In a year absolutely full of them, Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning is not the best remaster I’ve played over the past nine months. But what you have here is a brilliant RPG that is just loaded with content, a gripping story that keeps you playing, a lot of customisation, and, all told, a game that’s still fun to play in 2020. Beyond next years’ DLC, it’s unclear what comes next. Hopefully this morphs into a full-blown next gen sequel or perhaps that MMO project long rumoured. While this isn’t the best of remakes, there’s more than enough in Re-Reckoning that the game deserves its second chance. Most importantly, it’s earned the right to finally move the story forward and we can’t wait to see where that leads.
What Remedy are pitching us is incredibly ambitious. They’re looking to tie their past games together and put them under the same roof. AWE has given them a gateway. It’s given us all a glimpse as to how it might be possible and provided a new starting point for Remedy’s bold future. In some ways, you might even see the ending of AWE as a soft announcement of their next major project. But it’s more than that because this DLC gives them the context needed to do that, while surely sowing the seeds for even more projects further down the line. Because of that, AWE could well be the most important DLC of this, or any other generation.
This is the rebirth for Tony Hawk Pro Skater we’ve long waited for. Just as the N-Sane Trilogy was for Crash Bandicoot and Reignited was for Spyro, this is a lovingly built, high-quality remake that will hopefully lead to newer instalments in the years to come. Welcome back, Mr Hawk, You, most definitely, have still got it.
2K have completely rejuvenated video game golf. Not just that, they’ve published a great video game that I am having so much fun with. More than I ever expected to. I can’t speak for someone who advocates for and regularly watches golf, but what I can say is PGA Tour 2K21 has done more to get me interested in the sport than I ever have been. I cannot wait to see how HB Studios and 2K keep building and growing PGA 2K for the next generation and years ahead.
While I probably won’t immediately think to jump on these on my PS4 with so many other options available to me – I still feel mobile is the best way to play – I have an appetite to unlock all the trophies and upgrades within the game. For that alone, The Alto Collection is very special set of games that are still a lot of fun to play years after they first released.
The world of Mortal Shell is usually a good one to explore. There’s not a lot of narrative explanation outside of the character prose and you’ll often find yourself creeping into every room, staying on your toes from enemies trying to jump out and claw your face off. That can get a bit tedious, at times. But as Dark Souls clones go, this is absolutely one of the best ones I’ve played in recent times, and it evolves the formula in some really smart, intelligent ways.
For Nintendo owners, the release of Bioshock is something of a dream come true. It’s a game that never made it to the Wii or Wii U and was one of those third party games that seemed as if it would never make the jump across. Like all the 2K <3 Nintendo games, this has been lovingly put together and is the furthest thing from a throwaway port you can find.
Frankly, XCOM 2 seemed like one of those ports that couldn’t be done. Just like The Witcher 3, at times, you’ll wonder how this level of sorcery is even possible. But the Switch exists to defy convention, and XCOM 2 is another fantastic example of just how this console continues to do the unthinkable in the face of the seemingly impossible.
The game has never felt as fun, freeing, and fulfilling as it does in the palm of your hands. It just works in a way it never has before and while it doesn’t look as stunning as it’s competitors, it’s hard not to spend a few minutes with Burnout Paradise on Switch and think to yourself that this is the definitive way to play.
Relicta is a great action puzzler, though, with some great head-scratchers and an intriguing story to keep you working your way through. It’s not best in class in the genre, with many other great games releasing over the course of this generation, but Relicta was plenty enjoyable all the same and a must for those who’ve worked their way through the cream of the crop.