TheGamer's Reviews
As a fighting game, Street Fighter 6 is pretty much flawless, but it’s the little details across the board that make it clear that this is a fighter for everyone and not just fans of the genre. A wild statement for a series that’s always felt more hardcore and impenetrable than the rest. Whether you’re a newcomer playing with Modern controls or a veteran with a fight stick and a vendetta, Street Fighter 6 feels like the most approachable and welcoming fighter I’ve ever played without ever once sacrificing its potential complexity and fighting spirit.
Sunshine Shuffle feels thin, yet overextended at the same time. Had it doubled down on its greatest asset – its characters – it could have been something great. As it is, the story is over far too soon, and all that’s left is a middling card game you could play with less faff pretty much anywhere else. It’s great to see Poker Night At The Inventory live on, but Sunshine Shuffle forgot that the poker was always the least important part of it.
Decarnation is a well-written, spine-chilling adventure, but it would have been better off as an animated film instead of a game. The interactivity felt forced, but its writing, characterisation, atmospheres and settings sparkled, leaving me unnerved to the very end. I rooted for Gloria, and though her journey to finding inner strength was a bit trite, I was with her till the very end. This piece of art was self-conscious in so many ways, reflecting the darkest natures of human beings - I just wish it had been more of a game.
Planet of Lana is a delightful puzzle platformer that hits that sweet spot in more ways than one. It’s not too challenging nor too simple, and though it could have delivered endless levels of similar ideas, it only takes enough time as it needs to tell the perfect story of friendship and survival.
However, if you don’t care about the story and you just want a really good puzzler, Humanity might be for you. Apart from over 90 story levels, the game has a Stage Creator function that allows users to submit their own levels. This gives you a huge number of levels to access even after you’ve finished the game, giving it a much longer shelf life. You can also play it in VR - I chose not to do this because VR gives me migraines, but the visuals of the game are pretty cool and worth seeing in VR if you already own a headset. I wish Humanity’s marketing had focused more on its puzzles than its story, because it’s fairly clear to me which is stronger and I came away a little disappointed. The game’s mechanics evolve very well with the story’s narrative, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m just not sure its story was worth telling.
There is a lot here for a young kid to enjoy, especially one who is tuned into Lego. The tracks have solid variety, both in terms of aesthetics, obstacles, and various challenges (like lacking destructible items to fill the boost bar), but it barely matters when you'll win every race until you hit a progression wall that asks you to grind out cash generation or pay to skip it, and then start winning again. It's creative, but it's also a bit of a mess. Lego 2K Drive mixes Forza Horizon and Mario Kart together, but it's not as good as either of them, and doesn't bring much new to the table either. There are building blocks here for Lego to use for future IP-less games, but this doesn't quite put them all together in a way that will interest anyone who isn’t still in primary school.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece that not only equals what came before, it does everything in its power to surpass it..
Redfall isn’t a total disaster, and there’s fun to be had in slaying vampires, especially with a couple of friends. But to call Redfall a shallow experience would be an understatement. I’m happy to loot and shoot and make my own fun, but there still needs to be something there to pull me through it. Nothing in Redfall, from the loot to the characters to the exploration to the power climb, ever made me want to keep playing, or feel like there was something more to achieve. No amount of bug fixes or updates will be able to improve Redfall’s fundamental gameplay flaws. It’s not just rough around the edges, it’s rutted all the way through.
I had a great time with Cassette Beasts, but it was undeniably frustrating in places. It iterates on the Pokemon formula in nearly every possible way, and exploring the world via companion quests rather than just doing a big circle on your Gym challenge creates a wonderful sense of adventure. Cassette Beasts tries a lot of new things and most of them are successful. The story is compelling, the characters are engaging, and the battle system is one of the best I’ve ever used. It doesn’t pull everything off, but I’d much rather play a game that takes risks, rather than one that rehashes the same old formula time and time again.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has everything a Star Wars fan will want - it's an excellent story, and uses classic Star Wars tropes, musical cues, and narrative moments. But if you're not enamoured by a John Williams horn reprise, what you have is a decent adventure game with a vibrant but often annoying open world that you keep being sent back to, that rarely lets you think for yourself and often just doesn't quite work properly. For a story so sharp, it's a shame the game gets in its own way so often.
Dead Island 2 isn’t going to change the world of zombie games, nor does it intend to, but the fact it has emerged from the ashes in a state this immaculate is a miracle in itself. Hammer some nails into a metal baseball bat, set it on fire, and start swinging. I guarantee you’ll carve out a good time beyond all the viscera.
Longevity will no doubt come from DLC, much as with Dungeons, but that ultimately leaves Minecraft Legends feeling like an incomplete experience. There are so few schematics and troop types to work with, keeping things from getting too overwhelming for those new to the genre, but leaving little else for those hoping to enjoy a new strategy game. And if you come to it hoping to find Minecraft’s signature sandbox feel, you’ll also be sorely disappointed, as the well quickly runs dry.
Meet Your Maker is a killer concept, but it feels empty despite building up a miserable world I so desperately want to know more about. For as boundless as the content may be, shallow progression makes it all feel disposable and vapid. It might be great in a year’s time, but right now it’s little more than a cool idea.
There’s very little you could get out of Crime Boss that you couldn’t get out of Payday 2 next time it comes around in a Steam sale. And besides, I think those masks that “are for pussies” are actually really cool.
Despite its bugs, Deceive Inc. is fun enough that I immediately started asking my friends to play with me. Nobody has taken the bait yet so I haven’t tried the multiplayer mode, but solo mode is fun enough that it’s tiding me over. Here’s hoping that the game fixes its many bugs quickly, because there’s plenty else to love about this game as long as they build on the base they’ve started with.
Finn was pretty excited when I told him we had a Peppa Pig game to play, and then even more so as it was loading for the first time. When he asked me why we had it, I told him it was so we could play it to figure out if other children might like it too. He then informed me, before even pressing a button, that it was a good game. Having now actually played the game, I can confirm his opinion hasn't changed and it will definitely be something we continue to play together moving forward, especially since we still have a few more locations to check off Peppa's list.
Overall, Dredge is a nice, enjoyable fishing game with a low-fat horror coating. The mechanics, upgradability, and weird fish variety are enough to make for a lightweight and engaging time. But if your primary interest is in the narrative or atmosphere, you may find yourselves disappointed.
Like a good book that you simply can’t put down, Storyteller will charm you with its whimsical and inventive gameplay, so much so you’ll finish it in one sitting. But therein also lies its biggest flaw. While Storyteller has a superb foundation and core idea, the puzzle mechanics aren’t challenging, and the gameplay is too short and lacks variety, so you’ll breeze through it in no time at all.
Resident Evil 4 has been reimagined with a better pace, clearer story, and without all of the bloat that held the original back from reaching perfect.
Switchback VR is a steady rail shooter that offers decent variety and an interesting tour through some old levels, but never tries to earn The Dark Pictures name. The choices don’t matter, the Curator is just a creepy Where’s Wally?, and the stakes or even setup for rescuing characters was lost on me. However, it’s reliably spooky, action-packed, and has the best designed villain in the series. It’s a rail shooter obsessed with its own past, so it makes sense that it’s two steps forward and one step back.