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NEO: The World Ends with You is way too cool, way too fun, and way too good. For fans of the series, this is a sequel that goes above and beyond 14 years of hopes and expectations. For newcomers who have never even heard of the Reaper's Game, this is one of the most genuine, polished, and stylish games I've ever played. Personality and style ooze out of it constantly, and in a post-Persona 5 world where society is starting to clamour for more immersive and all-encompassing JRPG masterpieces, this might just be the next big thing.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles has all the hallmarks of the Ace Attorney series, with excellent characters and brilliant writing through the remastered duology's ten cases, but there's some clever flourishes that make the story and gameplay far more interesting and enjoyable. The only objection we have is that it took far too long for these excellent Victorian adventures to reach the West!
Cris Tales is an absolutely incredible homage to classic JRPGs, whilst taking care to modernise their core mechanics for modern audiences. The gorgeous visual style, superb voice acting, clever mechanics and emotive story-telling all combine together here to make an incredible title. Then, with the addition of comprehensive and innovative uses of time in all parts of the game, it becomes a near perfect experience. Cris Tales has arguably surpassed its JRPG inspirations and absolutely deserves your time (pun entirely intended).
Ragnaröck is a fantastic new addition to the rhythm action genre and is one of the most enjoyable games to hit VR. It's a perfect blend of aesthetic and mechanics and offers some incredibly satisfying gameplay. While its tracklist may not be to everybody's taste, the ease of adding custom songs and the sheer bloody fun of the core game makes it a must-buy.
Toilet humour can be very funny if it's written well and I'm not sure it's written well here. That's a shame because the rest of The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk is a decent effort at the tactical genre, with some genuine replay value thrown in. Why not give it a stab? Or perhaps, a backstab?
This is what people truly want from a Switch port. A gentle, well thought out, genuine upgrade that captures the heart of the original game and allows it to flourish at a higher standard. Although it is still perhaps a little simplistic, the game has redeemed itself through the quality-of-life updates that were sorely needed the first time around. Skyward Sword is finally a winner, and will undoubtedly delight newcomers and old fans alike.
Boomerang X is the 2AM food truck run of arena shooters. You're in and out before you know it, but holy shit is it amazing. The boomerang abilities that form the core of the gameplay are unique and insanely addicting, but there's always new foes and features constantly revealing themselves as the game progresses. It's a brief experience, maybe too brief, but it's still an unforgettable one.
Fantastic new units and the best lizardmen campaign yet, paired with a cathartic but comically overpowered beastmen stampede.
F1 2021 is one of the broadest depictions of the sport ever created, building on familiar cars and handling alongside returning multiplayer, esports, and My Team career modes, while the new Braking Point story gives you a taste of the teammate drama you loved to watch (and mock) in Netflix's Drive to Survive.
Where the Heart Leads offers a supremely compelling and fascinating overall narrative, one that is filled with genuinely meaningful choices – surely a rarity in video games? Unfortunately, its tall tale is also bogged down with numerous presentation issues that result in dull characterisation. Overall an uneven experience that's both brilliant and boring – sometimes at the same time.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance fails to live up to both the potential of its placement in the D&D canon and the legacy of the Dark Alliance name. As a mediocre-to-good game, depending on whether you're alone or with friends, the whole experience is sluggish and dull in execution, and sails close to the average tabletop D&D session where you play for four hours and somehow only walk down a single corridor, but without the enjoyment that comes with that experience.
Out of Line is a good little puzzle platformer that will last you approximately 2-3 hours. It flows nicely but some may find the puzzles a touch too easy to solve. The artwork and music are great but the story remains unclear, with the ending just leaving you with more questions.
As we wait for the inevitable Sniper Elite 5, this is one virtual reality shooter you won't want to miss. Sniper Elite VR hits its mark with immensely fun sniping gameplay, delivered in perfectly portioned bursts of action.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is an ambitious addition to the Elite formula that doesn't quite hit the highs it should. It instead serves as a preview of what the game may be like in 6 or 12 months from now, and is hard to recommend as it currently is. Personally? I'd wait and see how Frontier Developments improves the game. Let's face it, there's still plenty to explore in Horizons.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a great JRPG that blends the spirit of Monster Hunter with turn-based combat and exploration. The central story is good, but it's the loot loop and party building that really draws you in. It may not represent a huge leap forward from the original game, but this is a fantastic title for fans of either the main Monster Hunter series or JRPGs in general.
Watch Dogs Legion: Bloodline tries to be a love letter to fans of the series by bringing back two iconic characters as the protagonists, but in doing so, it removes the one gameplay mechanic that made Watch Dogs: Legion so memorable. Without characters to study, befriend, and recruit, Bloodline is a more watered-down open-world experience than the base game it's tied to. Worse is the fact that it doesn't expand on the base game at all. With no new regions to explore, activities to engage in, or gear to unlock, it's a pretty barebones package overall.
Chicory lived up to my expectations and more. The traversal is a joy throughout, the puzzles brilliantly judged and the whole experience is a joy to play from start to finish. If this were not enough, the admirable approach to accessibility should be celebrated and congratulated. What really stood out after finishing the game, though, was how effectively it treated difficult issues of depression and feelings of low self-worth whilst never feeling too earnest or preachy. The final result is one of the best indie games I've played in years. Chicory: A Colourful Tale is a true masterpiece that deserves to be played by all.
Despotism3K is full of humour that had me laughing a lot, but the high degree of difficulty and randomisation and arbitrary choices that can end a run in a moment had me swearing at it a lot, too. You end up replaying gameplay that doesn't change all that much between runs. Still, it's a good distraction if you don't want to play a huge adventure game, and instead want to throw some puny humans into a bioreactor.
The final new addition is a fresh new timed challenge scenario, tasking you with turning a hidden oasis bazaar into a thriving tourist trap while updating its power grid and amenities. It’s a stiffer challenge than some of the previous packs, but there’s every chance that you’re a Planet Zoo master by this point so that’ll probably be welcome. At this stage, Planet Zoo’s ability to transport you across the planet is the escapism we all need, and few games do so with the joy and vibrancy that Frontier have created here.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is an impressive Switch port that make graphical cuts in just the right places. Those cuts ensure a smooth and consistent gameplay experience that sets a new standard for Tony Hawk games on the go.