Hades is a rare breed of game. Supergiant’s design confidence is almost reflected in the cavalier attitude of the game’s protagonist, Zagreus; capable and arrogant, young and vibrant. But evermore charming as a result. I’ve used the phrase before, but this is absolutely a franchise-in-waiting, and more, if the studio and Private Division were so inclined. But know this, at the very least: those accolades? The ones that kept coming? We’re adding to them -- a year on, and now with a new audience and new homes, Hades is still near-perfect and an absolute must-play. Don’t miss the bus again.

To summarise it in a way that should make sense, The Ascent features a mix of systems and mechanics that don’t play all that well with each other. Exploration suffers too, with certain Side Missions being locked to the main story without any word as to why.

The characters are not only memorable, but the questions they and the overall story raise go beyond plot twists for the sake of plot twists. There’s care and an attention to detail worth celebrating here. Roman culture isn’t simply a cool historical backdrop, customs, behaviours, what we now know of the times can be found and felt in every corner of the world. And in many of the conversations you’ll have.

The combat too is a little easy on the normal setting, where the danger seems to lessen the more you play. The small-ish levels also become repetitive after a while, and need a bit more variety. Even as the world around you becomes more unstable, Chernobylite’s awe does wane a little. But setting aside all of that, Chernobylite presents a memorable story set in an endlessly fascinating locale. One that is as ambitious as it is immersive. The choices you get to make and unmake stick with you and, well, it all makes for an unforgettable journey into the Exclusion Zone.

And as the door closes on the full Death’s Door experience, I’m not at all shy to say this is one of the best games I’ve not only played this year, but in the past number of years. It is stylish and polished to a fault, paced to utter perfection and just oozes confidence from the upstart two-person team at Acid Nerve. I sincerely hope this is a franchise in waiting, because if it’s not, I’m coming for you, Devolver Digital.

With more coming on the horizon, Microsoft Flight Simulator still stands as one of the most impressive technical and artistic achievements we’ve seen to date. No matter if you’re playing on PC, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S.

There's a lot more to Old World than the glib description of "Civ meets Crusader Kings" can convey. Yet it succeeds because it feels like a genuine meeting between the two, a deeply considered merger that applies the strengths of both games to cover their weaknesses. It doesn't feel like you're playing Civ, but with some Crusader Kings characters butting in every now and again with some silly tale or grievance. It feels like you're playing Civ, but with some Crusader Kings characters who grow alongside you, whose relationships to you and each other actually matter, and who prove that the great stories of empires aren't about production rates per turn--they're about the people who lived through them. And their pet monkeys.

The beauty of F1 2021 is that it makes you want to learn about that, it makes racing on a track more rewarding on Lap 3 than it was on Lap 2. More fun the second time versus that first-run. It’s not perfect, seeing racers celebrate is always weird (they always do the exact same ‘Champagne Robot Dance’) and certain locations have that clinical sim-look that lacks warmth. With a little bit of extra personality and detail found in the seemingly incidental, then the F1 series has potential to be even better. As it stands, Codemasters has delivered a gem -- a fast and exhilarating racer for casual racing fans and F1 aficionados alike.

Where the story engages, the characters feel believable, and the monsters look and act and behave as diverse as the world itself. When it all comes together, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin feels as epic and engaging as any other entry in the long-running series, albeit in turn-based RPG form.

With everything above said, there’s an obvious draw here in it just being a Mario game, which alone will pull people to it. And there’s some fun to be had, and Nintendo gets a lot right with it, we just need the gimmicks and party favours turned down. Invincibility Star isn’t a number, so dialling the game up to that just isn’t something we can tune into on the reg. Especially given golf on its own merits is a game of strategy and patience, that can still be fast and fun without needing addressive rolling rocks impeding your path all the time.

Dark Alliance’s problems go beyond enemies zipping around arenas and ragdolling randomly at breakneck speed into walls. Though, a lot of that can be quite funny. It fails to do basic things like scale difficulty for solo and group play, or do the normal thing of not giving ranged mage-like enemies drastically higher physical-defence ratings than large hulking brutes. There are so many things half-baked, broken, glitchy, or simply baffling it’s almost commendable.

Expanded and refined, the addition of real-time ray-tracing adds a warmth and life to the experience in ways that only light can. And sure it’s making the little bits of plastic in the little plastic world look real, but it’s doing so much more. Like sunlight pouring through a window onto countless pieces of Lego on a floor, it gives vision to a world of endless creativity. At its best LEGO Builder’s Journey is very much that, all wrapped up in a short, sweet, and charming tale befitting of the source material.

