A relatively short excursion into the lives of Didi and her imaginary friend is ruined by an astounding number of bugs. While Contrast is worth completing for the sake of seeing the gorgeous scenery and hearing the exceptional soundtrack, don't expect to have any real burning desire to play this game again over the coming months.
KickBeat: Special Edition is a solid enough game, but it never does anything beyond its initial concept to make it feel unique. Decent presentation and a comical plot help to balance out boring gameplay and a disappointing soundtrack, culminating in a release that neither looks good nor bad on the dancefloor.
Short of the performance and presentation improvements, this is the same survival horror game that you've probably already played. It functions fine now, and is perfectly adequate if you're in the market for a cheap and cheerful blast of terror – but don't expect much more. Small in both scope and budget, Slender: The Arrival is little more than a rest stop on the way to something bigger and better.
If you're looking for a brief distraction, Turbo Golf Racing delivers a sizeable amount of fun in an admittedly slim package.
What you get out of the game is what feels like a really great artistic idea, which the team committed to fully. And after the art was done, they tried to place their gameplay ideas anywhere they happened to fit. The end result is a visually arresting, but haphazardly designed experience.
What everything adds up to is a game that’s half good. If the more unique and compelling idea of the war was expanded upon, the title could have been much better.
Tequila Works has definitely offered better experiences in the past, but Gylt is still a decent enough time.
There is nothing brand new to look forward to in the title, but Afterlife VR effectively takes a blender to a number of horror tropes and settings, delivering a sufficiently worthwhile experience.
Ragnarock is a rough-around-the-edges rhythm game that's super fun to begin with, but the appeal may start to wane after a handful of sessions.
What you’re left with is a solid VR showcase game, but the good-not-great music, and the hit detection issues ultimately hold it back from being anything more.
Ultimately, you have a game with one masterfully designed core element — the rhythm gunplay — surrounded by a number of elements that, while not terrible, are mediocre at best.
Isonzo is a decent game. Solid in many areas, but never one to show off, the title delivers a good gameplay core, and offers it up at a reasonable price. Performance problems aside, good gunplay and interesting maps are enough to make the experience worth it, at least in the short term. A campaign or a large pool of maps could certainly enhance the value of the title, but even without it, you have a lean, satisfying experience that will be especially appealing to anyone with an interest in the First World War.
While you shouldn’t expect it to linger in the mind to the same degree as comparable titles like Home, Seduction: A Monk’s Fate offers a one-sitting experience at a reasonable price, while getting just enough right to make it worth the low price of entry.
Rainbow Six: Extraction's core gameplay is decent, and its level variety is great, but the game definitely has some blind spots. While a zombie title focused on stealth and tactics makes for an interesting experience, anytime the game strays from that, it's less successful. It draws extra attention to weak spots, like unimpressive AI and an obnoxious RNG progression system. Go in with a couple of friends, though, and you will get some fun out of this. All the levels are visually distinct and interesting to look at, and three squad members stealthing their way through a field of enemies can be immensely rewarding. It's just unlikely to hold your attention in the long term.
Despite the gameplay and level design being pretty middling, we still think this game is worth a spin. It’s all about the atmosphere, and the organism itself, both of which are rousing successes and worth the price of entry alone.
NHL 22 surprises by making its debut on a new console without removing any of its modes, but those who played NHL 21 may find this version a little too familiar. X-Factors on paper should be a game-changer but are mostly underwhelming. The switch to Frostbite does massively improve the fidelity of the rink – even if character models still look downright demonic – but should that really be the biggest change to the game? The ultimate question is: can the price increase be justified on the PS5? And given how little really has changed from last year to this year, the answer has to be a “no”.
However, the writing is a bit of a letdown. The character interactions are solid, and seeing their interplay is a delight. There’s also an impressive level of detail paid to the minutiae of film-making that we rarely see. Unfortunately, this level of care doesn’t touch all corners of the experience. The character's connection to the primary narrative is tenuous. Outside of the very first mystery, the protagonist's motivations for remaining involved in these murders don’t feel warranted. This is especially problematic when it comes to Rintaro’s chapters, which comprise the brunt of the game’s 15 or so hours. The writing is able to somewhat successfully sidestep this problem, through sheer force of intrigue, but it’s not wholly successful.
Being able to wield a lightsaber and deflect laser blasts, or pull a Stormtrooper up close to skewer them, carries an appropriate amount of weight, and there are many moments where the trappings of VR fade away, and you feel completely integrated into the Star Wars universe. These transcendent moments are many, and when this experience is firing on all cylinders, it’s truly special.
Ultimately the result is a fun world, with fun characters that absolutely nails its boss fights, but settles for adequacy on all other fronts. As the first game from a new team, it’s not bad, though.
Some custom options would have been a welcome addition and allowed even more fun to be squeezed out of the game. But if you’re looking for a quick, get-in, get-out play session of a great board game in digital form, you could do worse than Ticket to Ride.