Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Reviews
The Settlers: New Allies has some degree of pedigree coming from Anno 1800's Ubisoft Blue Byte, but it's, unfortunately, a dismal strategy affair, confused, anaemic, and achingly dull.
Irritating performance issues on PC aside, Wild Hearts is an impressive Monster Hunter clone that brings a lot of fresh ideas to the table.
The Pale Beyond has the same inner workings as its survival sim counterparts, but its gripping tale of underdog sailors clawing at survival in hopes of returning home will fuel you to its thrilling end.
A Soviet sci-fi adventure with arresting visuals and occasionally excellent shooting, marred by uneven balancing, undercooked ideas, and an unlikeable protagonist.
After ten years away, Company Of Heroes 3 returns with two stonkingly good single-player campaigns and a bevy of multiplayer options. Its enormous Italian operation could have more tension in the way you conquer the map, but its RTS battles remain as compelling as ever, and the sheer breadth and variety on offer here will please new and veteran players alike.
Birth is a cute but creepy puzzle game about building a friend from body parts found in the nooks and crannies of a strange city. The themes it lightly touches upon may be heavy, but it handles them with genuine care.
Square Enix's gorgeous JRPG returns for a second outing, but bar a couple of very minor evolutions, this is effectively the same Octopath Traveler as before.
An 1800s action-adventure that's sure to both delight longtime Yakuza fans and make for a perfect entry point into the series for newcomers.
Pharaoh might be a little out of date in 2023, but A New Era is the definitive way to play an absolute classic city builder that nails the fundamentals
As long as your PC is up to the job, this is top-notch conversion of one PlayStation 5's finest, combining razor-sharp shooting with dense atmosphere and a captivating story.
Wanted: Dead has the briefest, briefest glimpses of good, but this third-person action game is a frustrating mess in almost every regard.
Blanc's adventure about a fawn and wolf cub duo has a heartfelt start with moments of fun puzzle antics, but a weak second half really lets this gorgeous co-op game down.
An original and beautiful hybrid of builder, management, and RTS games whose design just doesn't work well.
A brilliant combination of rhythmic motions and a deep action-packed battle system make for a compelling adventure. Hi-Fi Rush is only let down by its writing and character development, or lack thereof.
A thoughtful exploration of humanity's will to survive, Deliver Us Mars marries big, planet-sized problems with gripping, interpersonal drama - and pleasingly tactile platforming. The only disappointment is its rather rote puzzles.
Squeenix's epic-ish isekai game has cool magical combat, but it's far too big for its own good, and that scale leaves it feeling empty and disappointing.
A gorgeous cycling road trip about documenting your travels through a melancholy post-war world that'll soon be washed away in a great flood. An adventure with a poetic outlook and deliberately slow pace, Season keeps pulling you in deeper and deeper.
This is the Dead Space you remember but with a brilliant new sheen, luxuriously improved in small but considered ways. Comfortably familiar, but excellent nonetheless.
Mahokenshi has some good moments of spontaneous creativity, but this Japanese mythology-themed deckbuilder is more gruelling than it is great.
Mojiken's supernatural high school romance surprises in all the best ways. A Space For The Unbound's world-ending coming-of-age adventure holds incredible weight while also being sentimental and heartfelt.