Digitally Downloaded

Typically, a weak narrative would matter to me. Even with my action games (see: NieR), I like to play something that has something to say (and that’s why I don’t quite hold Zelda in the same esteem as some others). However, with Elliot, the gorgeous production values and entertainingly breezy action roped me in anyway. This is a charming, if transient little game, and has the added benefit of demonstrating that HD-2D is a versatile engine that developers have only really started to play with.

Of course, there’s absolutely no point in playing this if you haven’t played the original, so like all reviews of a fan disc, this one is largely pointless (although if you haven’t played Birushana yet, you should absolutely do that and then consider diving into this one as well). If you really enjoyed Birushana, you’ll love the playfulness and additional story arcs of Winds of Fate. None of these stories are essential unless you did love the original, but I’ll never be one for criticising a developer for giving the fans their fanservice.

Which brings us back to how fundamentally impressive it is that this is on a handheld console now. I might be on the older end of the millennial generation, but I remember how exciting it was to have Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI on the go thanks to the Game Boy Advance. This is the kind of on-the-go experience that was pure science fiction not so long ago.

007 First Light is, ultimately, a better game for the Bond nerd than I expected it would be. The team at IO Interactive clearly love the property and have done for it what Larian Studios did for Baldur’s Gate 3; provide a level of dedication to the source material that’s so fastidious that you might argue with a decision here or there, but it’s difficult to get too cynical about a game clearly made by genuine fans of the property.

This is one of those games where the leaderboard dominates the experience, and Sektori’s scoring is complex and nuanced enough to reward true expertise in play. Whatever position you earn on that leaderboard is entirely earned. In my case it’s a very low place indeed, but I can’t stop playing and trying to beat my own score, let alone anyone else’s. I might never reach the top of Sektori’s leaderboard, but I can recognise the utter design brilliance that has gone into making this game. I can’t believe that so many people are overlooking this thing.

This is an excellent port of an essential, thought-provoking JRPG. Tales of Arise’s ambitions to deal with a weighty, pressing theme slightly outpace execution, particularly in the latter half of the story, but the effort is noble, and the game is certainly capable of generating thought and discussion like a great work of art should. Also, Rinwell’s just the best.

You just know that Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is speeding face-first into a relatively muted response from critics and consumers alike. They will appreciate the art style and energy, but we don’t really have a framework in gaming to properly celebrate the kind of experience that the game is. Less challenging than Mario, less expansive than Donkey Kong, and less intricate than a Hollow Knight, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is best thought of as a toybox, filled with playthings for the imagination and rewarding if you approach it that way, rather than as a traditional “game.” I personally think it’s utterly wonderful, but then I spend my entire life chasing creative whimsy.

Any fan of Spellgarden Games would know it developed Thrifty Business at first glance. Of course, the name is very close to that of the studio’s first game, Sticky Business. But there’s something more than that. It’s as though love and kindness are woven into the game. And that’s why I love playing Thrifty Business: it’s a chill sim with heart.

Because the developers were so inept at resolving this tension, I lost interest in Mouse: P.I. For Hire within the first level, and each subsequent stage found me disliking it more and more. It’s a competently and even entertainingly made game, but a dismally cynical work of art, and it never manages to shake the impression that the only reason that it looks the way it does is that the marketing team thought that it would be a good way to “stand out” and shift units.

Supermassive Games has brought the Dark Pictures Anthology back with style and panache. Directive 8020 suffers from being a little too generic in concept and letting itself down with gameplay elements that are at odds with the cinematic quality, but the game does work as popcorn horror and doesn’t overstay its welcome.