Reviews

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Review: AKA The Bokoblin Grind

Age of Calamity is the latest in the Hyrule Warriors series, revolving around The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent the whole of 2020 waiting for more sequel news. And I’m gutted that I haven’t heard anything yet. While Age of Calamity may act as somewhat…

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eFootball PES 2021: Season Update Review: New Year, Same Solid Football

The Pro Evolution Soccer series has always been a personal favourite of mine, and while I love the exciting modes and interesting iterations that FIFA brings to the table, I have always admired the PES series for it’s tactical nature, and solid gameplay. eFootball PES 2021: Season Update has been aptly named, as it’s basically…

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Review: An axe to the face is not very stealthy

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a game that feels like it’s a little at war with itself. The intersection of its warring Viking heroes and its lineage as a stealth-centric action title are at odds with each other. While it works hard to bridge that philosophical divide, this dissonance suffuses the entire game and ultimately weakens…

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Mario Kart Home Circuit Review: Nintendo push AR further with an inventive new way to play

Anyone can see what Nintendo is trying to do with Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, and for all it’s faults, the experiment feels necessary as we move forward in the gaming industry. The console wars between Xbox and PlayStation are just about to explode, and from what we’ve seen, the competition will be fiercer than…

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Spider-Man: Miles Morales Review: A Web of Style and Substance

Spider-Man is my favourite Marvel superhero, and because Miles Morales is also Spider-Man, he’s my favourite too. Miles’ first appearance was in Ultimate Fallout #4 in August 2011. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli, the character struck an immediate chord with readers. His popularity was a bit of a surprise —…

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Xbox Series X

Xbox Series X Review: Back in the game at last

The pain of being publicly humbled suffuses every part of the Xbox Series X. Its predecessor’s missteps inform every facet of its design, from its outer shell to the operating system that powers it. After seven long years of being trampled by the competition, Xbox is finally getting up off the mat. It has taken…

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Pikmin 3 Deluxe Review: Revisit one of the Wii U’s greatest moments

Pikmin 3 is an excellent game. An exceptional one even; perhaps the best possible expression of the cutsey, puzzle-strategy since the first one was released in 2001. Any Nintendo owner worth their salt scrambled for a copy when the original Pikmin 3 when it was released for the Wii U in 2013, and hold fond…

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Watch Dogs Legion

Watch Dogs Legion Review: Life hacked

Watch Dogs Legion feels like the game the series has been striving to become since its inception. It’s a game with some of the biggest, boldest ideas to come out of Ubisoft in years. It is also a game that has clearly had to make some concessions in order to execute on these ideas. Merry…

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Mafia

Mafia: Definitive Edition Review: Come Home to the Family

The Godfather is my favourite film of all time, and it was my love of gangster films that led me to Mafia. Released in 2002, it is one of the most underrated and nuanced mobster stories of that or any hardware generation. Since then, the series has both vanished and returned to the fold, along…

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WWE 2K Battlegrounds Review: A Shallow, Functional Brawler

As crammed as the name suggests, WWE 2K Battlegrounds introduces yet another entry to 2K’s “Grounds” series, off the heels of NBA 2K Playgrounds 2. The crux of these experiences revolves around the fact that they never take themselves too seriously. Over the top game play and stylised visuals keep this game from feeling like…

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Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Super Mario 3D All Stars Review: Nostalgia bob-omb

I reckon Super Mario 3D All-Stars will give video game preservationists a lot to think about. I find myself thinking about video game preservation a lot lately. I imagine this is because I’ve reviewed a lot of remasters and remakes in the last few years. Super Mario 3D All-Stars is neither a remake nor a…

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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Review: The King has Returned

Oh how we’ve missed you, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. If you were a gamer in the mid to late 90’s, then you would have most definitely played a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, I’m sure of it. But before we get stuck into this review, let’s start off with a fun fact; the original Tony Hawk’s…

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NBA 2K21 Review: Small Steps, Big Game

After a crazy year, it’s safe to say the NBA has followed suit, enduring a long suspension, resulting in the introduction of the NBA bubble, a facility located in Disneyland, Orlando, solely created to see through the completion of this season. It’s unfortunate that NBA 2K21 isn’t as much as a departure from the norm;…

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No Straight Roads: Grab your sunnies, we’re going to Vinyl City

No Straight Roads is a rhythm-based, action-adventure game created by Malaysian-based studio Metronomik, created by two cool dudes who worked on Final Fantasy XV and Street Fighter V respectively. Rock your way through Vinyl City as Mayday and Duke to rid the world of the EDM empire! I’ve been looking forward to playing this game…

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Marvel’s Avengers Review: World’s Greatest Grind

That Marvel’s Avengers released when it did could be considered great timing. With the MCU coming to a grinding halt, I was looking forward to this as a perfect replacement. But after a worrying beta filled with repetitive gameplay and awkward mission structure, Marvel’s Avengers left me with a few concerns. Its full release is…

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Relicta Review: F**king magnets, how do they work?

