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Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition definitely provides value for money. The main story alone will take around 70 hours to complete, but there’s easily over 100 hours of gameplay on offer here for those players that want to spend more time completing the many side quests, building character affinities and of course completing the new Future Connected epilogue. I can’t commend the effort Monolith Soft have put into this release of the game. Not only has it been graphically overhauled and had it’s soundtrack remastered, it’s packed full of quality of life improvements that make it such a joy to play and also comes life’s with a brand new epilogue story, making sure even long time veterans of the game have something brand new to jump into and enjoy.
Bluepoint have further cemented themselves as the master of video game remakes with how well they’ve handled this ground up remake of Demon’s Souls. FromSoftware games are certainly not games everyone will enjoy, as they certainly come with immense challenge. But for those that enjoy great world building, incredible creature design and strategically analysing enemy attack patterns during combat, you’re going to have a blast. Bluepoint have done more than just remake an existing game, they’ve brought a classic game into the modern era and at the same time created a title that showcases the capabilities of ‘next-gen’.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a true showcase for the PlayStation 5 system. It’s visually gorgeous and it’s rift mechanic uses the hardware in amazing ways. I had a fantastic time in this latest adventure largely due to the great cast of characters, especially newcomers Rivet and Kit. I’m excited to see how the franchise goes forward in future adventures as Insomniac games have hit it out of the park again.
The Forgotten City is a narrative masterpiece. It had me engaged in the world and it’s characters right from the get go and maintained it throughout the whole game. It’s incredible that Modern Storyteller were able to create the game with a core team of 4 people. If this is the quality of a debut game, I’m extremely excited to see what the team at Modern Storyteller come out with next.
Ultimately, the Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is more of the same great game I already loved, and truthfully, it’s really all I wanted and expected. The Iki island itself provides a fresh environment to explore and spend time within and playing through the game on the PS5, I loved the added immersion the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers were able to provide. Whether you’ve played through the whole main game, or if you’ve never jumped into Ghost of Tsushima, there’s plenty new to love here and is undeniably the definitive way to now experience Ghost of Tsushima.
Overall, Deathloop is an absolute joy of a game. It’s 60’s aesthetic, combined with a fun and unique take of the time loop genre allows the game to be played in many different styles. If you’re a fan of time loops, or any of Arkane’s previous games, you’re going to have a blast with Deathloop. It certainly has me keen to see what we’ll get from the studios after Redfall, but in the meantime I’ll be jumping back in for a few more loops.
Metroid Dread is an absolute joy to play. It’s roughly 10 hour adventure is well paced, the controls are buttery smooth which further helps Samus feel like an extension of yourself and by the end of the game you feel unstoppable with how second nature unleashing Samus’ abilities becomes. It contains the great enemy and world design we’ve come to expect from the series and retains the stunningly detailed Metroid art direction. I continue to love this world and characters and really hope it’s not many many years before we get another great adventure with Samus.
Ultimately, Skyrim Anniversary Edition offers more options for player choice. It’s the same core game we’ve been enjoying for 10 years but now with some new quality of life enhancements and a bunch of content that can be activated to modify the game. There are over 500 new elements that can be activated to tweak your experience. Some of the content may be for you and some won’t be, and that’s fine, you have the choice to use what you want.
Whether you’re jumping into these 2 games for the first time or not, they’ve never looked or played better than they have in this new collection for the PS5. I was a little disappointed with the lack of any new content and the removal of the core game’s multiplayer mode, but for those that play Uncharted purely for the single player experience this is clearly the definitive way to play the (currently) concluding chapters to the series.
I had the feeling going in that I would really like Nier: Automata, but I wasn’t ready for just how much. It’s packed with great character moments, an interesting world and mysteries to uncover that will keep you pushing on. The game itself is designed to be played through multiple times to uncover everything that it has to offer, it’s FAR from over when you hit the credits screen for the first time, so do as the game suggests and jump back in again, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It features 26 different endings, some far more rewarding and significant than others but all providing another perspective or something new on the story overall. If you’re interested in playing, just jump in and do it, it’s well worth your time.