Spot rusting aside, Chivalry II's got heart, humour and has polished those combat fundamentals to a high sheen. Providing the devs can hammer out some of the launch day dents quickly, this knight's tale could become the surprise hit of 2021. Give it a shot. Because it's the attacks you don't see coming that'll bowl you over the hardest.

Indeed, Frozenheim feels like it’s playing things too safe across the board. It’s not simply that it needs more content. It’s more that it needs more surprises. [Early Access Review]

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is ultimately a visual showcase for the PlayStation 5, a thrilling dimension-hopping adventure, and a next-gen experience that feels like it could only exist - in this form - right now. In an age where realistic visuals, that is real-world settings and characters with proportional features to our own, are often the barometer for fidelity, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart reminds us that a heightened animated or cartoon-like look can offer a greater sense of immersion and believability than just about anything else.

An ambitious open-world action-RPG from a new studio that does a lot, but doesn’t do a lot very well. In the end it’s finding new weapons and gear, alongside using new mutations and abilities in combat, that resonates. With less filler and more Kung-Fu killer, this could have been so much more -- with less.

Whether you’re in it for the story, the world, the resources, the crafting or all of the above, Subnautica: Below Zero is a rich vein of fun and engagement you won’t want to escape from anytime soon.

What you’re left with is a stunning new place to explore, an excellent story and expansive deep-dive into Celtic mythology and some new systems. But this is mostly driven by familiarity and a lack of anything truly dynamic or emergent. If you loved the formula of Valhalla, this is a bit of a no-brainer, but if you were hoping for something completely different or new, you’ll largely only find that in this fae tale.

As an entire experience there is a lot on offer, and the game encourages multiple playthroughs with a number of difficulty settings, Mercenaries, Treasures and more to find and unlock. I wasn’t wholly sold on werewolves and vampires and fairytale zombies initially, but as I progressed through the game, my inner cryptozoologist emerged and I just left all scepticism at the gate and enjoyed the game for what it is: more outlandish and out there, is more better.

In some ways, the whole Lovecraft angle plays out here -- too big to conjure, fathom or even understand, Returnal is difficult to want to wrap your head around, and that’s largely because it hangs its space hat on that death loop (again, different game, same platform). If you’re a glutton for punishment, don’t mind a grind and will happily deal with unfathomable RNG forces at cosmic play, you will absolutely get something out of Returnal, but if like me, every time you die, a little piece of the part of you that wants to play more, dies too, then you might find yourself not return(al)ing to this in a hurry.

All in all, Outriders falls short of Anthem in the launch-period stability stakes. Having to combat the game to be able to combat enemies and then combat the game to be able to combat enemies and then combat the… well, it’s just not worth it.

A bigger budget, more player-agency and a more expansive world are all that's holding this back from being groundbreaking. And a lot of learnings will be taken from this latest outing.

In the end though it will most likely be Narita Boy’s visuals that grab you – and on that front Studio Koba has delivered and then some. Even though there’s a lot of lore and explaining going on it’s all met and even exceeded by the stunning backdrops, wonderful animation, and a consistent tone that strikes a balance between awe and familiar. Between analog and digital. Accompanied by an excellent synth-driven soundtrack, and a story that is ultimately bittersweet if not entirely unpredictable – Narita Boy is worth seeking out, installing, and experiencing in full VHS-era CRT-vision.

Monster Truck Championship is fun and challenging, but frustration, a one-note near linear course masquerading as variety, and not nearly enough in terms of options and engagement leave this a bogged experience.

The story that revolves around the divorce of Cody and May feels, well, a little divorced from the vibrant co-op platformer that makes up the bulk of It Takes Two. Where new and exciting fantasy locations and interesting mechanics are introduced regularly with a story that fails to keep pace or even reach a satisfying conclusion.

The game’s various biomes are connected, which means your hunts are no longer bound by the old timey restraint known as ‘the loading screen’. This is a major improvement for the handheld side of the franchise, adding an open-world sheen and sense of realism to the biodiversity that is flora, fauna, and big bad monsters.

The hardcore JRPG lovers looking for meaty Switch representation will froth over this, but as a new entry in the field, Bravely Default II only displays acid rain level nostalgia. It’s the dinosaur they just added feathers to, to make it seem like something new, but really, it’s all the same skeletal system we’ve known and studied already for so long.

