ThePluckyBrit

Really enjoyed playing this one, nice game to see out **** actually not sure on the demo but I jumped in on day one anyway and I'm really glad I did, this is an adult focused interactive comic in essence with elements of the Telltale story game staple, and resource management of "This is the police", it works and it hits well. The theme is mature the content is mature and it never fails to land, it was touching, it was funny and it was thought provoking, some of the QTE were largely pointless but that's really not the point of this one. If you love a good story game and doesn't pull punches this is well worth a play, loved it.9/10

Chronos was a decent game. I played it twice—once on PS5 and once on PC—and the experience was pretty similar on both. It gave me a good feel for the game. If I had to compare it, I'd say it’s kind of like Dead Space, especially the remake, though Dead Space is definitely the better game. That said, Chronos still offers an interesting world and story, even if the plot feels a bit familiar and done better elsewhere. The voice acting is solid, and the environmental sound really pulls you in. The graphics are decent, enough to set the mood of this cold, bleak world. The combat is a bit clunky, and the weapons are kind of meh, though the charge-up feature on some of them adds a bit of variety. The level design felt repetitive, with no standout locations like Dead Space. Overall, it’s a fun game if you're into survival horror, but it won’t blow you away. I’d give it a 7/10.

A charming little game about a young woman's adventure with her loyal companion.Featuring stunning watercolor visuals, a soothing soundtrack, and more combat than expected—though not overly challenging, I still managed to die enough to experience the quirky death animation sound from the DualSense a fair few times!With a short runtime, a powerful story despite minimal dialogue, it's a delightful way to spend a winter evening or weekend.A lovely game.Spent playing with my dog on my lap and the partner next to me on the laptop, melancholy but comforting.3.5/5

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Silent Hill F. I only finished the SH2 remake this year, which was my first time completing a Silent Hill game. The atmosphere and tense setting in SH2 really put me on edge—it was excellent but far from relaxing. I enjoyed it, though I’m not sure I liked it. Silent Hill F, developed by a different team and essentially a reboot of the series, wasn’t as tense as SH2. It had its moments, but overall, the atmosphere felt less oppressive, and I enjoyed it more because of that. I actually liked it this time and might even go for a second playthrough, especially since there are multiple endings. Combat is clunky but suits the style. The graphics and setting are beautiful, though the temple areas felt a bit repetitive and lacked detail. The depictions of Japan, however, were very **** sound design is fantastic, with great use of the DualSense features like haptics, triggers, and the speaker, similar to SH2, which I really appreciated. The Japanese voiceover should definitely be the default, as the English VO felt off to **** story was complex and kept me intrigued. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s definitely engaging. It’s a great game—not spectacular—but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It will stick in my memory as one of the most interesting games of the year for me. 8/10.

Alone in the Dark has been sitting in my backlog on both PC and PS5 for quite some time (I tend to buy games on different platforms depending on my mood, which often results in owning it twice!). Feeling like something spooky, I finally decided to dive into what is widely considered a mediocre game with an excellent voice cast.I played through both campaigns, which is essential to fully experience the game. Dialogue, cutscenes, and certain sections are unique to each campaign, and since they each take about six hours to complete, it’s clear the intention was for players to tackle both. Unfortunately, some puzzles and environmental elements are copy-pasted, which detracts from the overall **** graphics are solid, the soundtrack sets the mood, and the atmosphere feels like an old-school spooky noir movie. It’s dark and intriguing but never truly unsettling—more of a PG-13 level of spooks, which suits this game well. The puzzle design is engaging and never overly difficult, keeping me interested throughout. However, the game isn’t without flaws. I agree with many of the criticisms, particularly regarding the combat, which is clunky, especially during chaotic moments. The final boss battle is a mess, with glitches like clipping through the floor and frustrating camera angles. It doesn’t align with the rest of the game’s narrative and felt rushed, lowering my overall opinion. There was potential for a clever conclusion, but it seems like a poorly thought-out idea won out.Still, this is worth picking up during a sale. It’s enjoyable, spooky, and perfect for Halloween. 7/10.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – ReviewRating: 8/10 – A whip-smart adventure with a few tangled vinesMachineGames has struck gold with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, crafting an experience that feels like it was pulled straight from the dusty archives of Dr. Jones himself. From the moment you don the fedora, the game radiates atmosphere—whether you're creeping through Vatican catacombs or scaling jungle ruins in Siam, the environments are rich with detail and soaked in that classic Indy mystique. Faithful to the FranchiseThis isn't just a game with Indiana Jones slapped on the cover—it understands the IP. The story is pulpy in all the right ways, with globe-trotting intrigue, ancient conspiracies, and **** action that would make Spielberg proud. The voice cast nails the tone, channeling the charm and grit of the original films without feeling like cheap imitations. It’s clear MachineGames did their homework. Visuals That DazzlePath tracing graphics elevate the experience to cinematic heights. Light filters through temple cracks, shadows dance across ancient stone, and every whip crack feels like it echoes through a real space. It’s not just pretty—it’s immersive. Gameplay: Mostly Engaging, Occasionally BloatedThe core gameplay loop—exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat—is engaging and varied. Tombs feel like genuine archaeological challenges, and the pacing mostly keeps the adventure moving. That said, there’s a bit of bloat in the form of busywork: fetch quests and side objectives that don’t always justify their existence. Still, the majority of the content feels meaningful and well-integrated. Bugs and TrophiesA few bugs crept in, particularly around trophy tracking, which can be frustrating for completionists. Hopefully, future patches will smooth out these wrinkles.Final Verdict: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a thrilling, atmospheric adventure that respects its source material and delivers a visually stunning experience. Despite a few missteps in pacing and polish, it’s a must-play for fans of the franchise and adventure seekers alike.Recommended: 8/10

