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Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is an unusually captivating experience. The way the developers mix and match various gaming tropes shouldn't work, and yet the absurd narrative and overall aesthetic binds perfectly. If you're looking for something completely different, make sure you check out Anodyne 2.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends has some good ideas, but the execution is a little lacking. The one mode here is enjoyable but it gets very repetitive, with the clunky combat, slow matchmaking and poor, though admittedly amusing AI, taking the fun out of it. With more variety, whether in the form of different modes or with each map having its own objectives, this could have been a winner, but as it stands it's got a lot of squandered potential.
For the right sort of person, this abstract, solo board game style will be incredibly intoxicating. There are a lot of moving parts to keep in your head, and figuring out a particularly fiendish task is rewarding in and of itself. For most people, the contrast between mellow aesthetic, strange design choices, and the lack of a hard fail state (fittingly, it's more like a fail cul-de-sac) will make it a taxing time. Buildings Have Feelings Too! is certainly charming, but that charm hides a stiff challenge.
Subnautica: Below Zero is a masterfully horrific experience that encourages you to push on despite your fears. It's a fine balancing act of the horrors you'll face underwater and the rewards you can get for evading them. It's really very hard, but it's also really very good.
Legend of Keepers is a delight to play. It has such character, both in its looks and humour, that it feels unique when compared to other games out there. For those who want to work hard to create undefeatable monsters and dungeons, there's plenty of scope to carve out your success. It's definitely a title to try out for yourself, even if you're not usually one for this type of turn-based indie RPG.
Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is, as a drama, objectively terrible, but there's a chance it could be a cult hit. It's like watching an amateur dramatics presentation in your local village hall, but on a PlayStation 5. If you can grab some friends, copious amounts of alcohol and embrace the ridiculousness, you will have some fun.
Overall, I like Dandy Ace a fair bit, but the story doesn't do quite enough to drive you to do more runs, and there were a few times when things felt grossly unfair due to the sheer volume of enemies that some rooms spit at you. The card combination system is wonderful to use though, and that'll keep mechanically-minded players involved for a fair while with Dandy Ace.
I really enjoyed my time Maskmaker. Puzzle games like this can easily lead to frustration, but Maskmaker is a thoroughly inventive VR puzzler that walks the line very well. It's a tad short, but I think it might be better that way as it doesn't outstay its welcome or overuse any mechanics. I'd love to give it a better score and it's an enjoyable VR puzzler, but with a few fiddly bits and some pretty serious bug that forced me to restart the whole game, it's lost a couple of points.
I was moved beyond words by this little game. Before Your Eyes manages to be interesting and quirky, whilst also finding new ways to immerse you in a beautiful story. It is deeply sad at times, and at others fills you with an immense joy and appreciation for people and their complex lives. There is so much about this game that is better experienced for the first time with no forewarning, but if you like heartfelt stories and powerful narratives, this one's for you.
Lady Dimitrescu's towering presence is just the tip of the iceberg of what Resident Evil Village offers. This game takes everything you know about the iconic horror series and dials it up to eleven!
New Pokémon Snap has a lot going for it. It's a genuinely endearing game that shutterbugs and Pokémon fans alike will enjoy, and anyone in the middle of that Venn diagram will absolutely love. That love will not be blind to the game's stark limitations, though. As it stands, it's a perfectly serviceable game, but some minor tweaks and quality of life improvements such as auto-completing requests you've finished, could drastically improve this game's flow and make it a far more enjoyable experience for everyone.
It feels immensely satisfying to be sat here in 2021, eons after playing Super Stardust HD on PS3, and see just how far Housemarque has come. Offering a visual bullet hell spectacle, a showcase for the DualSense controller and a rewarding sci-fi narrative woven around the roguelike loop, we can say with unflinching confidence that Returnal is the PS5's best game to date.
It's difficult to recommend Arkham Horror Mother's Embrace if you're not already a fervent fan of the universe, and knowledge of what this game could have done with the source material will leave you yearning for a better digital implementation of Asmodee's tabletop tour de force.
Total War: Rome Remastered reflects quality and care from every raised gladius and stray denarius. We think you'll love this, says the remaster. If not, no worries, you can change it. It's more difficult that modern Total War games to get into, but it's undoubtedly a great package. So, two thumbs up then. Or to the side, if you want to be a stickler for history.
The Binding of Isaac: Repentance is an incredible achievement that goes beyond just being a DLC expansion. This is another load of thread connecting yet more pieces to the potential of the already brilliant base game. With all of these plates spinning, it's impossible to know how well a run is going to go at any given time, but it remains incredibly fun trying to figure that out.
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.