Bowser's Fury has the effect of pushing the pretty good time that is Super Mario 3D World into the background - it's that good. So much so that a better title for this release would have been Bowser’s Fury + Super Mario 3D World.

Little Nightmares II is wonderful, captivating, creepy, and unsettling in equal measure - tapping into childhood fear and horror in a way that feels both deeply personal and like a distant, unknown memory.

It’s not all seamless, exactly how it’s blend of home-base to expedition works takes a while to become apparent – leading to some confusion. The combat too and dashing about is a little imprecise (even when using a d-pad) which can lead to some frustrating boss encounters. In the end, through brevity, variety, and focus, Olija is a rewarding slice of action, contemplative fiction, with great action-adventure design.

For a title devoid of action, outside of a couple of stealth sequences and a ‘run towards the screen from the giant monster bit’, The Medium might commune with the spirit world... but it fails to communicate all that well with the player.

Each major story adds to the world, the setting, the mystery. Throw in PC visuals that are easily some of the most impressive you’re likely to see this year or next, it’s the one part of the experience that lives up to the futuristic setting and promise seen in the many pre-release gameplay slices and trailers. But again, there’s a disconnect that creeps up every now and then. Immersion that breaks whenever you come across a bug or you can see the seams due to missing AI or missing features. No doubt Cyberpunk 2077 will be a better game on all platforms in three months time, and then three months after that. For now, it’s breathtaking on PC - for all the right, and wrong, reasons.

As a newly unique offering from Ubisoft, Immortals Fenyx Rising is something to savour. Yeah, it’s the publisher's third massive open-world release in the space of three months but what you get here is charming and refreshing to a fault. A wonderfully realised journey into myth and legend where everything fits as neatly as a chest-plate forged in the fires of Hephaistos’s Great Forge. The story, the combat, the puzzles, the exploration, the challenge, the Creed, the Zelda. The Fenyx.

The world is full of activities and things to do, but they’re super-checklist heavy, and don’t flesh the world out enough. You can knock the experience over in about half the time of the original and while you unlock requisite NG+s and the like, you’re kind of left hanging. Upside down. Like a spider, man.

In the end Age of Calamity is more Breath of the Wild than Dynasty Warriors, and I’ve been purposely vague when it comes to the storyline and specific quests for good reason. Although they were far and few-between in Breath of the Wild, when you did get the ol’ cinematic it was pretty special. In Age of Calamity you have more of these, both in quantity and in terms of high quality production values. To the point where you can’t wait to see what happens next. Going one step further, Age of Calamity doesn’t feel like just another spinoff. It feels like a third piece in the Breath of the Wild story, one that sits alongside the original and the inevitable sequel. A TriForce if you will.

There's no question in my mind that some elements could have been improved upon without negatively impacting the overall experience, and the blind pursuit of flawless recreation comes at what I feel is a heavy cost. You will find no better looking or better running game than Demon's Souls with the launch of the new consoles. But I think you will find no worse (From designed) Souls game.

For a first outing, Counterplay has achieved something that's undeniably striking in the visuals department, though that's marred by sameiness and the odd, isolated framerate hitch. We also have an addictive loot game and a surprisingly deep RPG upgrade system here, though it's hamstrung by fisticuffs that don't nail down those all important fundamentals. I wouldn't label what's here as a complete Godfall, but certainly a sizable Godstumble that'll need a decent patch. Postpone your excited, just-gotta-PS5 leap of faith towards this.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure is beautiful and the added power of the PlayStation 5 hardware has led to the materials found throughout the arts-and-craft world to look and often behave like the real thing. The blend of fantasy with everyday objects gels wonderfully with the soundtrack too, giving the experience a feel that is more than a simple riff on classic 3D platforming.

Like Treyarch before them, it feels like Cold War is Raven’s break-free moment, and their “love letter” reads passionately and completely with this Black Ops entry. We’ve talked up Assassin’s Creed Valhalla maybe being the only real next-gen title this year, but with Cold War, Activision is making a cold case for Cold War to be considered in the same conversation. And so far, we’ve collected all the evidence we need to agree.

Like all great over-the-top art, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is grounded in humanity. Humanity that is personified in the new and wonderful protagonist Ichiban Kasuga.

