Aaron Bayne


41 games reviewed
72.0 average score
70 median score
73.2% of games recommended
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9 / 10 - Helldivers II
Feb 13, 2024

Helldivers 2 is a riotous affair, offering up best-in-class gunplay, a truly epic and often cinematic experience, mixed in with one of the best co-op gameplay romps currently available. Its present matchmaking issues hold it back from true glory, but when it works it really works, forcing you to feel a sense of patriotism for Super Earth as the score swells and bullets fly. Helldivers 2 is a hell of a lot of fun, and is the best laugh you and your mates will have on PS5.

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Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a complicated game. It's tough not to think about what could have been if Rocksteady opted for another traditional single player title - especially since the split personalities at this game's heart stop it from reaching the heights of the developer's previous works. That said, despite all of our complaints, we can't deny that the game's fun. The story lacks the payoff but remains engaging throughout, the traversal-tinged combat is genuinely fantastic, it's a blast to play with friends, it's one of the best looking games on PS5, it runs like an absolute dream, and, as far as live-service games go, it's shaping up to be a meaty and generous offering. There is a bittersweet feeling surrounding Suicide Squad, and that sentiment will remain for a lot of players, but it's hard to say that Rocksteady entirely missed the mark with this big gamble.

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Looking upon the whole package, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is an excellent upgrade. In many ways it's a sublime treat for fans of the series, with behind-the-scenes content that we lapped up, a survival mode worth the purchase price on its own, and small, albeit present visual and performative upgrades to one of the best games to come out of the PS4 generation.

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Dec 11, 2023

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an excellent open-world adventure. Thanks to Ubisoft Massive's collaboration with Lightstorm, this is easily the best movie tie-in we've experienced. The level of detail is second to none, and fans of the series will have a whale of a time spotting little references here or there to the mainline films. However, we'd be tempted to say unlike Hogwarts Legacy, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora would be a good time even if you weren't a fan of the series or haven't seen the films. The game is certainly filled with tropes of the Ubisoft formula, but the lore and focus on harvesting and hunting elevates that open-world design to create an immersive and inviting setting that we happily lost ourselves in.

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Dec 5, 2023

Despite some technical letdowns, Arizona Sunshine 2 is still a joyous celebration of zombie brain-bashing. It features some of the best VR shooting on the market, with a reload mechanic that is incredibly satisfying and really brings to light what makes the platform so great in the first place. As a sequel, it improves graphically, narratively, and just controls a whole lot better. With a solid campaign offering, various difficulties, and a horde mode with more maps to come, Arizona Sunshine 2 is the full VR package - and an absolute must-buy for PSVR2 players.

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10 / 10 - Alan Wake 2
Oct 26, 2023

Like a mystery once thought solved, Alan Wake 2 reopens the case for what's possible in its genre. It's a delight to relive classic horror titles through modern remakes, but what Remedy has cooked up here is something special - a gust of fresh air aiming to revitalise video game horror. There's expansive lore and a twisting story that might not be for everyone, but the developer packs so many exciting and unique ideas into this ambitious sequel that you can't help but play along with a nervous smile on your face. With stunning visuals, pitch-perfect tone and atmosphere, brilliant pacing, and a fascinating mystery to sink your teeth into, there are no twists or turns about it: Alan Wake 2 is an all-timer.

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Oct 12, 2023

Lords of the Fallen is an exciting kind of Sous-like. Whereas many others aim to perfect the formula, Lords of the Fallen's goal is to innovate. It certainly has its own array of problems, like lacking audio, repetitive enemy types, and combat that could be tightened up a little. However, when the game sinks its claws into you with its thrilling dual world mechanic, you won't be able to get enough of it.

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Aug 29, 2023

Ultimately, we think our impressions of Firewall Ultra boil down to just one question: will we be back for more? At this point in time, it seems unlikely. There are certainly the bones of a good game in here, but with the streamlined gameplay experience and limited content roster, frankly we just kept thinking about the better VR games we could be playing. We'll certainly be keen to dip in once new content arrives, but it's especially disheartening when we've been waiting for a big VR shooter like this on the PSVR2 for quite some time. Firewall Ultra then is an infrequently fun yet persistently disappointing first-party title that really forgets what makes VR so special in the first place.

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5 / 10 - Fort Solis
Aug 24, 2023

Fort Solis starts out promising, with an eerie and mysterious narrative that just seems to get everything right. From environmental details to pacing, this opening act genuinely had us thinking we had a Firewatch or Everybody's Gone To Rapture on our hands. However, as the game begins to expand, the pacing tanks, the story fumbles its way across the finish line, and the gameplay experience makes us want to throw our DualSense off the wall. There are a number of ways in which we should be impressed by the game - it's made by a 10 person team after all - but in the end Fort Solis is an experience as dusty as the red planet itself.

