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It’s not something I would recommend to anyone just looking for a new shooter, nor would I try and pitch it to the masochistic Soulsborne crowd. It’s more of a middle ground game: it’s a new shooter with a very real challenge, also please buy it so I have someone else to play with.
Holfraine is a bare bones Hero shooter that’s launching with as little content as possible. With one game mode, one map to play on and six heroes, it just about justifies its £3.99 asking price. It’s obvious what the aim of Fluxart Studios was to emulate the best in the Hero shooter genre on a budget and you can see why it was recognised as the “Best Online Multiplayer Game” in the PlayStation Talents Awards 2017 competition. It has potential. At launch though, it’s not fulfilling it.
7th Sector is a headscratcher that’s designed for those that love to be stumped and don’t mind a little trial and error. It’s set in a game world that has a rich narrative and depth despite not really having either of these in a literal sense. There’s far to many sectors of 7th Sector which are simple too complex for their own good or actually work to the detriment of the overall product (I’m looking at you Combat section) though. When this game is good, it’s really good, but it’s just too infrequent. If you enjoyed Limbo or Inside and you’re itching for something similar, give this a go.
Two Point Hospital is a glorious port that should keep any fan of the management genre happy as Larry, and Theme Hospital fans should jump on this immediately. Damn near everything you loved about the game is here on display, along with modern objective-based missions and star ratings that keep you wanting to improve your hospitals over and over.
OFDP2 is the same mechanic, over and over. It is ridiculously fun, something you can show off as a party game or to a mate as a silly game. But it’s whether you want to put the hours in to grind for that completion rate and five stars on each level.
Megaquarium is a tycoon/management game for those that like to take things slowly. There’s no running around or avoiding disasters. The most you’ll have to deal with is is some malfunctioning equipment and that’s more of an inconvenience than a stressor. Instead, this is a chill game about a chill topic that lets you get as creative as you can within its constraints and has done some admirably in its journey from PC to PS4. It won’t be for everyone – if you prefer your tycoon games with an element of danger then this one isn’t for you – but if you’re looking to kick back, look at some fish and make sure everything is ticking over while some cool tunes play in the background, this is one to put on your radar.
The Kraken is a short but entertaining mission that breaks up the semi-seriousness of the main game.
There are some amazing examples of the genre out there, Ikaruga, Sine Mora and going further back, the wonderful Axelay on Super Nintendo. These are what I’d call the Prince William and Kate of the shooter world. Loved and held in high esteem. Sisters Royale I’m afraid is the Prince Andrew, dull and too busy hiding in Pizza Hut to be of any use to anyone.
Even for someone who’s a casual observer of Supercross, Monster Energy Supercross 3 is quite a joy ride. It’s feature full, fun to play and deeply gratifying when things come together. There’s a steep learning curve, somewhat hampered by a tutorial that expects you to know the ins and outs of a Supercross track from the get go but once you’ve got the hang of it, you can get a lot out of it.
Not Tonight begins as it means to go on. You’re quickly introduced to your protagonist, a British national with European lineage. They’re stuck in the Britain that no longer sees them as worthy inhabitants of their proud nation, keeping them around only to work the menial jobs and live in the crappiest of accomodation built specifically for those ‘Euros’. Your job as a character who is most assuredly British but just ‘doesn’t look like it’ is that of a bouncer, going from pub to pub working for landlords who are either going to be decent to their ‘Euro’ or not.
If you’re a fan of Minecraft, Ark, Rust or any of those open world sandbox-with-crafting games than this’ll be up your wizard’s sleeve. If you need direction or some sort of narrative to drive you, you won’t find it here.
Still, away from the painting what Eastshade presents is a story of unexpected depth, allowing you to get lost in its gorgeous world and cast of delightful characters. Its calming nature lures you in, the world makes you want to stay lost in its peaceful serenity.
Everything is here and had the potential to be proper Terminator cannon being a ‘prequel’ to both films. Instead, we’re left with a game that if it was a colour would be grey. Just there, nothing special, nothing stand out, just part of the colour spectrum, and easily forgotten over brighter colours. (How’s that for an analogy?) however it has its moments and if you can find it for a few quid then it’s probably worth picking up otherwise it’s the perfect game for Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Now.
There’s no shortage of top down, pixel art, fantasy roguelike’s out there vying for your attention and many of them are enjoyable. It’s a genre I’ve spent far too much time with over the past few years so the thought of playing another was daunting when I first got my hands on Children of Morta. The thought of re-treading the same ground for hours, something of a staple for this genre, had put me off. I couldn’t have been more wrong about this game though. It’s visuals, narrative originality, the vast array of content and the sheer amount of polish that’s on display here has shown me that Dead Mage and 11 Bit Studios have created the roguelike to end all roguelikes, combining the best of the genre in a package which feels familiar yet refreshingly fast moving.
If you enjoyed the challenge that Cuphead, Sundered and all the others bring, then Valfaris is your next port of call. If you aren’t a fan of hard as nails throwbacks to older games, you may not like this. Or if you sit somewhere in between, you cannot go wrong with the heaviest, metal-est platform action game going.
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 isn’t a groundbreaking revolution one may have hoped for or one may have expected for the Switch edition but there’s more than enough here that it does well rather than retreading the same formula. The series has moved into a new direction with the addition of a delightful Story Mode and the ‘Tokyo 1964’ mode is an inspired addition, which will warm the heart of any stone cold adult just looking to relive his youth once again.
It’s going to be hard to recommend it when I’ve knocked it as being repetitive several times (which is ironic, when you think about it). But then, that’s what usually creates a cult classic: it may not come out to critical acclaim and rapturous praise, but if the little seed of charm is in there somewhere, it just needs time to grow. It’ll be tough, and not everything it grows will be to everyone’s taste, but there’s something in there that you want to survive.
You can tell that Bungie are trying their best to refine the base foundations of Destiny and that must be applauded considering how well the game has played for the past 5 years. If you are well buried in the franchise then you’ll no doubt lap this up, if you’re new to the series or looking for something that will finally shake up the stale gameplay, you’ll be left wanting. Shadowkeep is a small stone in a big pond, I’m still waiting for that boulder to make a real splash.
If you enjoy playing the same kind of JRPG over and over, with tweaks on the battle or level systems, then you’ll be right at home with this one. It may have a generic story, with many elements of similar games already, but it’s not the worst RPG I’ve ever played.
These console versions – at least the PS4 Pro Enhanced version I’ve been reviewing – have been heavily struggling under its mighty weight, and perhaps needed a little more optimisation before it launched out in the world of the sofa dwelling controller types.