Crisp visuals and smooth performance paired with tried-and-true gameplay and a controller that feels and behaves unlike anything that has come before - Astro’s Playroom is well worth spending some of those first PS5 moments with. The speaker, the motion controls (when limited to simple motions only), the impressive HD rumble, the adaptive triggers, it’s all here and impressive. Playing off the in-game visuals and surround sound coming through your headset or speaker setup it’s as much a proof of concept as it is a fine 3D platformer and a celebration of all things PlayStation. It leaves you wanting, and pining for a full-sized Astro adventure too. One built from the ground-up for Sony’s new console and groundbreaking new controller.

For a game that centres itself around the idea of settlements, negotiation, alignment and choice, Valhalla does an amazing job of making you feel like the spotlight is always on you. It redirects misconception around viking culture and remains an Assassin’s Creed game, though perhaps the lesser of all before it, for the betterment of the franchise. Game of Thrones’ Magnus Bruun is a shoe-in for best voice actor in a videogame this year but, more importantly, Valhalla is a game that will drag you along the Bifröst bridge and into the vision of Fenrir. How you handle all of this is up to you, but to boldly state in the positive, this is as anti Assassin’s Creed as we’ve yet played, and we love it all the more for it.

In the end, with more varied activities that went beyond the usual by-the-numbers story missions, say, a more emergent city full of events to match the unpredictability of who you control - then Watch Dogs: Legion could have been an experience on par with its impressive technology. As it stands it’s a fight and a cause worth joining, but like its cast your reasons might only extend to the escape from the monotony of a normal everyday existence.

It's pretty much unchanged from last year, however. That's the deal with NBA 2K21. If you can find a way to deal with the new shooting mechanism and you don't mind some pretty bad storytelling, NBA 2K21 is great… because it's largely unchanged from last year. Or the year before. Or the year before that.

As an avid fan of Diablo III’s transition into a build-your-own action-RPG superhero, Hades is often reminiscent of that Blizzard classic at its best - where weapon choice can then inform skills, variations, and switching things up based on what you’re presented with. There’s so much surprise in store and the narrative and mechanics are so intertwined that to discuss some of it in detail would feel like spoiling it. In the end though, persistence is what drives it all. So much so that reaching the surface and overcoming that final obstacle presents a feeling so monumental, that it borders on deeply emotional. But like any Greek tragedy or work of classical fiction that too opens the door to more questions, more answers, and more challenges for you and Zagreus to tackle head-on - with a little help from the Gods.

FIFA 21 is great. The small refinements make the biggest impressions this year, and I’m excited to see how the next-gen versions pan out. It’s finally good to be a Career Mode player again, and I just hope that over the coming years we see a bigger focus on Volta and less on pushing players into paying for FUT coins.

In the end though, by not committing to either the sim-style of TIE Fighter or the arcade-action of Rogue Squadron – the middle-ground falls a short of brilliance. Most campaign missions follow a similar flow, rarely delving into sheer cinematic spectacle or pure sim-like protracted and intense battles. But there’s no denying that when played in VR Squadrons often feels like a dream come true - and when it stays on target, it’s a force to be reckoned with.

The game is out now at a decent price and is worth more than a couple hours of your time or, maybe your kid who never played these can learn a thing or two. Either way, pick it up. This package alone is worth owning a Switch for.

Stunning to look at, dripping in era-specific atmosphere, from the cars to the fashion to the buildings, the signs, the advertisements, to the way kitchens are arranged or how alleys and roadways intersect in a way where you can still see remnants of that transition from horse and carriage to automobile.

Croteam have delivered the goods when it comes to the Serious Sam series before, and some of that is peppered throughout Serious Sam 4. From hopping into a giant mech that also happens to be a Pope Mobile to a gun that fires giant cannonballs that can mow down anything in its path. Played in co-op with unlimited respawns and you could even go so far as to recommend it to fans looking purely at that side of the game. But then you remember that the cannonball gun doesn’t show-up until several hours into the campaign, right near the end, and that you had to use a piss-weak pistol for a lot of the time. Shooting at the same aliens from Serious Sam’s of old - in environments that are, well, even uglier than a one-eyed reptilian.

If you’ve ever played either game or the series before, you know what you’re in for, it’s just more. If you haven’t and this is your first time dropping in -- don’t be scared, the opposite transition awaits and gravity will take hold in that this series will launch you to new, fun and endearing heights.

What we’re presented with throughout the campaign and as a whole though is as they say, rough around the edges. A scrappy mech with inconsistent and sometimes unpredictable movement. Perhaps the machine of choice for a squad of Polanian fighters looking to take back a village or two from the overwhelming size of the Rusviet army but not something you’d want for a full-scale invasion.