The Dead Space Remake is a superb recreation of a survival horror classic. It enhances the original game, while also being faithful to it’s story and setting, implementing a slew of new features and visual upgrades to make the game feel incredibly modern. It’s undoubtedly the best way to experience Dead Space, whether you’re jumping in for the first time or wanting to relive the story. The original still holds up pretty well to this day, and some say it didn’t require a remake, but the series certainly deserved some new love, and this is just the way to get the ball rolling again for the Dead Space franchise. I’m excited to see EA placing more faith in their single player offerings and I hope this spawns a new entry in the franchise or remakes of sequel Dead Space titles.
Octopath Traveler 2 is a fantastic follow up to the first Octopath game and an incredibly fun and rewarding JRPG adventure with a large but deep party of characters. It’s music will captivate you right from the start and it’s combat and job system provided plenty of room for individual customisation. It’s taken what worked in the original game and further advanced aspects as well as fixing up a number of the issues pointed out with the original game some fans didn’t particularly like to create a great adventure game, and one of my favourite JRPGs from recent years. It’s a long adventure, but it’s one well worth checking out.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fantastic follow up to the previous game and features some of the best narrative beats and characters from any recent Star Wars media. It takes what was already working from the last game and enhances just about every feature to create one of the best recent action adventure games. Best of all it closely captures what I imagine it would be like to wield the Force and use a Lightsaber. If you’re a fan of the Star Wars universe I can’t recommend it enough.
Whether you’re a newcomer to the series or a Final Fantasy veteran, there is a ton to love with Final Fantasy 16. Its darker tone really helps portray the grim nature of the story and the series’ return to high fantasy. I fell in love with the characters throughout the lengthy journey and am looking forward to jumping back in to test my skills in the game’s more difficult new game+ mode. Magic may be disappearing from Valisthea but its truly returned to the mainline Final Fantasy series.
Uncharted 4 is a fantastic game, and is an absolute must play, especially if you’ve played previous games in the franchise. The pacing does go through a slow point heading into the third act but the overall story, the character performances and one of the most fulfilling closing chapters iv’e experienced in a game made this an experience I want to play through again multiple times.
Horizon: Zero dawn was an absolute joy to play through and I really hope Guerrilla Games decides to make this their core IP. I want to spend more time in this world even after obtaining the platinum trophy. The core gameplay loop is incredibly addictive. Hopefully a story expansion comes soon just so I can dive back into this world.
The Lost Legacy is a wonderful addition to the Uncharted series. It tells a well contained story that not only stands up to previous entries in the series but provides us further insight to some well loved characters from prior games and ties in well to the overall lore in the world of Uncharted. With great writing and characters, combined with interesting puzzles throughout, it is a must play game for fans of the series.
Metroid: Samus Returns is a brilliant return to form after a couple of less than stellar entries in the series in past years. It stays true to what made Metroid great in the first place and by taking an existing title, bringing it up to modern standards and adding new mechanics, MercurySteam have truly delivered an amazing game that presents a great blend between fun exploration and challenging combat. Samus Returns is a game that any Metroid fan will appreciate and can easily be enjoyed by newcomers to the series as well.
Assassin's Creed Origins is a brilliant return to form for a series that had begun to get stale over the last few of it's annualised releases. With a vibrant new setting, great characters and the introduction of RPG elements i'd recommend this as a must play for any fans of open world RPG games even if they had previously not been a fan of the AC series. Major props to Ubisoft for realising issues of the past games and taking the time to get this one right. Delivering what is arguably the best Assassin's Creed game yet.
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds is exactly what a great expansion pack should be. Guerrilla Games have provided a brand new experience, expanding on what they had set up in Zero Dawn and improving what was already a great game. I loved every minute of the 15 or so hours back in that world. The amount of new content, beasts and objectives left me feeling extremely satisfied by it's end.