Battletoads was a pleasant surprise for me, and it’s great to see it really lean into the variety angle with so many different kinds of gameplay crammed into such a relatively small package.
Lair of the Clockwork God is an exceptional fusion of genres that can't claim to do either individually better than any other game but can certainly claim to do both simultaneously better.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is a shining example of how to do a remake properly, and sits in stark contrast to the last woeful effort to revisit these classics, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. Vicarious Visions demonstrates a wonderful understanding of what needs updating and what should be held sacred, even to the point that the team has bitten the bullet and let the lesser stages (yes, of course we mean you, Downhill Jam) stay bad just so the classics can stay superb without laying a finger on any of the layouts.
Questionable writing aside, Immortals Fenyx Rising represents a strong start for Ubisoft's new IP. There's plenty more that could be done with the archives of Greek mythology left relatively untouched here — some of which will no doubt be covered in upcoming DLC — but the same format could easily be applied to other pantheons, just as Assassin's Creed uses different iconic time periods as its backdrop each instalment. Mechanics are fast, fluid, and flexible, while visuals are crisp, clean, and colourful, even if the art style might not be to everyone's tastes.
The Medium is an interesting and enjoyable game, but one let down by some awkward animations that constantly threaten to break the immersion created by an otherwise captivating game world, and those weak stealth sections that Bloober Team can't seem to leave behind. It's very much a one-and-done game — you can easily see everything it has to offer inside of ten hours, so the pricing might be a little questionable for both the quality and quantity of what you get here.
Outriders is comfortably one of the best games of the year so far, and it's only going to get better as the post-launch polish puts paid to the technical problems that currently hold it back from true greatness.
The Ascent is a beautiful and entertaining action-RPG when everything is working as intended, but those moments are sadly much rarer than they should be. We know the team already has several patches planned so hopefully, a lot of the issues we encountered will be ironed out by the time you dive into the game — I'll be keeping an eye on these updates and will look to update and/or modify this review should things be significantly improved, because I'd have liked to have scored The Ascent higher. Combat is frantic and fun, the world is amazing, and there are some really satisfying abilities to bust out against foes, but you need a hell of a lot of patience to put up with all the technical nonsense going on with the game in its current state.
Hades goes above and beyond what you'd expect from a game like this, resulting in a unique experience that you'll likely still find yourself diving back into long after the completion is wrapped up. Supergiant has an incredible track record, but with Hades, the studio takes its throne alongside the gods of the indie scene.
Both as a sequel and as a standalone game, Psychonauts 2 is superb.
A cosmic rock voyage of self-discovery that doesn't folk about, The Artful Escape is a truly unique experience and a feast for the senses.
There's no doubt in my mind that Sable is a game that will work best when experienced as a personal, non-thorough Gliding that comes to a natural end long before any rot has a chance to set in. But with so many incentives (both in and around the game) for trawling every sandy inch of the world in search of worms, badges, and whatever else, the mixed messages Sable sends are probably going to lead to a lot of people playing in a way that actually works to the game's detriment.
Fans of the toy line will likely find stunning digital recreations of the cars they love here, whether now or in one of many content updates already on the cards, along with a generally competent racer to use them in. Still, said fans may find that the dedication to the brand here elevates the experience to a degree, although those with less love for Hot Wheels in general might just see this passable racer as more of a slightly cynical vessel through which to peddle pretend toy cars for the next few years. Shiny and on-brand, but nothing particularly special, honestly.
Banana Mania stands as a feature-packed reminder that 'simple' and 'easy' are not nearly as interchangeable as a lot of people might think.
BPM is an amazing concept, realised wonderfully. It's not the easiest of recommendations due to the game's brutal difficulty level and heavy metal skew, but if you're on board with those things, willing to learn something new (and get your ass handed to you repeatedly in the process), and prepared to overcome the whims of some random elements to bring down Nidhogg, you're in for one hell of a time. Honestly, well executed passages are next-level satisfying, from triple-tap kill combos to the beat to the simple act of reloading some of the fiddlier weapons. Completions beware, though — the list is a bit silly.
Beautiful, vast, creative, varied, and exciting, Forza Horizon 5 is an incredible game that will have you hooning around Mexico for months. There's an amazing sense of variety to everything about this game, and the smart Accolades system should have many achievement hunters hooked as they explore the full extent of what this remarkable racer has to offer. Fantastic handling, interesting events, and a wonderful history-spanning selection of cars makes for an amazing experience — arguably the best game in the series to date, and inarguably the best game in the series to DOOT. See you in Mexico, amigos...
Jurassic World Evolution 2 certainly has a fitting title, because it's exactly that — a true evolution. The campaign might be a little on the short side, performance problems are unfortunate, and only having a handful of the movie actors reprise their roles can feel a little jarring (the Chris Pratt soundalike is kinda terrible). But rustling beyond the foliage of these superficial issues is a simulation game with the kind of depth and nuance that the original game promised but never really delivered.
Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One deviates little from the established Frogwares detective game template, but that doesn't stop it from being a compelling adventure and perhaps one of the studio's stronger games overall. It's got a meaty and intriguing core story, loads to see and do off the main path, and some swerving cases that will take some serious sleuthing to come to the right conclusions — I'm not sure what more you could really ask for from a game like this besides that tried-and-tested trifecta, except maybe a little more polish. The lack thereof doesn't hurt the game too much, mind, so if you enjoy solving crimes while being really, really, really ridiculously good-looking, this mid-price mystery should definitely find its way onto your wishlist.
Right now, it's a damn good game... but when it eventually catches up to its ambitions, it could wind up being something much more impressive.
Nobody Saves the World is a bold change of direction for the team best known for the Guacamelee! games, and the gamble pays off
As much as I enjoy the moment-to-moment gameplay of Rainbow Six Extraction and have had a blast with it both solo and in co-op, it's impossible to overlook the glaring balance issues and lack of any kind of appealing endgame it has at the moment.