If you enjoy fighting endless waves of enemies in simple combat, then there might be something here to enjoy. But for most, South Park: Snow Day! is a decidedly skippable spin-off game, even if you’re the most diehard of South Park fans.
If you’re a fan of the Silent Hill series, The Short Message is definitely worth checking out... However, if you’re hoping for a revolutionary entry in one of gaming’s most iconic horror series, you will be disappointed.
Ready or Not is a remarkable yet hollow achievement that should have aspired to be more than it ended up being: fun and flawed in equal measure.
This sequel is a significantly better game than its predecessor owing, in part, to the fact that it knows exactly what it wants to be. It is a true survival horror experience from start to finish. Alan Wake II is one of this year’s best games and cements Remedy and its creative director, Sam Lake, at the top of the industry.
Fans of stealth-action Assassin’s Creed will be satisfied with Mirage as a game that delivers on its central promise to revisit what first made the series so special all those years ago.
Amnesia: The Bunker comes together as a thrilling race against the clock that should keep even the most steely-nerved players on their toes.
Atomic Heart is worth checking out for its incredible setting alone – especially if you’re a Game Pass subscriber. But its disappointing gameplay lets down the exciting promise of its awe-inspiring world.
I really wanted to like Forspoken. However, its obnoxious protagonist, generic story, visually unappealing and uninteresting world, and shallow gameplay make it nothing more than an average experience that I’m in no rush to revisit.
The Callisto Protocol is about as close to Dead Space as it could possibly be without bearing the same name. And for many players that will be more than enough to leave them satisfied... Nevertheless, the more you play of The Callisto Protocol the more its flaws stand out.
Scarlet and Violet would probably go down as two of the best games in the series if not for these [performance] issues. Instead, all anyone will likely remember are the viral glitch montages that have swept across social media. And that’s regrettable because at their core is an imperfect yet charming and highly enjoyable adventure.
A Plague Tale: Requiem more than justifies its existence thanks to a brilliant continuation of the series’ story and general improvements all round.
Due to its launch proximity to Elden Ring and the sheer quality of AAA Soulslikes, I suspect Asterigos may be unfairly overlooked. Nonetheless, it is a resoundingly enjoyable experience that I would recommend to any Soulslike fan.
Saints Row is one of those hilariously bad games you have to experience for yourself. But it’s not ‘awful’ – just excruciatingly generic and downright dull.
Best of all though is the experience of playing as our cat hero. In that regard, Stray really is a game like no other. And the team at BlueTwelve Studio have done a tremendous job at realising the feline fantasy. Even though it’s disappointingly short, Stray is a must-play game this summer.
Unfortunately, unless you’re a hardcore looter-shooter fan looking for something free, this sci-fi take on Escape from Tarkov simply doesn’t cut the mustard. Bountiful glitches, a tedious gameplay loop, and an uninspiring and empty world make The Cycle: Frontier a truly mediocre experience.
Ghostwire: Tokyo‘s biggest flaw is its one-dimensional gameplay. I cannot stress enough how simplistic and repetitive it is. And that diminishes any replay-ability once the main story is over. Unfortunately, this makes Ghostwire: Tokyo a largely forgettable experience and one I’m in no hurry to revisit. This is a game best left until it receives a substantial discount.
Horizon Forbidden West is a phenomenal game. It does everything it aims to do to a very high standard. However, it does very little to expand upon Zero Dawn outside of refining the formula.
If you can master it, Sifu is every wannabe martial artist’s dream. However, its brutal difficulty can impact the fun factor and will likely force many to give up.
If you played RollerCoaster Tycoon back in the day, you’ll no doubt love Planet Coaster. It takes the same concept and brings it into the current generation. And despite some console limitations, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable package and an absolute steal as a PlayStaion Plus freebie.
Call of Duty: Vanguard does everything except Zombies very well. The problem is, we’ve seen it all before. Over and over and over again. While WWII can still be enjoyable in CoD, it very much feels like Activision relies on the same bag of tricks.