Deck Nine has produced something tremendous in Before The Storm's first episode. Life is good. [Nov 2017, p.66]

A smart, inventive, and genuinely funny strategy game - and possibly 2017's most pleasant surprise. [Nov 2017, p.62]

There's so much life in the RPG genre, and Original Sin II absolutely crackles with its energy. [Nov 2017, p.74]

The ruthlessly satirical writing, though, is in another league altogether. [Oct 2017, p.81]

It's a strong start. [Oct 2017, p.81]

It's a Soulslike, sure, but likely due to the isometric angle and the simple controls it requires, a repetitive one that offers little beyond a surface-level challenge. [Oct 2017, p.80]

Fans of early noughties shooters will love this; others will probably find it frustrating. [Oct 2017, p.79]

An excellent sword-fighting game that at times has trouble remembering its brilliant roots. [Oct 2017, p.78]

Mayhem's slick squad combat is wasted on repetitive mission design and a soulless open world. [Oct 2017, p.76]

A clever, challenging, and rewarding experience that requires patience and lateral thinking. [Oct 2017, p.75]

A fast-paced thrill ride with slick controls, becoming hypnotic and meditative once mastered. [Oct 2017, p.74]

An unsettling and deeply disquieting experience at times, Hellblade is like nothing else. [Oct 2017, p.72]

If you love classic Sonic, you'll love Sonic Mania. Just don't expect it to change the formula. [Oct 2017, p.71]

What initially feels like a celebration of the flow of combat becomes repetitive and frustrating. [Oct 2017, p.70]

A tight, character-focused jaunt, laid on the foundations of PS4's best adventure. Nathan who? [Oct 2017, p.68]

What we can say, however, is how much fun we're currently having. The campaign entertains, classes are a blast, and settings are spectacular. Whether you're experienced in min-maxing Light levels, or you go in fresh looking to shield-smash an 8ft Centurion in the face, you've got a date with Destiny 2. [Oct 2017, p.64]

That's You simply needed more questions to be an all-inclusive riot. [Sept 2017, p.81]

It's frustrating to see Telltale simultaneously at its best, and also just repeating itself. [Sept 2017, p.81]

A charming but ultimately underwhelming experience. [Sept 2017, p.80]

High-octane it ain't, but if you're after something mellow to wallow in, fill your (space) boots. [Sept 2017, p.79]

A speedy, psychedelic, and utterly addictive arcade experience that perfectly blends retro and modern. [Sept 2017, p.78]

The orange smasher returns better than ever in this lovingly-crafted remaster. [Sept 2017, p.76]

Tense and inventive, Black the Fall is great until the late-game difficulty erodes its atmosphere. [Sept 2017, p.75]

There's fun to be had, but the choice and variety are as micro as the machines, limiting your enjoyment. [Sept 2017, p.74]

Looks, sounds, and plays flaming great. Supergiant Games' best title yet, this is a journey worth taking. [Sept 2017, p.72]

Superior but safe, Splatoon 2 should achieve the soaraway success the original deserved. [Sept 2017, p.68]

If you can, get four friends, four headsets, and enjoy this the way it's meant to be played. [Aug 2017, p.83]

Consistently enchanting. [Aug 2017, p.82]

We applaud the idea, but despair at the delivery. Not enough bump in the night, too much bump into stuff. [Aug 2017, p.81]

The game is a little clunky in places, with glitches and a shaky lobby, but that barely detracts from the fun of a perfectly recreated, playable slasher flick. The only drawback is that you NEED seven friends to enjoy this. It works with randoms, but the real joy is playing with people you know: all those howling recriminations, the taunts, cheering the kills. [Aug 2017, p.80]

A beautiful yet flawed game that draws you in with its stylish looks and feels like nothing else. [Aug 2017, p.78]

Party and inventory management are fussy, but this action RPG is a real treat for parched 3DS owners. [Aug 2017, p.77]

An accessible off-road racer, but a lack of personality and dull management features let it down. [Aug 2017, p.76]

Huge space strategy housed within a gleaming shell. It'll keep you boldly going for months. [Aug 2017, p.74]

As far from a traditional one-on-one fighter as can be - and all the better for it. Thumpingly good fun. [Aug 2017, p.70]

Other [puzzlers], unfortunately, rely on easily-missed collectibles or suffer from a lack of explanation. Combine all this with terrible acting(not helped by the script), technical flaws (including a consistently awful frame rate and occasional clipping), and a boring script, and you'll find that Syberia 3 leaves you cold. [July 2017, p.83]

Like its protagonist, you're left feeling Get Even needed a little more love and attention to make its many ideas come together. [July 2017, p.83]

Everything feels designed to make you happy, and even when an answer takes a little while to uncover, the distinctive art style and music make it a joy to wrap yourself up. [July 2017, p.82]

A beautifully recreated love letter to the early days of first-person shooters, it's fun but limited. [July 2017, p.81]

Echoes is an intriguing, challenging throwback for strategy purists more than a crowd-pleaser. [July 2017, p.80]

Harsh difficulty mars an otherwise engrossing sci-fi journey in a fascinating setting. [July 2017, p.76]

Matching recycled ideas with ingenious new ones has bred a challenger to one of gaming's greats. [July 2017, p.74]

A unique twist on multiplayer combat, but niggling problems mean it's not a must-buy...yet. [July 2017, p.73]

A visually dazzling adventure in which navigating space feels almost as difficult as it would be in real life. [July 2017, p.72]

The most gratifying fighting game for anyone intimidated by Street Fighter's grueling technicality. [July 2017, p.70]

A novel but insubstantial shooting gallery bolted awkwardly onto a fun sci-fi story. [July 2017, p.69]

