Reviews

Leave it to Hideo Kojima to release Death Stranding Director’s Cut, the expanded version of a game over which he had complete creative control. It’s no secret that Death Stranding landed amid huge anticipation and excitement. It was then met with either an overwhelming sense of confusion and, in some circles, accusations of pretentiousness, or…

Metroid Dread is a game I thought I might never play, let alone review. For years, the Metroid franchise has sat among several other older Nintendo franchises, like F-Zero and Mother/EarthBound, gathering dust. For fans of the series, their own personal dread was real. Was their favourite Ninty franchise dead? As the wait dragged on,…

The Far Cry series has faltered over the past few years. Recent iterations were either lacking immersive worlds, memorable villains, innovative gameplay, or all three. While far from terrible, it’s clear that nothing has been as good as the darling that is Far Cry 3. And it seems as though Ubisoft has heard. Far Cry…

The Switch OLED represents the best version of the Nintendo Switch hardware to date. In the four years since the launch, the core Switch hardware has received one prior refresh. The 2019 model featured a higher capacity battery and made a small change to the shape of the Joy-Cons. The Switch OLED is, largely, more…

FIFA 22 takes the term “next-generation” pretty seriously. And it should. With every new console generation, the FIFA franchise takes major steps forward. New hardware presents an opportunity to reinvent FIFA‘s visuals, mechanics and add a range of new game modes. However, I wouldn’t blame fans for feeling disillusioned with the series in recent years. Most…

NBA 2K22 couldn’t have arrived at a better time. It’s been a rough couple of seasons for the NBA. A global pandemic, postponed games, bubble playoffs, shortened seasons and play-in tournaments have charted a new future for the sport. The lone beacon of consistency: that the NBA 2K franchise will smash out its annual instalment,…

Rustler has been on Steam’s Early Access since February of this year, but has only recently fully-launched. You’re thrown back into the good ol’ medieval days as Guy, who just wants to join the Grand Tournament. Well, his buddy, Buddy, has forced him to want to. Now, Guy’s also forced to commit all sorts of…

Deathloop is a brand new IP from Arkane Studios, the team behind Dishonored and Prey. Arkane makes “immersive sims,” a school of game design that considers player agency to be of paramount importance. Whatever idea the player might have, in whatever way they choose to tackle an objective, the game should accommodate for it. This…

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut marks the second time this game has come along at the right moment. Originally arriving at the end of the PlayStation 4 era, it was an amalgam of the ways game design had changed since the console’s inception. It was the last hurrah, a way to bring the PS4 era…

Since the original, No More Heroes has provided its fans with competent combat, expressive visuals and a consistent sense of humour that allows characters with names like Travis Touchdown to remain memorable and relevant. It is with No More Heroes 3 that Travis returns to a world of intergalactic assassins, fourth-wall-breaking jokes and a combat…

The EPOS H3 is the latest gaming headset from Sennheiser’s nascent gaming arm. Though Senny has released scores of gaming headsets in the GSP series, the EPOS label now picks up the slack. I feel good In the H3, EPOS seems to be trying hard to veer away from the chunky, heavy GSP range and…

The EPOS B20 microphone is a rock-solid, workhorse microphone for streamers and anyone who needs high-quality vocal audio at home. That’s the elevator pitch. Let’s talk about it. Design & Features EPOS is one of the newest kids on the block in terms of PC peripherals. For this newly formalised gaming partner of audio giant…

F1 2021, like the real motorsport it’s based on, has a lot of moving parts. This is developer Codemasters’ first F1 since its acquisition by Electronic Arts. As such, it bears a few now-classic EA Sports hallmarks. EA Sports titles need to serve several masters, and therefore so does F1 2021. The first thing it needs…

Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox was being requested by fans before the PC version had even launched last year. To launch on a modern console is a first for Microsoft’s legendary series of flight sims. This is a franchise that predates both Microsoft Office and the Windows operating system and yet has never been available…

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD may be the balm the Zelda fandom needs while it waits for more details on BotW2. Originally released for the Wii, Skyward Sword was the only Zelda game to utilize motion-controls in gameplay. Upon release, Skyward Sword was met with mixed reviews from fans and sold over three…

