Expansive's Reviews
Trine 5 is the absolute best installment in the series to date. The higher production values, expanded co-op, customisation and indivdual talent trees, coupled with the fiendish puzzle solving and expert physics Frostbyte are renowned for compliment one another brilliantly. Minor glitches aside, the game still falls into the same trap as its predecessors of being a little too repetitive late on, but whether you’re on your own or with a family, you can have some great fun with this one.
Red Dead Redemption impresses thirteen years on by still offering great storytelling, fun missions and a gripping, cinematic adventure from start to finish. Double Eleven have worked magic and provided a practically perfect port on Nintendo Switch that’s, for the most part, a like-for-like recreation, and in some cases better than ever. Stripped out multiplayer, a lack of Switch specific features and a higher than expected price point may deter some players, but with a stable frame rate and stunning, vivid visuals, the opportunity to play as John Marston anywhere and everywhere makes for a very tempting proposition.
Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case is a fun detective mystery that’s well written and acted, particularly in the titular role. Unfortunately, some random bugs and glitches do creep in to affect the experience somewhat, you revisit the same locations time after time, and the gameplay flow does become a bit frustrating between ordering things a certain way and relying a little bit on random, dumb luck. A great time can be had throughout, however, and this is a good one to play in-between 2023’s beefier experiences.
Sea of Stars is a defining moment for classic RPGs reinterpreted in a modern way. Sabotage Studios have found a unique balance that compliments everything that came before and presents it in a way that today’s gamer will recognise and appreciate. From story, to visuals, music, and combat, this game is an incredible accomplishment that you simply must play whether you’re pining for days gone by, or are looking for an experience to wash over you with a wave of refreshment, taking you on a memorable adventure you’ll never forget.
Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection is a brilliant homage to a fantastic slate of games with some great options that really optimise it for modern platforms. The controversy of it following a stripped back version, plus containing content originally designed as an exclusive for a physical collection cast a bit of a dark shadow over this collection and mean it probably won’t make for an attractive purchase for people who already own it. However, what we have here is a great selection of products that have aged well and are treated with great regard and respect.
Immortals of Aveum has some real promise, offering a dynamic, fulfilling combat system that makes you think and keeps you on your toes. There’s a rich world offered here, with some beautiful environments and an enjoyable core loop. However, the story, forgettable characters and erratic performance really harm its prospects and hold it back from its full potential.
Fort Solis is quite an impressive sight to behold, with some wonderfully atmospheric space adventure, an intriguing murder mystery and some great acting and characterisation. But while there’s a solid foundation in place, its limitations hold it back through painfully slow movement, an awful map and wider User Interface, clunky QTEs and disjointed storytelling. By the end you’re left wondering what could of been rather than what actually is.
En Garde! brings character, energy and finesse to your pad within moments of play. It moves well and is balanced wonderfully with combat that matches and even surpasses many great games out there already. Its difficulty will definitely be offputting to some and its size may not be enough for others, but this game knows what it is, leans elegantly into it and gives you a memorable journey from its opening to close.
Smurfs Kart is a perfectly fine kart racer with some nice tracks, beautiful art and lovely interpretations of the world through its environments. It’s just unfortunately limited in its content, variety, and creativity when trying to stand apart or alone from anything else in the genre. And a lack of online multiplayer doesn’t help prolong that.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most polished, enjoyable asymmetrical horror games I’ve ever played at launch. From its crisp visuals to its grisly kills and smart strategic undertones, it finds a clever balance between vulnerable survivors trying to escape and ruthless killers who have all the tools to get the job done. Limited map variety and a few balancing issues aside, with a long term home on Game Pass this has a great future ahead, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the game continues to evolve in the months ahead.
Gord has some surprises under its hood, notably cutscenes, a few mechanics and setting, but none of them stand out enough to hold your interest for very long and the rest weighs the game down pretty considerably, especially with the weak story and overly cluttered, shrunken UI. There’s just much better options out there that you won’t bounce off and ultimately, will feel more satisfied playing.
Sonic Origins Plus really fills out and completes this package, adding much more variety to the catalogue and giving you some clever, different ways to play titles you already know and love. Most of the titles haven’t aged that well with brutal difficulty, hit and miss control inputs and some lag. To be honest, they probably also look, feel and play better on handheld with the majority of the screen taken up by borders, but there’s some real gems in here Sonic Collectors shouldn’t be without.
Blasphemous 2 is a bold, bloody, brilliant sequel that betters everything that came before it. The Game Kitchen have polished, refined, and re-energised this franchise, crafting a fantastically unique and compelling souls-like, metroidvania that may just be one of the best things Team 17 have ever published.
Atlas Fallen toys with some clever ideas and comes close to making a breakthrough on a few of them, but between its dull story, characters, world, and frustrating, unbalanced combat, the game just can’t achieve its true potential. The full campaign co-op seperates it from other titles and can alleviate some of the frustrations but the good elements just take too long to get rolling and aren’t quite interesting enough to help you stick around.
Moving Out 2 is delightful. It’s not a huge reinvention of what’s come before, but at the same time it adds enough to keep it fresh with newly styled levels and mechanics, new ways to work together to get bigger items around faster and full online crossplay. It’s smooth, stable, steady and an absolute blast to play together with friends and friends you’ve yet to meet. It’s my favourite party game this year!
Everspace 2 does have some repetitive content and the story is a tad underwhelming, but the content loop is about as enjoyable as you’ll find anywhere with satisfying combat, thrilling exploration and discovery, and some intriguing puzzles to solve. It looks incredible, sounds wonderful and there are few space exploration games that are as approachable and engaging as this one, with even fewer able to cross genres so successfully.
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is one of the most creative, original and interesting games to come along in a long time. The voice acting is world class, and its cast are clearly having the time of their lives. The comic book artstyle is beautiful, the story is compelling enough to keep you hooked, but unfortunately it is hindered somewhat by its limited gameplay and simplified mechanics. Beyond its save issues on Xbox, however, if you’re looking for a different kind of gaming experience from anything else out there, this one won’t lead you astray.
WrestleQuest might just be this years’ best wrestling game, certainly it’s most unexpected. With a cast of who’s-who legends, some interesting twists and turns and a sense of humour fans will love, Mega Cat have built something quite brilliant. The mechanics are smart, the environments are full of easter eggs, and the game holds itself up surprisingly well despite a slow start.
Kao and the Five Pirates of Mara is a stunning looking, decent platformer with heart, charm and fun to be had. Unfortunately it all feels quite simplistic, stutters and stammers, controls awkwardly, and frankly, other games have just done it all so much better.
Remnant 2 takes the typical Souls-like formula, blends it with many other fantastic games, while also giving you a surprisingly deep, customisable experience that matches a dynamic playstyle with its ever-evolving environments. Throw in some solid co-op, epic battles, and an intriguing story that blends gritty post-apocalyptic warfare with high fantasy and you have something really quite special. PS5 performance issues, cheap boss tactics and slow-burning ability growth aside, Remnant 2 is the game you probably weren’t planning to play this year but one you absolutely must.