Is Relicta trying too hard to be another Portal or can the first-person puzzler fashion its own identity from its magnetism-based mechanics? Yeah, kind of. I guess. The powers of magnetism and gravity are compelling when aggressively tested by complex level design and well considered puzzles, but the inconsistency in the game’s physics can easily…

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UFC 4 Review: The best UFC game to date, but not for the reasons you think

Much of the foundation EA’s UFC series that was laid back in 2014 has developed nicely, but each sequel, while an improvement, felt like an authentic experience that frustrated fans, and alienated others. Solid mechanics and slick visuals impressed, but a clunky ground game left fans like myself, sticking to strikes and knockouts to avoid…

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Project Cars 3 Review: Shifting Gears

My first few days with Project Cars 3 proved to be an incredibly polarising experience. I consider myself a true fan of racing sims, and while Project Cars 2 stands out as one of my favourites, Project Cars 3 does not; but not in the way you would think. It’s safe to say that Project…

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Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time Review: All Hail the Traveller’s Tale

Samurai Jack’s fifth and final season capped off a magnificent 16 year run, of which many other Cartoon Network shows would have envied over. Being a huge fan of the series, I flinched a little when I saw the reveal of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, yet another tie in game that I thought would…

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PGA Tour 2K21 Review: A Par is Born

Upon seeing PGA Tour 2K21’s reveal, I immediately thought back to all the great memories I had playing golfing games; a sport which I admittedly don’t care that much for. Be it Microsoft Golf, Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour, or even Outlaw Golf, (I bet you forgot that existed) there was something so satisfying about measuring…

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Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review: Wings of liberty

I knew from the first that Microsoft Flight Simulator was something special. More than just a graphical showpiece, it had a clear goal in mind — to instill the joy and wonder of flight in anyone who decides to install it. It worked. From the earliest trailers, it captured the industry’s attention, an industry that…

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Battletoads

Battletoads Review: Return of the weekend rental

There’s a lot I like about Dlala Games’ take on Battletoads, but there’s just as much that I don’t. The latest Battletoads arrives almost 20 years after the NES original. It’s a side-scrolling beat-em-up in the same vein as the original, but it makes several changes to the series’ formula that may not sit well…

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Review: Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town takes you back on the Switch… in 3D!

Harvest Moon was the shiz when I was growing up, I played the very first Game Boy version and basically played every handheld iteration afterwards. I loved that game to bits and it’s no wonder that I was immediately drawn to Stardew Valley. Now reverting back to its original Japanese name, Story of Seasons released…

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Skater XL Review: Tricks, Trucks and Tumbles

If this generation has been missing a particular genre of note, it’s most definitely skateboarding games. You might find it hard to believe, but there was a time when these games ruled supreme, and Tony Hawk was a household name. The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series has remained dormant as of late (we don’t speak…

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Paper Mario: The Origami King Review: Unfold, Mushroom Kingdom!

Paper Mario has always been a hilarious spin-off to the beloved Mario franchise, though it did lose its way for a little bit. The Origami King brings the series that I love back from its papery grave and gave me so much more. Long story short, I’m a happy clam. Short story long? Well, read…

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Carrion

Carrion Review: This hideous beast will devour us all

Carrion is a new Metroidvania game from indie developer Phobia Game Studio. You are fast-moving, utterly vicious monster on the loose in a remote science facility. Carrion delights in taking the tropes of the genre — power creep, exploration and backtracking — and turning them on their ear in ways that are surprisingly effective. One…

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F1: 2020 Review: Back on the Podium

If my time spent playing countless racing games has taught me anything, it’s that they always have more to give. Whether it’s added modes, tighter controls, improved visuals and refined sound design, it seems as though there is always something to build towards. And much like the legends that have dominated the sport until now,…

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SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated Review: New Soap, Old Sponge

Upon its reveal, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom stood out in a sea of remakes and remasters. Here, among so many others, was one to look forward to, for the reason anyone looks forward to any remake: I have many fond memories of the original PS2/Xbox version. That said, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini…

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Deadly Premonition 2 Review: A Charming Mess

Deadly Premonition 2. It’s finally here. If you’ve played the original Deadly Premonition, you likely have fond memories of of a laughable game. Its larger-than-life characters, terrible voice acting, stiff gameplay and dull visuals made it perfect fodder for Twitch streamers looking for a game to make fun of. What they didn’t expect was that,…

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The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor Review: Witches get stitches

The Elder Scrolls Online‘s latest expansion, Greymoor, has arrived, adding a wealth of new content to the overall game Now, the entire Western Skyrim is open for adventurers to explore. And my gosh is it just beautiful. I’ve never actually played an Elder Scrolls game before, not even for the Switch. This makes The Elder Scrolls…

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