A solitary experience, directionless and without contextual form. Gorgeous, yes, and presented as an ambitious and familiar package with an equally resonant soundtrack, but oddly empty.

Toads might not be for everyone, but if you can stomach even half of popular culture and gaming as it stands, like, being a space knight fighting against alien races, a ‘Spartan’ fighting against alien races, an agent of an old house with a gun that transforms while suspended humans are ‘Hissed’, a paper plumber still saving a tripped-out world with red, green and purple mushies, a covert operative infiltrating an ex-Soviet base entirely on kayak, or a growing shark that subsists on a steady diet of humies… a couple of wise-cracking toads is the least of your woes. Just, you know, go with the flow… dude.

The miracle of flight is something to savour, no matter your seat. Microsoft Flight Simulator not only captures that feeling, it manages to put the entire world in your hands.

It was easy to be drawn into A Total War Saga: TROY. Through its blend of myth, legend, and history. And in striking that balance between the Warhammer entries and Three Kingdoms, Creative Assembly has presented its own Trojan Horse -- another visually impressive addition filled with Total War goodness.

With more time in development for avatar physics off the board (specifically in crashes), a new system for basic movement in the game, and some direction in a videogame sense, this would be as revolutionary as Skate was with its Flickit controls, but right now, it’s just not where it *could* be. Hopefully the content the PC community pours in finds its way to console, but as it stands, Skater XL is just too barebones and difficult for the everyday person to likely want to play.

Carrion is ultimately fascinating, engaging, and short and sweet. By putting you in the role of the alien threat it imbues you with a strange supervillain-like sense of playing in an insect farm. A playground where your prey often moves around sans limbs. If you’re a fan of sci-fi horror sub-genre then Carrion is worth seeking out.

A brooding yet charming affair that brings the collector in us along for a colourful ride through a kingdom gone foldingly mad. It has wonderful boss battles, visual charm and an annoying soundtrack. Working through the game’s binary puzzle system is still Nintendo-heavy in the aforementioned charm, but deploys little-to-no replayability, while the battle system is, at least, something new. But we wouldn’t write home Mamma Mario about it anytime soon. You’ll get hours of fun if you’re a Nintendophile, or at least a kick out of it for its writing, black humour and break from the mainstream norm, if you’re not.

When the story enters the picture, Ghost of Tsushima’s world goes from problematic to picturesque to beautiful, violent, haunting, melancholic, and even divine.

West of Dead isn’t without its standoff moments of frustration, but a squint of the eye and a sweat-bead zero-flinch will see you standing tall post-Purgatory call out. Honestly, I just want to see more of it at this stage, maybe in less repetitive form, but as a continually-fleshed out new IP and one that keeps its creative skull-fire burning.

Star Wars Episode I: Racer is more re-release than remaster. A game that admittedly was rushed to market in 1999 to ensure it hit shelves in time for the film’s release. So, the almost-there career mode feels a little undercooked in 2020 and the lack of polish to the AI stands out. But, it’s simple premise – recreating the excitement and thrill of Star Wars Pod Racing is a winning one. For pure high-speed thrills in a galaxy far, far, away, they still don’t get much better than this. And, getting to hear Watto hum the Cantina Theme is probably worth the price of admission alone.

Phantom Covert Ops isn’t a simple VR experiment, proof-of-concept, or a short VR title that’s over before you realise it’s a cool theme park ride - it’s a full, feature-packed game. And a damn good one at that. The missions are varied, the pacing is spot-on and it has all the cinematic tension and thrills of a Mission: Impossible film.

Deep Rock Galactic is a co-op masterpiece. No matter the aspect, you can feel the thought and care that has gone into its creation.

The closest thing to Beyond Blue currently out in the wild is the brilliant Subnautica, but where they differ is that one is an absolutely open, alien sci-fi fantasy and the other one is Subnautica.

Fussin' and a feudin' aside, if you possess the requisite patience levels and a methodical mind, Desperadoes III can quickly go from being an O.K. Corral to a great one. This is especially true if you're replaying it for those bonus objectives and you actually know how the West was won.

