GameGrin's Reviews
Dying: Reborn is an interesting enough puzzle game that falls short of making any kind of impact at all. A cash-in game for the VR age, skipping this title would be recommended.
In an industry that likes to hold the player’s hand at every opportunity, telling them when and where to press certain buttons and use certain skills, a game not treating you like an idiot is a breath of fresh air. Some may want a little more from Circles, but the game has set out to accomplish a certain style and it does so with aplomb.
A gorgeous, funny and well-thought out concept falls down when it comes to the meat and bones of combat, enemy AI and gameplay flow. Similarly, some may feel cheated that the game contains scant few levels, despite how fleshed-out they may be.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a bugged and flawed game, but it is capable of bringing huge amounts of fun.
If you like Streets of Rage, there’s a good chance you’ll like this. It doesn’t bring anything revolutionary to the table but Qubyte has done a fine job of capturing the essence of the classic beat-em-ups of the ‘90s, and although there’s a little bit of repetitiveness in it, this is a title that’s worth playing.
Criminal Past is a great finale for Mankind Divided, and only makes the desire for more Deus Ex stronger. The ending is pretty open, and with faces new and old it does a great job of giving us something different while being faithful to the franchise.
Fun in short bursts and thoroughly enjoyable when played cooperatively, it's a great time sink for the gamer who likes to play in short bursts or have friends over for party games. Just don't expect to be playing it well into the future.
inXile’s spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment doesn’t quite reach the high notes of that game but it does tell an interesting story and explores themes not really touched on frequently in gaming. If you are after a new RPG with an evocative, if grim, setting then this is for you.
The execution and delivery whilst not matching the predecessor, still maintains the momentum whilst giving the main campaign memorable moments with the snap shots of narrative bringing the best and cutting the worst. Road to Boruto does this and more, easily rivaling Full Burst. A fitting end and purchase for fans of the franchise.
Those who are looking to add some pointy-ears to their game will find a faction with a high skill ceiling and impressive design. At £14 for just one faction, however, you might want to wait until it’s on sale.
If you were the kind of child who has sat knee deep in Lego making spaceships and buildings or were found surrounded by the guts of a clock looking up at bewildered parents. Crazy Machines 3 will engage you for a long time to come, if for no other reason than so you can work out new and interesting ways to shoot pigs on skis into space!
Perhaps the greatest shortcoming is the game’s stubbornness to shove Javi’s family as the player’s raison d’etre, when it’s clear that Clementine is a much more relatable and less frustrating character. The classic Telltale trap of unavoidable events is still there, but by now you should know what you’re getting into. If judged by what it attempts to do, rather than by what some sceptic players want it to be, A New Frontier’s harrowing first episodes smoothen most rough edges found in other games in the series in terms of storytelling. It just about manages to shake off the notion of being a rehashed concept, and become a beast that can stand on its own two feet, built upon the foundations laid by Lee and Clementine. Hopefully the rest of the season manages to sustain this level of quality.
She Remembered Caterpillars is a good puzzle game with the right amount of complexity and difficulty, but it is dragged down by it's undeserved grief and emotionally shallow overtones.
Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker is a quirky, light-hearted game that has transitioned well from mobile to console. I do feel it's better suited to being a mobile game, but this doesn't detract too much from the experience of playing the game on a console. The nice visuals, great humour and quirky gameplay all add up to create a supremely enjoyable game.
Causality bludgeons freedom into a pulp and annihilates any semblance of player choice, denying any puzzle experimentation and making for one extremely unappealing game.
The smooth textured environments do not make up for the game play issues and infuriating dialogue.
Sniper Elite 4 takes everything that worked on previous games and bumps it up a notch, deepening the gameplay and widening the distance while keeping the core of the franchise intact. It's an example of how to evolve a franchise over time.
ManaVoid Entertainment have created a game that combines two genres together surprisingly well, yet there are some areas that leave it wanting. In trying to be be the best of both worlds, the game doesn’t really manage to excel in either.
The Flame in the Flood is a tough, yet very rewarding survival game that is infectious in its design, tempting players to keep going until their flame eventually dies out.
If there is one game you decide to take a chance on this year, please let it be Yakuza 0 - a game that is as fun and intelligent as it is silly and violent.