Expansive's Reviews
NBA 2K22 remains an entertaining entry in this ever-growing franchise. There’s lots of smart changes and good adjustments that make this installment even more interesting to play, but there is also a lot of familiarity and unsettling extras which are starting to hold the entire property back with each passing year.
I am blown away by just how good Metroid Dread is. I’d been anticipating the game, but this has exceeded my expectations in just about every way possible. For me, there’s been no better experience in any game this year. And few experiences better on the Switch to date. It’s good to have you back, Samus!
All Star Brawl runs and plays absolutely fine, and probably has just about enough to keep itself interesting for the younger gamers with its extras. As long as you don’t expect something on the scale of Smash, in terms of content and replayability, this is a really well made and built fighter that will definitely offer lots of laughs and plenty of fun.
Diablo 2 is a game I loved once upon a time and played it for many hours. I think Resurrected has perhaps made me realise that while some elements of the game are as strong as ever and still hold up exceedingly well, my preferences as a gamer have changed. I now crave a convenience that was never present here and feel like the franchise has moved on for the better.
Get It Together is experimental in many ways, like the series is taking a turn and it needs more time to fit the mould. It’s still incredibly good fun and there’s more reasons than ever to keep dipping in and playing, but the selection of mini-games on offer isn’t the best around and the team selection/character changing feels a little bit jarring and can make things overly confusing.
Even though it’s devoid of color, TOEM’s personality is clear for all to see. It's wonderful and even though the indie field is extremely competitive this year, I would easily rank it among the very best I’ve played. It’s smart, refreshing, and is so much fun to play. Please play TOEM!
I appreciate what Bonfire Peaks sets out to do as it does it very well. The puzzles are the right blend of head-scratching, chance, and skill, and for a game that ultimately is about stacking crates, there is a soul and essence here that makes the game feel much more interesting than its premise makes it appear. No doubt, it won’t be for everyone, and many might even find themselves switching off early on, but if you allow yourself the time to get truly sucked into the world, its varying mechanics really add dynamism to the puzzle-solving and you may come out the other side invested in ways you would never have expected.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is easily the best party game of the year and is also one of the most generous packages in terms of offerings and pricing I’ve had the pleasure of putting in my PS5. If you’re looking for something wild, a bit different, and a game that will give you hours of multiplayer fun, there’s no easier recommendation to make.
Lost in Random certainly finds itself admist a treasure trove of creative indies. But despite some pacing issues and some issues around its combat and navigation, I really got sucked into this fascinating, creepy world and its enchanting story and mostly found myself enjoying what the game itself has to offer amidst its side quests and unique activities. Definitely worth a peek!
Lost Judgment is great. Its over-generosity means you’ll be playing hours before, during, and after you’re done with the story, and the story at play is still much more engaging than most anything else out on the market. Rather than try to reinvent the wheel too much this time, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios have given us more of what we loved last time and flesched out the mechanics even further, ultimately still trying new things. Judgment feels like a franchise ready to step out of Yakuza’s shadow and stand-alone, but it’s still not quite there yet. That said, Lost Judgment is a must-play and an enjoyable ride from start to finish.
Deathloop just works on every level and will be a game I’ll revisit time and time again. It may be one of the final Bethesda games PlayStation owners will be able to get their hands on, but it’s undoubtedly one of the very best they’ve ever published. To no one’s surprise whatsoever, Arkane have smashed it once again!
I was glued to Life is Strange: True Colors right up until the end and the messages that flow throughout the game will stay with me for years to come. Some of the dialogue is extremely powerful and the quality of direction is first class. Everything flows beautifully. I cannot wait to see what the series has in store for us next.
(7/10) Apart from being one of the most stunning, atmospheric depictions of Dublin in recent memory, Wrath of the Druids adds another 10-15 hours of content to a game that’s already loaded with it. For the most part, that content is good, I like the focus on building up Dublin’s reputation by supplying resources, and performing Kings Requests with sub-categories, but the DLC goes back to these mission types a bit too often over the course of the campaign, and ultimately feels a bit stale and not quite varied enough for it.
New Pokémon Snap is lovely, not just as a solitary, soul-cleansing experience, but as a shared adventure with friends and family both in your living room and all over the world. Trust us, it’s been worth the wait.
Village is a hit, and a more than worthy sequel to Biohazard. Without doubt, the best showcase yet for just how dazzling the RE Engine truly is and most importantly, a great Resident Evil game that will stand the test of time.
Whether you want to dip into it for an hour here and there, or stay glued to the screen for an entire weekend, Rise is an incredible accomplishment in every sense of the word. With a ton of depth to get the most of your battles, a fulfilling end-game, and a ton of updates still to come, this is the most generous and rewarding third party exclusive on Switch. If, for some reason, you still don’t own one and you’ve been holding out for a quality exclusive that makes it the envy of other formats and doesn’t have a single Mushroom Kingdom resident in sight, Rise is the reason you’ve been waiting for to buy a Switch!
It Takes Two doesn’t outstay its welcome, and it manages to tell a story that stirs all sorts of emotion. Some of its themes don’t always hit the mark, and some moments can be a bit more frustrating than others, but this will undoubtedly go down as one of the best collaborative puzzle adventures ever made. And it comes at a time when we all need that the most.
Murder on Eridanos feels like something of a fresh take on The Outer Worlds as you search for clues to build your investigation and try to wrestle the truth from guilty parties with secrets to hide. The build to the conclusion is a fun ride, though, admittedly, that conclusion may not be to everyone’s tastes. For me, though, it was not only a great excuse to dive back into a game I really enjoy, but it’s also a pretty fine piece of content that, actually, has me more excited for the future of the franchise than anything else I’ve seen from it to date.
Basically, if you enjoy a good puzzler, don’t mind a scare or two, and appreciate a refined noir aesthetic, you really can’t go far wrong with Darq Complete Edition. It was a genuinely nice surprise from the time I booted up to when the credits rolled and one I’ve already recommended to a few friends. Don’t sleep on this one!
There’s much deeper experiences out there, no question, but if you’re looking for something low risk, easy going, with a cheap price point and lovely musical score, this might just be the perfect palette cleanser.