series and even the proviso expansion, but it mostly gets it right in the end. Although the loss of player initiative and a noticeable lack of player choice do mar the overall experience, the tight narrative is ultimately enhanced by an extremely relatable protagonist – who helps to keep things interesting from start to finish. Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York is a Visual Novel that takes a step back from the flashiness of its predecessor, but still manages to stand on its own as a decent companion. It is perfect for anyone who wants more World of Darkness, but may come off as a bit of a surprise to fans of gameplay-rich Visual Novels.
Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition is not a true remaster, but it does add the graphical niceties associated with games that do get the updated treatment. In this sense, the graphics are enhanced enough to make it look and feel new, while the addition of a bunch of new features and game modes help increase replay-ability. Despite the subtle improvements, and considering how the game has not even been out for a full year, the asking price is a bit of a cheek. While it is 20 dollar’s less than the original $60 USD price tag, it still stings too much for anyone who may have bought the collector’s editions in 2019, thinking they would get free upgrades to the next-gen version (and rightfully so). Qualms about the price notwithstanding, the game is wonderfully executed in both design and narrative. It is a decent sequel to the events of Devil May Cry 4, and a great point of entry for any new fan. The Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition might be the best bang for buck entry as well, though no one will argue that the first three titles are still the strongest.
Ultimately, the XCOM 2 Collection serves its purpose of bringing a masterpiece to a mobile platform. Granted, it could do with additional polish and optimisation, and the very cumbersome UI could be better on the small screen. However, the game looks and plays well beyond the aforementioned issues, and adequately serves as a great mobile way to play what is arguably the best tactical turn-based shooter of the last decade.
Rugby 20 is not a bad. For one of the very few rugby video games out there, I firmly believe the game has enough on offer to justify a purchase – even more so if you are a Rugby fan. The game is not perfect, but it ticks most of the right boxes and, at the end of the day, that is what matters.
Although not as good as MXGP 19, Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Video Game 3 is a strong and fun off-road arcade racer, and it knows it. The game looks pretty and the gameplay is simplistic (when compared to simulation titles), thus it allows you to sit down and enjoy it in short chunks. Bikes are detailed and sound great, which is perfect for any motorbike fan. It is just a shame that it suffers from weird input lag and awfully long loading times. Perhaps it will be fixed in a patch. Until then, however, you would be better off playing MXGP 2019.
In a way, Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered is only for individuals who have never played Assassin’s Creed III. If you already own an original copy of the game, there is no need to sit through an experience featuring a rather jarring and plastic-faced Haytham Kenway.
Whether you like methodically making your way from room to room and figuring out the greater narrative, or prefer long and lengthy spoken and/or text-based narratives that explain every single detail of the story, The Shattering should sit well with you. It has a decent blend of both, which are further complimented by the unique aesthetic. A pity then, how the player-character and accompanying cast are not as stimulating as the rest of the game. As a result, the overall experience is a mixed bag of genre filling tropes, ultimately boiling down to an adequate experience at best. Hopefully future titles from Super Sexy Software will only improve on the best parts of The Shattering.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is enjoyable, but it is not a must play title. Despite gorgeous visuals, it suffers narratively and features ageing gameplay that simply pales in comparison to the enhancements the series has culminated with in Black Ops 4.
The visual upgrade, in particular, is awesome and the “director’s cut” edit of the original campaigns into a beautifully written seven campaign arc, does not disappoint. However, it somehow manages to miss the sweet spot the original so lovingly crafted. Custom games have been marred by Blizzard’s new-found enlightenment over user rights, and strange decisions like replacing the original game client with the Reforged client have merit for scaring older fans off. It is also very clear the game needs polish. For all intents and purposes, it does feel like a rather lazily crafted remaster of an excellent game. Despite this, the game is enjoyable and satisfies most of the nostalgia driven cravings older gamers might have. Newer gamers, however, might be better off looking elsewhere for their RTS fix.
WWE 2K20 is not "WWE 2K19 great", but it is an enjoyable experience for anyone looking for something new in the WWE world.
While questionable decisions have been made, fans of the franchise will either have to adjust and get used to the brand-new direction or simply stave off purchasing Project Cars 3 altogether. While it does some things right, there are many things it does badly. The biggest issue lies in how Project Cars 3 wants to deviate into a wholly new direction. It wants to take the hardcore simulation with its niche audience into a new arcade racer direction where many more players will jump onto the bandwagon. This is a commendable change. However, Slightly Mad Studios should have taken its fans into account with this decision. If Project Cars 3 had any other name — perhaps denoted with a subtitle — it would have been a much easier transition. Alas, it is not, and this is the card supporters have been dealt. Thankfully, the game does come onto its own in higher tier races. It also features a massive selection of vehicles and races feel good, as long as simulation-levels of play are not expected. While AI needs a lot of work, it does fare better when higher speed divisions come into play. Project Cars 3 is the first step in reimagining the franchise as an arcade racer, however, fans of simulation titles are better off with Project Cars 2.