Mafia: The Old Country – A Mixed Return to the Franchise. It’s great to finally have another Mafia game after such a long wait. The Old Country was easily my most anticipated title of 2025, and I jumped in with an instant purchase and play. As a long-time fan of the series, I’ve loved all the previous entries—with the original still standing out as the best in my opinion. The story of a cabbie turned mobster turned informant was compelling and unforgettable. Mafia III, though divisive, ranks second for me due to Lincoln Clay’s fascinating arc and the depth of its characters. Mafia II felt like a natural extension of the first, while The Old Country, despite its fresh setting, felt derivative and lacked the narrative strength of its predecessors. The story here is serviceable, and if it weren’t part of the Mafia franchise, it might be considered quite good. But as a Mafia title, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. The characters are underdeveloped, and the short runtime makes the drawn-out pacing feel even more noticeable. I struggled to connect with any of the cast, which made the emotional beats fall flat. Gameplay-wise, there are several missed opportunities. The world is beautifully crafted, but the game doesn’t encourage meaningful exploration. Features like the character apartment, shops, and weapon upgrades feel underutilized or entirely unnecessary—I completed the game on Hard without upgrading anything. The absence of mechanics like Mafia III’s business fronts is felt, and while some found those repetitive, their removal here feels like a step backward. Combat is another weak point. Weapons lack impact, and DualSense integration is minimal—only horses and the pump-action shotgun offered any real feedback. Gunplay feels floaty, stealth is clunky, and the final mission is particularly frustrating, reminiscent of the awkward Mary Jane segments in Spider-Man. The soundtrack is sparse, and sound effects lack punch. That said, there are positives. Voice acting is strong, driving mechanics are excellent (though underused), and the graphics are often stunning. The game is priced lower than most new releases, which I suspect reflects Hanger 13’s awareness that this entry doesn’t quite meet the usual standard. In summary, The Old Country is enjoyable enough, but it doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessors. It feels like a missed opportunity rather than a triumphant return. Score: 7/10

Interesting concept, a mix between fallout shelter and death stranding. Nice visuals and interesting moral choices which actually make a tangible difference to the story path leading to reasonable replay value but I was happy with my lengthy solitary run.Could be greatly refined in a sequel as certain elements were a little monotonous resource collection and excessive dialogues by end game I’d hardly touched the mining research and I didn’t see to be at a detriment as a result.Overall great game, interesting and different, but needed a little refinement for my tastes.7/10

Duck detective: The secret salami is an interesting little idea with a cute art style, good voice casting and a simple premise, the issue for me is that despite being very short, 2hrs 30mins to platinum I didn't find it to actually work in the way it was intended, rarely did I feel like I was investigating anything, it's really just a fill in the blanks game and quite often I resorted to just spamming different words to see what worked, the clues and the supposed evidence was not overly well presented and didn't always feel as logical as I would like.Quirky, and clearly made with love but didn't hit the spot for me.3/10

Finally got around to playing this Telltale game, as a big fan of the Expanse TV show I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to playing this, having just finished it and achieving the platinum trophy I'm finally in a position to review it. In relation to it's placement in the pantheon of Telltale games this one lands somewhere around the middle of the pack, sadly there are a couple of elements that hold it back and actually made it a far less enjoyable platinum to achieve then previous games, this is largely due to missable collectibles in the form of data logs and salvage, the issue is without a guide it is very easy to miss these as they're not as obvious as you might expect and following a guide will spoil the story somewhat. This is compounded by the fact there is no save feature besides autosave so if you miss a collectible you will have to restart the entire chapter which can last around an hour and you CANNOT skip anything, all cutscenes are unskipable as is the dialogue and whilst dialogue is playing you cannot interact with anything, that makes the game a bit of a slog if you're trying to complete the game without a guide.None the less the story is interesting, it's a prequal to the show essentially, but doesn't really give anything away. I didn't feel like it enriched my appreciation for the show though which is a shame, the DLC was also very dull, returning for a life in the day of everyone's favourite gravelly voiced and potty mouthed undersecretary.Overall I'd give it a 6/10 not bad but a long way from peak Telltale.

