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Even though the PC version of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is in shambles at the moment, this sequel has taken Fallen Order’s already strong formula and thoroughly force-punched it into 5th gear.
With over ten years in development and three complete studio changes, Dambuster has somehow successfully morphed Dead Island 2 into a modern action-packed, gore-fest that’ll keep players’ bloodlust more than satiated.
Minecraft Legends is a bland strategy title that fails to impress. The core tactical systems are shallow and have been implemented quite poorly and the third person combat and traversal is underwhelming at best. As you are locked to controlling your hero, constructing defenses and ordering troops can also feel quite awkward meaning this experience quickly becomes very tedious. This is really unfortunate, because the story is decent, and has some clever humour. However, this is not enough of a reason to be worth investing time into Minecraft Legends.
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened has received a rather elementary remake. Those returning from Chapter One will appreciate the witty writing and banter between Holmes and Watson, though it is missing a certain 'wow factor' for a remake like this to truly stand out in today's market.
What starts out as a calming restoration simulator, quickly devolves into mundanity: the video game.
For a game that almost has as many different versions as Skyrim, this remake of the revered Resident Evil 4 has absolutely smashed it.
Tchia does initially give players a decent narrative to latch on to. Unfortunately, after a couple hours of play, it becomes quite dry. Tchia’s setting, which is heavily based on New Caledonia, does look stunning, especially with its simple art style. However, the world does feel quite empty, and with traversal often feeling quite slow, there is little reason left for players to take on the chore of seeing the sights.
It’s true that some fans may be disappointed with the direction of Bayonetta Origins, though if they give the game a chance, they may find themselves oddly amused.
WWE 2K23 is a fun, and exciting wrestling sim. It boasts a decent variety of game modes, most of which have seen a few improvements. By far the standout is the Showcase mode, putting you in the boots of some of John Cena’s most significant opponents. 2K23 definitely does enough to be worth picking up, even if some more big improvements could have been made!
With it’s blend of serious, yet indie/hipster graphics and presentation, The Wreck’s polished writing and powerful message of ‘letting others know they’re loved’ is something that Telltale or visual novel fans should enjoy.
It’s been 15 years since Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse launched exclusively in Japan, and the wait has sadly not been worth it.
If there’s one reason to pick up this game, it’d have to be the turn-based JRPG combat. The story is good in Mato Anomalies—don’t get me wrong—but the simple, yet highly complex battle system is where it’s at.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a big-time adrenaline rush, dropping the overwhelming RPG systems of Nioh for a more streamlined, arcade-like approach to battle.
Scars above is a fascinating third-person sci-fi adventure. It features an intriguing narrative that starts out a little slow, but it does quickly pick up and becomes one of its biggest strengths. The gameplay is a lot of fun, but doesn’t do anything particularly innovative to stand out from other similar titles. The game features some aesthetically pleasing environments, as well some really uniquely creature designs but the characters lack polish with the mouth movements in particular making them look a little like puppets at times.
It’s only made a handful of changes over the original, but Octopath Traveler II is a 60-100 hour journey that’s well worth experiencing.
Atomic Heart has been steadily building up steam for the longest time now, but the final product hasn’t quite matched up to the hype.
Like the series it was inspired by, Wild Hearts takes players on a challenging series of nature-themed bosses with 8 intuitive weapon types, alongside a host of seamless gameplay and co-op features which help keep the combat front and centre.
Wanted: Dead is a fun, but challenging adventure. It brings together brutal swordsmanship and deadly third person shooting in one uniquely packaged experience. The combat is easy to understand and it does feel great, and its difficulty is definitely the drawcard here. Unfortunately, the combat can feel a little too simple at times and the level design can seem slightly same-y. The story feels tacked on, and most of the voice acting is B movie levels of terrible. Overall, Wanted: Dead is quite entertaining and will give you a good few hours of challenging gameplay.
It may be quite shocking to hear this, but Hogwarts Legacy isn’t just a cheap tie-in game that some salty sceptics thought it’d be. Whether it’s the rich spell-based action, fun schoolyard activities or sky-high exploration of Hogwarts, fans of Harry Potter will certainly find something to enjoy here.
SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake is a really bland affair! It’s disappointing and uninspired level design, that often feels like it drags on way too long, mixed with its really dated gameplay mechanics makes for quite a generic platforming adventure with stiff controls. Whilst the narrative is entertaining and does its absolute best to be a redeeming factor, it just isn’t enough to be a selling point for The Cosmic Shake. I am honestly saddened to say that SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is quite a dull experience and is not worth picking up.