Beyond the horrible repetition and seemingly tacked-on multiplayer, Marvel’s Avengers genuinely features a golden single-player narrative. Kamala Khan is one of the best and most surprising additions to the game. Her highly relatable personality is exceptionally geeky, and pushes the campaign in wonderful, albeit cliched, directions. Character progression can be a bit tedious outside of single player, with a handful of missions, bosses, and enemies that tick the necessary boxes at first. Sadly, the very same aspects that work exceptionally well in single-player serve as nothing more than unnecessary effort and filler in multiplayer. At its core, Marvel’s Avengers has a serious identity crisis. It absolutely is worth picking up for any comic book fan to enjoy the super narrative, but ultimately has very little replay value for anyone who dislikes monotonous grinding.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is, ultimately, one of the worst games this side of the current console generation. While it has some cool-looking comic book cutscenes and a decent story, the campaign quickly devolves into a repetitive grind with no real end. The grind is so boring that players actively feel encouraged to spend real-world money just to get anywhere in the game. This is astonishing, to say the least, and extremely unacceptable. Multiplayer would make sense if played with friends, but after a little while, there is no feasible reason to continue playing. Wrestlers feel generic and unoriginal, except for the five overarching classes. Frankly, the game is not worth recommending, not even for the most hardcore of wrestling fans.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a truly massive game. While it is not as big in scale as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, or as great in status as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, it most certainly is one of the most ambitious titles of 2020 and now 2021. There are bugs and the game may not be as polished as many gamers have hoped, but it is nowhere near as scary or as bad as the bandwagon has made it out to be. In practice, the game serves as a fun romp in a dystopian world where cybernetic implants and prosthetics prevail. The player takes on the role of V, a merc who wants to make it big, in a living and breathing city with a life of its own. Supporting characters are by far the game’s strongest feature, with animations and voice overs that truly are next level. It may not be the masterpiece everyone expected, but it comes very close.
The Longing’s strongest aspect is how it encourages exploration while encouraging meditation and introspection. Most players will undoubtedly turn the game into a habitual pick-up, while playing other games. However, once they truly immerse themselves into this fantastically sombre world of the shade, the reflection will come naturally, almost willingly. It is very rare for a game to test the waters of what is considered modern-day video gaming, and even more rare for it to succeed. The Longing is exemplary in this regard; masterfully immersing players into the shade’s world as it spends 400 days in solitude. It is, without a doubt, an exceptional experience.
Two dimensional (2D) isometric titles have become incredibly common in recent years. Titles like Diablo, Gears Tactics, Bastion, Hades, and various Super Mario Role-playing Games, have proliferated the market and created certain expectations for the genre. Beautiful Desolation meets and exceeds what to expect from these kinds of games, and subsequently elevates the genre to new heights. It does so with a story imbued with alien technologies and time travelling elements, and further raises the bar for what should be expected from South African developed titles. The game is exceptional in many ways, and is a must play title.
Gamers who are not fans of simulation games will most likely grow bored of a title like this in a few hours. However, RiMS Racing is not meant for the ‘casual’ crowd. For a start, the game has nowhere near the number of bikes on offer as more mainstream titles (think Forza) and requires far more patience and nuance to earn enjoyment when compared to many competing simulation games. Despite these trade-offs, RiMS Racing fits right in with the best available simulation racers on the market. Career mode is packed to the brim with features, while in-depth tutorials and training sessions exist to help bring newer or inexperienced players into the fold. The key feature of the game is its unapologetic focus on singular parts and how they are installed on the bikes. It is a crazy, truly wonderful and utter satisfying inclusion for the most hardcore of simulation enthusiasts. While the game may not have all the polish in the world, it sets a crazy new precedent for racing simulators; thus raising the bar in many more ways than even RaceWard set out to do – an exceptional feat for the studio’s first outing.
Quake Remastered is a fantastic release. While rumours for a remaster have swirled around for years, a remaster that is both as simple and as nuanced as Quake Remastered defies all expectations. It may look rather bland in a world where Fortnite seems average and Skyrim sees its eightieth release, but it truly does have a hell of a lot to offer. Pun most definitely intended. In short: the game is exceptional.
Deathloop may not be Dishonored 3 or a Prey sequel, but one thing is certain: Arkane Lyon delivered yet another intellectual property worthy of keeping an eye on. The game simply astonishes with how its world-building, narrative, and gameplay all work together in masterful ways to deliver an incredibly unique experience. At face value, the game looks like any another Arkane title, and upon first boot, it may even feel like it is. After a little bit of further inspection and a whole lot of prodding, however, the surface-level worries are immediately blown out of the water. There is an ocean of gameplay possibilities, new and unique ways of Memento mori inspired storytelling, and world-building unlike any other. The game may not be the be-all-and-end-all, but it most certainly sets the bar for first-person action going forward. Simply superb.