PowerUp!'s Reviews
OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is an immaculately crafted adventure with endearing characters and engaging drama that resonated with me a lot more than I expected it would.
I could barely put my controller down during my 57 hours with Final Fantasy XVI. It represents a huge milestone for this franchise, thanks to its bold shift to more adult story-telling (and language), addictive real-time combat, and gargantuan VFX spectacles that are best in class. Marry all that with what the series is already known for — epic orchestral OSTs and phenomenal world-building — and Final Fantasy XVI is nothing short of a must-own.
Despite its rough edges, Aliens: Dark Descent has my thumbs up as the sleeper hit of 2023. It’s an addictive, unabashed love letter to one of the greatest action films of all time.
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is worth a play if you’re a fan of the previous Harvest Moon or Story of Seasons titles, a fan of wholesome life sims, or just need a moment to relax.
Diablo IV is absolutely essential gaming.
At launch, Street Fighter 6 is set to take the fighting game genre to another level
System Shock is less of a modern means through which to experience the best of the original but a separate beast, one far clumsier but in much nicer lipstick.
The Lord of The Rings - Gollum is every bit as twisted, nasty, broken and miserable as its protagonist. It is without doubt the most objectively poor and outright broken game that I have ever pushed through to completion. A patch has been promised for launch that may well alleviate some of the technical woes that plague the game, but no amount of fixes can pave over its utterly mediocre overall design. Spend your money on a second breakfast instead.
It’s not just one of the best Warhammer video games ever, it’s also one of the best shooters I’ve played in years.
Showgunners consistently delivers thrills, strategy, violence and a pitch-black satire of capitalism, social media and fame.
Redfall is not the second coming of first-party AAA games on Xbox and it was never going to be. It's an average co-op shooter with half-baked ideas that never fully come together. It's fun for a few minutes but it wears thin very quickly. Give it a try on Game Pass but don't expect too much.
Jedi: Survivor, in spite of everything I've written here, isn't a bad game. It's just ok and it's suffering an identity crisis but it's still quite playable and entertaining. Hampered by some baffling design decisions, Jedi: Survivor doesn't know what kind of game it wants to be nor what kind of game it is.
Dead Island 2 is a sum much greater than its parts. By rights, a game with gameplay roots and mechanics harkening back over 10 years shouldn't be this much fun in 2023, but it is.
Resident Evil 4 was one of the greatest games ever made and the remake stands alongside it shoulder to shoulder.
So far, Atomic Heart is a solid spin on the BioShock formula though it does seem to be a little lacking in cohesion. I'm not quite sure whether a more open-world approach really suits this style of gameplay and I'm not quite sold on the combat or the way it's been implemented. That being said, I'm still enjoying it and am looking forward to finishing it, so that's always a good sign. Stay tuned as we update our review and give Atomic Heart a final score over the next couple of days.
If you're a fan of the series or the genre, this one is a no-brainer.
Like A Dragon: Ishin! is everything you want it to be and more. Fans won't want to miss this one.
Wild Hearts is a game made for a very specific audience and one that I’m not part of.
Hogwarts Legacy is an ambitious triumph.
In the moment-to-moment gameplay, it literally feels identical, but that's because it is. Anything new in Dead Space doesn't enhance the experience, it detracts from it. So, we're left with a worse version of a game that looks vastly superior.