DualShockers
HomepageDualShockers's Reviews
Jurassic World Aftermath's VR heritage looms large in this Switch port. Sections that no doubt feel thrilling in the confined space of a VR headset feel repetitive and dull on a flat screen. As a result, Jurassic World Aftermath feels like a walking-sim with some survival horror sections. The lack of enemy variety, the overly simplistic puzzles, and some frustrating stealth sections prevent Aftermath from staking its claim as the apex predator of its genre.
Pentiment is a shining example of committing fully to an idea without worrying about where it fits in today's gaming market. The result? One of the best games of the year, narrative and otherwise.
It was a bold move for the devs to try and move this traditionally 2D style of game into this hybrid 3D space, but I can’t help but feel that Jumpship would have been better off leaving it in 2D, because that extra dimension ends up just weighing the game down. It’s weirdly apt that right at the end of the game, when I’d got two different endings but was trying to unlock what I’d imagine was the ‘good’ ending, I experienced a massive bug that for a moment seemed like a creative decision, as I fell through the world, was reunited with my family on a grey platform in some empty void, then jumped off again to go into an infinite fall. In the end, Somerville’s admirable artistic vision and technical issues merged into one, poignantly showing that these two aspects of a game can’t ultimately be separated.
Stay away from Serious Fun Football. Seriously, it’s not fun, and it’s certainly not football.
Among Us VR is a great execution of an extremely popular game - and genre - of recent years. It’s a perfect fit for the medium, and at a refreshingly low price too. As with the base Among Us however, it’s simple stuff - almost a proof-of-concept that this kind of game works in its respective medium - and it may be up to other VR developers to really build on this finger-pointing party game premise to take it to bold new places.
After eight long years of waiting, Bayonetta is back with all her flash and pomp intact. And while I expect this entry to hold my interest for quite a while, I hope we don’t have to wait another eight years before we see one of the biggest names in gaming return.
When it comes to judging the Switch version of Sifu, things get a little tricky. At its core, it is still the same Sifu, and it's coming with all the extra content that has been pushed out since release, so fans and newcomers alike will still have the same great experience getting to grips with its frantic and reactive combat, but is it the best version of Sifu? Not really. If you've played Sifu on PlayStation or PC, there are a few noticeable differences that do detract from the experience and demote this version to last place. All things considered, it is still the same Sifu, and playing it in the palm of your hand is a satisfying and powerful experience that shouldn't be ignored if you have not played Sifu before.
Sonic Team has never been afraid to take risks and Sonic Frontiers is a good example of one that has paid off. There are some areas where it is lacking, such as the minimal number of Cyberspace settings and the Titan fights, but Sonic Frontiers is the best 3D Sonic games in a long time, with its open-world foundation offering something for the series to build on in years to come.
From start to finish, God of War Ragnarok is an incredible journey, earning it a place among the absolute best PlayStation games of all time.
Marvel’s Iron Man VR is a decent game, no matter where you play it, though I would argue that the Meta Quest 2 version is perhaps the best way to play thanks to its ease of use and cleaner visuals. The intuitive controls, fun aerial combat, and some quality presentation make for a heroic effort by developer Camouflaj, and a worthy addition to any Quest 2 library.
Grind and jank aside, there is nothing else like a Mount and Blade game, and Bannerlord is undisputably the best one yet. Its uniqueness alone makes it worth playing. To talk about it that way is to do it a disservice though; the true marvel of Bannerlord is that it actually delivers on what is an astonishingly ambitious concept. The two halves of the game complement each other perfectly. It may be on a slow boil, but once it gets up a head of steam, you won't be able to put it down.
Borderlands has always been known for its likable characters, and the protagonists introduce in New Tales From The Borderlands continue this grand tradition alongside a well written story. The characters play very well off of one another and grow before our eyes as they each dive deeper into their own psyches. But the lack of innovation in the gameplay is disappointing after this many years, which makes New Tales From The Borderlands mainly worth checking out for fans of the series.
If like me, you're a Call of Duty fan, this is very much more of the same — but that also means you can't really go wrong. Some new features feel unnecessary, whilst others feel like a tutorial for Warzone 2.0. Modern Warfare 2 is certainly let down by repetitive gameplay and missions that overstay their welcome. But, that said, Infinity Ward has given fans what amounts to a gripping story and stunning cinematic experience that's peppered with a few flawed concepts and disappointing elements.
Dragon Ball: The Breakers needs to work on its online infrastructure, but beyond that it's a fast, exciting romp best played with a party full of well-known friends, as opposed to silent strangers.
Easy to learn, intuitive to play, with hours upon hours of new toys to play with, Spirits Unleashed is a real labor of love. For a franchise that’s long struggled with a consistent margin for quality, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed goes above and beyond to answer the call. Now if someone can just convince them to incorporate some ghosts and levels from the IDW comics, then it’ll be darn-near perfect!
There’s no clearer sign that WB Montreal nailed it than this: even after I was done reviewing Gotham Knights, I’ve kept playing it. I’m resisting the urge to play it now to get this review done. That’s the best kind of feeling, and I hope it’s only the start of something even greater to come.
PGA Tour 2K23 continues to build on the foundation started in The Golf Club and once again delivers. The MyCareer mode's Rivals feature may not be as fleshed out as it could be, but the addition of the fan-favorite 3-Click control option and the casual Topgolf mode on top of the already stellar gameplay elevate the series to new heights with PGA Tour 2K23.
Despite the limited drawing aspect, this is one of the most varied collections Jackbox Games has produced, and other than a few functionality issues with Junktopia. A lot of these packs see one or two games become party standards and the rest fade into obscurity, but this time around, I can see most if not all of the four brand-new games finding their niche as long-running titles, and it's nice to see Fibbage get its revival after so long. On top of that, every game now has a variety of content controls to keep responses as clean or dirty as you see fit, and they're also equipped with the option to turn off U.S.-centric questions, so there's no need to worry about unfair advantage based on geography and cultural upbringing. Anyone looking for casual laughs with a group of friends, whether from the same living room or spread across the globe, will find something to appreciate here.
And so what? I’m not a huge fan of how bulky the environment feels at times, and the walking sections can become tiresome, but the truth is, Requiem had me engaged from start to finish. Sure, the game has its flaws, and it’s not a very malleable experience, but that doesn’t stop it from being a good time all the same. At its heart, A Plague Tale is a narrative-driven atmospheric experience. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
Scorn's ways are obscure, and often frustrating in a way that gamers who didn’t grow up in the 90s may struggle with more than myself. It's a work of breathtaking vision and uneven execution - from its combat, to its unsatisfying ending that sadly doesn't do justice to the gruelling yet oddly poignant odyssey you embark upon. But for its flaws, Scorn makes a hell of an impression, filling me with equal parts immense curiosity and dread. I don't want to return to it any time soon - maybe ever - but I will be scouring the Subreddits and the Steam boards in an attempt to decipher it for a long time yet.