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The overall level design is, unfortunately, a bit more hit and miss than the enemy work. Ashes of Ariendal thrives on putting you into tight corridors filled with enemies, and it’s rarely a good time. The overall structure of the world is branching and open-ended, which provides the player with plenty to explore, but with the environments all looking so samey with their rocks and snow, it’s hard to tell where you are sometimes.
WRC 6 is a valiant effort from the team at Kylotonn Games, but when placed against the defining Dirt Rally, it comes up distinctly short. Whilst it is undeniably the best entry in the WRC series, there’s still plenty of work to be done for it to reach the top of the podium.
Pixel Gear is the first VR game I have felt underwhelmed by. Once the initial awe of looking around a voxel world wears off you’re left with quite a dull wave shooter that lacks any depth to it. The whole experience takes an hour to see and bar raising the difficulty or trying to beat a score there really is no reason to go back. Yet it has some of the most responsive shooting in a VR game which is one of the sole highlights, which other developers should take note of. It just feels like Pixel Gear needed more time and content before being available for purchase.
I didn’t quite realise it until I saw and played it, but VR needs these slightly mad cap social games as much as it needs racers and shooters, the kind of game where you hop in with friends for a bit of a laugh. Much like hanging out at an arcade or bowling alley, there’s only so much time before you’ll tire of the games on offer and want to head home. The VR Pool at the heart of this is great, and the other games are fun to try out as well, but your fondest memories will be of pushing the game’s limits and seeing what shenanigans you can get up to.
With over 250 vehicles and equipment, Farming Sim 17 is bigger and better than ever. Although it’s still not going to be a game for everybody, this edition is more accessible and complete than ever before. Gamers that have no interest in slow-paced repetitive gameplay will likely be disappointed, but for those that enjoyed the previous games will find that there’s just about enough new features to justify a purchase.
Telltale continue to forge their own path through the Batman mythos, picking and choosing how to stay faithful to the comics while also trying to catch people out with new and inventive takes on some characters. This episode was a little scattershot at times, but had it where it counts with some strong character progression and one almighty twist at the end.
Tethered is a delightful experience that shows the immense range of genres that can benefit from being brought to virtual reality. It boasts a playful and thoughtful approach to strategic god games whilst bringing you wholly into its world. For PSVR owners looking for something a little different, Tethered is utterly essential.
If you’re a fan of games that mix visual novel narrative with light gameplay elements like Zero Escape or Ace Attorney, and you’re itching for something like that that falls into the horror genre, you absolutely need to try out Corpse Party.
On the one hand, you have a short, but fun single player that’s more free and open than most FPS campaign, and on the other, a multiplayer that’s an iterative improvement on an already fantastic game. In other words, Titanfall 2 is as exhilarating and refreshing now as the original was back in 2014.
If you’re a fan of rhythm action games, Thumper is amongst the most intense, pure, and singular experiences within the genre, and its release for the PSVR should make it utterly essential for anyone that owns Sony’s headset.
Civilization VI is my new favourite addiction that I honestly can’t really fault. Each of the gameplay changes provides a fresh challenge, but they were well worth undertaking once they clicked. It’s packed full of the stuff that made the previous games great, but also has a crisp style that makes things clear enough when the game gets extremely busy. As such, the vanilla version of Civilization VI is so good, expansions aren’t really necessary to improve upon it. Having said that, I’m excited for what’s next.
Valkyrie Drive is an incredibly fun and addictive game. While it doesn’t have the same crazy narrative or visual flair as a Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, it certainly shares their vibrant and satisfying combat. Valkyrie Drive is also a game very focused on fan service, and overt sexual themes. For some people, that will be a deal breaker, but if that’s right up your alley and you’re looking for the next great touchscreen supporting Vita classic, then look no further than Valkyrie Drive.
By acting as a simulation rather than embracing the promotion silliness, WWE 2K17 misses the mark wildly. What chance they had to make MyCareer a marquee game mode and a game changer was wasted by half-baked ideas. There’s a lot going on with the other modes on offer and it plays better than most wrestling games out there, but its presentation suffers greatly as a result. As a tool for promoting Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar 2, it’s done its job, it’s just a shame that was the best thing WWE 2K17 achieved.
Ace Banana is a fun VR game that is best played in short bursts. The motion tracking drift outside of the archery sections are hard to ignore, especially when this issue hasn’t cropped up in other VR games I’ve played using the same set-up, but the archery itself is accurate. While it’s more immersive with Move, I would recommend playing with the DS4 if you wish to progress through stages quicker, and also want to avoid any potential shoulder ache. Ace Banana is a pretty good games that can showcase just how fun VR can be for a wider audience.
Operations mode is the standout addition to the multiplayer, bringing together the behemoths, the destruction, the hellish screams of people charging into the fight. I do wish that the single player had been able to push on and draw more from that excellent opening, but stepping back to the First World War helps to give Battlefield 1 a refreshing and invigorating veneer to the game, and it’s lost none of the series’ explosive gameplay in the process.
Loading Human is an interesting experiment that looks to explore relationships through VR. However in Chapter One these feel rushed instead of being built at a steadier pace. The price point may also be off putting, as a £30 game that lasts 3 to 4 hours, that is only the first part of a trilogy. Untold Games have crafted a VR world that looks fantastic for the most part but it is populated by characters that come across as two dimensional, and a story that might be better enjoyed once all the chapters have been released.
It’s a shame we weren’t able to review the game prior to launch, because Here They Lie is by far the best game I have played on the system. It’s definitely not for everyone and the weirdness may put a lot of people off, but I loved every moment and couldn’t wait to see what the game was going to throw at me next. Screaming creatures, cities on fire, underground stations that warp and shudder like an intestine, and a humanoid pig giving an antelope a high-five as they tag team a CRT television. What’s not to love?
Mafia III is a game with a great plot, great characters, and great setting, but it's hamstrung by the repetitive nature of its mission structure. Having to go through the same tasks in each territory means a sense of fatigue enters quickly, and there isn't much in the way of distractions within New Bordeaux to break things up. The pieces of a great game are all here, but they just don't quite fit together.
It is a shame as the rest of the game has had a lot of care put into it. The music by Marcin Sonnenberg is excellent, the ancient Germanic future to the game is a decent angle for some humour, but it ultimately fails to maintain interest due to monotonous gameplay. This is a rare case where the game’s presentation outpaces its gameplay, leaving behind a creative and briefly entertaining, yet inexplicably dull game. Certainly good for passing time, but there are countless similar games on mobile devices for a fraction of the price.
Rez Infinite is intoxicating and exhilarating in equal measure. Despite fundamentally being a fifteen year old game, its arrival on PlayStation VR seems to have finally completed the visionary work of Tetsuya Mizuguchi and puts you wholly within this overwhelming piece of sensory software.