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It Takes Two is a great rom-com romp filled with action, oodles of variety, and more than a few twists and turns. No, you won't like Cody and May for much of the game, and some segments do feel a touch drawn out, but grab the right co-op buddy and this is a hoot.
Black Legend evokes a brooding atmosphere thanks to the fog covered streets of Grant and has some good ideas around party and class management, as well as its turn based battles. However, bugs and awkward camera controls, plus a lack of a strong narrative or lore makes Black Legend feel like a fog has descended obscuring its potential.
You can easily get yourself lost in the world of Olive Town - I've already spent more than 50 hours cultivating a farm that's entirely unique to me. Whether you want a relaxing time or a challenge, this is the game for you; Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is so malleable that it'll work for everyone.
Monster Hunter Rise is an incredible game. While it may not feel quite as ground-breaking for the series as World did, it boasts a stronger and distinctly Japanese identity, and the changes and streamlined gameplay simply focus on the franchise's true stars – the monsters. Rise is easily one of the best games for the Nintendo Switch, and one of the finest Monster Hunters ever.
Equal parts puzzler, platformer, fighter and cutesy collection of pixels, Jumpala is certainly an intoxicating concoction. It is also equal part superb. For those prepared to put the time in to find online rivals then this is a competitive experience to be savoured.
The Ancient Gods Part 2 is an insanely fun ending to the saga of the Doom Slayer. While the narrative aspect of the DLC is a little underwhelming, what really matters is that I got to fight two high-speed buffed Marauders at once. Doom Eternal rocks.
Silver Chains feels like an homage to every popular horror game and film. While this isn't necessarily a negative, I feel like the potential and individuality of the game was lost amidst the references and tropes, making it feel forgettable. If you have a love for horrors, then I believe you'll thoroughly enjoy Silver Chains, but I'm not so sure you'll remember it.
Blind Drive is like no game I've ever played before, which, having played video games for the last thirty years, is certainly saying something. Lo-Fi People has delivered one of the most compelling and plainly weird video game experiences of 2021. Your ears will love this game.
The card combat and deckbuilding of Neoverse is incredibly strong and if all you need to keep you entertained is deep card combat, it's got you covered. However, the lack of any kind of context and background to anything, just going from fight to fight, eventually takes the sheen off. The core of the game has benefited from a great deal of attention, care and creativity, it's just a shame it was almost squandered due to the lack of it elsewhere.
There's a bitter sweet feeling to playing Stubbs the Zombie in 2021. The game is too dated and linear to really recommend and some of my fond memories were tarnished by revisiting it, but the core gameplay still has enough to keep you engaged and the setting and humour still stand out. I still think it is worth a return play for those old enough to remember it first time around and I am glad that it is finally available again. There is enough here to get your heart pumping, but there's a persistent whiff of decay that you just can't shift.
Cyber Shadow is a compelling modern retelling of the iconic retro classics of yesteryear. Sure, there are issues; the pacing feels off and 'knockback' really should have been consigned to the dustbin of unwanted gaming mechanics. None-the-less, Cyber Shadow is basically Ninja Gaiden if it had been released in 2021. Not sure I can think of any higher praise than that.
Green Hell is a fantastic survival experience with an exemplary sense of place and peril. Creepy Jar have really nailed the feeling of loneliness and despair that true isolation would lead to and married this to some well balanced challenges and a refreshingly user friendly approach. The range of ways to play are really welcome and should ensure that even those players who may be turned off by the rigours of hunger and thirst mechanics can enjoy the immersive jungle experience. This may not be a welcoming jungle, but there's plenty of fun and games to be had.
Even though Littlewood is a peaceful town building and farming sim that doesn't offer anything new in the genre, it thrives in the soothing, meditative loop of its routines--from harvesting fruits to mining precious stones from ores. There are plenty to busy yourself with, but there's also plenty of time to get to them at your own pace. This means that Littlewood is mostly devoid of the pressures to optimise the grind--an issue that usually plagues other farm sims like Stardew Valley. It's, in short, a charming little distraction from the stresses of our real world.
You won't want to start every game of Three Kingdoms at 200 CE, but it's a perfect place to jump headfirst into a tense, dramatic conflict already in play. Battles are even grander, and new additions make the strategy layer more interesting than ever.
Flow Weavers is a well designed and enjoyable escape room puzzler that is perfectly suited to virtual reality but also suffers from some of the common issues that the format provides. While it doesn't reach the genre heights of The Room: A Dark Matter, it offers a welcome change of setting with the emphasis on magic and dimensional teleportation well suited to the virtual world. This is a game that may well weave its magic on you, albeit for only a brief while.
Tiny Lands offers an eminently charming game of virtual spot the difference. The fact that there's no time limit, no pressure and no stress result in a delightfully relaxing video game. A chilled, tranquil experience that stands out on an island of calm in a sea of action-packed video game stress-fests.
Stronghold: Warlords is a refreshing new look for the long-running siege warfare series, rekindling much of what made the series great in the early 2000s. However, there's a number of deep-seated flaws that Firefly need to make the focus of game updates and redefine for the series going forward.
Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a complicated beast. It's a vastly detailed strategy game that demands a lot of players. For those up to the challenge, there're hours and hours of content on offer here, in what is an impressive strategy titles. However, if you aren't versed in strategy games, you are going to struggle to get on with Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia as it offers new players very little help.
Dakka Squadron's fast, varied, and challenging aerial combat make it a lot of fun, but it's so singularly geared towards a specific audience that it's hard to recommend to anyone who doesn't already know their squigs from their squiggoths. Otherwise, it's the most fun I've had playing a Warhammer 40k action game since Relic's Space Marine.
Shattered - Tale of the Forgotten King is a game set in a beautiful, stylised world that is sadly too opaque and flawed to recommend.