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A delightfully charming platformer, Sackboy:A Big Adventure untethers the knitted knight from the creation-focused LittleBigPlanet and gives him his own grand adventure. In doing so, Sumo Digital has delivered one of the most thoughtful, interesting, and love-laden platformers in recent memory, resulting in a perpetual delight.
Less is more, and Destiny 2: Beyond Light feels like a positive first step towards a new era for the franchise. New Stasis subclasses, a compelling storyline, and a gorgeous new planet to explore make for an intriguing new direction for Bungie’s cosmic sandbox.
Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition doesn't offer any massive surprises for veteran fans, but as a fresh chapter for newcomers? It makes one of the best action games of the last generation one of the most thrilling of the new generation.
After rocking the world with guitars and other assorted musical stylings, Fuser feels and sounds like the logical next step for Harmonix. It's colourful, brimming with positive energy, and the musical mash-ups that you can potentially create aren't just surprising, they deserve to be heard around the world. If a steady flow of DLC keeps Fuser alive, I'll happily hop back into the DJ booth to create a few more surprise hits.
Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War is exactly what you expect it to be, but there is a massive amount of content on offer here and it's still impressive. Maybe the magic is starting to slip now, but if you've not picked up a Call of Duty recently then grab this one, there's still some fun to be had.
One of the core debates within Observer: System Redux is whether augmentation makes recipients more or less. In the case of this enhanced edition of the acclaimed, dark cyberpunk tale, it's definitely a case of more. Barring a few graphic and gameplay niggles, the developers have taken a cult indie classic and improved it further, providing a better balance of mystery thriller and psychological horror to accompany the brain-spearing next-gen visuals.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity falters greatly in its narrative. The time-traveling aspect felt like a cheap and easy way to rewrite history without actually adding much to the established lore. That said, this did allow Princess Zelda to shine which ended up being a pleasant surprise. The gameplay is the main hook and it's a bloody fun one at that. There is lots to love here if you can ignore the story.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon's switch to turn-based RPG combat and team-based tactics may bite off more than it can chew thanks to terrible difficulty spikes and ill-defined character progression, but it's still a breath of fresh air for the series. Ichiban Kasuga and his pals are an entertaining lot, the game has plenty of style, and even though the combat devolves into an ungodly grind, it's a flashy new start to one of Sega's best franchises.
Godfall hits the nail on the next-gen launch game head: All style, very little substance. Granted there's some fun to be had but once the next-generation glitz wears off what's left is a repetitive slog through levels that quickly get old.
It's shorter and familiar, but the first solo outing of Miles Morales in his own dedicated video game is nothing short of amazing. A follow-up to an already spectacular first game, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales improves on its core design with creative energy and attitude that sets it apart from the original. A brilliant first step on the PS5 and a final hurrah for the PS4, Marvels Spider-Man: Miles Morales is spectacular.
Tell Me Why is a moody and mature-minded mystery focused on family secrets, while touching sensitively on themes like mental health, gender, and indigenous cultural practices. It's slow going but compelling. Less successful is a supernatural gameplay component that's never fully explored, and feels superficially integrated with the storyline.
More than just a tech demo for the DualSense controller, Astro's Playroom is a stunning showcase for the PS5 and the very first game that you have to try out on the next-gen system. Fine-tuned for maximum haptic feedback fun, Astro's return is a marvel that celebrates the past and the future of the PlayStation.
It's both hilarious and serious, but Chicken Police is more than just 2020's weirdest game. Beneath the clucked-up surface is a genuinely engrossing story, amazingly developed characters, and a cast that brings them to life. With slick production values, this is one hard-boiled detective story with a unique flavour.
A saga for the ages, Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a breathtaking journey of discovery that has a cold charm to it. It is both serious and ludicrous in equal measure, an RPG that has added more than it has removed from its core experience while delivering a game that feels familiar and completely new at the same time. Skal!
Little Hope is a fun way to burn a couple of hours by yourself and a fantastic way to spend a night with friends but is let down by a disappointing conclusion, some uninspired performances, and general pacing issues.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is still a great game a decade later, but it's even better now with the addition of modern multiplayer sensibilities, improved visuals, and an expansive single-player campaign.
Dirt 5 doesn't come screaming around the corner as a definitive next-gen spectacle, but it's still pure racing junk food with a confident swagger that I'm happy to gorge on any day of the week. It's a V8 hooligan with a devil may care attitude, familiar to wrap your thumbs around, and a fantastic distraction when you're looking to get some mud on your face.
Watch Dogs: Legion is a fascinating game, massively ambitious and crawling with technology that isn't just on the bleeding edge of what's possible, it's pure magic to see unfold. All of that may sound impressive but slick software and a bustling metropolis of people power can't hide the dull gameplay and shallow approach to the sandbox shenanigans of Watch Dogs: Legion. It's still a fascinating game to experience in short bursts, and it's going to be fascinating to see how Ubisoft evolves London to make it vox pop as a next-gen headliner.
If you need some optimism and pure joy injected into your life, Pikmin 3: Deluxe Edition is for you. A fantastic remaster that adds a healthy chunk of new content to what was already a bulky game, that improves the overall experience.
Despite some boring locales and an over-reliance on the darkness just for the sake of it, Amnesia: Rebirth is an excellent horror game with some fun puzzles, well-written characters, and genuinely terrifying moments.