JumpCut PLAY
HomepageJumpCut PLAY's Reviews
Observer: System Redux is a fascinating, sometimes thrilling trip that I would highly recommend despite its flaws. The game’s slower pace won’t be for everyone, but those who persist with it will be rewarded. It’s a world you wouldn’t want to live in, but an intriguing place to visit. Turn on, plug in, and freak out.
Dirt 5 is a mixed bag; it’s a graphically exquisite experience with a flawed progression system and a lack of in-game rewards. However, it does excel in core gameplay and is enormously fun with a gentle learning curve and a great variety of race modes. If you are in the market for a fun and great-looking rally racing game that does away with all the “simulator” gubbins, Dirt 5 is well worth a look—foibles and all.
2020’s iteration of the long-winded franchise is once again a mixed bag, which sadly has become the norm with the series. A campaign that, while widely entertaining and for the most part interesting, is cut far too short to have any real substantial worth, a multiplayer mode that tries to do some new things but ultimately feels far too same-y with the old frustrations rearing their ugly head, and finally, a fantastic Zombies mode that entertains when playing alone or with friends adds up to a package that feels disjointed. The sooner that Activision decides to allow consumers to purchase elements of the game as separate entities the better, as the Zombies mode alone is worth a spin, just not at the full asking price.
The Last of Us Part II is not for everyone. Sometimes, it wasn’t even a game for me, a huge fan of the original. It’s often an emotionally punishing experience, and even borders on sadism at times. But no matter how much hatred these characters feel, no matter what form of revenge they take, the game never loses sight of the importance of compassion and love. It’s a message that the world could use right now.
Fall Guys is a bright, fast-paced, and relatively simple game that is a delight to play. Whilst I can’t see myself playing this game for hours on end, it will be a go-to when I require a pick me up while also being great for when people are allowed to get together for parties again!
This game is definitely more suited for mobile play due to its Tinder-like mechanics. Swiping with your mouse definitely feels like more effort than the game requires and because it’s card-based it’s perfect for a mobile phone screen. Using a mouse definitely doesn’t hinder my enjoyment of the game – the writing makes sure of that! But if you were looking to buy this game then I would absolutely recommend buying it for your phone.
If you can avoid these performance issues, thankfully there’s a great deal of fun to be had with The Climb 2. While in many ways it does not feel like a massive leap in content from the first game and still somewhat feels a tad tech demo like for a game released in 2021, for fans of the thrill of free-soling and finding enjoyment in besting others in time records, it will be sure to please and keep you coming back for hours. Perhaps we will this gameplay engine implemented into a larger scope title down the line from Crytek.
For a free upgrade, the next-gen patch is a real blessing here and it is certainly a great step for the game to take in its attempts to gain a second chance at becoming a new regular in your play cycles. Your engagement with the endgame aspects of Avengers is going to be solely down to your preferences and your tolerance for an intense, grinding style of game as seen with the emergence of the “live service” game, with even my short dip into the online field matching me up with players who out-ranked my power level a substantial amount. However, I have no desire to search for loot, to make my characters as powerful as possible, or even grind for some cosmetic skins, as ultimately the core hook just isn’t enough to keep me coming back. What is here is mechanically solid, but it never manages to be gratifying enough to keep me invested past an hour or so—and with the grind the game requires, that is just not enough time to get engrossed with the elements at play here.
Unrailed! on the Switch is a very fun time sink when you fancy a quick game of something before upcoming plans. There is a great core game here with a very enjoyable look, but it’s initially let down by the lack of player communication mechanics, which prevents new players from understanding the game’s intricacies and learning from experienced players without actively leaving the game in pursuit of external materials. Once you do overcome this hurdle, however, you are rewarded with the true quality of the game being presented to you, and you’ll very quickly find yourself engrossed even for just the short time span you intend to play for.
SuperCross 4 takes the prospect of a sport with a fervent fan-base and doubles down on making the gameplay a divisive introduction to the franchise for newcomers. It isn’t quite inside the distinctions of a simulator, but it is the closest this franchise has come yet to that notion. Your mileage may vary in this regard, but the mud and sand covered competition of Monster’s latest installment are ready to test you.
