Jordan Middler
There is no one that we would recommend Babylon’s Fall to. It’s visually dated, consistently dull and features the most average PlatinumGames combat we can remember. On paper, the concept of a game like this bathed in the studio’s signature style is an appealing one, but sadly there’s nothing about the Platinum shine that’s evident in Babylon’s Fall.
A Call of Duty game of this low quality released a decade ago would have been a scandal. Now, it's emblematic of an approach to a franchise that's in desperate need of a reality check.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is a sometimes compelling adventure weighed down by poor technical performance, and simple, frustrating and repetitive gameplay. While the stealth action can be enjoyable, and the puzzle elements of using the impressive hordes of rats to your advantage can be engaging, it’s a game that introduces compelling ideas but never really capitalizes on any of them. Pair that with some dodgy AI and it’s a game that’s at its best when the characters are simply walking through the world, talking to each other.
It’s a below average open world game that’s stuffed to bursting with bugs, and the best thing we can say about it is that making our Tobias Fünke-inspired character crouch over and do the wanker gesture while he walked down the street made us laugh. Probably not quite worth the price of admission.
Good characters, strong performances and well-engineered dual timeline storytelling are let down by pacing that’s utterly arhythmic and gameplay that’s fighting you at every step.
If somehow, inexplicably, you can overlook all of its issues then the three games in GTA Trilogy are undisputed classics. But if you want to revisit them properly, right now you’re far better off doing so on another platform.
If you’re interested in another Far Cry game that does the Far Cry stuff the way it’s been doing it for 10 years, you’ll probably have a good time, but if you’ve already hit your limit with this kind of game, Far Cry 6 is the ne plus ultra of why open-world game design is so badly in need of a revolution.
Derivative and dull, Immortals Fenyx Rising’s great visuals can’t make up for a consistently bland experience
Out of the 4 modes available at launch, 2 of them feel redundant and unbalanced. The single-player content is slim and if you want even a crumb more, you’ll have to pay, which leaves Destruction Allstars feeling like a clumsy, hollow product whose fun moments go by in a blur.
Star Wars Outlaws is a pulpy, Uncharted-style adventure that doesn't quite fulfil its potential. Kay and Nix lead a great cast through a well-paced, punchy story, but the game's Reputation system, and syndacite storyline in general feels undercooked.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU feels like a studio stretching its legs for the first time. Visually inventive, and full of great platforming, average combat and exploration lets it down
Rise of the Ronin is a fine open world adventure that never elevates itself to greatness. Fun Team Ninja combat will drag you through, but pointless open world fluff and questionable visuals sadly result in just another open world game.
Detective Pikachu is full of simple puzzes, witty dialogue and Pokemon to discover. It won't thrill older fans from a gameplay perspective, and it's visually inconsistent, but it will likely introduce throusands of young fans to a whole new genre of video games.
EA Sports FC 24 isn't the huge departure that we'd hoped for. While Ultimate Team devotees will likely be happy, the rest of the game feels like an afterthought in the transition away from the FIFA license.
More of a side-step than an evolution from Nioh 2, Wo Long is inventive and an adventure worth taking even if it’s technically suspect on PS5, but won’t live massively long in the memory once you’ve slain your final boss.
Fire Emblem Engage is a great strategy game, but we don’t think it’s a great modern Fire Emblem game. Whether the reverence for the social elements of Three Houses came as a surprise to the team or not, the dearth of those moments in Engage makes it feel like it’s missing half of its core at times. While the anniversary cameos will please the hardcore fans at first, we worry that, much like the weak social aspects, their largely minor impact on the game itself will disappoint.
This game should go down as one of the best sports games ever, instead it's a chilling reminder of the chokehold microtransactions have over the genre.
A year from now we’re unlikely to be able to recount an incredible puzzle or ingenious solution, but Silt’s lasting impression of incredible art and perfectly pitched atmosphere will be giving us nightmares for some time.
At times it feels like the game’s incredible art direction, music and visual style deserve a game that’s better mechanically, but when it all comes together, Ghostwire Tokyo is one of the more memorable recent games in the triple-A space, if you can ignore its gameplay stumbles.
If you can suffer through the clunky menus, endless dull dialogue and 100 visits to the cafe, then there’s an excellent racing game somewhere hidden in Gran Turismo 7.