Xbox Tavern
HomepageXbox Tavern's Reviews
Romeo is a Dead Man is a fun, crazy, chaotic action title with a lot to offer, even if a few niggles rear their heads at times.
All in all, The Run is another excellent FMV title from Paul Raschid and his team. The performances are great, the choices present some real dilemmas, and the conclusion is satisfyingly surprising.
Cairn is thoughtful in its mechanical exploration of being a climber and it also delivers a story that pushes back on the mythology of the sport and the people that reach the highest levels. This is an essential game.
In short bursts there is fun to be had with Rightfully, Beary Arms, and once we nab a few permanent upgrades some of the issues are less pronounced. But we simply didn’t find it all that engaging enough to want to repeatedly play and progress, with one-note combat and occasionally cheap deaths.
MIO has a lot of features that other games in the genre introduced and found a way to incorporate and make them shine. The modifier system is similar to Hollow Knight or Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The accessibility option that makes each boss a tiny bit weaker after each failed attempt is similar to Hades. The extended platforming sections of the Ori games and Guacamelee are also present. MIO does a fantastic job of taking all these systems and making them their own while wrapping them up in a huge world to explore. This is Douze Dixièmes’ second game which follows their stunning debut, Shady Part of Me, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Kentum is an excellent combination of Metroidvania exploration and combat, and light base construction. The two genres enhance rather than distract from each other.
Overall, it’s been good to play these classic racers again. Nostalgia is doing some heavy lifting though, and if you’re not familiar with Street Racer then I would hazard a guess that you won’t quite see what the fuss is about. A lack of archival content, as well as some other versions of the game, is a shame but if you’re into retro gaming and fancy a fun – if challenging – racer, then this collection is worth a look.
While it improves massively in the final act of the game - thanks to fantastic performances and a wrapping-up of the story that had me on the edge of my seat - there’s no denying that the opening hours of Fort Solis are tedious. Between slow progression and a lack of interactivity, Fort Solis seemingly does everything it can to put us off from reaching the finish line.
This type of game may not be for everyone, but for anyone who misses the era of “gameplay only possible in an arcade cabinet” you might want to check out Neon Inferno.
Ol' Dave has captured hearts and minds with his debut game in Dave the Diver. But seriously, this was a fantastic game from start to finish. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot that is happening, either in the background or you having to deal with it directly, but I found the experience more enjoyable than not. A tried and tested game made its way to Xbox and the same greatness shows over here. Plays well anywhere and fun for all ages. Well worth a dive!
I've said it before but the same applies. I was very excited to play this follow-up game to what was kind of an indie gem back in the day. Kill It With Fire 2 went above my expectations with the depth they were able to add. I love the fact the co-op exists because it made for some fun moments with friends. Obviously, fans of the original will want to give this a try, but I would recommend this to a group of friends with no prior experience to this game, as long as you weren't deathly afraid of spiders ... I guess.
As a whole then, Kamikaze Lassplanes is a game of two distinct halves: a romance-heavy narrative adventure, and a good scrolling shooter. Personally, I’d have preferred more of the latter than the former, but what’s here is decent enough to enjoy all round.
Routine grounds the player within this lunar base, and trusts them to get out alive with a fantastic diegetic presentation, compelling narrative and setting, and genuine creeps and tense atmosphere.
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is yet another fantastic brawler, with excellent combat complimented by the dual character switching and combos, some brilliant A/V work, and plenty of reason to play it through multiple times. Some difficulty spikes ruin the flow a little, but get some buddies in and you’re in for a real treat with MARVEL Cosmic Invasion.
Strong multiplayer props up an otherwise poor showing from Call of Duty this year. The combat and movement is a good as ever, but a woefully dire co-op campaign drags the experience to one of the lowest points in years, and is only mildly mitigated by the End Game extraction mode that has some good to it, albeit marred by not being the main focus of the release of Black Ops 7.
Dispatch is a refreshing piece of gaming. Bringing back the Telltale-style choose your own adventure is great, but doing so with such brilliant style, technical proficiency and excellent script and performances has won me over entirely. Engaging from start to finish, Dispatch is easily one of my favourite games of the year, and a new standard in the genre.
Some weaker combat and a few UI problems aside, Tormented Souls 2 is a good love letter to the survival horror genre, with good exploration and puzzles to keep us wanting to see more.
In VF5: R.E.V.O. the gameplay and content have never been better. This version feels like the complete package, even if visually it is starting to look long in the tooth.
Radiolight is an enjoyable sci-fi adventure where we’re constantly wanting to see what’s next, with great performances pulling us through to a solid conclusion.
Orbyss proves less is more, with a snappy runtime filled with decently balanced puzzles and continuous new ideas to keep things fresh. A slightly more robust hint system would be great for when players need it, but otherwise Orbyss comes with a hearty recommendation if you’re in the market for a few evenings of puzzle goodness.