TheSixthAxis
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The Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff is a great example of a Pack, it includes some classic Sims dark humour, and increases the challenge of the game by a fair bit if you let it. It doesn't come cheap, but for the amount of content and the sheer silliness introduced it may just be worth it. The items are maybe my favourite so far with their witchy charm, and the return of Bonehilda is a welcome one. It is a lot of fun, but may be best suited to spooky Sims with a high libido…
Smelter's opening cutscene got me very pumped for what was to follow, but what did follow left me despondent. I'd been set up and felt ready for an awesome 16-bit experience that, thanks to its promised smelting of genres, would feel genuinely fresh. The game that followed wasn't fresh, it was past its sell by date and starting to smell like feet.
As old-school as it can get in every frame and fibre of its being, Battle Axe faithfully transports you back to the classic Capcom and Neo Geo arcade era with its exquisite pixel art animation and punchy, challenging gameplay.
Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack brings the best of the franchise to a brand new console. Atelier Sophie is an iconic piece of the series with a brand new lease on life, Atelier Firis has unique exploration gameplay that hasn't been attempted in any other entry, and the new story content in Atelier Lyde & Suelle is a delight for longtime fans. These games have never looked better, and are a must-play for anyone interested in the Atelier series.
Milestone's MotoGP series has taken some significant steps forward in recent years; expanding the career mode, making the bike handling more realistic and lively, but it's a little tougher to see the signs of progress in MotoGP 21. This is a slighter evolution of the series, with the biggest changes the ones that you can see from the jump to the new generation consoles and, if you're on PS5, feel through the DualSense controller.
NieR Replicant was always an odd title that was great both in spite of and because of its limitations. Many of those oddities remain in Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139..., but it's a more refined experience on the whole that doesn't feel quite so awkward when placed alongside the superb NieR Automata.
Oddworld: Soulstorm clearly comes from a very passionate, dedicated group of developers. Although it is very rough in places, there are parts of it that really do stick out as excellent examples of both gameplay and storytelling. With more refinement this could have been a shining example of what ground-up remakes could be, but it just falls a little short of the high standards set elsewhere. It's still charming and funny, just like the Mudokens you're trying to save, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
The core game of Ashwalkers is a great, atmospheric experience that takes classics like The Oregon Trail and transports them to a vividly realised post-apocalyptic setting. Characters are nicely defined, resource management is clearly presented, and I genuinely wanted to find out more about the world and its inhabitants. However, the actual process of playing the game is just too slow and becomes boring after the first couple of runs. There is a good survival and choice-filled game here, but you have to walk a long long way to get to it.
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is a work of genius. I'm planning to immediately replay it, simply because I don't want it to be over yet. The story is absolutely captivating, the world is filled to the brim with detail, and the characters and their motivations are remarkably well thought out. It made me laugh at absurd moment, made me gasp with the twists in the story, and I've developed an attachment to the main character's partner, Kim Kitsuragi, and his endless patience with me shooting finger guns at him as much as possible. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is a masterwork and you are doing yourself a disservice if you miss it.
TENS! is an engaging puzzle title with a simplistic, colourful aesthetic and some zany powers to keep things fresh. Unfortunately, it's little more than an entertaining distraction, however, lacking the depth and variance to keep you coming back for long.
Rain on Your Parade is a casual puzzler that's a whole lot of fun. The simplicity of the gameplay allows for experimentation throughout with unique levels every step of the way. The game has charm (despite Cloudy being a bit murderous at times), and the minor issues are easily overlooked due to the fun nature of Rain on Your Parade.
Poison Control has some of my favourite art and character designs from any game this year, but that isn't anywhere near enough to carry the entire experience. The dual-character combat system is a fresh and stylish idea, but it isn't executed very well. Clunky movement and repetitive combat end up holding back this otherwise stylish and unique new game from Nippon Ichi Software.
Outriders juggles some truly captivating ideas for the looter shooter genre, yet fails to deftly execute them. While it succeeds in combining traditional third person shooting with rewarding dungeon crawling, its messy matchmaking, repetitive mission design, and a dull sci-fi story hold People Can Fly back from delivering to their fullest potential.
Yupitergrad is a game that's perfectly designed for VR and is a great way of tricking yourself into some physical activity. The story is charming fluff and the sense of place is really well managed too, so if you're up for the challenge and fancy the idea of swinging through the air like a Russian Spider-man plumber, then this is one VR title that you should take the plunge(r) on.
Trials of Fire is uniquely entertaining, and it's an absolute joy to play because every run is challenging, and every fight is a blast to play thanks to the intricacies and strategies you can develop. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody who's looking for a roguelike that's less action and more strategy, and especially so if you love a good TTRPG.
If silly jump scare horror is your thing, you can do a lot worse than Doom 3 VR Edition, but you can also do much better. Its cutscenes are 2D, you get lost a lot, and occasionally you need to waggle your weapon about so it cooperates, but if you can get past these issues it's... a good enough version of the venerable id Software shooter.
Astrologaster is an incredibly original and fantastically designed experience that really captures the feel and tone of the Renaissance. From the impeccably researched astrology diagnoses to the infamous postscript of 'coitus after consultation' this is the most accessible way into the world of Simon Forman you could ever hope to find. Whether you mean to or not, you'll certainly learn something about one of the most eccentric characters in Renaissance London – just don't follow any of the medical advice. Trust me, I'm a doctor.
Balan Wonderworld is a passable platformer marred by a string of increasingly baffling design decisions. It has charm by the bucketload and off-the-wall concepts that land well in spite of themselves, but the experience is inconsistent at best and frustrating at worst. There is a good game in here somewhere, and it is great fun at points, but waiting for those points isn't really worth it.
Spacebase Startopia feels a bit too basic for a management game and is not something you could really spend hours cultivating once you have the station set up. What it offers is rather simplistic, and is marred by regular crashes on console and an AI advisor that you'll grow to hate.
Evil Genius 2 is a worthy return to the world stage for the classic lair builder formula. While there's certain areas that could be improved in the presentation or the game balance, building up your 60s spy villain lair and defeating the seemingly endless string of agents trying to foil your plans is immensely satisfying and engaging.