Critical Hit
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Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is the gold standard for what a blast from the past should and can be, as Petroglyph's efforts have resulted in a handsome and hefty package of classic strategy, passion and modern-day improvements.
Despite some annoyingly prevalent fan-service and clunky fetch quests, Shantae and The Seven Sirens won me over with it’s beautiful realised world, charming characters and thoroughly polished metroidvania design
Virtuous has done a fine job in bringing Bioshock to the Switch, delivering a trio of intriguing games from the last generation. Performance is solid and stable, they look fantastic and they're still worth playing today.
A decade of gaming in a single package, the latest return to Pandora still stands tall as a testament to brilliant game design, and even with a few technical concessions along the way, it makes for one handsome pack of fun.
There's a good game buried within Those Who Remain's many shortcomings, but it blunders the final hundred meters of its dash for survival like a sorority girl outrunning a slasher in a forest filled with tree roots. Repetitive scenarios of item-hunting tarnish the more ingenious puzzles you're presented with, horror clichés sour an otherwise wonderfully tense atmosphere and a control scheme from hell drags a promising game back into the shadows, never to be seen again.
While visually intriguing and distinct, Liberated feels more like an idea than a game, thanks to an uninspired story, boring gameplay and a stunning lack of polish.
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is a short and sweet expansion of new stories, characters and gruesome action that gives fans more of what they love.
A staggering amount of content, variety and tactical depth makes Monster Train a must-play for fans of the deck-building genre, despite it struggling to explain its dense collection of mechanics and often lacklustre presentation.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition proves that it is still one of the best examples this genre has to offer. A new coat of paint and smart gameplay changes brings this classic up to date for a new generation of gamers.
A story told with deft delicacy while not pulling any punches along the way, If Found is a gorgeous slice of storytelling told with deceptively minimal inputs and maximum talent.
Maneater plays its hand early, as the novelty of being an almost unstoppable apex predator thrown into an unforgiving ocean doesn't have much depth to it. What Maneater does have though, is a meaty world worth exploring, a fascinating system of evolution and whip-smart writing that adds colour to your deep blue killing spree.
Someday You'll Return is an occasionally pretty game with a splash of interesting ideas and visuals that are unfortunately let down by shoddy performance, abysmal storytelling and an overall lack of care placed into its presentation.
MotoGP 20 will tick all the boxes for what a game based on the most exhilarating racing sport on the planet should offer, but it'll seldom exceed your expectations thanks to its sterile presentation and no-thrills approach on the track.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is a thoroughly enjoyable twist on the franchise, bringing some fresh ideas to the fore while still retaining the roots of the original game it draws from. There's certainly fun to be had here if you're able to overlook the occasional bug.
A vibrant and challenging puzzle game, Filament has a slick style that'll pump positive energy into your brain with every mystery that it throws at you.
Gears Tactics isn't just one of the biggest surprises of the year, it's a vulgar display of power starring everyone's favourite beefy boys in a bloody new direction that'll test your trigger fingers with pure heavy mental action.
Convoy is a decent game with a very clear vision in its design that will no doubt appeal to players who want a randomised tactical experience but unfortunately doesn't do enough with its systems to keep the game from turning into a repetitive, visually bland grind.
Final Fantasy VII Remake isn't the retelling of a cult classic that you're expecting it to be. It's a lengthy and deliberately slow-paced walk down the Midgar memory lane that leisurely basks within the warm glow of nostalgia, but at the same time it's an exhilarating and cinematic explosion of action that not only celebrates the impact of the game which rewrote the rulebook for an entire industry in 1997, but also everything else that followed in its genre-defining wake.
A competent remaster that gives a decade-old game a suitable level of spit-and-polish, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's campaign reveals a significant graphical overhaul but its corridor-shooter structure and worn animation give its age away. Nostalgic fans of the series might get a kick, but the barebones remaster isn't a fantastic value proposition for anybody else.
Bridging film and video game, interactive movies are a niche format. However, with most of us having a lot more time on our hands during lockdown, now may be the time to give this hybrid genre more attention. Removing many of the annoyances FMV adventures are associated with, and featuring strong production values, The Complex is a solid entry point, even if it's far more enjoyable as a choose-your-own adventure experience than film entertainment.