PCGamesN's Reviews
Civ VI is undoubtedly a better game with the addition of Rise and Fall - especially when you are struggling to hold everything together through a Dark Age. However, I do not think this expansion brings it to a place where all of its core ideas have really gelled yet.
A hefty chunk of DLC that adds what is arguably Total War's most inventive race yet, along with four different ways to play them.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a masterful prequel, then. Easter eggs and fan service exist peacefully alongside a fantastic new narrative filled with characters I wish I could spend even more time with. Its story fills all the gaps it needs to while never feeling as though it steps on the toes of what is yet to come, and still manages to carve out its own space. In some ways, Before the Storm is only the start of the Life is Strange journey, but in many others it is a joyous adventure in its own right.
That is Wolfenstein II. A collection of perfected game elements built on an only slightly unsteady base. Do not let that worry you, but maybe turn the difficulty down if you are having a hard time. There is more that I have not fully explored, a series of side missions that reuse maps in odd ways, showing MachineGames have the intelligence to not overfill their main offering, but to give you a new perspective on it. I am also yet to entertain a whole other timeline which changes the plot, a further examination of the characters, and a gun that provides a second flavour that should complement what is already an incredible meal.
Star Wars Battlefront II houses a decent single-player campaign and good multiplayer, but, like the otherwise slick design of its multiplayer maps, that accomplishment is often obscured by distractions.
As a whole package, Call of Duty: WWII has a little something for everyone to enjoy, but that has been the story of this series for a long time. No, this homecoming is far, far better than the sum of its parts, a true return to form in practically every respect. It feels alien to be looking back on a new Call of Duty release as anything other than enjoyable yet unremarkable triple-A fare, but here we are. Call of Duty: WWII delivers on all fronts: compelling and heartfelt in its storytelling; imposing in its sense of scale and spectacle; and unremittingly addictive in its gunplay.
Ubisoft were hoping for two things when they decided to give Assassin's Creed a gap year: they wanted to deliver a more polished experience, and they wanted us all to have time to miss shanking people in the neck in a gorgeous historical setting. They have achieved both. Assassin's Creed as a series has had a strange evolution, but going back to the start of the story, the place where the entire Creed was formed, has breathed new life back into it. Absence really does make the heart grow, well, stabbier.
Aesthetic brilliance and great gunplay can't wholly save Destiny 2's campaign from trivial difficulty, repetitive action, and a go-nowhere plot. Its best content in the mid-game and beyond is betrayed by a reward economy that nudges you instead toward a vacuous treadmill made of public events, and which truncates the endgame.
All of the depth is there as before, but the humanity of football is represented in a greater way - whether that is through players striking up bromances that lead to goals on the pitch or you personally getting involved in pricing wars with clubs from Europe and, increasingly, China.
As a messy muck around, MudRunner has enough to offer to warrant a few hours of experimentation. Beyond that, for me, the limitations of its controls, camera, and missing mirrors put a cap on the off-road giggles.
I wish Shadow of War was as confident in itself as I am in it. Had Monolith proudly led with the Nemesis Fortress system and introduced players to it quickly, they would unquestionably be on the shortlist for making the Game of the Year. Thankfully, the system acts as the Mithril-strong foundations for the game, so while the additional elements may be generic and unwelcome, there is very little digging required to find the shining silver.
At its core, The Evil Within 2 is still a survival horror experience, a modern take on the time-honoured suspense of having only one round but two deranged enemies lurching towards you.
At its core is a rewarding driving model, hundreds of gorgeous and unusual cars, and some imaginatively designed solo championships to tackle in them. In time, it will probably be unreservedly brilliant. But, right now, I can't overlook the technical problems that I'm having. And, to continue this candour, I can't overlook the VIP pass nerfing or the exclusion of a season pass from Forza's Ultimate Edition either.
TV show stalwarts should breathe easily and those on the fence about the game's penchant for outrageous humour to definitely give it a go for the sake of its fantastic gameplay. However, if South Park has never been to your taste, The Fractured But Whole makes no attempt to change that.
This is a rich and thoughtful strategy game that is a joy to engage with at practically every level, and a new high-water mark of ambition and quality for Creative Assembly.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 stands as a remarkable example of three genres: the classic roleplaying game, the online arena battler, and the tabletop-style adventure enabler. If its campaign fails to shake off some of Larian’s unfriendlier habits, those flaws are mitigated by the ways in which the studio have shaped a genre moulded by nostalgia into genuinely new forms – changing more than just the keyboard shortcuts for the better.
It all feels worth it for those moments when there are a few seconds left on the clock and you are forced to take desperate action.
Obsidian's dark RPG deserves a better expansion than Bastard's Wound.
Absolver feels very special when it works as intended.
Ultimately, then, Project Cars 2 is not a racer in which you ever feel compelled to simply go through the motions. It's a game that centres you firmly as an active participant. It's a game that makes you want to be a racer, and that might just be the best compliment that can be bestowed upon a representative of this genre.