Reviews

Games Review: Destiny 2: Warmind (PS4, 2018): Better, but not by a lot

Destiny 2‘s first expansion, Curse of Osiris, wasn’t a complete disaster but it sure as hell wasn’t a good move either. Already losing players to battle royale juggernauts of PUBG and Fortnite, Osiris cost the game a lot of momentum after a strong launch. A good chunk of content and activities were placed behind Osiris’ paywall and…

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Games Review: State of Decay 2 (Xbox One, 2018): All work, no play

There is an easy way to tell if State of Decay 2 is going to be your thing or not. How do you react when you realise a game feels like bloody hard work? Do you dig in or do you check out? If you tend to dig in, then chances are you’ll find loads…

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Games Review: Conan Exiles (PS4, 2018): A flawed yet engaging survival experience

Let me tell you a story of a man destined for greatness. A barbarian, brutally carving his way through a desolate and dangerous land, where only the strongest will survive. These were the days of high adventure! However, I’m not sure where Conan Exiles fits into this mould. Bringing many elements to the table, it’s…

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Games Review: Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-Ality (PSVR, 2018), Immersive, Disgusting & Foul Mouthed in a good way!

Ever since the amazing game Accounting Plus VR from Squanchtendo and Crows Crows Crows,  there was no doubt we needed a Rick and Morty VR game. Now a sweet, sweet collaboration between Owlchemy Games, the dev behind Job Simulator, and Adult Swim Games has become a Rick-ality! See what I did there?

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Games Review: Dragon’s Crown Pro (PS4, 2018): Glow up

Dragon’s Crown Pro is kind of a lot. A remaster of Dragon’s Crown, a breathless love letter to the side-scrolling fantasy beat-em-ups of the Golden Axe era, the original both succeeded in its mission and managed to piss a lot of people off with its simplistic gameplay married to some of the most absurd character…

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Games Review: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (PC, 2018): Forgotten Realm

A non-trivial amount of my time as a teenager was spent playing Black Isle Studios RPGs. The entry point for many into the Forgotten Realms campaign setting that is the focus of Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons, games like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale remain important industry touchstones. The foundations they laid for creating complex…

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Games Review: Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia (PC, 2018): The shape of wars to come

Don’t let the new title fool you. Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia is still a fully-fledged entry in Creative Assembly’s long-running series of historical strategy games. But where older Total War titles have selected a particular real world empire or historical era to focus on, Total War Saga narrows its scope. It focuses not…

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Games Review: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy (Switch, 2018): We Are Fighting Dreamers

Growing up, I was completely obsessed by the Naruto anime, to the point where I once went to a birthday party dressed as series antagonist, Sasuke. It was an embarrassing time. In 2018, Naruto and its sequel anime Naruto Shippuden have long since ended, with the once rambunctious and wild-spirited Naruto all grown up. Having…

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Games Review: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch, 2018): Rare re-invention

I can’t imagine that Retro Studios took on the job of making a new Donkey Kong Country game lightly. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it kept a lot of them up at night. Donkey Kong Country is quite rightly regarded as a masterpiece, a feat of technical wizardry and genius game design even…

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Games Review: TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge (PS4, 2018): Gotta go fast

I imagine almost everyone who’s ever ridden a motorcycle has heard the same worried refrain from their mum about how motorcycles claim thousands of lives on the road every year. For those who decide to put mum’s mind at rest and stick to a car, TT: Isle of Man is a great consolation prize, an…

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Games Review: God of War (PS4, 2018), Raw, Punishing, Beautiful and Heartfelt

After over five years in development, Sony’s Santa Monica Studio’s God of War is back and I think you know by now, it’s a triumphant return for one of PlayStations greatest anti-hero’s and god defying badasses, Kratos.

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Games Review: Extinction (PS4, 2018): A Giant Disappointment

Extinction offers up an interesting premise that I was personally drawn to. Being a fan of The Shadow of the Colossus, which this game seems to borrow elements from, it seemed like a no-brainer. What we get however, is an underdeveloped pot of mediocrity that pulls off a few neat tricks, while ultimately crumbling under…

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Games Review: A Way Out (PS4, 2018): Greatness through simplicity

“Fuck the Oscars! This is the real shit, right here.” At least that is what creator and director Josef Fares said loud and clear regarding his new title A Way Out at the 2017 Game Awards. Given his enthusiasm, it wasn’t a stretch to believe that this experience would not be an extremely good one,…

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Games Review: The C64 Mini: Memory bank

I used to wonder what would happen to the video game systems of my youth. Whether they would be left to rot once they were no longer being produced and their hardware stopped working. The C64 Mini is the latest in a run of miniaturised retro video game hardware that answers that question and, like…

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Games Review: Far Cry 5 (PS4, 2018): Ain’t no easy way out

Far Cry 5 has been something of a curiosity since it was announced. While an unquestionably brave move to set this new installment of the 14 year old franchise in the United States, many were curious about the game’s motives — given the political and social turmoil in which the US currently finds itself, would…

