Expansive's Reviews
Revenge of the Savage Planet is a beautiful looking, entertaining blast of a sequel that iterates and improves upon many elements of its predecessor, offers a satisfying core loop with full multiplayer and a great variety and spread of abilities that keeps the experience fresh and interesting throughout. There’s a few surprise omissions – like First Person – and this is very similar to the first game, so is very much more of the same – which may or may not be to your liking – but it’s a very enjoyable romp from start to finish that raises plenty a smile.
The Precinct is a really cleverly designed take and spin on sandboxes that have traditionally favoured being the bad guy. Reading people their rights, rescuing hostages and giving out speed and parking tickets is surprisingly theraupeutic, and while combat is a bit off, general movement feels a bit wonky and fatigue does eventually set in over time, the approach and variety, setting, aesthetic, all coupled with smooth driving and satisfying storytelling makes for a game that deserves more than a second glance. I had a blast!
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is not as involved, expansive and creative as some more recent fighters on the market but what it offers is solid, weighted, and as such makes for a mostly successful return to form for a long dormant franchise. For the content, the price is a bit of a sore spot, but the solid netcode, beautiful aesthetic, and good base of fighters mean what you do play will be enjoyable and memorable, with the promise of more support over the long term.
Old Skies both feels like a true throwback to classic point and click adventures from the 90s but also benefits from creative new ideas and a stunning visual style that helps it stay relevant and eye-catching in 2025. A fantastic bunch of stories, great characters and wonderful voice acting make this one a game to remember and a must for point and click adventurers, old and new.
Glover is still a cute little game that really brings back that vintage N64 Platformer vibe with vibrancy and charming music and, at times, really showcases some clever level design and puzzle elements. But it has technical issues and a control scheme that just does not gel well with modern platforms. Couple with frustrating camera angles and some really tedious sections, this one soon becomes very tough to handle.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is one of the most ambitious titles Nintendo have ever made with its huge online options, scales and systems, and it’s better than ever on Switch. The Definitive features enhance and modernise the game perfectly, making it feel as refreshing to play as ever. A great entry point to this franchise which may have seemed offputting to many in the past, X is still weighed down a bit by the volume of information, systems and ultimately content it puts in front of players, and maybe a bit too generous for its own good. But this is a fantastic, exciting departure from Nintendo norms and remains one of the finest RPGs on the market, now better than ever before and able to fulfil its true potential!
South of Midnight is a beautifully crafted, delicately designed, story filled with heart, soul and positive energy. The world is stunning, the characters and the story they drive are memorable, and there’s a lovely mix of puzzles to keep you invested. While combat is the weaker point of the game, the boss battles coupled with the player progression do help bring this back up to a level of a game that deserves your time and attention.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is the finest addition to the series in years. It adds just the right balance of content, pacing and progression to keep you invested, gives you just enough but not too much so you don’t feel overwhelmed, adds a total overhaul of combat that offers both a satisfying challenge but makes the game stand apart from its brethren and offers perhaps the most captivating environments the series has ever had. Despite some uncertainty around certain mission objectives, a quite brutal difficulty curve and some repetition in content, there is no finer current open world offering on the market right now. Especially if you’re pining for a visit to Japan and need more cherry blossoms in your life!
Atomfall’s lead system makes for a surprising detective mystery in a post-apocalyptic British world and offers an interesting way of storytelling through investigations, allowing players to investigate rather than being told where to go and exactly what to do. It does suffer from some imbalanced combat and stealth, and the world traversal is not always entirely satisfying, but the game’s writing, aesthetic, music and survival mechanics keep this feeling distinct and interesting enough to make it well worth a play!
Split Fiction may just be the finest co-operative video game ever made. It’s local co-op is seamless and rarely struggles through slowdown. It’s online service is generous, supporting friends to play together with just one copy between them, and its challenges, puzzles, action and creativity is thriving and in abundance. While there’s no scope for a singleplayer to tag up with the computer or to jump in a lobby with a random, Split Fiction gives you all the tools you need to play and proves to be the most worthwhile enjoyable ride so far in 2025. This is one we’ll be talking about for years to come for the powerful messages it sends and truly is the standard bearer of what a co-operative adventure with friends and family should look like.
Two Point Museum is without question the best Two Point game to date, but is also one of the finest strategy games in recent memory. With approachable design that plays effortlessly on controller, mouse or keyboard, easy to learn mechanics with a suitable amount of depth and gameplay with many intriguing layers to delve into, minutes will become hours and you’ll find the game charms your soul and feel a smile creeping onto your lips again and again. Just a wonderfully designed video game from top to bottom and one I cannot recommend heartily enough.