It’s not for the faint of heart, and takes the post-apocalyptic formula to new brutality heights, but you’ll have dreaded fun while plotting your course both through the game, and for revenge. After all, it’s a dish best served cold, and more often than not you’ll be shivering outside in the rain-drenched black of night, bruised, bloodied and battered. Staring at the last two rounds in your weapon, wishing you had a fuse for your near-completed molotov while hearing the echo-location clicks of the poor bastards swaying in the corner, the pandemic turned into living purple 1-Down mushrooms.

Little touches like kicking enemies when they’re close into the air and then blasting them before they hit the ground is the sort of style needed to match Huntdown’s, well, style. Again, if the aesthetic grabs you it won’t let go until the final scumbag meets the end of your firearm. Just don’t expect your moves to match that of the funky synth-lines simmering below the neon, vibrant, and pleasantly grimy surface.

A true Multimedia Age pioneer the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection might feature a dated and creaky core, but the package is ultimately triumphant. And that’s the truth. From God, to Kane, to Seth, to you.

On both the surface and deep within, Wildfire is a success, and we definitely see this as a franchise in-waiting. Hopefully all the fanfare and positive critical reception the game has received so far continues, and we see it go beyond even Sneaky Bastards’ own expectations. There’s room for it to land on consoles down the track too, where it would fit nicely. Especially having played it on PC using a controller (which I found more rewarding than the initial mouse and keyboard approach). But all of that will depend on how it’s openly received by punters now that it’s out in the wild.

It's got a few clever ideas, unique mechanics, and the execution is mostly on point. Throw in some weapons grade VHS-era nostalgia with a decent array of spot-the-classic clones, and you've got a cartridge worth slotting into your Control Deck. With a few more dust dislodging blows though, we could have had a must-buy.

Xenoblade Chronicles is as grand and all-encompassing as Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and this Definitive Edition presents a wonderful remaster of an already excellent RPG. From the expansive and gorgeous worlds to explore to the memorable story and the stellar soundtrack.

Minecraft Dungeons has a few bright spots, in its release form it’s highly polished with solid visuals and effects. Outside of the static nature of the environments they’re diverse and cover the range of locations you’d expect to find in this style of experience – from snow-capped mountains to volcanic caves and fortress-like structures. Minecraft Dungeons’ fantasy look is on point. And with the game being moderately priced and a part of Xbox Game Pass – this alone lessens the ‘fun for a few hours’ blow that is Mojang’s take on Diablo. An entry level take on a well-worn genre that after a few hours will have you heading for the exit.

In the end Saints Row The Third Remastered is a reminder that the style of action seen in Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown can find a cartoonish and juvenile middle-ground. A place where the concept of gangs and friendship is both comic and grounded. A place where player freedom lets you make your mark on the world with style and a distinct lack of grace. With the fourth Saints Row leaning ever more into the absurd, thanks to a plot that deals with alien invasions and virtual realities, Saints Row The Third Remastered is arguably the series at its best.

On the whole, more time in development might have ironed out some bugs, and the Day One patch which I’ve had a play with today addresses *some* issues, but a few more persist. They’re not game-breaking, but stand as reason enough the game might have needed another month or so in sharpening up. All that said, there’s a fun game here for people who are into 100%-ing anything they touch, and for those looking for something a little bit different. Be sure to watch the video examples riddled throughout this review to get an idea of what you’re in for, but I’ll be spending the rest of my game-time after plonking roughly 18 hours into it, uncovering everything else it has to offer.

In a sense Mafia II is more like an interactive version of Goodfellas than an open-world mob experience that could only exist as a videogame. Vito’s rise is full of twists and turns that are always interesting even when they dip into stereotype and a facsimile of the classic cinematic mob epic. The expansions do flesh out the open-world setting of Empire Bay in interesting and meaningful ways, but in the end Mafia II: Definitive Edition remains an experience where the engaging story towers above all – sitting alongside the skyline of the impressive but only skin-deep Empire Bay.

Gorn can be completed in roughly two and a half hours. That runtime is padded out with an Endless Mode and chasing weapon unlocks by appeasing certain in-arena objectives. What I really wanted to see was the asymmetrical Party Mode multiplayer that's in the PC version. The basic gist: mates on controllers can team up and try to do you in using gladiator avatars who all handle like drunk Octodads. Fingers crossed this shows up in an update. For the respectable asking price, I don't think the above situation is a deal-breaker. If you were to go out on a (severed) limb for a speculative purchase, I think you'd find Gorn represents the nicest and red-iest slice of PSVR we've seen in some time.

