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Project Nimbus: Code Mirai is a frantic mech shooter that ticks all the right boxes, but is ultimately let down by a lack of variety. The combat never fails to set your pulse racing, and I'd love to see more from the team and the series, since, for a short while at least, this is the best mech combat we've seen in years.
While you can of course use Xbox Game Pass to try this out for yourself, I can't say that you'll be playing Robocraft Infinity for long. Limited tools aside, the construction process is the best thing the game has going for it, while the multiplayer just seems to play second fiddle; there's too much focus on the creation and not enough on making the game fun. I'm sure they'll add things to it, but the progression is just a tad on the frustrating side.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a game about choices and epic story lines, grounding itself with the unique characters you find and the fact that your ultimate aim is to get the rest of your soul back. Having such a personal quest at the centre of such a fantastical plot really keeps you invested in both the people and the world, whether you're carrying on your adventure from the first game or starting afresh. Either way there's a genuinely likeable cast, both personal and global stories and the pleasure of mastering all its systems. A genuine joy of a game and one which is simultaneously approachable and impossibly deep, Deadfire is a fantastic sequel and one which you will be thinking even when you are away from its world.
The tactics and tactility of a good tennis game remain amongst the purest of gaming experiences, but AO International Tennis is not a good tennis game. Overly complicated and bereft of any emotional resonance, the positive elements, including the detailed character creator, will likely be as swiftly forgotten as the game itself will.
It's a shame not to see anything new here for the gameplay, but the 4K visuals and orchestral soundtrack do a lot to drive home the point that VanillaWare make good looking and sounding games.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is much better suited to Switch and outperforms the original for a stable frame rate.
Distortions is a really mixed bag.
Taken on its own it's a feat of cardboard engineering tethered to a technically impressive, but ultimately shallow game.
If you're after a 2.5D side-scrolling stunt game, the Urban Trial Playground is going to scratch that itch for you on Switch. Sure, it's riffing off the Trials series, but it's a fun and lengthy alternative that's a good fit for Nintendo's platform.
Frostpunk is a truly harrowing game in the best possible way and one that will have you steeped in the harsh reality of eternal winter for dozens of hours to come.
Penny-Punching Princess is a fascinating take on the usual capitalist impulses within loot based games and combines this with a fun and humorous cartoon aesthetic, but it just never really feels fun to play.
I can't help but feel a bit sorry for Gunstar Studios. The game they ended up with is nothing like their original plans and you can tell this single player shooter has been created by hacking bits from their MOBA. Despite it's many small flaws, it's not a bad game, it's not even dull, it's just very rudimentary. A noble failure, I really wish I could score the game higher but sadly I can't.
Despite its ridiculous name, A Robot Named Fight! could be a sleeper hit. It made a bad first impression for me, but over time it grew on me with the things it did ever so right. It even blends two genres that theoretically shouldn't fit together, yet somehow in this context and with the clever implementation of its gadgets, a far more enjoyable experience. It's by no means perfect, but with great ideas it deserves at least a look for yourself.
While Total War has often focussed on the big picture, Thrones of Britannia shows there's plenty of scope for a series of Total War Saga offshoots to explore the smaller conflicts and civil wars through history.
The Sword of Ditto is a good looking, adorable and funny game that is held back a little bit by its time limit. I would love to explore the island and its quirky sense of humour at my own pace, but the constant ticking clock makes it feel like you're being rushed through the environment. It's fun and worth playing if you don't mind time being a factor.
It's clear that Crisis on the Planet of the Apes has a lot of ambition and it does get a lot right in this regard, but at the end of the day, all we have here is a VR tech demo. Climbing around here was the most immersive VR moment I've had to date, but the controls could sometimes took me right back out of it. As a showcase for what VR could do in the future, it's another great example of things to come.
Dead Secret lasts for just a few sittings, but it's a game you'll walk away from satisfied. As bigger studios keep fumbling around for a VR blockbuster blueprint, indies like Robot Invader continue to fill in the gaps with smaller, more experimental games.
Though it's rough around the edges, has difficulty spikes and very much feels like the foundations on which Harebrained can build upon, the core turn-based tactical gameplay of BattleTech is great.
Whilst not as divisive as the film they are based on, The Last Jedi tables are certainly polar opposites. You'll find an incredible cinematic pinball experience with the Last Jedi table, but the Ankh-To Island table just gives you good reason to keep on playing The Last Jedi table instead! Overall, with one good table and one poor one, this new pack feels too insubstantial to be a must have.
Unresponsive combat, atrocious platforming and game breaking bugs, crashes and frame rate issues ensures that Dusty and his cohort will soon be gathering dust on player's shelves.