Neil Bolt's Reviews
NHL 20 balances out the fun with the competitive better than any previous entry. It has some excellent modes in Ones and Threes, a staggering amount of content, and a solid set of mechanics. It does feel like multiplayer has received the lion's share of the attention, but there's still something enjoyable for all sorts of hockey fans.
Knights and Bikes captures the heart of childhood imagination. It's a largely carefree experience with limited mechanical substance, but that's part of the reason it works. It's a great family-friendly co-op game and balances its silly sense of humour and childlike joy with some of the melancholic reality of growing up.
Arkham Knight has some flaws, but they generally pale in comparison to the wondrous spectacle Rocksteady serves us up. A fine end to the Arkham trilogy.
Sure, Man of Medan has a few rough edges, but it’s a confident first step in a new series of games. It keeps the core of what made people love Until Dawn and breathes fresh life into it by adding more depth to the branching narrative system, and including an excellent multiplayer side. A little more polish and a bit more bite to the game’s finale would be nice, but this is still a hugely entertaining slice of interactive horror that brings the thrilling uncertainty of other people’s decisions to the murder party.
Control consistently delivers the bizarre without trying too hard to be bizarre. It’s a weird, wonderful, and generally fantastic game that’s hampered by an unfortunate technical handicap.
Even with the restrictions Illfonic has had to endure regarding the license, it has still made great use of it. The core game may be a tad clunky at times, and not much of a looker, but the love for Friday the 13th can be felt from the title screen onwards.
A heavily uneven story, with generally fine performances, and a perfectly serviceable set of mechanics to go with some pretty damn fine visuals. Beyond is often meandering and lunk-headed, but it has moments of magic that make it an enjoyable enough way to spend a few hours if you can persevere through its failings.
It will infuriate, it will make you laugh unintentionally, and cringe to the center of the Earth at times, but Heavy Rain is still very much worth investigating for its bold, and often striking, weirdness.
Quantic Dream has delivered its most consistently focused game to date with Detroit Become Human. It does suffer for some ham-fisted allegory and a couple of instances of appallingly mawkish dialogue, but that never overwhelms the overall enjoyment you get from its entertaining branching narrative. The story is not the most subtle, nor nuanced, take on discrimination, slavery, and machine self-awareness you'll find, but it is often surprisingly poignant and touching when Cage and his team nail the blend of video game and cinematic experience.
Frogwares has created an interesting and absorbing world of horror, and it’s deliciously rich in story and world-building. The sanity system works well, throwing some horrific visions at you, and capturing a feeling of nightmarish helplessness. Yes, it comes with some signature flaws too, but The Sinking City is a fine horror game and an engrossing detective RPG.