Expansive's Reviews
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a welcome return for Hyabusa and the perfect introduction to the hard-hitting, fast-paced action series with its accessible hero mode options, gameplay tweaks, and stunningly brutal visuals. It opens the door to new fans where the Master Collection previously didn’t, but it is also confused in its identity as neither a true remake or definitive edition, especially since it’s missing a bunch of content. However, for players looking for a new challenge that’s not a Souls-like and series veterans who’ve been desperate for a shuriken sized crumbs in years, Black is the perfect appetitser ahead of the highly anticipated Ninja Gaiden 4.
Citizen Sleeper 2 is a very special game indeed, a rare indie sequel and an even rarer one that betters its predecessor in almost every single way. From its writing, to its characters, exploration, contracts and surprisingly deep systems, it is a total package. I could not put my pad down, even if I wanted to, and adored the challenge right from the word go. While it definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, you simply must see and experience to truly believe how damn good it is and why it’s the first must-play game of 2025.
Eternal Strands is an enjoyable RPG with some fantastic ideas and bold ambition. Filled with compelling story, spirited voice acting and really fun combat system, you’ll find yourself swept up in its charms sooner than you expect. Despite some bugs, performance issues and tedious quests and traversal, this is an exciting starting point for a young studio and leaves potential for a franchise that has plenty of room to grow.
Star Wars Episode 1 Jedi Power Battles is still incredibly dated despite its updates and upgrades, to the point where it feels like only those who grew up with the game will have much fun here. While there absolutely is a gap in the market for a side-scrolling lightsaber-em-up in 2025 and this can be enjoyable in short blasts, its awkward camera, control, brutal combat and repetitive levels can be hard to get through. That said, Aspyr deserve full credit for making the game more approachable for new players with easier difficulties and a wider character roster.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is, unsurprisingly, the definitive way to play this platforming gem. Its difficulty is going to be off-putting for some and there are questions around how much this adds from previous iterations of the game. But despite some slight frame rate dips and it not quite being to the same quality standards of Tropical Freeze, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a fantastic platformer that you should absolutely add to your Switch library, especially if you’ve never played it before.
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle has shot up to the top of my favourite games in 2024 and is by far, the best Indy since Fate of Atlantis! It understands and respects its source material so wonderfully and in so doing creates a compelling, enjoyable, epic adventure that does an amazing job of blending action and adventure together so seamlessly. From the excellent performance of Nolan North, to its stunning graphics, intriguing plot and hard-hitting combat, The Great Circle is everything you could want from a great game, whether you’re a fan of the films or not.
Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is an excellent example of how you preserve and reintroduce a dormant, classic franchise to its adoring fanbase and aspiring newcomers. While some of the mechanics and controls feel very dated, the narrative, world-building, voice acting, puzzle and level design, along with the beautifully updated visuals still stand out and have aged just wonderfully. On top of that, a treasure trove of wonders offered in the bonus selection make this a must-buy for fans, including never before snippets of playable levels, concept art, renders and deep dives into the lore and wider universe. A piece of gaming history we’re incredibly glad isn’t being lost to time and hopefully an exciting new chapter for a franchise we love so dearly.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been a very long time coming and while it’s arguable whether it fulfils fan expectation in a way that will make everyone happy, what Bioware and EA offer is a solid RPG that is a huge return to form for a studio that have fallen from grace in recent years. From its well-developed mechanics, deep lore, established, varied characters with interesting back and side stories, and a direct continuation of a saga we’ve waited on answers for, The Veilguard feels like a breath of new life for Dragon Age, whether you’ve been here since day one or you’re desperate to see what the hype is all about.
Rise of the Golden Idol is a smart sequel that doesn’t massively reinvent what the brilliant Case of the Golden Idol did but adds some smart new additions, updates the visual style and UI, and makes its storytelling more cohesive with a well paced difficulty curve. While the UI can get a bit cluttered and disruptive with questionable controller navigation and the game can get bogged down in semantics and its mechanics, it’s one of the most enjoyable, entertaining narrative experiences I’ve had in some time and a series you absolutely must make the time to check out!
Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars Reforged is one of the best examples of a remaster done right. It is faithful with stunning visuals and content that’s aged like fine wine, but also updated wonderfully for 2024 and the next twenty years to come. With some further additions to the UI to make it more friendly and appropriate on consoles, this would have made our PS5 experience better. But perhaps this is one you should be playing as intended anyway, mouse in hand, on PC.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a very successful debut outing for the titular princess. The game does still suffer the frame rate issues of Link’s Awakening and at times, felt as if the story became too centered around Link so that it became less about the character we play, but the ideas, mechanics, feel, look and style of the game are an absolute treat. Alongside Another Code, it’s my favourite Nintendo release of 2024 so far and gives an exciting glimpse into what Nintendo may be cooking for 2025 and beyond.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has been worth the very long wait and is an incredible worthwhile sequel that betters the original in just about every conceivable way. From the visuals, to the story, gameplay and additional modes on top, it not only continues a story that was set out a decade ago, but it carves a way for a much brighter, more elaborate future for the franchise. Full of epic moments, it’s a game you and your friends will love fully and completely.
Star Wars Outlaws is one of the most bold Star Wars games I’ve seen in years. It’s not perfect, and definitely punishes the player who doesn’t take the time to learn its systems. It also buries a lot of the open world content deeper into the game, meaning you really have to invest time to get the most out of it. And with the strong focus on stealth and combat, there’s a degree of patience required. But once you really get into a rhythm and get into the mindset of the game, there’s a lot of fun, enjoyment and excitement to be had here that offers something really different to the Jedi-led games we’ve been playing over the years. Especially when trying to balance the factions and their requirements.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a mostly successful Hades-like that’s a blast to play and really gels well together across all of its key components. It’s a little easier-going, the loading screens are a bit of a slog and the overall balance and storytelling isn’t as compelling or as tight, but Turtles is a fantastic IP to mesh with the genre, and this is about as close (and as enjoyable) as Hades as I’ve seen any other game in recent memory. Totally bodacious!
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is a wonderful celebration of an amazing gaming era. The weekly World Championships are fun to enter, there’s lots of pin options and medals to unlock and there’s a decent playerbase already to test your skills against. One wonders if Nintendo are looking to make this into a larger franchise as I’d love to try a SNES and even N64 Edition because while this was a blast for me, NES games definitely aren’t for everyone in 2024.
Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition is a mostly brilliant celebration of a cult hit. The visuals really help the world continue to stand out in 2024, the new additions add more to the world, including a new quest that hopefully links to the future of the series and an all new speedrun mode is the perfect way for veterans to test themselves all over again. The implementation of Ubisoft Connect does present some issues and some mechanics feel a bit dated in 2024, but for the price and quality, we cannot recomend playing this classic game enough.
Tekken 8 is one of the most satisfying fighters I’ve ever had the privilege of playing. It opens new doors for players who’ve previously been intimidated by the genre or have never been able to play them before, it has a fantastic fight feel to the combat where everyone has a fighting chance, there’s a huge variety of modes that have lastability and continue to be enjoyable and without doubt, it’s one of the most visually impressive games on the market today. Whether you’re new to Tekken, fighters in general or you’ve been with this series since the start, this is 2024’s first must-have title, one you can’t afford to miss
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is an absolute delight, chock-full of optional extras that fans will revel in, and a narrative journey that takes fun and fascinating twists and turns. Delivered with an unmatched tone and energy, an impressive, evolving art style that enables players to see how the franchise evolves in real time, and some smart mechanics that have been well adapted from handheld systems, this collection is a must for first timers, new fans or old school fans with its variety and consistent quality.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is exactly how a licensed game should be made, really respecting the culture, identity, and style of the world James Cameron has built, finding ways to really gameify the experience and make it enjoyable, all while adding something to the universe that even connects to its future. Navigation is quite cumbersome in general, and you’ll start feeling like some missions are a bit too filler’y as you progress, but this is a must for fans of the series. In fact, it’s one of Ubisoft’s better open world offerings in recent years.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 just can’t quite seem to get its balance right. On the surface, it really celebrates Nick culture, giving life, style and substance to each of its fighters, helping them stand out and feel like a true version of themselves through their abilities and supers. There’s intriguing ideas in here, including a rogue-like story mode and some stunning stages that really bring the universe to life, but the difficulty curve is unnecessarily hard, the campaign wears out its welcome quite quickly, and the game is full of performance problems and stop/start UI that pulls you out of the experience way too easily.