Expansive's Reviews
I really worked my way into Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection and some of the later levels need to be seen to be believed. A lot of the time the game isn’t even remotely fair in the enemies it throws at you, and there are some sections that truly test the patience, but all in all, this is a solid side-scrolling platformer that more than pays homage to its predecessor. There’s just enough tweaks in here to make it suited to today’s gaming expectations, but also plenty to keep fans of the original happy.
What you’re getting here are four incredible games which many had assumed were lost to time, never to be seen again. Now they’re playable on the latest hardware. Sure, nothing really beats playing the games as they were originally intended, but short of full remakes, Flashback is about as close to perfect as you’re going to get. Turrican will always be memorable because of that soundtrack, but Flashback also proves that the games themselves hold up way better on their own merits than anyone could have dared imagine.
My expectations were high coming in, and, in some part, those expectations were met. At times, I would go as far as to say that The Medium feels the best thing Bloober Team have ever done. But it clumsily attempts to handle subject matter which cannot just be brushed over and several mechanical missteps really jar and grate at the wrong time. If you own GamePass, this is worth dipping into to see what the talented team at Bloober can be capable of. But this one does not stick the landing well at all.
The launch of Godfall is a little bit of a misstep, especially considering the competition it had to go up against and the price it was retailing for, but there are some really clever, interesting mechanics in play here that are keeping me glued to my DualSense, along with a lot of promise for the future. Hopefully, the team persevere and get the chance to explore it.
By the end, I was fully onboard with our new protagonist and I truly hope Like A Dragon is just the beginning for its unique cast. I want to see more from them, I want the series to continue to evolve this new RPG style combat and progression, and I love looking at this world through a more current and modern day lens. Between this and Judgement, we’re seeing the series evolve to some exciting and interesting places and I feel like somehow, the best is still yet to come.
If you’ve somehow never played either of these games – or even if you have – and you feel like you haven’t rowed enough with your family this year or had too much fun with your buddies, there’s no better alternative to dive into this Christmas. Next-gen and the world needed this game, and Team 17 and Ghost Town Games have not disappointed.
Aside from the graphical upgrades, there’s not much else new to find here. If you’re hoping for great use of PS5’s unique UI and controller, this is absolutely not a showcase title for that. But if you’re interested in a PS5 game on the cheaper end of the scale that will leave you with some lasting memories, Spirit of the North Enhanced Edition will certainly tug those heartstrings, occasionally tax the gray matter, and even give you a few reasons to smile.
It was just a real pleasure to get to replay the game again. I loved this the first time around but now I absolutely adore it. All of my main issues have been resolved, the game has aged like a fine wine, and it now looks and plays better than ever. Devil May Cry 5 is now where it always belonged.
It certainly is a far better performing game now than it was on PS4 / XO a few years back, and the extra content more that makes this a must-play package. True, the next-gen launch lineup is competitive, and there’s lots of choice, no matter what genre you’re into, but if you’ve yet to experience this world and you’re looking for a good sci-fi story to sink your teeth into, you’ll have a fantastic time with Observer: System Redux.
Connected is a real triumph, then. Even a year and a bit on, I can still find myself diving into this game, losing myself for hours at a time. The difference is this no longer has to remain a personal voyage of discovery. It’s now one I can embark on with friends and strangers from all over the world, while still feeling just as in sync with its message. This deserves to keep finding new audiences, it needs to be played by everyone, and in the back of my mind, part of me hopes the greatest players of the game use it to go head to head on the biggest stages. It’s nothing less than this magical game deserves.
Bugsnax is just an absolute delight on PlayStation 5. It runs smoothly, is very entertaining to play, and is one of the best examples of a third-party game making use of the DualSense – along with DiRT 5 but that’s another story. Whether you have a PS+ subscription or not, you simply must play Bugsnax to see how it makes use of Sony’s wonderful new controller and make space on your hard drive for a truly delightful adventure
The Falconeer is a remarkable achievement in more ways than one, and, rightfully, should be celebrated for what it does accomplish rather than what it doesn’t.
Between the campaign, the online, and the Gymkhana, you’ll have more than enough to keep you occupied and keep you coming back for more and more. And if DiRT 5 is any indication whatsoever, I truly believe it’s the racing genre that will benefit most of all from this gen. if this how things look and play from day one, I cannot wait to see how this hardware is used a few years from now. Simply stunning!
We’d strongly advise against playing XIII on current-gen hardware in its current state, at least. Next-gen, the game is considerably better but there’s a lot that’s still not quite up to scratch. We’d certainly advise waiting on this until at least the first update is live, but what we will say for sure is there’s other inherent problems here that go beyond re-balances and tweaks.
It’s About Time is my favourite platformer of 2020 and it’s not even close. Mario, I do love you dearly, but Crash 4’s take on merging something old with something new is clearly all I want from the genre right now. Toys for Bob understand this franchise better than we ever could have hoped and it shows.
Whether Deluxe edition does quite enough to tempt back previous players, with no visual upgrades to speak of and how good those side stories actually are, is another matter entirely. If nothing else, it’s a fantastic excuse to play a great game, but when you look at how much effort seems to be going into the Super Mario 3D World Switch port next year, you do wonder if Nintendo could have perhaps offered players just a little bit more to dive back in.
There were some pretty bad frame rate drops at times when the camera pans from the crowd to the ice, and there’s definitely a sharp learning curve on doing some of the shots and a level of complexity in the way they’re controlled which will be frustrating at first, but NHL 21 is the best Ice Hockey game I’ve played to date and it’s one sports franchise I’ll certainly be dipping in and out of in the months ahead.
Doodle God: Evolution has a decent chunk of content with some satisfaction to be had in making some unorthodox combinations. Who doesn’t want to create a dinosaur out of thin air? Or maybe that wouldn’t be such a good idea…
The Red Lantern is a beautiful game, but it’s also a deeply affecting one. It has the power to warm your heart and crush it in equal measure, all while filling you with a sense of wonder as you explore its rich and stunningly realised world. This one has crept into my Top 10 games this year and for good reason. It’s incredibly special indeed.
Amnesia Rebirth is the most ambitious game in the series. It also has the biggest production values, with some legitimate shocks and horror, and a well-engineered story, all told. While it may be far from perfect, it definitely shows how open-ended the Amnesia series has become and how flexible they can be with a license that seemed certain to be confined to spooky churches. While it didn’t quite grab me the same way SOMA did, it’s easily the best Amnesia game to date, and one of the better horrors I’ve seen this year.