TheSixthAxis
HomepageTheSixthAxis's Reviews
Figment 2 is a good sequel but lacks the novelty of the original. Many of the story beats and mechanics feel familiar from the original and the lower stakes take awaay some of the emotional impact. That said, I do appreciate a more down to earth piece of storytelling and think there is plenty of room in gaming for more of this. It's a perfectly pleasant game, but it also won't stick in the memory as well as the original.
The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR is a really solid PSVR 2 shooter with some fun uses of the headset's eye tracking and haptics, though it is sadly let down by some annoying technical hitches.
Destiny 2 is still one of the best feeling games to play, but compared to the inventive, personal story told in The Witch Queen, Lightfall is dull and totally inconsequential. What a disappointment.
I was genuinely surprised to find myself enjoying Cereza and the Lost Demon even more than I did Bayonetta 3. The laid-back exploration, the beautiful visuals, the unique control and combat scheme, and the fact that this is a fresh take on the franchise make it an altogether different experience, and one that furthers the series' lore while ensuring it opens itself up to an all-new audience.
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania is an immaculate love letter to one of its inspirations, but it still retains so much of its own identity and humour as you explore Dracula's castle as The Beheaded.
Playing Before Your Eyes in VR brings your even closer to embodying the life and times of Benjamin Brynn. There's some quibbles from the jump to VR, but Benny's tale remains a beautiful told story that's well worth experiencing.
With a solid and dependable blaster-led Star Wars adventure as its basis, there's more to Tales from the Galaxy's Edge than initially meets the eye, with the most fun to be had in the side tales picked up in Seezelslak's bar. This has had a big glow up since its original Meta Quest release, but left me wanting something more consistently inventive and truly built for PSVR 2 and higher powered systems. Hopefully we'll get to see that in future.
If you like a very slow, difficult romp through a Hell-a-la-tattoo-parlour, Nadir's roguelike deckbuilding may be the game for you. But if you want something genuinely fun and interesting to play, you won't find it here.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse doesn't set out to reinvent the franchise or radicalize what it means to be a Fatal Frame game, but with updated visuals and modernised controls, it does a great job of making an entry in the series from 2008 effortlessly feel like a modern, current-gen debut. The slow and sometimes repetitive pacing of the game will not be for everyone, and some long-winded animations and awkward loading-waits only serve to make that pacing even more of a slog, but if you have the patience for that, you're in for a solid Japanese horror experience that will keep you guessing until the credits roll.
Tales of Symphonia Remastered isn't going to win any awards. It's a soulless cash grab that has come with as little effort by Bandai Namco as possible. If you're a die-hard fan, there may be something here for you, but really you're just paying for the nostalgia hit. Those who didn't play the original and are looking to pick up and enjoy a slice of video game history should let this one go past - there will hopefully be another iteration of this in a few years' time and maybe they'll put more effort into that one.
Little Witch Nobeta makes for a fun old-school action shooter. It's just a shame that this particular witches' brew is filled with so much unnecessary and bland garnish that serves only to dilute the taste.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is nearly always a rush to play, and even when you're getting pummelled, it still feels as though you could overcome the fight if you just learned the attack patterns a little better, or maybe just summoned some more help.
Scars Above is a great addition to the library of single player adventures and it tells an engaging sci-fi story that interrogates ideas of genetic manipulation, free will, and sacrifice. While it loses momentum a little towards the end, it serves as a fantastic advertisement for smaller budget games and is well worth picking up.
Demeo is a fun and accessible digital board game, evoking games like HeroQuest with its turn-based dungeon-crawling. In VR it's a pleasingly tactile experience that's great to share with co-op friends, but if you need or prefer to play on a TV screen? Well that's still good too.
The Last Clockwinder is a delightfully charming puzzle game suitable for all ages. With almost unlimited solutions to the puzzles and no time limits it's rather relaxing. It may not have the wow factor of some the other games in the PSVR 2 launch line up, but it's well worth a look.
If Blood Bowl 3 does one thing right, it's that it really makes me appreciate that Blood Bowl 2 exists, which right now is a far superior game in all aspects. For now, save your money and wait to see if this one gets any better.
Cosmonious High makes being the new kid in class feel truly special. It's not quite as universal as the "robots do human things" humour of Job Simulator, but never gives up on being positive, from the alien character designs, to the vibrant colour palette, and the sandbox of simple puzzles and powers to use. It's just missing that half step of complexity as a VR experience.
Atomic Heart is a bit of a surprise. It's not perfect and the open world is an unneeded dilution, but when you're in the story missions it's always entertaining, despite occasionally dragging things out a little. It can be a bit strange, but it's the self aware kind of strange that can be a bit charming. And the robots are pretty great.
Leaning on the power of PS5, Kayak VR: Mirage is filled with wonderful locations to visit around the world and explore with paddle in hand. It looks stunning and makes for a great way to demo PSVR 2 or VR in general, but personally, I was left wanting something a little more.
Nobody said being a giant tentacle monster was easy, but Tentacular's mix of physics puzzles and quirky story and setting does make it rather fun.