Split Fiction – A Mixed Bag from a Talented Studio Rating: 6/10Having just wrapped up Split Fiction with my partner, I’m left with mixed feelings. Coming off the brilliance of It Takes Two—a game that fully earned its Game of the Year title—Split Fiction feels like a step down in several key areas. While the game is certainly fun in parts and the platinum trophy offers a decent challenge, the overall experience lacked the magic and cohesion of its predecessor. The story and dialogue felt trite and uninspired, missing the emotional depth and charm that made It Takes Two so memorable. There were also noticeable inconsistencies in the level design—some sections were creative and engaging, while others felt repetitive or underdeveloped. That said, the final stages of the game were a highlight, offering a satisfying and well-paced conclusion. It’s clear the studio still knows how to deliver strong co-op moments, even if this title doesn’t quite reach the heights of their best work. In the end, I’d rank Split Fiction as the second-best game from this developer. It’s enjoyable enough, especially with a partner, but it doesn’t quite live up to the high bar they’ve previously set.

Platinum Achieved – Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 (92 Hours)After 92 hours, I finally earned the platinum trophy in Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, and I can confidently say this is one of the most unique and captivating games I’ve played in a long time.From the moment you start a playthrough, it’s clear the developers had a strong creative vision. The world is imaginative, the design choices feel fresh, and nothing comes across as derivative—a rare feat in 2025. The soundtrack is phenomenal, the voice acting is top-tier, and while the story can be a bit confusing at times (especially when it comes to side characters and lore), it remains compelling **** gameplay strikes a great balance: the difficulty is well-tuned and accessible, and the turn-based combat system is a standout. It blends classic Final Fantasy vibes with a splash of Sekiro-like intensity, making every encounter feel meaningful.I spent my first 40 hours on PC with a 5090 GPU, where the game ran flawlessly. I then switched to PS5 Pro to pursue the platinum and was pleasantly surprised by the performance parity—Performance Mode looked and felt **** platinum journey itself was enjoyable, though a bit frustrating due to a few missable trophies—especially since they’re tied to the intro area, which isn’t typically where you'd expect that. Pro tip: make sure to find the Mime and buy the Old Key early on!Now, let’s talk about Simon. He’s a serious roadblock and will likely be the bane of many platinum hunters. It took me around 7 hours to finally beat him, but with persistence and strategy, he’s beatable.Final ThoughtsClair Obscure: Expedition 33 is a beautifully crafted, passion-driven game that dares to be original. It’s not perfect—the Pictos system is confusing and the grind to level 99 feels like a time sink—but the overall experience is something special. It’s a game that respects your imagination, even if it doesn’t always respect your time.10/10 – A flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless. I truly hope it gets the recognition it deserves at the 2025 Game Awards.

As a 45 year old that remembers the excited car journey from the boutique video game store, box in hand reading the back cover 15 times in anticipation of getting home to the old DX2-66 this remaster of the classic game was a must play for me, still holds up today and the remaster is perfectly judged, you get to choose how you like your classics with this one, up rezzed or in their chunky glory, right down to the midi soundtrack. Only criticism is that movement has a lot of float, so does the firing,and that's a little jarring with the smooth movement we're used to from today's FPS games.Worth a play for anyone though really, had a nice nostalgic journey back to the 90's bring on the Tie Fighter remaster next! 7/10 because although its a great remaster it is still an old game with the production values that come with the age!

This game is clearly quite divisive, and it is rather heavy on body horror, but not in a way intended to scare, simply in a way that the civilisation depicted in the game appears to view the body simply as a machine made of flesh and taken in that context I never really found the content offensive, it was morbidly curious in **** story is left entirely to environmental story telling which for this game works perfectly, it's up to you to connect the pieces but it clearly drew inspiration from Prometheus and the idea of the progenitors, the art direction is also heavily influenced by the same themes as the Alien films, that being the artistic style of H.R.Giger.Sound design is exceptional here and I must give credit to the PS version of the game in so much as the Dual sense is used wonderfully here to add to the very tactile environment making everything very crunchy, this is missing on the PC version that that makes me feel the PS5 is the best place to experience this one. The road to platinum for achievement hunters is very enjoyable and straight forward.I've played a lot of great games this year from the backlog, and I don't think this will be the best of them, but it will certainly be the most memorable, and that in an era of generic game design is really something to praise.Only downsides for me would be the combat feeling a little clunky but even that is not something I really had a major issue with, just that it was clearly not the focus of the team or the game and as such it feels a little lacking.Great game, great atmosphere, memorable setting.7/10

