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Greg Lobanov has produced a game that has it all. It's a truly heartwarming story with unique gameplay, clever puzzles and a colourful cast of characters in a gorgeous world that never feels limited by its retro-inspired, two-dimensional roots.
Improving on excellence, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade takes the few shortcomings from the PS4 release and improves them. While Activity Card support is missing, alongside deep DualSense support, Intergrade cements itself as the best way to play the Final Fantasy VII Remake, bar none. If you missed out on the original release, now is the time to jump in.
Little gets in the way of Yuffie's debut to the Final Fantasy VII Remake project. Despite her one-dimensional companion, she takes the foreground and never lets it go. Thrilling enhancements to combat and interesting narrative twists and connections make INTERmission worth playing.
A much needed re-release of Team Ninja's trio of Ninja Gaiden titles, though the third game is a step below the other two games, and the remastering effort a touch on the conservative side, it's a proper joy to be able to play the first two Ninja Gaiden games once again on contemporary hardware; camera issues with the first game notwithstanding. Bolstered by a neat amount of extras and the seemingly ageless and satisfying combat that's as good now in 2021 as it was before, the king of high-octane, hyperviolent ninja action has returned.
Guilty Gear Strive is a simply stunning anime fighter with an astonishing depth of competitive gameplay. It does all it can to welcome newcomers with an extensive training mode and streamlined fighting mechanics, but it is still very much the beloved Guilty Gear niche experience, and rightly so. You can't have too much of a good thing, and Guilty Gear is certainly a good thing, so it's a slight shame that there isn't more content to sink our teeth into. Nevertheless, as a competitive fighting experience, it is still a fantastic entry that fans of the series will adore.
A different kind of survival sandbox, Green Hell's anchoring in a contemporary place together with its narrative help to separate it from its more aimless seeming brethren. Though some additional polish is required, Green Hell nonetheless is still one of the better survival sandbox experiences to come along in a good while.
Technically Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a PS5 showstopper, offering stunning graphics and set pieces that make use of the PS5's SSD, while also looking like the best animated movie we have ever seen. But, although combat is fun, the narrative of Rift Apart really drags down the experience, not treating its characters with respect and not meaningfully progressing the story for long time fans and leaving newcomers confused. Rift Apart is a fun ride, but ultimately not one you will be talking about for years to come.
Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice delivers exactly what you'd expect it to; sex-based jokes and puzzles that integrate that. Even with expectations set there, it's somewhat unfortunate that it serves up such an underwhelming blend of puzzling and puerility. It is at least a passable point n' click effort that occasionally elicits a genuine chuckle.
Song of Horror is not the perfect return to old school horror, but it makes one hell of an impression. An adaptive adversary combined with fantastic ambience more than outweigh last gen character models, iffy voice work, and lengthy chapters. Protocol Games is onto something here, and horror fans must give it a go.
Devil Slayer Raksasi brings in elements from larger titles with its own spin. However, it leaves you occasionally wanting more, but as it's decently priced, it's hard to say anything too bad about Devil Slayer, and I did enjoy my experience overall, it's a great time waster.
Fast-paced action and combat is the heart of Necromunda: Hired Gun. A great variety of skills allow you to string moves together while taken on dozens of foes at once. The world of Necromunda is a horrible dystopian underbelly of the 40K universe and it shows in Hired Gun. It's just a shame that the story, and characters are so barebones that the 40K license almost feels wasted.
Rising Hell's verticality and butter-like combat system make it feel unique in an increasingly popular genre. It looks awesome, sounds fantastic and for its price point, it's definitely worth your time. While you will not be playing for hundreds of hours, your relatively short time slaying demons will be fast, frenetic and very enjoyable.
A stellar remastering of one of the best fighting games ever, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Edition is at the very apex of Sega's long running series and in doing so, its elevated profile will hopefully propel the franchise forward as a whole to heights that it has long deserved. Virtua Fighter is back and it's better than ever.
Despite a gorgeous world, stunning sketchbook visuals, and fantastic music, Stonefly is actively dragged down because of its frustrating and cumbersome combat mechanics that create situations that are a pain to tackle. Everything surrounding combat is great, but there is so much of blowing bugs off of platforms that I Don't recommend you give Stonefly a try.
Just Die Already takes the outrageous nature of Goat Simulator and brings it to a completely new concepts and premise. But, while the experience is fun and a laugh, it is fairly shallow and physics don't hold up to other games in the genre. A funny time, but definitely nothing to go running to tell your grandparents about.
King Of Seas ultimately suffers through a lack of visual polish, some frustrating gameplay mechanics, and dull pacing and sequences, which when all combined together create a thoroughly unremarkable experience that doesn't manage to hold its own against even some of the most average of pirate games on the market.
Wonder Boy: Asha In Monster World is a gorgeous remake of a much overlooked Sega platforming adventure classic that everybody should play. It's that simple.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground is a compact and well made turn-based strategy offering that neatly walks the tightrope of being able to offer beginners not only a decent introduction to the genre, but also to the sprawling Warhammer fantasy setting as well. Though it lacks in scope and can become repetitive, its bite-sized nature and surprising use of roguelike mechanics helps to ensure it remains compelling in a way that few other Warhammer games have managed.
A textbook example of how to meaningfully update to a classic title while keeping the core appeal intact, Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection is a superb way to experience Capcom's arcade classic for both new and old fans alike.
Though a clunky UI and collection of surplus mini-games detract from Beautiful Desolation's evocative setting and characters, this is nonetheless one of the more interesting point and click adventures to come along for a good while. Not least thanks to its superbly imaginative take on a post apocalyptic future where the lines between humanity, evolution and immortality are deeply blurred. Even for the most stalwart adventurer, Beautiful Desolation's narrative and fresh premise will find a way to delight and surprise in equal measure.