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Bad North has a lot of potential, but it wastes most of that by doubling down on simplicity over depth. In many rogue-lite games starting a new run is an exciting prospect, as you know your newly acquired player skill will carry you through, but the slower pace here makes it feel a lot more like having to do the hoovering again because someone ate a pastry with no regard for your nice clean carpet.
The Walking Dead: The Final Season is off to a terrific start. With the best graphics of a Telltale game to date, excellent characters who are all superbly performed and a central mechanic that sees the challenges of being a responsible parent come to the fore, this is the most excited and engaged I've been about The Walking Dead in years. Thanks to a clever character setup that sees Clementine and AJ's relationship echo that of Lee and Clementine from the original series, a palpable sense of foreboding has already been established. Will Clementine meet the same fate as her father figure before her?
I'm not going to lie, Guacamelee! 2 is easily one of the most fun games I've played this year and it's hard to fault it even at its most infuriatingly challenging moments. The game has incredible presentation, great level design and is just as good whether playing solo or in co-op. If you're looking for a light hearted Metroidvania or 2D platformer to play on the PS4, then you need Guacamelee! 2 in you life.
As far as nostalgia goes, plenty of aging gamers will fall for Shenmue's shonky charms all over again, and revisiting Ryo's tale of revenge can be a deeply enjoyable experience. However, newcomers will face an uphill struggle to get past the poor controls, terrible English voice acting and grinding repetition. It's still a great primer for the third game, but only if you've been here before.
F1 2018 takes the existing blueprint and adds many small elements to create one reasonably sized step forward. There are enough differences here to warrant a purchase over last year's edition. F1 2018 is easily the best Formula 1 game yet, but next time, small changes may not be enough.
Aces Of the Luftwaffe: Squadron does a lot of things right over its short duration. Tight gameplay, small innovations to the shoot 'em up genre and terrific local co-op. Unfortunately, the grind to level up characters and lengthen the playtime turns what was once fun into a tedious and frustrating slog.
Solid is the word I would use to describe H1Z1: Battle Royale on PlayStation 4. It's not the prettiest of games or the most clever, but it does what it does really well and it is a great alternative for those who find all the tree chopping and base building in Fortnite very tiresome. H1Z1 is off to a great start on PlayStation 4 and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next.
If you're someone who lives a life of danger, if everyone you meet is a stranger or perhaps you find that with every move you make another chance you take, then Phantom Doctrine is ideal for you. For everyone else, this is a deep and compelling tactical strategy game that provides innovation in a stagnant genre. I'll be playing it long after I've finished reviewing it, and I can think of no higher praise than that.
Vroom Kaboom has a great core concept, but doesn't do anywhere near enough with it. If you want to see what this game is all about then get the free version and think of it like a demo. Just keep in mind that the chances are you are going to find the experience as flimsy as a Vespa in the face of Tank.
The Wardrobe is a point and click adventure that had a lot of potential, but it lacks what better games in the genre have done. The plot of the game is poorly held together by scenarios that barely make any sense, puzzle design leads to a lot of guesswork with very few clues to steer you in the right direction, and characters are mere plot devices. Yet the humour can be funny if a little crass at times, and while Skinny is a moody and annoyed character, his personality fits for someone who died suddenly in their teens. The Wardrobe had the scope to be better, but a lacklustre plot and strange puzzle design make its hard to recommend for point and click fans.
For returning players, Madden NFL 19 does exactly what you'd expect, offering a fantastic rendition of the NFL experience with improved graphics, tweaked modes and other minor improvements. However, if you're not a franchise devotee, 18's introduction of the new engine, full training mode and Longshot's superior first season makes it the better option for newcomers.
Overall, Remothered successfully combines stealth and survival horror but the one major drawback is the audio feedback when exploring the Felton residence.
There's a huge amount of potential in this dystopian 1960s drug trip, but ultimately it starts to feel frustrating quite quickly. Every time We Happy Few draws you in with an interesting tidbit about the world or the character you are playing as it's scuppered by the systems fighting against you. It just becomes frustrating and makes a potentially immersive experience an irritating exercise in dealing with the game mistaking your intentions. Much like the dystopian world in which it is set, We Happy Few never feels quite right.
Death Road to Canada is a really enjoyable and successful roguelite. The usual conventions and trappings of the genre are well suited to both the setting and the presentation of the game, and the novel adaptations of the old Oregon Trail conventions add a great layer of strategy and randomness to the mix. Whilst the environments can be a little repetitive and the need for replaying numerous times is potentially offputting, there is so much to discover, and so many different game modes to unlock that it's easy to recommend. While playing this won't necessarily help with an exit strategy for if your country becomes occupied by rabid and dangerous monsters, it's certainly a fun entry in the exponentially growing roguelite scene.
Unfortunately, Castaway Paradise is a disappointment. It simply doesn't capture interest like Animal Crossing does, whether it's due to the broken economy, the endless repetition of quests, or perpetual fruit gathering.
Okami HD is a classic video game, and this Nintendo Switch port could be seen as the best way to experience it.
Monster Hunter World on PC offers the same awesome experience that console gamers have been enjoying, and brings one of the best games of recent times to a slightly different audience. With the right kit you'll be able to push the game further than anywhere else, and with the promise of future updates it's likely to become the definitive version, even if it's not quite there yet.
Overcooked 2 may be short on surprises, but that's totally fine. It expands and refines exactly what we loved about the original, with plenty of fun and challenging stages to be played again and again, whether alone, with friends, or online. You couldn't ask much more from this indie sequel: a filling follow-up that, while familiar, will have fans reaching for their aprons on launch day.
Ink Stories should be congratulated on their tackling of a much misunderstood historical event and doing so with such accuracy, clarity and impartiality. However, with a glut of gameplay issues and a short game length that prevents the opportunity to explore some interesting ideas further, there's far too much incentive to give 1979 Revolution: Black Friday a miss. This is best viewed as an educational tool, rather than a satisfying interactive experience in its own right.
With incredibly satisfying gameplay, a constant stream of unlocks, and a world that challenge every cell of your being, Dead Cells is a must own for anyone who likes even one aspect of what has been mentioned here. Every success will fill you with endorphins, every failure will inspire you to get better. When you finally take out the final boss you will be elated. It is here that Dead Cells lets you know that it is just the begining, there are a few more go around yet, and each one gets harder and harder. This is the kind of game that can last you forever, you just have to let it beat you in the head a few times.