Just finished this game and the first DLC having transferred a cloud save across from my PS5 play through, in total I have 80 hours in the game, and I have to say, having spent so much time in it's world it I'm perplexed regards why it didn't receive much more love. This will be an easy game of the year for me, I don't think I've played a game that created such a well realised version of the star wars universe beyond the Jedi and Sith power fantasies before, it really taps into that Han Solo spirit, Kay being an outsider and simply trying to make her way with the skills (slicing) that she possess, a small cog in a very vast galaxy. None of that would mean much if it were not for the wonderful acting cast, who really deliver exceptional performances here, I loved Kay and Nix as the main characters, and the entire supporting cast were also excellent capturing that Star Wars feel and vibe just right, all of the stories and missions both main and side felt fleshed out and purposeful and the general behaviour of the NPC's felt very well considered and lore appropriate. lots of chit chat and commentary on the worlds events for you to listen to should you so **** game play loop and progression is nicely paced and whilst a little repetitive I really enjoyed the syndicates element to the game, it felt fitting considering the main characters profession.I know people showed exaggerated examples of Kay running around punching everyone in the face but this is really not how I played the game and with the combat changes I don't think this would be very viable on harder difficulties anymore, I found the combat suitably challenging and interesting given the story based nature of the game play. The graphics and sound design are exceptional, easily the best looking SW game in my opinion and so much better optimised then Jedi Survivor. If you have any love for SW or open world games in general then you really should play this, I feel sorry for Massive and Ubi as whilst I appreciate much of the hate towards Ubi them can be justified this game and the team that made it didn't deserve it, they created one of the best star wars adventures I've ever played and I've played them all.Great work massive, I look forward to the final piece of DLC, the first DLC Wild Card was great fun. 10/10 Because I loved it.

Silent Hill 2 Remake....well that was an experience. Finally I've found a game to knock Resident Evil 7 from my scary top spot. Just finished the game and I find myself with mixed emotions, I'm glad its over and I can move on, probably like James Sunderland himself, maybe that's intentional. Having never played the original, having only developed my horror legs later in life, I went into this game totally blind, I knew it was going to be tough but I know how much this game is revered and I needed to experience it, no matter how scary it might be.... little did I know it wasn't just scary, in fact I wouldn't even describe it as simply scary, its almost subliminally so, the sound track, the pace, the design, everything is designed to keep you on edge and it does so very effectively. On paper it has much in common with the resident evil remakes, but on a deeper level this is much, much more disturbing, it creates a sense of tension that's outright unpleasant at times, and whilst not something that prevented me from pushing forwards it did make me question if I wanted to, none the less I was determined to see at least one play through out and having just come out the other side I'm glad that I did, this game is special, it's unique and it is exceptionally designed to trigger us and I challenge most people not to play this without feeling an under torrent of stress even if it doesn't outright scare you. I don't think the game is perfect, I think there is a little too much combat, it feels a little at odds with the atmosphere, and the Mannequins are far too frequent, causing them to loose some of their ability to scare, and they are frankly awful at hiding! There secondary variation was a little nightmare fuel for me regardless...I won't be able to play this again, frankly I wouldn't want to, I've experienced it, I'm glad I did, I recommend everyone play this game at least once, but it's not one for people lack stress tolerance as it will test you a little, but by the end of it you will have conquered it's terrors and you'll feel a sense of achievement that's not always a given in modern game, albeit this has a rather old soul. Nice job Bloober Team.9/10

Somerville was an interesting game, with a few minor flaws that hold it back a little.Having played Limbo and Inside and enjoying both I was looking forward to playing this game, it did take me a while to get around to it but I'm glad that I did, it seems to get overlooked as the worst of the trio but I don't think that's fair, there are some issues such as controls feeling a little unresponsive and scenery detection not being the best, and a rather slow start after the introduction but overall this game tells an interesting fairly compelling story much like Inside before it.I do think Inside is the best of the Trio but for me this pips Limbo which is only to be expected really, goes to some interesting places, has some interesting art and a sparse but impactful soundtrack, well recommended for fans of Inside, Limbo and games with an emphasis on environmental story telling. 7/10

I've really know idea how this game is so highly rated, besides the short running time (which I never personally have an issue with) the time spent during that running time is nothing but walking around with literally a couple of puzzles if you can call them that thrown into the mix, had some interesting potential, especially the pray mechanic, but that is tossed to the side after two uses and forgotten about. The only interesting element is the opening cut scene that everyone talks about nothing else really happens. It's essentially servitude playing this game, I didn't see any redeeming qualities, interesting given the subject topic of the game. It's certainly sinful but only for wasting your life. Much like other other rated nonsense, Virginia and Gone Home this one is a waste of time. 1/10 (Pity)