Monster Hunter Wilds is the definitive Open-World Monster Hunter experience. Where Rise feels a more traditional game that fans of the classics will appreciate more, Wilds truly opens the door to everybody and continues to build on the success of World. From the grand, epic battles that leave a lasting impression, to a surprising story that compels, an enjoyable abundance of quests and items to find and combat variety unlike anything else out there. Monster Hunter Wilds is just starting life as the game you’ll keep coming back to in 2025 and once more establishes Capcom as the most consistent, reliable, and high-quality AAA publisher in the world today.
WARRIORS: Abyss is a really enjoyable rouge-like that offers smart, clever twists on the formula, keeping it fun, fresh and entertaining throughout. Its hack and slash, hectic gameplay filled with a deep roster and entertaining combinations and powerup possibilities, offer tons of replay, but it does suffer from some chuggy performance, a difficulty curve that takes a steep drop off, and a feeling of repetition after a while. Still, it comes recomended if you’re looking for something a little bit spicy on the side of your adventures through hell.
Civilization VII is undoubtedly the most divisive instalment in the series to date. Removing the classic formula of play for the new Age system is a bold stroke that, for the most part, does pay off for the series. It rebalances the gameplay to make it more approachable for a wider audience pool – feeling surprisingly comfortable on controller – gives players more chance of winning conditions in a gameplay style that feels appropriate for them, and the objective based system really diversifies each playthrough to make it unique. However, some UI issues, lack of a classic mode offered and a shortened end date than expected mean this one isn’t going to be what everyone wants, even if it’s mostly, the Civ you know and love.
Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is easily the best way to play all three of these games. They’ve never looked better, never played better, and in the case of Angel of Darkness, are manageable now and even have cut content. But all these games are brutal, tough challenges that will punish and frustrate. They’re not always fun, they’re definitely pretty rough, and don’t quite have the same standard of quality as the early trilogy. Still, Aspyr have done an incredible job with the games – better than the last time out – the price of history is well worth it, and they’ve somehow made this forgotten trilogy at least slightly more enjoyable than they were before. One cannot fault the efforts of remastering at all, even if you are at odds with the content.
Luck be a Landlord is an enjoyable roguelite to play in waves and blasts but it’s not necessarily the best use of a PS5. More a natural fit for handheld devices, LBAL has a core loop you’ll find yourself keeping coming back to, even when the odds keep stacking against you and the RNG is never in your favor. With ways to customise the experience and a variety of symbols at your disposal, the game has bountiful possibilities, but you’ll feel like it’s stretched to its limits after a while and it no longer enchants so much as it feeds a short term fix.
Lost Records: Bloom sets the scene for a very intriguing finale with good character and story build-up but it does take time to get there and the episode ends just as the story is taking a turn. In that build up is some brilliant characterisation across two periods in history, world-class acting that makes these characters feel truly three-dimensional, compelling writing that keeps you hooked and a truly stunning depiction of Michigan that glows and glistens with beautiful, natural scenery. Swan’s recording adds an interesting approach for players to tell their own interpretations of the memories and this is a pleasant trip that often feels soothing and wholesome, but you feel Rage has quite a bit of work to do to stick the landing.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a true sequel in almost every regard. Bigger, bolder, more expansive, better story and characterisation with a world brimming with stunning visuals and detail. But it maintains many of the original systems and mechanics that proved divisive last time and in case of combat, saving, and lockpicking, doubles down on them to the point where they become even more frustrating. What Warhorse have accomplished here is astounding and in many ways have raised the bar for Open World RPGs across the entire industry, yet you can’t help feel the game’s often times obtuse, unintuative systems and tutorials hold it back from its full potential.
Avowed is a wonderful RPG that feels like Skyrim’s true successor, at least until TES VI arrives, despite the scale and scope making it feel a tad barren in the genre’s current landscape. Combat is the game’s truly shining star with its variety and wealth of options and the writing is as compelling and engaging as you would hope and expect from this world and developer. Between that and the healthy amount of content you can find and the beautiful environments to explore, you’ll find yourself going deep under Avowed’s spell. We absolutely need more from this world and franchise as Obsidian continue to be one of the crown jewels in Xbox’s developer crown.
Sniper Elite: Resistance is as enjoyable as any other Sniper Elite game out there and offers the best of all options, especially if you’re new to the series. For those returning from Sniper Elite 5, you may find this a tad disappointing as the game feels very similar and, beyond the campaign, doesn’t offer a whole lot that’s new. That said, between the multiplayer options, the medal upgrades and amount of collectibles per mission, as well as forthcoming DLC you’re going to have a great time here and for a healthy, sustained period of time while you wait for SE6.