Expansive's Reviews
Ravenlok is a game full of surprises and felt incredibly satisfying to play, tapping into a genre I actually need a whole lot more of. Its lack of real combat strategy, button mashing and frustrating camera, as well as the speed you can blaze through with no returning hook do, unfortunately, limit the game’s potential. But what’s here with story, characters, setting, and style will, ultimately, make sure you have an enjoyable time while you’re playing.
A tricky followup that doesn’t massively stand out in this collection, even though it has tons of historical significance and experiments with mechanics in some unexpected ways.
Teslagrad 2 is a short, mostly well engineered puzzler that never really emerges from its predecessor’s shadow. It looks great, mostly handles decently with some platforming frustrations and interesting sections that mix things up just enough, but that also has a lot to do with a rapid run time.
Wildfrost takes two of the most popular genres in gaming and mashes them into something quite different and mostly enjoyable. There’s a tough difficulty curve here, plus accessibility doesn’t appear to have been the game’s highest priority and there’s a few control issues on Switch, but what you have is a fast-paced, progress-centered battler that you’ll come to appreciate, maybe even love, the more time you spend with it.
Burning Shores is one of the best DLCs I’ve ever played and is up there with Left Behind in a way it develops its character, progresses its story in a smart way but equally raises the bar for everything to follow. A fitting send off for Forbidden West and a tantalising taster for the future of the Horizon franchise.
Dead Island 2 brings blood, brutality and bloody good fun. It is a thrill-ride from the opening credits with its use of hard-hitting weapons, good characterisation and stunning backdrops. A limited plot and constraining development options aside, this is the Dead Island you remember and one we’ll likely never forget again.
Entertainment in education, Final Fantasy still holds up well, despite its dated mechanics, and benefits magnificently from the upgrades Pixel Remaster offers.
Minecraft Legends is a welcome introduction to the world of real-time strategy but equally adds its own distinct spin on things with its iconic style of building and creating. While the game’s campaign is dynamic, robust and generous, and there is a long-term setup for regular content additions, this is a game that lives, breathes, and thrives on multiplayer. Thankfully, with its inclusion in GamePass, brand recognition and synchronization across all formats, community is something it will never have to worry about and will encourage for years to come.
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is an enjoyable re-imagining of one of Frogwares best takes on the great detective. Stunningly recreated with Unreal Engine, this story has new puzzles, a wealth of side missions, quirky mechanics, and an intriguing plot that keeps itself interesting throughout. A remarkable accomplishment considering the horrendous circumstances the studio has had to overcome.
Resident Evil 4 is more brutal, intimidating, unsettling and intriguing than ever. By far, the best of the Resident Evil remakes in a way that it honors the foundations of the source material, logically expands upon them in interesting ways, and manages to make everything look, feel and play better. Regardless of where Capcom go from here, this is peak Resident Evil – it just does not get much better than this.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is one of the most unexpected, unusual releases of all time. It completely goes at odds against the original source material, it has no obvious audience base as a result, but it remains an enjoyable, creative, bold take on a character we felt we knew inside and out. A stagnating second half and a steep price tag let this one down from an outright recommendation, but there’s still enough in here that deserves your attention, embossed with a trademark signature style and quality that could only come from the Umbran Witch herself.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is further proof that no one treats their back catalogue with the same love and care as Nintendo. It’s the same classic platformer you fell in love with on Wii, but with better graphics, a smoother feel, and an absolute ton of new content and mechanics to make this near thirteen year old game feel fresher than a daisy. The pink puff cloud at its absolute best.
Octopath Traveler 2 is wonderful, from the choices it gives you right at the start, to the stories it tells, the ways they’re presented, and the mechanics that drive them. This is Square Enix at their RPG making best, the types of games they were renowned for years past and are at the very core of their DNA. One of the most enjoyable, refreshing retro-modernistic adventures I have ever had the pleasure of playing and one RPG fans simply must add to their collection.
Lightfall is a step down in quality from the excellent Witch Queen, even though it is still a very entertaining expansion. The Strand system is one of the most interesting gameplay mechanics Bungie have added to the game with incredibly satisfying grappling and explosive power moves, but they overcomplicate things just slightly in later missions and lather it with a wafer-thin story that’s definitely holding back its big moments for the next year.
To put it simply, if you’ve ever been waiting or wanting to find a reason to play Dead Cells, there has definitely never been a better time. And the absolute best outcome from this content? Konami agree to let Motion Twin make a full new Castlevania game. Because this is definitely something we need in the world, like, yesterday. Even if that never comes to pass, we’ll always have this DLC to remind us how good it could have been and just how at the top of their game these developers truly are.
Wild Hearts is a franchise with potential and offers a refreshing take on a well-formed genre set in fuedal Japan. Between the more enjoyable combat and the Karakuri, Wild Hearts manages to stand apart from its competitors, but is sadly held back by poor performance and an offputting difficulty curve. Hopefully one that continues to evolve in the months ahead.
Scars Above doesn’t rewrite the rule book, nor does it break any new ground, but it plays mostly well and remains enjoyable through to its end through combat variety, environments, movement and storytelling. Ropey graphics, bugs, light-feeling weapons, as well as frustrating sections, environments and some unfulfilled mechanics mean this also lacks the polish and quality to match up to other diamonds in the genre.
Dead Space is a world class remake that thrives on next-gen and remains absolutely horrifyingly brilliant. The gameplay hasn’t aged a day, it looks, feels, and plays better than ever, and the new content make this a must-buy, whether you’re new to Dead Space or you’re back for another trip to the Ishimura. I always thought Isaac Clarke deserved better and thankfully Motive’s efforts have given him a well-deserved lifeline and hope for a very promising future indeed.
Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake is the perfect example of a license being treated with the care, love and respect that it warrants. It’s a more than worthy successor to the brilliant Spongebob games of old and will appeal to fans of the series, old and new. While it won’t break new ground in the platforming space and it is disappointing we don’t have native current-gen support, I can’t imagine a spiritual successor to the likes of Battle of Bikini Bottom being made any better than what we have here.
Atomic Heart wants to be many things but ultimately ends up being none of them, apart from being woefully apathetic about itself. Undoubtedly, years of delays, rescoping and restructuring have left us with a conflicted piece of work that most of the time bores, unsettles and is unable to stay tonally consistent for very long. One of the most frustrating, confusing games I’ve played in a long time.