Dealspwn's Reviews
Dying Light is a game best experienced on your own terms and at your own pace. It eschews the excesses of its sibling franchise, Dead Island, but is no worse for it and if you can get past the clunky storytelling and the repetitive missions, you might a diamond in the rough that really empowers you to revel in the design aspects of its zombie-infested sandbox.
#IDARB is a fun, accessible and utterly bonkers 4v4 team sport that allows onlookers to get involved in crazy and unpredictable ways. It's a local multiplayer revelation, though long-term appeal and value is questionable especially once it returns to £11.99.
Citizens Of Earth is more than just an Earthbound homage. Zany humour finds wonder and wackiness in the mundane, while the recruitment system lets you build a versatile army that changes the way you explore and battle in a JRPG.
Avernum 2: Crystal Souls is an enormous, expansive and peerlessly written RPG that succeeds both on the strength of its world and its innovative campaign structure. So long as you're willing to read and exercise a little imagination, that is. Spiderweb have refined their winning formula over the last two decades and the result is pure roleplaying quality.
This HD remaster of a remake is a remarkable homage to the original survival horror masterpiece to be enjoyed by fans of the original PS1 game, the GameCube remake or even complete newbs. Some of the mechanics like the dated inventory system can and will frustrate, but the overall journey is a rewarding one through one of gaming's most important games. Can we finally have that remake of Resi 2 now please, Capcom?
Blackguards 2 delivers more brutal hex-based strategy and environmental puzzling while refining the original formula in several smart ways. The more open yet focused campaign, propped up by a fantastic central character who's as evil as you want her to be, makes for a satisfying if punishing experience.
Gat Out Of Hell is a £15, bite-sized Saints Row-lite experience. Go into it with those expectations and you'll probably be fine. But if you don't care about playing last-gen material on new-gen platforms, give this a miss, do yourself a favour and pickup a copy of the original Saints Row IV for under a tenner.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is an excellent remake, retaining the quirky parody story of the original Hyperdimension Neptunia while bringing everything else up to date. Enhanced combat, visuals and gameplay systems make for a great portable RPG, while the short dungeons work better on Vita than they ever did on PS3.
A deeply atmospheric, emotionally compelling game that manages to treat war as a serious topic and examines the hard choices made by those caught in the middle of conflict. You might not particularly enjoy your time with This War Of Mine, but it's definitely a game you ought to play, being one of the finest critiques of war that this medium has to offer.
Starpoint Gemini 2 is an impressive fusion of space sim, RPG and lumbering capital ship combat, resulting in a fiercely unique experience that's a joy to dip in to. Awful voice acting and difficulty spikes mar an otherwise serviceable campaign, but the real fun is to be found tooling around the galaxy in freeroam and graduating from garbage scow to fleet commander.
Storm Island is a mud-churning, rain-drenched, power-sliding delight that more than earns its expensive asking price. So long as you love your racing brutal, dirty, off-road and more than a little airborne, that is.
Halfway between Fez and the best Screwball Scramble set ever created, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a quietly brilliant puzzler. It could stand to be longer and slightly more challenging, but Nintendo have turned a simple premise into something truly lovely.
Lara Croft And The Temple Of Osiris is a superb cooperative puzzler, pacey shooter and a rip-roaring adventure. The replayable campaign is a bit too short to make the most of the abundance of loot, but it's a blast while it lasts especially in local co-op.
The Crew's magnificent automotive American playground and high-octane multiplayer road trips are sensational, but the tragedy is that Ubisoft and Ivory Tower didn't know when to stop.
Though lazily framed and under-scripted, Far Cry 4 is a gorgeous, systems-oriented playground that provides endless hours of entertainment. And exploding elephants.
Forget the disappointments of the previous instalment – BioWare are back on top form with Dragon Age: Inquisition. With huge expansive locations to explore, a rich and detailed world to be immersed in, and a branching narrative that has the player make tough choices, it is not only one of the best RPGs of the year, but a strong last-minute contender for game of the year.
Tales From The Borderlands kicks off with a feel-good tour de force. Not only is Zer0 Sum a satisfying and frequently hilarious use of three hours, but it would have been strong enough to stand on its own as a masterful piece of interactive Borderlands fiction. As Zer0 might say... :D
Never Alone manages to overcome its technical hiccups with an enchanting setting supported with a pair of adorable characters and some interesting cultural insights into the Iñupiat community. The basic puzzle/platforming gameplay is family-friendly and works even better when played in co-op.
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U brings brilliant brawling back to the big screen. Though Smash Tour and the lack of a true story mode are disappointing, the exceptional character roster, great stage design, handsome visuals, addictive extra modes and timeless fun factor make for a guaranteed good time. Just add mates, whether online or on the couch.
LittleBigPlanet 3 is an impressive game, stuffed with more imagination than ever before, and presented in a manner that makes user creation supremely accessible even as the toolset deepens. Though the Adventure mode is sadly short-lived, and the platform differences are fairly negligible, LBP 3 will surely prove to be a must-have game for PlayStation or series newcomers this winter.