When we finished it we immediately started our second playthrough, desperate to find all the collectibles we missed. The fact that the developer has been able to create such an emotional story with such subtlety and restraint is nothing short of genius. You need to play this. [July 2017, p.68]

An accessible fighter with just enough depth, it'll hold our interest even if you're playing alone. [July 2017, p.64]

If it worked perfectly this would still be a pretty limited game, but with no way of fixing input lag, it's a huge disappointment. PaRappa deserves better. [June 2017, p.83]

We're left cautiously optimistic for Telltale's first foray into the Marvel universe, but the story needs to shift up a gear if this series is to escape the shadow of its big-screen brother. [June 2017, p.83]

A wonderfully conceived package that conjures up memories of Japanese curios such as Majora's Mask and Gregory Horror Show. [June 2017, p.82]

Fun in short bursts, but ultimately hampered by tonal problems and balancing issues. [June 2017, p.81]

A good ending to a beloved series, but it's definitely time to lay Dark Souls to rest for a while. [June 2017, p.80]

An exploration of death and memory, Edith's narration makes the family come alive again. [June 2017, p.79]

An inventive, surprisingly in-depth battle system is the highlight of this mid-'90s-style RPG. [June 2017, p.78]

There's a brilliant little 15 quid multiplayer game here, but at its current price, it's only for fans of the franchises. [June 2017, p.77]

A unique and endearing game idea that isn't quite matched by the structure of its challenges or worlds. [June 2017, p.76]

Tough, intimidating, and powerfully gripping, Dawn of War III is the Power Fist of RTS sequels. [June 2017, p.74]

A superbly atmospheric puzzle-platformer that expertly blends stealth with scares. [June 2017, p.72]

A fantastic effort that mostly delivers on the promises made during its funding campaign. [June 2017, p.71]

A small game in a big universe. Tolva is a slow burner more about exploration than combat. [June 2017, p.70]

Uncomfortable, unsettling, and truly unpleasant. A ferociously effective horror game, then. [June 2017, p.68]

The definitive edition of the world's greatest arcade racer. Switch has its second essential game. [June 2017, p.64]

Everything cares about you. And you should care about Everything. [May 2017, p.83]

It needs more features to remain relevant, but if its player base can remain consistent until then, it might yet live up to its excellent potential. [May 2017, p.83]

There's great variety here, too. [May 2017, p.82]

A throwback to a decade ago, this is a decent game, but needed longer in development. [May 2017, p.81]

It's a ridiculous reason to get into VR, but the Hollywood levels of joy here are off the charts. [May 2017, p.80]

A shot in the arm for the genre. Smart, funny, and only slightly tainted by a stop-start plot. [May 2017, p.79]

If you can look past its ugly mug and terrible tongue, Styx may just throw up some unexpected treasures. [May 2017, p.78]

Basic gameplay spliced with some extensive creation mechanics that'll appeal to Lego fans. [May 2017, p.76]

A few cracks can't spoil this glittering gem. Blistering action meetings stimulating storytelling. [May 2017, p.72]

Variations on base clearing, enemy tagging, and weapon tinkering. Old, yet effective. [May 2017, p.70]

Superstars didn't just drop the ball, it falls over, face first, into a steaming pile of horse dung. Avoid. [May 2017, p.69]

It might favor quality over quantity, but this is a perfect introduction to couch co-op on Switch. [May 2017, p.68]

A welcome, if slightly patch return for Mass Effect. The script has problems, but combat is bloody brilliant. [May 2017, p.62]

An engaging and inventive puzzle adventure game with clever boss battles that balance challenge with difficulty. [Apr 2017, p.81]

Variety would be welcome. [Apr 2017, p.81]

A lovely game. [Apr 2017, p.80]

A delightfully different narrative experience that offers the perfect blend of serious and silly. [Apr 2017, p.79]

Wonderful writing, deep quests, and the ability to truly shape your character make for a quality RPG. [Apr 2017, p.78]

An addictive, nuanced and surprisingly deep battler, prevented from being a killer by its lack of variety. [Apr 2017, p.73]

Nothing revolutionary, but worthy of any strategy fan's attention, and a must for Halo devotees. [Apr 2017, p.72]

A glorious celebration of what it means to be a sniper, with some cracking co-op play to boot. [Apr 2017, p.71]

A personality-filled, stylish adventure with gripping mechanics that drill deep into your brain. [Apr 2017, p.66]

Switch's hardware makes it the most social Bomberman ever, but it's stubbornly old-school. [Apr 2017, p.65]

Appealing presentation masks a litany of awkward microgames you'll never play again. [Apr 2017, p.64]

Up there with the finest Zelda games, Breath of the Wild is bold, liberating, and utterly astonishing. [Apr 2017, p.60]

PS4's best exclusive, and an exhilarating new IP that spits at sequelitis. An instant open-world classic. [April 2017, p.74]

On the whole, Imprint-X struggles to entice for long periods of time and can feel just a bit uninspiring, despite having well-polished gameplay. [March 2017, p.83]

If you fancy a challenge and the price suits, you won't regret your purchase. Just don't expect your mind to be blown. [March 2017, p.83]

Addictive, and a treat for series fans. [March 2017, p.82]

An intriguing but seriously flawed strategy board game for only the most patient of Poke-fans. [March 2017, p.80]

In some ways, this is the most innovative Tales game for years. In others, it's still stuck firmly in the past. [March 2017, p.78]

A hodgepodge of half-baked ideas, this is a pretty little ditty but it neither rises, nor shines. [March 2017, p.77]

A somewhat memorable escapade, but you'll need plenty of resolve if you're to reach its conclusion. [March 2017, p.76]

A bigger, better sequel to an interesting idea, but one that falls slightly short of greatness. [March 2017, p.74]

A return to form for the honourable Ninja Gaiden studio, and more than a mere homage to Souls. [March 2017, p.70]