I really really enjoyed Sifu, which in honesty was a little unexpected as I don't generally enjoy difficult games due to the potential I could reach an impasse and have wasted my invested time, however, if you look up GIT GUD in a dictionary you will find Sifu in the description, the great thing is the game gives you everything you need to get good, it is never unfair and it is always teaching you, so long as you choose to commit to understanding the **** that way Sifu is a very rewarding game to play, not just from a mechanical and gameplay perspective but also in so much as you will feel improved when you finally overcome the final boss, a task unthinkable but 14 hours ago, and that satisfaction is something so rare in games these days, in addition it runs great on anything including steam deck although I think more precise controls of a dedicated controller are beneficial. Loved it, 8/10

This was an interesting game, I’m a big fan of the original Nier and this had a very automata vibe about it, I didn’t love automata as much as the original but this intrigued me enough to give it a **** it turns out this game is quite different reminding me more of Bayonetta than nier in all but setting, that is until the very final stages of the game when there is a extreme difficulty spike which makes it more in line with something from the soul’s like stable, that caught me off guard somewhat but nonetheless still a very enjoyable game.Graphics were exceptional, especially on PS5 pro with a rock solid frame rate and a decent resolution, dual sense features are well implemented and responsive and overall it does felt like a very well constructed game, just a little generic **** only negatives and these are very subjective are the enemy designs which I didn’t really find interesting with a couple of exceptions gigas is great, and I did find that the avatar Eve is rather over sexualised and I would’ve preferred some outfits that looked cool and high tech rather then sexy and suspenders.

I started playing this game on release, I was expecting the spiritual successor to BioShock set in an interesting Soviet alternate future, the hype and speculation for the game was very high and on release it felt like most people were disappointed in the final product. I played for the first 4 hours before I decided the game felt a little buggy, performed badly and in an uncharacteristic turn I retired it and moved on. I picked it up on PC and tried the opening area around a year later and the performance was much improved but without trophies and missing the PS ecosystem and features I didn't feel the desire to play it once again. Skip forward to 2025, I couldn't shake the **** that this game should have been the ideal game for me, I'd just picked up the PS5 Pro and decided to give it once last chance...I'm so glad I did, with the patches and performance improvements afforded with frequent patching from supportive developers and perhaps the additional horsepower of Pro the game now runs beautifully, I played without the 120hz option activated as that noticeably lowers resolution but it runs at a locked 60fps without, it looks absolutely stunning on PS5 despite receiving no PRO patch, not sure if it uses a dynamic resolution but it does look exceptional, much of this is simply a result of great art design and sound design. In relation to the comparison with the BioShock series there are clear influences here and it is obvious the developers have some love for that seemingly forgotten franchise, there are a couple of not so discreet nods as you play through the game which was nice to see, the vibe in general is fairly similar and I think the comparison is good, especially if you simply focus on following the critical path. If however you intend to complete all side content, which come in the form of the 8 testing ground sites (which I highly recommend) not only do you see the BioShock influences but there is also a touch of Portal thrown in for good measure, the testing sites really do make part of the main game and are required for anyone attempting a platinum run and they round the game out into a bit of a hybrid, part shooter RPG and part puzzle solver, the two work well together. In addition to the excellent visuals the sound design and sound track are also exceptional, I won't spoil anything here but there are some great moments relating to sound in this game, I recorded several videos whilst playing because the mixture of on screen action and the soundtrack the developers overlaid just worked so well for me, might be personal taste but it nailed the atmosphere. I pored over every element of this game and achieved the platinum trophy, it took me around 45 hours, and I didn't experience any glitches in relation to trophies, I did get stuck in scenery twice which was the only issue I encountered in that 45 hour run. A lot of criticism was directed towards the Protagonist who does have a rather churlish attitude and some rather odd dialogue but the VO in general is very good, it's all just very quirky and by the end of the game it makes sense to a certain degree, I found the storyline interesting and well told for the most part although I have to admit it does fall over its own feet sometimes in relation to providing a little too much detail in the midst of a firefight where it can be hard to really listen to the conversation your glove is having with you. If it is not already obvious I loved this game, finally, we clicked and I'm so glad I gave it another choice, it is already a strong contender for the best game I'll play this year so 2025 has got off to a good start!

Interesting cyberpunk retro noir detective story, featuring some interesting game play mechanics and a great voice cast working with a decent script resulting in an authentic feeling noir vibe and experience. Excellent graphics reminiscent of Bioshock and decent surround sound implementation, no real use of Dual sense besides progressive trigger response. This is essentially an interactive walking simulator with very little agency but it has two alternate endings and tells it's story well. First platinum of the year for me and a solid 7/10

Interesting rather unsettling game, essentially Firewatch meets liminal spaces. Not horror but certainly unsettling, if you’ve ever run up the stairs in the dark with the sensation someone was behind you this game channels that edgy feeling perfectly. Good voice cast and interesting story despite some concerns I have for the way the content is depicted. The graphics are decent and it's a quick play, good for a stormy weekend sitting. On PS5 Dual Sense is used quite effectively throughout, things such as heartbeat are very well imitated by the wonder controller. 6/10 worth playing but nothing exceptional.