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Games Review: Sea of Thieves (Xbox One, 2018): Pirates could happen to anyone

As I write this, three days after a rather bumpy launch, its clear that Sea of Thieves is a bit of a mixed bag. There are things that I love about it, there are things that I don’t love about it and there are things that I feel are not particularly well understood by those who…

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Games Review: Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom: Higgledy-Piggledy

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a phenomenally gorgeous game, playing host to some of the liveliest and most beautiful environments I’ve ever had the pleasure of traveling through. From a town controlled by the power of luck to dream lands filled with terrifying monsters, Ni No Kuni II takes you on an eye-opening…

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Games Review: Assassin’s Creed Origins: Curse of the Pharaohs DLC (Xbox One X, 2018): Zoinks, gang, it’s a mummy

It’s been around six months sine Assassin’s Creed Origins arrived and in that time, the game has proven itself to be one with legs. With Curse of the Pharaohs, the game’s latest and largest DLC expansion to date, Ubisoft looks to keep Bayek’s adventure rolling with a trip to Thebes.

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Games Review: Pure Farming 2018 (PS4, 2018): Get to work

I have a genuine love of job simulator games that is both unnerving and inexplicable. I also find them deeply hilarious. The seriousness with which they take themselves and my absolute refusal to take anything seriously makes for a very entertaining combination, at least as far as I’m concerned. Thus, when a code for Pure…

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Games Review: Burnout Paradise Remastered (Xbox One X, 2017): Throwback Thursday

If Burnout Paradise Remastered does anything, it makes the EA of 2008 look like a benevolent creativity incubator when compared to the strife-prone publisher of today. For one thing, the game is great fun. For another, its clear that developer Criterion was given the room they needed to properly execute on their vision. It’s a…

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Games Review: Kirby Star Allies (Switch, 2018): You’ve Got A Friend In Me

Kirby Star Allies was so disgustingly cute that it made me want to vomit. From its charming and delightful characters to its friendship-based co-operative gameplay, everything about Star Allies is just plain adorable. When Kirby’s friends are low on health, he heals them by ‘kissing’ them, generating tiny love hearts across the screen. When presented…

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Games Review: Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (PS4, 2018): Stay strong

In the last twelve months, I’ve gone from having never played a Yakuza game to having played three of them and what I didn’t expect was for them to grow on me so quickly. This series has always felt very By Japanese People, For Japanese People, there’s so many cultural nods and gestures that don’t…

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Games Review: Bravo Team (PSVR, 2018) Shooting for the Bargain bin!

Supermassive Games are throwing out the releases in the last few months, we have had the moderately delightful Hidden Agenda via the Play link games on the PS4 and before that was their Until Dawn Spin-off Until Dawn: Rush of Blood as a PSVR launch title. It was a blast to play and really showed…

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Games Review: Scribblenauts Showdown (PS4, 2018): Eat, Fish and Dance Dance Your Way To Victory

Scribblenauts Showdown would best be described as a party game, taking inspiration and gameplay from a range of titles like Mario Party, Dance Dance Revolution, Angry Birds and Diner Dash. The action takes place in a variety of fun modes, including Sandbox, Showdown and Versus modes, each of which features a variety of fun activities.

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Games Review: Moss (PSVR, 2018): Magically Immersive

If Moss is any indication, 2018 is going to be a huge year for the PSVR. Moss is this year’s first major VR release in terms of hype factor and I’m happy to say it’s one I was not disappointed in.

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Games Review: Payday 2 (Switch, 2018) is a flawed heist with the occasional big score

Payday 2  bursts onto the Nintendo Switch as one of the most complete packages of the title that you can find score in one initial purchase. Through it’s performance issues and strange omissions of certain DLC packs, Payday 2 is mostly what you expect, but this time, allowing you to take your heists on the…

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Games Review: Metal Gear Survive (PS4, 2018) is tough to live through

To put it simply, Metal Gear Survive should not exist. Before evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the title, one must first address the point of its existence in the first place. The Metal Gear series is famous for its stealth mechanics and intriguing story about the changing landscapes of technology in our world, topped…

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Games Review: Atomik: RunGunJumpGun (Switch, 2018): Does what it says on the tin

Atomik: RunGunJumpGun is absolutely maddening. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to describe it for a week now and the best I’ve got is “the bastard offspring of a bullet hell shmup and Flappy Bird.” That really covers all the bases I think. You will know, based on this description, whether Atomik…

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Games Review: The Station (Xbox One, 2018): ET Gone Home

It only took me a little over two hours to knock The Station over but I’m stilling idly thinking about it whenever I’ve nothing else to occupy my brain. For a game this short, there’s a surprising amount to unpack once the credits have rolled. It’s not perfect — the edges are rough like shark’s…

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Games Review: Wulverblade (Switch, 2018): Angry Scots take over the arcade

Those who grew up in the 80’s and early 90’s will remember the heady days of the video game arcade. Magical places full of light and noise and games you couldn’t play anywhere else. Going to the movies meant visiting the arcade next door, and I would beeline for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cabinet. Streets…

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