VGC's Reviews
Endless Ocean's procedural generation keeps its exploration engaging enough for a while, but its Story mode is poor. As long as you're willing to forgo plot (and any meaningful interaction with the species you encounter) in favour of exploring random underwater environments, there's still a good deal of fun to be had here.
For those who wished that God of War Ragnarok offered a bit more challenge or that Bayonetta had a bit more weight to its combat, this slick sci-fi slasher is the perfect tonic, offering both the perfect entry point into the Souls-like genre and a refreshing refinement of the well-worn character action formula. It may lack the naval gazing intelligence of the excellent Nier Automata, but when you’re having this much fun, it’s hard to care.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU feels like a studio stretching its legs for the first time. Visually inventive, and full of great platforming, average combat and exploration lets it down
TopSpin 2K25 is the best 'serious' tennis game we've played since, frankly, the last one was released 13 years ago. Its characters look a bit off, its career mode is dry and the typical 2K microtransaction nonsense is in there (to a less intrusive extent than usual), but when it comes to the gameplay on the court it's far superior to anything else out there.
Rise of the Ronin is a fine open world adventure that never elevates itself to greatness. Fun Team Ninja combat will drag you through, but pointless open world fluff and questionable visuals sadly result in just another open world game.
Full of personality and variety, Princess Peach Showtime delivers a performance that’s better than the sum of its parts, with some shallow mechanics lost in the glitz of its cabaret show. The challenge is definitely geared towards youngsters, but even experienced players will find it difficult not to be charmed.
Alone in the Dark's promising atmosphere is let down by annoying and repetitive puzzles, poor combat and frequent glitches. There's a good game in there somewhere but you have to put up with a lot of frustration to find it.
Balatro is an astonishingly addictive take on Poker that's utterly impossible to put down. Occasional difficulty spikes aside; it's a piece of simplistic genius that we'll keep on our Steam Deck forever.
Berserk Boy is a great modern take on Mega Man style gameplay and one of the better recent attempts to bring the 16-bit era into the 2020s. Its story is lacking somewhat but it's got it where it matters, with solid platforming and satisfying combat.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is an excellent RPG with some of the best characters in the gaming canon. While some open-world content skirts the edges, and the game's main narrative is left somewhat deflated, the time spent with Aerith, Tifa, and the gang makes this a hugely enjoyable road trip you'll be playing for hundreds of hours.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong offers a notable step up in visual quality from its 20-year-old source material, but the same can't be said for the gameplay mechanics, which remain largely unchanged. While it will no doubt appeal to purists who loved the GBA original, those discovering it for the first time may find it too easy and not up to the same standards as modern, similarly priced Mario releases.
Tekken 8 is a sensational sequel. With a renewed emphasis on single-player modes and a new Heat mechanic which ensures fights are more frenetic, it's up there with Tekken 3 as one of the most exciting high points in the series.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is one of the best RPGs we've played in years. Excellent combat, a wonderful cast of characters, and a willingness to be incredibly weird make it absolutely unmissable. Not only that, but it's so full to the brim with things to do, we could have probably spent another three weeks with it and not finished everything.
A solid collection of three brilliant visual novels, this Apollo Justice collection may not offer a lot more than HD-friendly versions of the handheld originals, but the quality of the source material means that's enough to entertain regardless.
So much more than a simple remaster, Another Code: Recollection completely rebuilds both games from scratch, making it a brand new experience not only for newcomers, but long-time fans of the series too. With beautiful environments, endearing characters and a hint system that means players of all skill levels can reach the end, only a lack of replay value stops this from being a complete must-have.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is the best way to play one of the best games ever made. Excellent bonus content and visual bells and whistles make this $10 more than worth it, and the exact excuse you need to revisit this modern masterpiece.
Prince of Persia was long in need of a resurrection, and in The Lost Crown, it's found it. Excellent platforming, clever puzzles and a huge map make one of the best Metroidvania's in years, and kicks off 2024 in style.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a serviceable open world game elevated by a stunning presentation. While the visuals will utterly wow you, it's a shame it doesn't introduce more original ideas.
Switch’s Mario RPG feels like a love letter to the original game. Fans of the 1996 version will be delighted by the care that’s gone into recreating the SNES title scene-for-scene. For everyone else, this remains a charming RPG adventure well worth discovering.
A Call of Duty game of this low quality released a decade ago would have been a scandal. Now, it's emblematic of an approach to a franchise that's in desperate need of a reality check.