Enjoyable if a little repetitive first person shooter where the guns are replaced with magic, instantly forgettable storyline but enjoyable in the moment. Art style feels rather generic as does pretty much everything about the game but if the set up and a gameplay clip peak your interest it's probably worth playing for you.

Despite the general hate that seems to be generated around this game I’ve just finished it at a rather lengthy 92 hours play and I had a great time with it. It’s certainly not perfect and there is quite a lot of filler and uninspired side questing but in general I’ve enjoyed the game, combat is solid, I found the dialogue and script fine (albeit not subtle with its agenda and you generally feel like a therapist) and the voice performances are decent with the exception of Taash, not sure what tone they were going for with them but they just alienated me long before gender politics entered the scene. My main issue with the game is that it does start to feel repetitive around the half way point, combat has many stats but on the default difficulty none of them seem to matter, every dragon is basically the same, you revisit the same locations multiple times fighting the same enemies and they feel more like film sets then lived in places, it always feels like a video game. Overall the story was solid, the acting was good, and the combat was simple and enjoyable if a bit repetitive, if you like action role play games you’ll like probably like this but the rpg elements are more akin to fallout 4 then origins. It’s a shallow game that probably shouldn’t be quite so long and it’s a shadow of inquisition. Its still a solid 7.

I’m a big fan of stick of truth and the fractured But whole, but but due to the change in style and the initial reviews I gave this game a miss on launch and to be honest I’m glad that I did, eventually I picked it up on sale for £15 and for that amount of money I got five hours of Christmas themed fun but this is in no way a worthy sequel to the aforementioned two games. Throwaway combat, a typical South Park story some fun dialogue and a quirky card system but very jankie basic combat and unpolished, but for fans of the show, probably worth a play through when it’s on sale.

I originally started playing this game over Christmas 2024 as the game is set on Christmas Day and I always enjoy a Christmas theme over the festive season. I expected another indie walking simulator but what I got was an immensely immersive, well written, expertly acted horror experience reminiscent of a John Carpenter movie that kept me engaged from beginning to end, it is quite possibly the best game of its type I’ve ever played and I think it is one that will stick with me for quite sometime to come. It is likely my favourite gaming experience of the year. It’s that old Christmas spirit which permeates the rig that I remember and anyone with a childhood from the 70s and 80s should remember, it just gets the details right and I felt rather depressed to be playing it in 2024 two days before Christmas but to look out of my window you wouldn’t know the big day was in only two days time. The game has dialogue that just feels real unfiltered almost unscripted. I could imagine myself uttering the same kind of lines if placed into the situations this protagonist is placed into along with his crew. The setting itself feels tremendously authentic. It has a sense of time and place and character that is so rare in AAA games. The game isn’t tremendously long. I achieved the platinum trophy and that took me just over 10 hours (great experience) but I think just like a good movie, this is one you may wish to return to in a year or two maybe around Christmas time when looking outside your window doesn’t give you the same nostalgic Christmas feeling that you’re looking for, and this game with all of its horror and nostalgic charm will be waiting for you. Very highly recommended. (For those that think there is an unrealistic amount of swearing in the ****’ve obviously never been to a Glaswegian pub on a Friday night!)

This is an odd one for me, I loved the 1st game, I couldn't enjoy this game. It just felt kind of empty to me, combat was good, animation was nice, but the settings were hideously ugly and dull, most of the sets looked worse then the original game, I just couldn't click with it, never got to finish the first play through as my interest just kept trailing off, no idea how you could play it multiple times, there must be a good game here, but I've just struggled to connect with it so not a recommendation from me.

I approached this game as someone who only discovered they quite like horror games with the evil within series and then resident evil 7. The only resident evil games I've played are 5 and 7 both of which I enjoyed in their own rights. I had never played the original of this particular game. Taken as a 2019 game I found it to be superb, thoroughly modern in feel and mechanics, and superb looking, with excellent use of lighting and sound to create tension. Well paced, fair, and always tense, the game balances enjoyment and stress very well, punctuating high stress moments with a short respite to enjoy the surroundings and consider the various low effort puzzles. The gun play is enjoyable and the damage models on the zombies is superb, the only slightly frustrating element would be the tyrant as although not quite the threat he appears to be he does sometimes cause frustration during puzzle sections of the game. Overall although I did not find the setting to be quite as captivating as that in the evil within series I thoroughly enjoyed both play campaigns of this game, talking of which although similarities obviously exist between campaign A and B (unlocked by completing A) they are unique enough to be well worth playing through, having finished A I was ready to jump straight back into B and I have a huge library of barely played steam games to attest to the fact that I bore easily. Highly recommended, Capcom are on a role, and it's nice to see one AAA publisher getting things right in the current climate.