It’s hard to say Lifeslide does anything wrong with its execution, at no point did I grow tired or frustrated with the game. It ends just as it risks overstaying its welcome – and the mechanics it does introduce over that runtime fit into the main loop neatly. Still, even those do little to elaborate beyond those initial mechanics in a way that feels intentional. With a gameplay loop that harkens back to an era of lunchtime flash games, Lifeslide will genuinely please people who are looking for a new relaxing experience.
It’s that simplicity at Glyph’s core that keeps it fresh. Piloting the insectoid protagonist feels like learning to play with a toy (and it does kind of resemble a Bakugan, come to think of it). Even when you’re failing at landing a jump time and time again, the looming sense of accomplishment on the other side makes the struggle worthwhile. Before you know it, that double jump to glide sequence might come as naturally to you as a jump from sofa to recliner.
In Sound Mind encapsulates what it means to be greater than the sum of one’s parts–its disparate elements coalescing to form a simultaneously unsettling and campy horror title.
Legacy of Thieves is just in an odd place. Its arrival is clearly well-timed for Tom Holland’s cinematic iteration of the franchise but rarely offers much to either intrigued players or Uncharted fans. If you’re new to the series, you’ll likely be playing the first games through backward compatibility with the Nathan Drake Collection of remasters first and foremost, and fans are already aware of Nathan’s story. That being said, Legacy of Thieves is still a great duo of games. Both A Thief’s End and Lost Legacy are superbly written, narrative-focused, and most importantly, entertaining games which offer some of the best action and plots that PlayStation has seen throughout its history
With interesting themes, a compelling story, and a creeping sense of dread, The Medium is a mature and atmospheric experience that I really enjoyed playing. It’s a major evolution for Bloober Team, building on elements from their earlier games and making bold new strides in other areas. After Observer: System Redux, I was excited to play The Medium. Now I genuinely can’t wait for what they do next. Let’s see where it truly all ends.
Arizona Sunshine is at its absolute best when it takes a step back, places you in an enclosed environment and turns off the lights with one stage entrapping you in a pitch-black mine, with your only light source for some stretches being a single flashlight. It is easily the standout moment of the game, creating an unsettling sense of dread that shows the team have a real knack for the more horror focussed roots the genre has. In 2016 it was understandable that such a title would become a favourite among fans, and it is great to see a VR game sustain momentum for this amount of time. Yet with the likes of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners also finding their way onto quest, offering a far more refined and in-depth experience, it is hard to get super excited about it. What Arizona Sunshine does provide is a fun arcade zombie shooter, and while it may not keep your attention for hours on end, offers a solid blast of undead killing action.
Having played several gritty and faintly depressing games recently, Immortals certainly brings the fun and offers a breath of virtual fresh air. The story is not revolutionary but does contain a few surprises and leans into some of the weirdness of Greek Mythology with gleeful enthusiasm. It’s a big game too, full of variety and pleasantly light on filler. My playthrough took around 40 hours and I still have plenty of side-content to go back to and I probably will (which is far from common for me). It borrows from the best including BotW but also brings a scattering of new ideas and let’s not overlook this, it’s available on all platforms for everyone to enjoy. It’s a suitably epic adventure with plenty to enjoy just as long as you can look (or rather, listen) past the narration. With a few tweaks and a better script, a sequel could become a classic.
El Hijo is a fun little stealth puzzler that is definitely worth your time if you like similar games in the genre. It’s very cute and has a beautiful art style, but if you want something a bit more obviously elaborate, you won’t get that here. El Hijo isn’t a revolutionary game, but it was so fun and heartwarming that I struggled to put down the controller.
Pacer is a thrilling racing game with plenty of content, variety and customisation. A couple of rough edges and slightly disappointing combat keep it from reaching true greatness but it’s still a fun trip down memory lane, even when you’re going at 1,000 kilometres per hour.
With what we have at launch, Demeo is still an absolute blast. The feeling of conquering a dungeon with your team does feel like an accomplishment, and if my eyes could handle longer sessions of VR, I would likely jump into numerous games one after the other. Yet once those extra maps are introduced and perhaps even a difficulty option to increase the challenge for experienced players, Demeo may find itself as a must-play for VR gamers in the coming months.