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STONE is a quick two-hour dip into the fair dinkum world of Stone, a bloke with a good heart, but needing a right knock on the noggin as he can be a bit of a drongo. A bit more hard yakka could have pushed STONE into something bigger, but it's still a bit of a larrikin and possibly best enjoyed with a cold one or two.
Destination Primus Vita is a real mix-bag of doing some things really well and uniquely, as well as doing a lot very bland and boring. I hope Episode Two can improve the weaker elements and explain why players should look forward to the next episode and not leave you wondering why you should care. Playing this though, I did go read the two comics released so far -- so I am onboard for the adventure to get our water back -- but why does the game feel like the spin-off story, not the other way around?
Full of characters I really don't care about. If every character that's been introduced in this series dies by the end, I seriously couldn't care.
Someone will look at a screenshot of Penny's Big Breakaway and know it was a game made for them. It's colourful, has some head-bopping tunes and features a simple yet playful main mechanic in the yo-yo. There's plenty of fun to be had here, even if it's a real yo-yo of a package.
A simple and effective game that never seeks to be an overwhelming experience. It mostly achieves its goals of offering a Pirate Mech roguelike adventure, raiding derelict spaceships for their booty and combating the obstacles and enemies along the way.
Lego 2K Drive has thrown many popular arcade racer ideas together and asked, what works? For the Lego fan, this is going to scratch a specific itch. I don't think we need to see a "Scotty Smash" to fix this build, but to fulfil the desires of Lego racers, young and old; some tweaks will be needed in a sequel.
My time with Knight Crawlers, although initially frustrating, was rather enjoyable. I appreciated it more after discovering a small team designed and created the game.
The difficulty in these games challenged me in a way I hadn't known for a long time. If it wasn't for the additional options, I might not have had the chance to get through a couple of these games. In stating this, I had more fun playing these games with a second player. The collection has been put together with care and ran well on the PS5, and while these games are fun, I prefer the newer TMNT: Shredders Revenge for its updated features and playability over these aging titles.
I hope that Ubisoft can return to its roots and start looking at shrinking the worlds and focusing on the characters and lore. If there is a big positive note with Ragnarök, it is that this game could have been a stand-alone title. With the focus on the main character and the story unfolding the way it does, it has strengths over what was introduced with Assassin's Creed Valhalla's release.
I enjoyed my time with Little Kite, a short point-and-click adventure with themes that touched my heart. I felt for Mary and Andrew's situation. The art style lent itself to the game and made for a beautiful visual tale.
If Rainbow Billy had been a tighter experience with fewer bugs, I think I'd have been singing its praises through until the end of the year.
Even amongst some odd design decisions from yesteryear, annoying bugs, and some dull mission moments, I really want another one of these games now.
I am enjoying my time with Worms Rumble, but with Deathmatch being the only mode I find enjoyable to play, just three maps, only ten weapons and a slow levelling and unlock system, it feels slightly undercooked at launch.
Superliminal features a rather ingenious puzzle design, but it’s held back by the finicky nature of solving them.
Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game had me engrossed start to finish, even if it's ending was predictable. Unfortunately it is held back by not having a unique story direction or a commitment to more consistent and fulfilling gameplay mechanics. It's undercooked but an easily digestible Cthulhu adventure for fans of the genre. A fun Saturday afternoon in a psychological horror show.
If you're like me the hunt for a complete Pokédex and the excitement of even the worst shiny Pokémon provides enough fun to keep Pokémon Quest around for sometime.
The fantastic music paired with a great colour scheme and visuals really creates an odd juxtaposition. Futurlab, however, has crafted a really interesting game out of such a simple premise, and as their first step into VR, I really think they could do something quite special one day. Velocity3R, maybe?
Diets & Deitites is such a fantastic idea for a game that brings together different cultures through music and food. It's a feel-good game; even if it made me feel crap about KFC, I had eaten the other night.
The WarioWare games have always been weird and wacky fun, and this latest instalment is no different. I had fun playing through the main story and seeing the result of Wario's vacation.
Bilkin’s Folly is a game that I could recommend to almost anyone in the mood for a treasure-hunting adventure. Its tone and characters highlight the experience and make the longer-than-expected time sail by, whilst its puzzling is largely engaging if drawn back by more obtusely difficult puzzles and some technical hiccups that will surely be fixed in short order.