A no-show in the Wii era, I warmly welcomed the announcement of Mario Golf Super Rush for the Switch. And now, at long last, a Mario-themed golf-sim with motion controls. Finally, Switch owners can enjoy a pseudo-realistic golf experience in the comfort of our homes — without having to brave the heat of the sun…

You spawn on an open battlefield, side by side with your teammates. As you are given a rousing speech, the match begins. You burst out, sprinting with all your might, letting out an outrageously wonky and exaggerated battlecry, as you hurdle towards the opposing faction. Sword and shield in hand, you crash into a wall…

As a gamer in his late thirties, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart makes me wish time travel was real. I’d rush back to find my 15-year-old self, show him these visuals and watch his brain meltdown in real-time. Previously on Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart is the sixteenth entry in the Ratchet & Clank series…

Like the bipedal marsupials that are its heart-and-soul, Biomutant is a strange evolutionary confection. It’s a game that borrows liberally from the action RPG genre, and wears its inspirations as a badge of honour. The ambition of the thing is striking, but it ultimately gets away from the 20 person team at first-time Swedish developer…

When most Resident Evil fans think of the series and a village setting, they likely think of the great Resident Evil 4. This comparison is something Resident Evil Village, the eighth mainline entry in the venerable survival horror series, freely trades upon. The old ways Set several years after the events of Resident Evil VII:…

Returnal is, in many ways, the crowning achievement of Housemarque’s journey as a developer. With recent entries standing out as shining examples, from the likes of Matterfall to Nex Machina, and the impeccable Resogun, it’s incredibly satisfying to see a challenging reflex-based rogue-like experience get the royal treatment. Fast-paced action meets a rogue-like structure in…

New Pokemon Snap is the 22-year sequel to a cult-favourite Nintendo 64 game. The original, released in 1999, was an inventive, if ultimately shallow, brand exercise. Players hopped into an on-rails rover and took photos of Pokemon in the wild. You had no control over the rover itself, it would wind through each level at…

It Takes Two is a charming, cooperative adventure game by Hazelight Studios. The game centers on Cody and Mae, an estranged couple beaten down by the complexities of their unfulfilling lives. Their dreams, individually and together, are unrealised. The passion of their early relationship is long extinguished. The slim thread that has kept their relationship…

From the moment we played the Outriders demo, our impression was of a functional and addictive looter shooter. Strong shooting and interesting powers overshadowed the demo’s repetitive mission structures and unrewarding grind. These are, of course, issues that affect the best in the genre. And, as a complete package, Outriders does indeed reflect the best…

It disturbs me just how often Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is overlooked and underrated when it comes to talking about the great action-RPGs of the past decade. Skyrim? Sure. Dark Souls? Definitely. The Witcher 3? You betcha. All three games were superior of KoA, but that doesn’t at all diminish just how intensely playable and…

On the surface, Outriders may seem like your average looter shooter. In many ways, it is. Outriders feels like an iteration of recent looter shooter RPG titles like Destiny 2 or The Division. It’s filled with mechanics and systems we’ve seen many times before. In saying that, there is still plenty to love about Outriders’…

With the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds, EPOS is showing serious interest in trying something new. Many have tried to create gaming earbuds but none have ever had the punch of a decent set of cans. EPOS is a partner brand of audio maker Sennheiser. They are tinkerers and inventors, they like to throw ideas…

Bravely Default 2 is a long, bland parade of JRPG cliches, presenting one after another for 50 consecutive hours. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before From the moment its protagonist awakens on an unfamiliar beach, suffering amnesia, the groans and eye rolls began in earnest. Things do not improve from there. You are…

As we announced last week, Sony’s #PlayAtHome initiative returns this month, and kicking things off is the 2016 release Ratchet & Clank. If you remember #PlayAtHome from last year, this means the game is completely free for everyone! And it’s available right now. You don’t need a subscription to Playstation Plus to enjoy this free…

Nintendo loves getting experimental with their flagship franchises, and Mario has by far benefitted most from this penchant. From make-your-own Mario games packed full of features to redefine creation-based gaming, to legendary kart-racing and unique RPGs, there is honestly very few words as exciting as “Mario” for Nintendo players. But overkill is easy. Exhaustion can…