Dying Light 2 ups the ante from the original in almost every way, offering more satisfying parkour, combat and enough jump scares to make you never want to walk in the darkness ever again. A worthy and essential sequel.
A wonderfully unique concept, FAR: Changing Tides had me attending to a virtual vessel with the kind of love and focus usually only devoted to the most valued things in life. Its beautiful, handcrafted art direction, stellar soundtrack, approachable yet unapologetic gameplay and phenomenal world will draw you in and refuse to let you go. This is a voyage worth taking, no matter the stormy conditions.
A wonderfully written story, combined with some dark, depressing and ultimately great side discoveries and accessible yet engaging platform-puzzling prove to be another fantastic addition to Untold Tales’ portfolio. It may not be perfect, but we can rejoice that What Lies In The Multiverse exists within our dimension to experience.
Elex II is a prime example of great potential being suffocated by poor execution. A large world filled with quests, unique factions and interesting lore can only carry you so far when the combat is floaty, the progression is stifling, the graphics bland and its performance breaks so visibly, so often. Instead of slaying raptors with lasers, you’ll be waiting for the game to pop-in the fun while it chugs out another texture it missed.
Edge of Eternity is a passion project with a hell of a lot of heart. The art direction is phenomenal, the combat satisfying and the content positively bursting with hours of enjoyment. Poor performance, less interesting side content and a mediocre story keep it from greatness, but the heart of this package deserves its praise and to be revered into the future.
Even for a series renowned for reusing material and rehashing a tired formula of mindless yet oddly satisfying gameplay, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is a hollow package. If this is all the series has left to offer, it may be time to let the Three Kingdoms war themselves into oblivion. A bland, shallow title with little to offer even those who enjoy the repetition of Musou gameplay, Empires is as regurgitated as a game can be.
Mr. Prepper doesn’t turn out to be the nuclear catastrophe it initially convinces you it will be. It survives the radioactive onslaught by the skin of it’s dank, burrowed out teeth. There’s something strange in this that can be recommended, but only to those who have a penchant for the suvivalist, resource-management genre. For everyone else, the threat of impending destruction on the surface is likely more preferable to the solitude and depression of the bunker.
A turn-based strategy game with remarkably solid, pretty and entertaining foundations, Reverie Knights Tactics is a good if unspectacular entry into the genre. Its gameplay and design could have benefitted from additional depth, but this compact package offers a pleasantly enjoyable romp with even more hope for future entries. Completely usurp other tactics games it likely won’t, but there’s enough here to have you entering your own reverie in this tale.
Failing to stack up anywhere near it’s contemporaries, Blackwind is a hollow exosuit complete with unengaging combat, mind-numbing exploration and puzzle elements, repetitious presentation, poor story and baffling design choices. There are plenty of potentially great ingredients to this package, but unlike the age-old adage, the sum is certainly no greater than the parts. A meek gust of breeze as opposed to the promise of a gale-force wind.
Nestling nicely among the raft of indie gems, Aspire: Ina’s Tale excels with a gorgeous art style, subtle yet engaging story-telling and excellent musical score. While you can largely solve the puzzles without much effort, your journey with Ina will be a compelling and rich adventure. It may not hold the loftiest aspirations, but Ina’s dreams are worth embracing.
Unfortunately falling victim to the giants of rogue-likes it provided the shoulders for, Collapsed is an entertaining if poorly balanced rogue-like. Solid action and gunplay can only carry you so far when repetition slowly wears away your enthusiasm, and you know that other games in the genre offer so much more in comparison. Collapsed is despairingly trapped under the rubble of those who have surpassed it.
Channelling your inner desire to become just like Spiderman, Windlands 2 has some epic moments that are buried under tedious combat design, poor story structure and inconsistent grappling that is hindered by the current PSVR tech. When the harmony of swinging works, it encapsulates the best of what only immersive VR can do, if only the game itself could provide the platform to let it spread its wings and soar.
Combining the awkward unforgiving nature of space with a short and focused puzzle exploration game, Heavenly Bodies succeeds in what it sets out to achieve. It’ll frustrate you, impress you, drive you mad and blow you away with its mechanics and 70s aesthetic. You might not always have fun playing it, but this is a Zero-G trip worth embarking on, smashed controllers and all.
Delivering a delicious protein of a cooking game sandwiched between an engaging story and retro horror presentation, Happy’s Humble Burger Farm succeeds at points. The horror and wider gameplay sully the burger with spoilt toppings, but the core of this sandwich is still worth a try.
Building on the immense foundations of the original, Jurassic World Evolution 2 provides more of the same addictive management gameplay with the thrill of seeing the prehistoric reptiles in all their glory. The new additions are light and there’s still some minor issues, but it’s all forgotten as you behold a T-Rex emerging from the shadows for the first time.
Offering a trilogy of solid content offerings with campaign, multiplayer and zombies, Vanguard is a valiant attempt from Sledgehammer which maybe plays it a little too safe in the end. Despite the messy, disjointed design choices for online, Vanguard still proves to be a satisfying experience. It may not lead the line of CoD entries as its name suggests, but it nestles nicely in the middle of the pack.
Boasting an incredibly unique, creative and gorgeous aesthetic with an exceptionally intriguing, well-told narrative, The Eternal Cylinder manages to still be rewarding even when its gameplay and mechanics become tedious and uninteresting. You’ll certainly be tired outrunning this circular vortex of death, but the tale is worth seeing through for the sights along the way.
If you like big-breasted anime females then Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars has got you covered. With lacklustre story, shallow hack-and-slash mechanics and ancient graphical presentation, there’s little here worth your time. If you’re a fan of action or RPG games that are anything more deep than a puddle, Ninja Wars ain’t gonna be the one, basically, especially if you don’t fancy balancing barely-glad animated women on peaches.
Sporting two of the best FPS experiences of the early 2010s and the original, mindblowing graphical powerhouse that busted many a rig in 2007, the Crysis Remastered Trilogy offers hours of solid, smooth and satisfying FPS action. Not all of the improvements hit the mark, but the core of these titles is left intact. If you’ve never played Crysis before, now’s your chance to save the world in style with your ass-kicking Nanosuit. Just watch out for the first impression.
If you have a squad of like-minded buddies ready to lose many an evening to slaying some zombie infested hordes, Back 4 Blood will provide you plenty to satisfy that urge. It doesn’t quite capture the greatness of its forebears and it stumbles over itself with its erratic difficulty curve and repetitive nature, but Back 4 Blood has immensely satisfying, if simplistic, gameplay mechanic. This is a veteran, war-torn survivor who’s maybe danced this bloody dance once too many times, but it knows damn well how to deliver that co-op fun.