This review is a personal opinion and not necessarily a reflection of the game quality, if you enjoy the souls based games you may like this game, however I wouldn't suggest this is a guarantee, the souls games present you with more options where as this game is fairly linear and bar path choices makes most of the decisions for you, start with a katana, finish with a katana. I found the difficulty annoying in this game, certain enemies very frustrating, and overall this is a serious case of get annoyed or get gud. I was of the latter camp and therefore have personally wasted my money, I gave the game 11 hours and reached madam butterfly before deciding I just wasn't really having fun and if I'm not enjoying an experience it's an experience best ignored. If you enjoy the Git Gud challenge you'll likely enjoy this but I'm a little long in the tooth for that kind of game these days. Well made, never encountered any issues or bugs (besides weird carp physics) and a decent game, but not a game for everyone.

I'm not normally a huge fan of typical survival games. Subnautica is not a typical survival game. It's a masterpiece. Visuals and Sound - The developers have crafted a living breathing eco system beneath the waves that just feels authentic beyond anything I've ever experienced in a game world before, it excels in what it sets out to achieve, from the way lighting and depth level transform the appearance of the world around you, to the way the soundtrack becomes quite unpleasant as you approach the edges of the map, a subtle way to mark out the game area that is not otherwise mapped. Everything is animated beautifully and everything makes a satisfying sound. It is one of the most immersive game worlds I have ever explored, the only thing that came close was Alien Isolations Sevastapol station (also awesome). Gameplay- The game play loop in this game is addictive, a constant flow of character improvement and story progression, every big step feels like a hugely satisfying achievement, throughout the lengthy playtime I have always had something to aim for, a goal to achieve and a reason to keep playing...just a little bit longer. I cannot recommend this game enough, if you're reading this you need the game, easily in my top 10 games of the past 35 years, this shows a loving attention to detail that would only come from a passionate team, in a world of looter shooter megacorp rinse and repeats this game is a stand out and deserves to be supported. If I had to find a con for this game, it would be that the on foot sections of the game are not to the same standard as the meat and potatoes underwater elements. a minor gripe.

One of the most underrated games of the generation. Easily one of the best open worlds I've experienced, just the right amount of filler, solid if basic story, superb graphics (those sky boxes) and excellent sound. Takes the Arkham combat system and refines it into a meaty heavier more visceral experience that obeys the laws of gravity far better then other implementations. Car combat is also superb, story, driving and combat all just works, I don't think i've played a better game since.

I am a self confessed huge fan of the original Evil Within, for me that game stands alone amongst survival horror games of this generation, but it did cause me to get quite excited by the prospect of the sequel. Would this new game match up to it's superb precursor?? In short, no. But that's perhaps more my personal preference then any downfall of the title itself. One of the things i liked most about the original were the wonderful environments that you were shepherded through in a very linear track, like a horror maze at an amusement park, the sequel still has these segments and they really shine proving to be the sequel at its best, but when it isn't following this strict path you're left in a small scale open world, which doesn't really feel very tight or especially interesting, with all most MMO like levels of disengagement in the game world, mobs wandering around aimlessly on set path ways, it kinda feels like this game was heading for a scripted experience like it's forebear and then someone in a boardroom said, it's got to have open world, open world is the future, and we ended up with what feels like shoehorned sections of openworld gameplay interspersed with the quality linear experience. When this game sticks to it's roots it's superb but the occasional open world distraction leaves it in the wake of it's superior forebear. Still excellent but not quite to the standards exhibited from it's seminal original.

This game was my survival horror awakening. Prior to playing this game, gaming for scares didn't appeal, I'd tried to play the opening scenes of this game several times, but not being a fan of chainsaws I never really got very far, eventually I decided it was time to man up, and tackle the chainsaw maniac once and for all. I'm glad I did, the experience that followed was one of my favourite gaming experiences of all time, it's not perfect, the controls are a little clunky, the pc port wasn't great on launch, but as it is right now, it's an underated masterpiece. A game full of creative environments, with the ability to take you from an asylum to a cornfield with the opening of a door, a truly exception artistic direction, from environment and sound design to animation, everything really is stellar in this experience, it feels old school, but in the best possible way, it's tightly directed and carefully curated, taking you through it's nightmare lands at a brisk pace whilst slowly introducing you to an intriguing slow burning story. Special mention goes to the bosses in this game, they are superb and some of my favourite boss encounters to date, tense, scary and although not especially tough to figure out always quite frantic! This game really is something special, I urge you to give it a try, if you dare!

