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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are big and ambitious and bold, but it's hard not to imagine what they could have been if they’d just been given a little more time to cook.
It's a shame that, despite looking great and having a good concept at its core, some poorly-executed ideas lead to a frustrating experience overall. For a new studio to produce a brand new IP is obviously a mammoth task and commendable, so here’s hoping the team get another chance to get a grip on this universe and tighten up the experience.
Balancing a heartfelt story with over-the-top excessive video game action, Ragnarök is completely self-aware. It improves upon the previous title in all the ways we could have hoped for and delivers a huge experience with stunning visuals, beautiful storytelling and buckets of fun
Saints Row is ultimately an underwhelming missed opportunity. It's a shame, as this was a chance to do something big, bold and different – showing us where the franchise could be heading in the years to come. But instead, the end product is a basic and fairly tedious experience that is stuck in an era of gaming long past. There are a handful of fun moments, but these are fleeting and it's difficult to suggest anyone picking the game up.
Teen Sims have become a whole lot more engaging and satisfying to control here, in large part thanks to a variety of features and moving parts that help to capture the teen experience. With an impressive range of clothing and furniture targeted towards teens included as well, the expansion succeeds in turning this previously-overlooked life stage into one that feels unique and worthwhile to play.
The overall game may fail to hit the same (perhaps unrealistically) lofty highs of one of the best titles on the Switch, but it's impressive how much it manages to feel like a Fire Emblem game and not just a Warriors title with familiar characters thrown in. That is its greatest strength, and the result is an experience where it's easy to warm to and invest in your favourite Fódlan characters all over again.
Flush with a gorgeous and uplifting soundtrack, Forgotten Land is a heart-warming and no-stress experience while providing some fun challenges and deeper upgrades should you want them. Either way, this is a must-have game and yet another instant Nintendo classic that's not only warmly familiar, but also subtly inventive in a way that'll keep you hooked until the end.
But that doesn't change the fact that this is an entertaining and very worthwhile ride, and one that players might want to experience more than once from the beginning to see all of the different ways in which the deadly events at Hackett's Quarry can unfold (including all of the gruesome deaths).
Whether it's the best occult or not is another matter. As a package, Werewolves is a shade above Vampires by 2022 standards – with supporting content like the world and accompanying lore fleshing out the occult beyond the core gameplay. But we'd also argue that a vampire Sim, by itself, has more engaging interactions with other Sims and weaknesses that have greater impact on everyday moments.
That's not to say it's impossible to develop well-made packs for The Sims 4 several years on. In fact, some of the packs mentioned above were received well, we really liked Snowy Escape, and there are positives in My Wedding Stories that can be appreciated. But this pack raises major questions about how much longer The Sims 4 can realistically hold out.
If you loved Zero Dawn and simply wanted more, warts and all, this is easy to recommend. But if you were looking for something groundbreaking with a lot more polish, then Horizon Forbidden West is really a mixed bag.
It’s symbolic of the question that some PLA players will be left with. Did Game Freak’s reach extend its grasp? But for us, when it works its magic, it really works. It’s certainly the most exciting Pokémon game in years, and even if it’s a little overambitious – wouldn’t we rather have that experimentation over the same journey we’ve been on many, many times?
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and The Lost Legacy are two unmissable experiences for PlayStation players. They're huge, bombastic, and rich stories that go toe to toe with some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters around – and with their upgraded graphics it's hard not to say this collection is worth a look. If you've yet to play either game, this is a must-buy. Ultimately, however, these are a fairly barebones repackaging. So if you've already experienced both games, the high price tag might not be such an easy sell.
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain shines as a party game, adopting a family-friendly approach that evens the playing field regardless of each player's age and experience. We had a lot of fun with our family and friends across the 20 puzzle activities featured in this accessible and budget-priced package. It's just a pity that there aren't a few more minigames (or a slightly more substantial single-player component) for greater replay value.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl struggle on both these counts, meaning they can only really be recommended to die-hard fans of the originals. Luckily for any newer fans of the series, there are plenty of other, much better, Pokémon games to dig into.
Mario Party Superstars is the strongest outing for the long-running franchise since at least the early GameCube days. It doesn't take many risks and admittedly lacks imagination, but this party leans on nostalgia and understands why these games are so popular among longtime fans. It's a well-executed and highly enjoyable return to the series' roots while remaining largely accessible to first-time players.
It's also a shame that this game isn't a co-op experience to give you a chance to play along with a buddy or two and role-play as your favourite heroes, but we understand why the game is a solo experience. You have this chaotic mix of guns and banter as you feverishly button-mash to kill your opponents – this is exactly what we expected from a Guardians of the Galaxy game when we heard about it, and we love it.
Samus Aran's latest 2D mission boasts consistently high thrills in exploration and combat to provide a worthy sequel to a highly-regarded game that came out 19 years ago.
Tetris Effect remains the best version of Tetris on the market, and the Nintendo Switch port is hardly compromised, successfully retaining what made the game stunning in the first place. The added portability of the Switch version is more than enough reason to double-dip, and it looks wonderful on the OLED Model's new screen if you're fortunate enough to have the upgraded console.
Let's face it, if you're already well invested into the FIFA carousel, you'll likely not need that much convincing to pick this one up. It's basically everything you've loved for the past two decades with better graphics. Even if there's not that much that's actually new to get excited about, there really isn't that much that needs fixing.