Expansive's Reviews
Chants of Sennaar is a beautifully refreshing game. While it borrows ideas from some of the best games of the last decade, it molds them into something quite special while also conveying a deeper, underlying message and staying interesting across its entire length. Some glyph placement does end up being trial and error, and the game’s run time is swift with the final chapter feeling very short handed, but this is a wonderful, cleverly crafted experience puzzle enthusiasts will adore and everyone else should give a chance.
Under the Waves is a strong start for Spotlight, Quantic Dream’s new publishing label. It carefully manages several deep, meaningful and important themes, while allowing us to explore a vast ocean to wave at seals, pick up trash and take photos of sharks. Some build instability, repetition and mechanical frustrations aside, this is a very well told story with a wonderful sense of pace, a surprising amount of atmosphere, complete with a series of enjoyable activities that also manage to bring a sense of calm and relaxation.
Dimension Shellshock adds a wealth of replayability to Shredder’s Revenge that just didn’t exist before. The Survival Mode completely defies expectations, is full of fan service, and just fits the game like a glove. Throw in Karai and the absolutely brilliant Usagi, more amazing music, all at a low price and all of a sudden Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge becomes an infinitely better, more well-rounded and essential product. This is DLC done right.
Armored Core VI is not the usual FromSoftware jazz but it’s still not going to take it easy on you. From its deep layers of customisation, its huge amount of missions and the surprising amount of variety within them, and the wonderful free-flowing, fast-paced movement, this game stands apart as a fresh-start for their forgotten franchise and a throwback to their glory days. Fires of Rubicon is a showcase of a developer at the peak of their powers, able to switch up things to great effect and still manage to deliver a high standard of quality.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is a deep, affecting story that is personalised every step of the way. Layered characters, impactful decision making, great writing and powerful aesthetics really make this one stand out for all the right reasons. A must play.
Taito Milestones 2 is an interesting collection that doesn’t have the best of presentations. On the one hand, there’s some true gems in here like The New Zealand Story, Darius 2, and Kiki Kai-Kai, as well as some unknowns like Liquid Kids and Ben Bero Beh, but the collection is ultimately a really mixed bag of quality. Some of these games are super frustrating and utterly bizarre, others are a bit dull, so it’s a real deep dive into the Taito vault. That said, if you’re a die-hard enthusiast, don’t own any of the Arcade Archives, and want to complete a collection, this is probably your best bet.
F1 Manager 2023 can be tough to love and it’s definitely one you’ll need more than a passing interest in the sport to play. However, once you get into its layers, build out your tactics, understand the optics, and familiarise yourself with a broad range of strategies, the experience truly opens up to you and can be incredibly fulfilling. Race Replay also adds a fun side detour that helps break up the intensity of the campaign and remind yourself why you love this sport.
The Making of Karateka is a fantastic ride from start to finish, full of heartwarming moments, incredible gaming history, and never before seen looks at one of the industry’s most important games. Complete with a solid reimagining of the game for a 2023 audience, along with a surprise redo of an early Mechner prototype, this is a great start to the Digital Eclipse Gold Master Collection. We cannot wait to see what they do next.
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.