GameSpew's Reviews
Whether you’re a fan of strategy games or the Marvel universe, Marvel’s Midnight Suns should be considered a must-have. Even more so if you’re a fan of both. This is an ambitious title that offers dozens of hours of engrossing gameplay, full of battles that will have you on the edge of your seat, and party building that will have you carefully weighing up your options. One of the best superhero games ever made, Marvel’s Midnight Suns will grip you from the outset with its unpredictable story, and its gameplay makes you feel like the one with all the power.
Is Iron Man VR the best VR superhero game out there? No – that honour has to go to Megaton Rainfall. But it’s still up there, and thanks to the Quest 2’s superior tracking, this is a much better experience than it was on PSVR. And so, you’re a Meta Quest 2-owning Marvel fan, you won’t regret stepping into Tony Stark’s iron underpants.
Succubus With Guns is a terrible game with terrible controls and terrible design. We would have given this a 1/10, but on our scale, that denotes a game that is broken to the point of being unplayable. Unfortunately for all involved, you can play Succubus With Guns. But you absolutely, definitely should not.
It’s debateable whether most players will have the patience and persistence to see Do Not Open through until its end. It’s a shame, because the premise here is interesting, and the puzzles themselves are mostly clever and fun to solve. The entity is its downfall, an ill-conceived obstacle that’s relentless and a little bit broken. Rather than make Do Not Open scary, it makes it needlessly frustrating.
It’s clear that Saint Kotar has tried to draw inspiration from the likes of Broken Sword. From the way its exploration works to its dark themes and eerie environments, it really wants to be a point and click game worthy of cult status. That’s highly unlikely to ever happen, though. While interesting at times, its story is too poorly told to ever be truly enjoyable. And the ugly visuals, awful voice acting and budget interface mean most players are not likely to stick around.
If you’re a fan of the series and you can hack constantly pulling the right trigger as you slowly push forward through linear environments, there’s some fun to be found in Gungrave G.O.R.E, for sure. But for most, it’ll prove to be too repetitive. There’s simply not enough variety to be found in this action-packed third-person shooter. Eventually it begins to feel like a test of your endurance rather than your gaming skills.
Team 17 has brought us some absolutely fantastic roguelike games in recent years, such as Rogue Heroes and Neon Abyss. It’s also responsible for publishing some excellent co-op titles, including Overcooked! and Moving Out. With Ship of Fools, both genres are combined, mixed together to make an absolutely excellent seafaring adventure that we’ve struggled to put down. This is one we’re going to be dipping into for many months to come.
With the combat being the heart and soul of Evil West, it’s a relief that it’s so engaging and enjoyable throughout. It’s just a shame that a better balance hasn’t been struck between performance and visuals, as neither mode is particularly ideal. It’s still very much worth digging into Evil West, however: if you can look past the blurry visuals at 1080p, there’s a lot of fun to be had in this old-fashioned action-adventure – and you can even bring a friend along for the ride.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was a brilliant game when it launched in 2020, and it remains so now. Its origins as a standalone expansion means it’s noticeably shorter than Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, but it has a more enjoyable story and improved gameplay. It makes swinging through the streets of New York City, combating crime as you go, an utter delight. And this PC port is pretty much flawless.
Rarely putting a foot wrong in terms of production and storytelling, we’ve loved every moment we’ve spent with The Devil in Me, an absolutely wonderful conclusion to The Dark Pictures Anthology’s first season. Its story is the most captivating and the most well-realised; so much work has gone into crafting characters and locations, and the sheer goriness will delight and horrify in equal measures. Supermassive Games continues to go from strength to strength, and with The Devil in Me, the studio has cemented itself as a master of the horror genre.
If you’re an RWBY fan, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy RWBY: Arrowfell on the whole, despite some frustrations. We’d say it’s even accessible to newcomers, too, though they might be a little less enamoured with it due to not being familiar with the characters and the world they inhabit. It’s not a bad game by any means, but it soon gets repetitive – and oversights, like no minimap being available, introduce unnecessary frustration.
Somerville isn’t always the most enjoyable game to play, then. Its puzzles aren’t anything special, and they’re hampered by clunky controls. But what is special is Somerville‘s narrative and art design. The score, too, is excellent: we just wish there was more of it – too many scenes are simply too quiet. Even if we weren’t enamoured with the ending, Somerville‘s story is worth experiencing. It’s just a shame the gameplay is a little disappointing in comparison.
The goalpost may not have been particularly high, but Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is the best police sim game we’ve played. It’s far from perfect, but if you like the idea of dealing with petty crimes and road traffic accidents, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this. The detail-oriented approach will appeal to those who like to do things by the book, though others may find it laborious. But that’s the case with just about any simulation game, is it not?
Inertial Drift: Twilight Rivals Edition has all the same issues we had with the original release, such as poor options for those who want to race online, but thanks to the addition of another campaign and a selection of cars and tracks, those who loved it before are likely to love it even more. It’s those who have not yet played Inertial Drift that will perhaps get the most out of this new PS5 edition, however. A host of improvements mean it has never looked or played better on console.
Still, while Pentiment doesn’t make the best first impression, and the lack of music robs it of atmosphere and character, it’s well worth digging into if you’re a fan of well-written narrative adventures or games that require you to conduct investigations. You’ll soon come to love – or loathe – its cast of characters, and with plenty of fun puzzles to solve, minigames to engage in and meaningful choices to make, it’s rewarding in ways that other games in the same genre space rarely ever manage.
Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch is a lovely-looking game. Its art style and open world freedom engaged us right from the off, like a horse-centric, combat-free Breath of the Wild. Except it doesn’t take long for its design flaws to rear their ugly head. It’s such a shame that the act of playing isn’t anywhere near as fun as it should be, thanks to poor controls and bad design choices. Still, if you really love horses, some of its flaws may be easier to overlook. The fact is that it’s still better than many other horse games out there.
Like any retro game collection, how much you get out of Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is largely limited by your appreciation of its games. There are a lot here, and it’s safe to say that the majority of them didn’t really hold our interest. There are some classics that remain very playable though, and some were worth returning to just for a hit of nostalgia. The real reason to pick this up, though, is its wealth of museum-like content, as well as its new, reimagined takes on some popular titles. They make this a retro collection like no other.
Bloody Ties isn’t likely to wow you in any way. As DLC goes, it’s very much inessential. But for just £7.99/$9.99, those wanting an excuse to return to Dying Light 2 might at least find it entertaining. The challenges will test your skills, while the cosmetics will allow you to further make Aiden your own. It’s just a shame that it very much feels like an extended side-quest, and that your hard-earned equipment is mostly rendered useless.
If you’ve played West of Loathing, you’ll know what to expect here: a delightfully silly narrative, excellent writing, and gameplay that’s far more engrossing than it has any right to be. But even if you’ve not, you can jump straight in and have a whale of a time. Video games should be about having fun, and Shadows Over Loathing captures that spirit perfectly. Joyful, captivating and surprisingly deep, you’ll love every moment you spend with it.
Yes, it’s very basic, but it does exactly what we expected it to do, in exactly the right fashion. And so in that sense, Save Room is a roaring success. It’s also dirt cheap. You might not have the patience to complete all 40 levels in one go, but if sorting and rotating objects is your jam, this is the game for you.