What you should be preparing yourself for is a game with massive dialogue and very little in the way of ‘gaming’. It’s not a detriment, as it helps the experience standout, and I couldn’t stop once I was fully invested in all the characters. Plus, it’s a quirky Indie and fringe developers need all the help we can give them. So pull up a stool and order something warm, this might just become your new favourite cafe.

Co-op bugs, weird camera angles, and sub-par engine sounds aside, I love this game. The huge variety of things to do with the 40-odd vehicles in the stunningly beautiful open world sandbox makes the game a joyful and (mostly) relaxing experience. And as the aural feedback is virtually non-existent anyway, lowering or even muting the volume entirely while loading up your favorite Spotify playlist is perhaps the best way to enjoy it. So sit back, crack a brewski, revel in the marvelous scenery, and haul a few loads. Just don't forget to pack your spare undies - you're gonna need 'em.

In the end Cloudpunk is as long as its narrative, with little more than collectibles to find through exploration. Mostly there to present videogame elements like vehicle upgrades or trinkets to place around your small apartment. The story though is memorable, and often as dense and layered as the jutting buildings that make-up Nivalis. An aesthetic joy throughout, and a cyberpunk tale well worth delivering to your desktop.

Fury Unleashed is a fantastic distraction title that may have released in the right real-world window while we all struggle with the staying at home setup of 2020. It’s also an easy game to just pick up and play with mechanics easy enough to master, but packed with a layer of challenge that is subtle and rewarding. Especially on the Hard difficulty level. Rogues aren’t usually my bag, and I’ve never been a massive fan of procedurally-generated worlds, but the “Lite” side of those things in Fury Unleashed make it a gem of a game to sink your teeth into.

With several wonderfully constructed set-pieces and backdrops thrown in at regular intervals, picking up Streets of Rage 4 is something that we will do at some point again in the future. Thanks to its excellent feel, wide range of characters, and excellent soundtrack. With the return of the original composers in addition to new artists, the music here shifts between modern renditions of classic tunes to experimental techno and even some bass music. Not everything feels as timeless as the original soundtrack and the modern flourishes can feel out of step with the decidedly simple design. Not in the sense that modern electronic music is not as inventive or energetic or suitable for a beat-em up – but in the sense that perhaps Streets of Rage 4 doesn’t quite do enough to warrant the fresh coat of paint. And fresh set of beats.

To say that an experience was ‘surprisingly good’ or ‘surprisingly fun’ has a somewhat negative connotation. In that there’s the assumption that heading in expectations were set to ‘low’. To call Gears Tactics surprising is not that at all, it’s all about coming to terms with the realisation that at its core, Gears of War combat is tactical, deep, and full of its own style and flavour. And that all of that, when given enough time to develop and flesh out and expand upon, makes up the perfect list of ingredients to create a great turn-based tactics game.

This lovely little spin-off is going to alienate very few people. A cheap as chips production that pares 25-years of a bloated XCOM back to a purer and leaner form. Like Rocky Balboa in, well, all of them. Granted the production values and polish is wanting, but the more intimate squad feel and new Breach mechanics became hopelessly addictive the more I played. And when it comes to XCOM, that’s enough for it to feel like a direct hit.

During the latter half of the game you wouldn’t me amiss spamming your way through most battles whilst playing closer attention to the story, dialogue, and engaging world. In the end, the approachable combat gives the fantasy dungeon-crawling of Operencia a wider appeal than say a new Wizardry might. Fans of party-based RPGs in the vein of Baldur’s Gate or Dragon Age will find a lot to love here too, thanks to the combination of great writing and wonderful presentation. And hey, any fantasy world that features a relic called the magical Amulet of Zotmund is one worth visiting.

Despite early frustration, Animal Crossing: New Horizon is not only a game I’ll be returning to but also a life worth revisiting. With time comes maturity and now that I know the rules and how to break them each visit can be a holiday or a monetary expedition to create a hoarder’s paradise. Animal Crossing: New Horizons lets you do what you want, at your own pace, as long as you’ve got the Bells to pay for it.

Minor quality-of-life missteps aside, Final Fantasy VII Remake is still an absolute gem, polished to a high sheen and worthy of slotting into any serious gamer's collection. Granted, if you've been keeping up with the Final Fantasy franchise recently, it won't feel like Square Enix has reinvented the gameplay wheel. However, it sure did reinvent the wheel of time. Without saying too much, what we have here is a divergent “defy destiny” tale that's sure to wrong-foot veterans.

