Stevivor's Reviews
It’s sometimes a little rough around the edges, but there are some amazing selling points when it comes to Evil Dead. It has the look, feel and sound of proceedings down pat, even down to the movement of the evil presence as it stalks Ash and his friends in the cold, dark woods.
Fans of Japanese culture and Kurosawa’s films may be more forgiving of Trek to Yomi than I, but the repetitive nature of its gameplay loop and overall lack of diversity made me pine for the Dark Souls playthrough I’m currently going through. It’s not one I’d enthusiastically recommend to players, but the silver lining here of course is that it’s part of Xbox Game Pass at launch, so many of you will be able to try it for yourself with no skin off your backs.
As per usual with any Nintendo title, this comes complete with a catchy, earworm-producing soundtrack and oodles of clean, wholesome fun. Those looking to rekindle a family gaming session akin to ones enjoyed in the past with Wii Sports will find this a sure winner.
While it’s on the shorter side, the collection of well-designed stages are perfect for pick-up-and-play short burst gaming, and that’s exactly what I need right now.
The variety of each of Wonderlands‘ six classes, combined with a deficit in mission difference, means you’ll have a much better experience with friends.
If you’re looking for an open world with a different flavour to everything else, diving into the fog-filled streets of Ghostwire Tokyo is just the right fit. Stock your quiver, practice your hand gestures and get ready to be the yokai cool guy you were born to be.
I’m not an avid snowboarder by any means, but I’ve found Shredders to be a delight, a quick and rewarding, pick-up-and-play title that I can jump into for some quick runs after bashing my head against Elden Ring for far too long. It’s full of fun, humour and generally a delight to play.
When you’re in it and smashing around the track against expert AI or other players, this is where Gran Turismo 7 excels. All of the weirdness that Polyphony Digital has bolted on to this quality car game fades away into obscurity. But sadly, that’s not all this is. Instead, it’s a jumble of well-made car racing and strange design decisions, coupled with his tonally odd take on what it means to be a car nerd. For now though, Gran Turismo 7 is the best console racing game for the masses, at least until another contender comes along.
Overall, I would say that you should play Stranger of Paradise for its combat and not its story. While there are nuggets available for series fans, this isn’t the pinnacle of storytelling by any means. It’s best to dive into the gore rather than the lore; fight for fun, be like Jack and focus on the Chaos. Certainly don’t expect this to be a brilliant subversion of the original Final Fantasy’s narrative.
Despite these minor glitching and bug issues, WWE 2K22 offers up an enjoyable experience for players to delight in. With improved gameplay and game modes, the recent 2K wrestling title marks a return to form for the franchise.
As much fun as I had with this expansion, I do have to admit that I feel a little let down. If this were explicitly leading into another DLC story I’d be excited, but as things are I feel more like I’ve taken a running start into a brick wall with a very cool door painted on it. I can see this as a fun experience to play as part of an overall Assassin’s Creed Valhalla experience, if you were stepping into the game and all its DLC for the first time – but as something that brought me back to the game seven months after finishing The Siege of Paris, it feels like more of a promising snack than a satisfying main meal.
Witch Queen is thankfully a beacon of hope. Destiny was long mocked for the narrative and mission design it provided, and this new expansion absolutely knocks it out of the park with the best campaign in the Destiny series. If you’re a lapsed veteran I sincerely hope you come back and experience the joy of the campaign. Its challenging difficulty and brilliant — actual — in-game storytelling are worth the price of admission alone.
Overall, Elden Ring is slightly held back by some lacking information in the UI, the uneven nature of the difficulty towards the endgame, and the inconsistent performance on the PC platform. Despite this, it’s an incredible experience and will be one of the best games you’ll play this year.
[Horizon Forbidden West] is a game of contrasts. A game about robot dinosaurs where you spend far too much time fighting robot meerkats and boars instead for some reason. One with brilliant voice acting that you begin to hate because some characters won't shut up. Where the side quests are great, but they're so simple as to feel pointless.
If you’ve been hanging out since the PS2 era to just have some fun with a rugby union game, you might just find it in Rugby 22.
OlliOlli World has something for everyone, be it hardcore skaters, platformer enthusiasts or those simply looking for a chilled out time.
Dying Light 2 faces two big issues at present: technical glitches that can be fixed with a patch, and design choices that will be harder to deal with.
The bundled games are undeniably great, their enhancements solid — but nonetheless, these are old titles pulled off the shelf and given a fresh coat of varnish, and at an additional cost to those who’ve already purchased them at that. Timed for the onset of a whole bunch of new and engrossing titles in February 2022, take a second and reflect before you drop cash on this one. There’s plenty to play right now.
Extraction is an above average experience. The gunplay is top notch – expected when it’s pulled directly from Siege – and overall is fun, if a bit shallow. While I can’t speak to its long term lifespan, it’s easy to recommend jumping in and giving it a whirl.
It's strange to see games that become worse after launch, but this is undeniably true for Halo Infinite. Because I trusted that couch co-op, a staple of the Halo experience, would be added in a post-launch patch, I gave the title the benefit of the doubt. I also expected multiplayer seasons to be plentiful, regular and full of engaging cosmetics, maps and modes. None of these things has happened.