Far Cry New Dawn....what is it? Just more Far Cry 5? The answer to the above is...kinda, I've only recently got around to finishing Far Cry 5, it didn't really grab me, I found the location slightly dull and wasn't overly impressed with the art design and gameplay loop, it was alright, a 6/10 for me, a must try harder, entertaining but ultimately failing to really instil any excitement or desire to continue playing in me. New Dawn is ubisoft trying harder, don't get me wrong the series needs a shake up but as a stop gap, stand alone expansion this game get's quite a lot right. Starting with the post apocalypse.... The gun play is identical, with slightly more entertaining weapon styles, not a bad thing as that element of gameplay was always competent anyway, the biggest change for me was the environment, far from the Fallout/Metro vision of the apocalypse this is set in the superbloom, and it's beautiful, full of vegetation and flora and turquoise water with pink neon deer...everything I didn't realise I was missing in my life. When you add in a much improved HDR implementation and an improved lighting system you end up with one of the most impressive environments I've seen yet in a videogame, and it's this dramatically more interesting environment that has me more engaged with the experience, i know it's the same map but it doesn't feel like it, and the area's that do, the bombed out remains of locales visited during the previous game are interesting to revisit, to see in their state of sad disrepair.. In conclusion, better environment and use of colour liven up the experience dramatically, the weapons are a little more interesting and so far the game moves at a slightly brisker pace, i also like the settlement mechanic and base building elements this time around, along with the excursion missions, lots of little improvements that taken as a whole make a relatively by the numbers fps feel a little more exciting and raise it above it's predecessors.

Growing up in the era of PC flight sims, Ace Combat 7 is a breath of unusually fresh air for me, I don't believe I've ever played any other game in this series but it makes a solid first impression. It is not a realistic flight sim, it is an arcade flight sim, more afterburner then IL2 and I'm totally fine with that. Plays well with a controller, apparently doesn't support hotas sticks but this is far from a hardcore flight sim and therefore I really don't care about that personally, what I do care about is the quality of the port to pc, and I'm glad to say that is excellent and very well optimised, I have applied a couple of lines to the ini. file in the games directory which increases draw distance (just google it) but besides making that small adjustment the game looks great. Has a fun, more substantial story then i was expecting given the genre which came as a nice surprise, and I've found myself thoroughly enjoying the game, therefore it gets a recommendation from me!

A noobs experience with the seminal survival horror. I'll admit, I missed out on the Resident Evil craze first time round, I was never one for scaring myself and a sufferer of arachnophobia, neither conducive to playing a game like Resi. My first foray was 5, the action Resi, I played it all the way through in Co-Op, twice, and loved it. 6 never grabbed me.. my first experience with what I consider my first real survival horror came with The Evil Within, a game I feel is criminally underated, it gave me a taste for the genre and led me to play both EW2 and Resi 7, both excellent experiences treading the fine line between scares and thrills and keeping me engaged like few other genres can manage. On hearing that Resi 2 was being remade I was quite excited, with one large caveat, if I was gonna be facing RE engine spiders I was out...thankfully they were removed and I jumped in on release day. I was surprised to see a capcom game so well optimised and catered for on the PC, it ran beautifully at 4k maxed always maintaining a solid 60fps (RTX2080TI FE). I did not encounter a single bug during my 24 hours of playtime. Very impressive, and nice to see. Gameplay wise, this is another wonderful experience, I jumped straight in to my first play through with Leon, and enjoyed the relatively slow build up to tougher enemies and the sense of exploration and wtf moments you encounter as you get to know the Racoon City PD. I finished that first play through in around 14 hours which is longer then most but I am quite cautious and methodical in my play style. The game finished quite abruptly but to a satisfactory conclusion, I loved every minute with perhaps the only negative being the repetition of the relatively small game location, this is subjective however as I think it is also intentional, as with 7 the locations are a character all their own and getting to know them well can aid you in the later stages of the game. Before setting out on the initial play through, i was aware that many claimed you needed to play both Leon and Claire to experience the whole story, I was sceptical of this, and rarely retread games, especially without a long break in between, in the case of this game however as soon as my Leon (A) credits rolled I logged straight back in as Claire and was impressed with how differently the game plays when using her, locations are largely the same, with a couple of notable exceptions, but the order of events and enemies you face change up quite a bit, creating a fresh experience even on the second run. I finished up Claire's run with 24 hours total gameplay time and loved every single minute, I also received a more complete ending tying in both characters to the final scenes. A truly memorable gaming experience and one I may even go back to in a year or so and try the free ghost survivors DLC that capcom has, once again surprisingly provided free of charge to players. One of my favourite games of recent memory and a likely contender for my personal game of the year, even at this early stage and it comes highly recommended.