Too often Half-Life: Alyx feels like baby's first VR shooter and for many — especially those who purchased VR hardware to play it — this isn't a dealbreaker. But trading off the Half-Life name for an introductory course to VR relegates HL: Alyx to spin-off territory when the characters involved and the story it tells could be so much more. Alyx Vance deserves better, and so too do VR gamers.

As much as one might bemoan Resident Evil 4’s use of quick-time events, the fact that playing Resident Evil 3 can make you pine for their return when all you’re doing is watching - is probably all you need to know. As a remake Resident Evil 3 is an impressive visual feat and another RE Engine showcase. It’s a shame then that the actual game portion wasn’t given the same overhaul.

You won’t be disappointed in any way shape or form with this as a complete product. Production values throughout the short journey are spectacular and you get a sense when it’s all done that this is either the beginning of something longrunning and with expansive potential, or a complete one-off experience for the ages. Again, you’ll be the judge of that when the credits roll, but such is the virtue of what SkyLabs has created and completed here.

DOOM Eternal’s world is one that blends elements of traditional sci-fi with the sort of fantasy that resides, well, in the world of fantasy. Or, a cool-as-hell heavy metal album cover to suit the game’s heavy metal opera of fast drumming and chunky riffs, replete with choiristic guttural gregorian chants backing it all. There’s a vision and completeness on display that presents id Software as much more than tech pioneers. Eternal is as much a statement of renewed intent as it is a brilliant slice of first-person action from id. A studio that has taken the simplicity and peerless feel of DOOM 2016, Quake III Arena, and other past glories and expanded that into an experience that also captures the wonder of exploring new alien worlds and locations. To ‘Rip and Tear’ through.

Perhaps the biggest problem with a game that is simply this gorgeous to look at, is that even the slightest of frame-rate hitches feels like a betrayal. A betrayal to the expectation of perfection you get as soon as the adventure begins. Ori and the Will of the Wisps isn’t perfect, but its issues are mere momentary lapses in an otherwise stellar action-adventure. An experience that feels monumental in both scope and presentation.

Levels are still challenging but there’s a general lack of surprise to the flow that is a little disappointing, in that it kind of feels that the underlying gameplay of The Division and the sorts of levels and missions you can expect to find have reached ‘peak variety’. But when that variety essentially blends the original game’s setting and enemy factions with that of The Division 2’s vibrant Washington DC - Warlords of New York presents more than enough reasons to re-visit the Big Apple.

In the end it’s worth noting that when viewing a remake or remaster what needs to be taken into consideration is the source material, how it looks, feels, and plays. That is, in addition to the work carried out to recreate moments, update visuals, and change any of the presentation. To do otherwise would be silly, a terrible game with a wonderful remaster doesn’t warrant a high score. In the case of Warcraft III, the inverse to that is also true. So, what we end up with is something in-between. A classic reborn, in a package that doesn’t warrant all that much in the way of celebration.

When the last punch gets thrown, Street Fighter V Champion Edition isn't a perfect KO. What's here really should have been the baseline launch quality way back in 2016. That said, if you've been standing back on the sidelines of this fight up until now (possibly as you awkwardly punch the air in a looped animation), know that you can confidently leap in and experience a damned good street fight.

Dreams is unlike anything I’ve played before. It’s a game that will only continue to grow and I’m very excited to see where it’s headed. As a platform, it encourages and celebrates creativity in all manner of ways - whether you want to create a piece of music, animate a small short or make a fully-fledged game. You can do it all. Minor performance issues aside, Dreams is a masterpiece in game design that I hope flourishes over the next decade.

A niche will exist for this, and I seriously hope Jed and Jordan successfully infiltrate their bank accounts in the positive, but for all its worth, Speaking Simulator loses itself too early and pushing through the whole experience is as draining as an android’s solar battery during a an overcast day. I can’t fault an Indie duo doing new things, and as far as risky game design goes, this is right up there. Unfortunately the novelty wears off far too quickly and you’re left with a shame pile title likely to keep collecting dust, unless you’re really in to Katy from HR.

Fending off waves of zombies and walking along linear pathways broken up by the odd surprise of seeing an undead tank. As in a tank tank, not a heavy zombie to take out. It’s a shame because this in turn will factor into the need or want to replay it all at a higher difficulty level or simply to level-up rankings to unlock skins, perks, and other elements. ‘Let’s do that again’ plays an important role in the perception and longevity of a co-op game, and on that front Zombie Army 4: Dead War falls short.