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7 / 10 - C-Smash VRS
Jun 26, 2023

C-Smash VRS is a brilliantly restorative VR experience. With finely tuned motion controls, sparklingly simple visuals, and a chilled-out electronic score, it's yet another fine addition to Sony's roster of VR titles. We can even see it becoming a go-to with friends who just want to game and have a catch up. Yet while the core experience is fun enough, its lack of content and currently empty matchmaking experience leaves it feeling like an unfulfilled promise - especially if you're playing solo. We'd love to see an improvement to matchmaking and servers, but until then, C-Smash VRS will leave more of an impact on our battered walls than it will our memories.

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8 / 10 - F1 23
Jun 14, 2023

F1 23 is a solidly packed racing experience that improves upon its predecessor in almost every way. With a little something for everyone, on top of an immersive and impressive experience on PS5, it's a worthwhile addition to the libraries of enthusiasts and casuals alike. We loved how tailormade the game could become, whether that was a heavily assisted racing experience, or a brutally immersive one. The campaign doesn't always hit the mark, and F1 World while expansive isn't exactly revolutionary, but at the very least, it's nice to see Formula 1 get the same care and attention that many other popular sports games have been receiving for years.

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May 25, 2023

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a broken mess of a game. There are barely any redeeming qualities to be found amidst what can only be described as a massive missed opportunity. There is some serious potential in a single-player linear Lord of the Rings experience like this, but with outrageously dated level design, clunky controls, a severe lack of polish, muddy and unimpressive graphics, and a dull story, Gollum completely misses the mark. As massive fans of the books, films, and games, it's sad to see that there is nothing precious about this experience.

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7 / 10 - Dead Island 2
Apr 18, 2023

In the end, though, Dead Island 2 is a refreshing surprise amid the 2023 release roster. It's a fun and simple zombie-slasher experience that may be let down by its uninspiring RPG elements and boring loot-cycle, but more than makes up for it with its killer setting, brutal melee combat, and stunning graphics. While we suspect some will be disappointed by the game's size after all these years, we found it utterly revitalising to find a AAA experience that respects your time, and more importantly doesn't overstay its welcome. In the day and age of 300-hour RPGs, it's nice to know that some games are here for a fun time, not a long time.

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Mar 7, 2023

There is so much we could still cover with this latest expansion, like Buildcrafting 2.0 and the new Guardian Ranks system, both of which aim to streamline the Destiny experience. However, at its core Lightfall is all about its story, setting, and gameplay changes. The campaign and setting largely let us down, with the whole thing feeling like the middle child of the Witch Queen, Ligthtfall, and Final Shape trilogy. However, the vigorous excitement that Destiny 2's brilliant gameplay elicits greatly elevates the overall Lightfall experience, with some stellar enhancements thanks to Strand subclasses and grapples. It's irritating to be left in narrative limbo for yet another year, but you'll still struggle to find a space shooter that is this much fun.

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Mar 4, 2023

In the end, we were pleasantly surprised with Zombieland, even if it doesn't really lean on any form of movie-based nostalgia. Its simple yet effective structure meant that we were happy to sink yet another half hour into it, which was only aided by the enjoyable gun controls. It’s certainly not out to win any awards, and it doesn’t push the medium any further, but if you’re looking for a straight-to-the-point zombie shooter, you can’t really go wrong.

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8 / 10 - Pavlov VR
Mar 3, 2023

Pavlov VR is a must-have among Sony's current roster of PSVR2 launch titles. With a variety of modes to try, and impressive gun mechanics to mess around with, it proves what's possible when you get VR controls right. And with a killer mode in TTT, the Pavlov experience is elevated to hysterical levels as you lie and manipulate your way to victory. This is the gun-toting VR Among Us experience we've been waiting for.

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Feb 27, 2023

However, despite this, Kayak VR: Mirage is still a great showcase for the tech, and will certainly be one of the first titles you dig out for your friends to try. There may not be a lot to it, but we can't deny the tranquil experience it offers.

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7 / 10 - World War Z
Feb 3, 2023

The absurdity of World War Z's Horde Mode XL is certainly worth checking out, and for newcomers it has a fun campaign to shoot your way through, too. As a PS5 upgrade, it's supremely disappointing to experience worse performance than what came before, but it isn't quite enough to spoil the fun we had spraying bullets into piles of zombies.

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Ultimately, the worth of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection on PC will depend on your situation. If you've experienced the boosted performance and fidelity of the existing PS5 remaster, you'll struggle to justify another purchase - but for those who have yet to experience these classic PS4 titles, this is a fantastic port, complete with all of the graphical prowess that you'd expect.

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok surely is an ambitious expansion, and for those that are looking for it, it provides an often engaging collective of content to sift your way through, buffing out your character with imaginative gear and mythically enhanced weapons. Put together with its new power sets and enemy types, fun boss fights, and a relatively engaging story, Dawn Of Ragnarok is worth checking out. However, beyond its layers of content and amicable entertainment levels, this is a mythical romp that sadly stays in its lane, and shirks its evolutionary responsibilities that previous entries have carried on so well.

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