PowerUp!'s Reviews
With Atomfall, Rebellion has delivered an exciting survival game with brilliant story hooks and a world you never want to stop exploring.
Overall, the faithfulness to Kubo’s art style is a big drawcard for existing BLEACH fans, and for arena battle fans, it captures the best elements of the game style.
Age of Mythology: Retold isn’t a flawless masterpiece—no game ever is—but it’s a certainly thoughtful, well-executed revival that honours its roots while answering the prayers of discerning modern gamers.
Assassin's Creed Shadows is not a bad game, but it is a flawed one. It's also a beautiful one, an interesting one, a frustrating one, a janky one, a thrilling one and sometimes even a great one. It's a game undone by its own desire to be multiple things all at once.
Split Fiction was like stepping into a delightful video game / pop culture time capsule. It feels like almost every major game – or hilarious industry meme – that ever mattered is here for you to Leo DiCaprio point at excitedly.
Avowed is a genuine triumph and one of the first major releases from Xbox game dev buying spree that will pay dividends. It's a deep, complex and though-provoking RPG from masters of the genre. It revels in being played and tugs at the back of your lizard brain beckoning you back when you take a break.
Stellar Blade is a provocative sword guard thumb-pop that ought to make every fan of the genre snap to attention.
Providing Team Ninja iron out some of the creases in a post-launch patch, this could still be seen as a retainer—possibly a worthy companion piece to anybody hooked on the Shogun miniseries.
I cherished almost every hour I spent with this sequel, and I’m already Buster Sword hilt deep in a second run on Hard. Rest assured, the phoenix rise of this remake is still soaring on an upward trajectory.
When it comes down to that final eulogy, I have way more fond memories of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden than I do regrets.
Tekken 8 is a hugely entertaining powerhouse of a sequel that’s been well worth the wait. What else is there left to say other than get [your wallet] ready for the next battle?
At the very least, acquire The Last of Us Part II Remastered for its unmissable base combat, then become hopelessly infected by its new fun[gal] layer of arcade challenge addiction.
Whichever way you look at it, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is another fine entry in the modern-era Metroidvania renaissance. It absolutely deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as games like Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and Metroid Dread.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is quite a bit better than I thought it was going to be, on the whole. Despite some half-baked mechanics and ideas, I still had a blast shredding outposts in this overwhelming, sumptuous sandbox.
Teyon set out to make a damn authentic and utterly enjoyable RoboCop game to a reasonable scale and budget and it absolutely delivered. I can’t honestly say that it’s one of the best games of the year, but it might truly be the one that I’ve had the most fun with from beginning to end.
As a non-racer, I have been incredibly impressed by what's on offer. While I still prefer the open-world shenanigans and quirky Burnout-inspired Horizon series, I can see what's so appealing about these types of games thanks to this latest entry.
Overall, Assassin's Creed: Mirage is a decent game in the series, but a largely forgettable one. After the dizzying heights of Odyssey and Valhalla, Mirage takes too much of a step back and relies too much on gameplay the series has long moved on from.
I think the best thing I can say about Fate/Samurai Remnant is that, against all odds, I’m really quite fond of it. The characters and world it presents have drawn me in, and the breezy manner in which it plays and lets its story move keeps me engaged.
Under the right circumstances and with the right people (and possibly the right alcohol) Samba de Amigo: Party Central is a smash.
Starfield is a less interesting Fallout in space with some serious design issues. It’s still very playable and easy enough to pick up and play for short bursts but it certainly doesn’t have the staying power of Skyrim or Fallout 3. It simultaneously tried to do too much and does too little.