Hype
Once Human
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
Nirvana Noir
Thrasher
Chasing The Unseen
Darkweb Streamer
Features
Apocalypse Now - Climate catastrophe meets the extraction shooter in Sharkmob's thrillingly unpredictable Exoborne
Flying Solo - Four indie developers outline the advantages and challenges of creating games on your own
An Audience With...Ikumi Nakamura on past success and hopes for the future with Kemuri at new studio Unseen
The Making Of...an iconic FPS transformed into a console RTS: why Halo Wars wad a jubilant swan song for Ensemble
Studio Profile - How audacity and ambition has allowed Polish dev Fool's Theory to punch well above its weight
Time Extend - The era of the plastic instrument may be over, yet Rock Band 4 continues its extended encore
The Long Game - A rousing new perspective on a classic: why Capcom's Resident Evil 4 remake is even better in VR
Play (reviews)
The Finals (+ post script)
"While it is, naturally, unreasonable to expect this kind of environmental reactivity from every game, we'll admit to needing a slight readjustment period when going back to worlds that are more film set than Lego set. Most videogames focus their interactions on other sentient beings, whether they're player- or computer- controlled. But after a long stretch playing The Finals, or Teardown, or even Minecraft, it's hard not to wonder if we should be treating our surroundings within games the levels, the stages, the maps - as something to be played with, as much as their inhabitants." [8]
Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown
"It might seem regrettable that a series so famous for depicting the brutal deaths of its protagonist should resort to rote videogame conventions such as respawns and Game Over screens (Sargon's death animation bears an uncanny resemblance to Samus Aran's). But it's a small concession to make when the upshot is a quicker return to the action. And if our new leading man is a more serious sort than his wisecracking predecessors, a similiar playfulness emerges in the way you can flamboyantly pull off death-defying manoeuvres. All of which makes The Lost Crown the most satisfying effort from Ubisoft Montpellier since Rayman Legends. In a rebirth of this calibre, death is a moot point." [8]
Asgard's Wrath 2
"Scale itself, then, isn't reason enough to recommend Asgard's Wrath 2 - indeed, we find ourselves questioning the wisdom of such a long game on hardware that must be charged every couple of hours. Its ambitious scope is easier to admire, as Meta's answer to the every-part-of- the-buffalo titles that accompany new Nintendo hardware, but that comparison has us longing for their polish. Too often, what's on offer feels like a succession of incomplete experiments - the shoulders of giants on which other VR games might build." [6]
Another Code: Recollection
"That future tech, however, raises awkward questions, particularly when the threat of a character's memories being overwritten looms large. Here, the narrative message is in opposition to its wrapper, since Recollection's very existence (not to mention the second game's swingeing cuts) would seem to suggest it's better not to remember things as they were. Granted, technology's relentless march complicates matters; Two Memories, certainly, would be impossible to replicate precisely on Switch. Though the fact that the original versions of these games are not easily available (thus, in principle, justifying these remakes) speaks to their industry's own strained relationship with its past. It's an inconvenient truth to emerge from what Nintendo was presumably hoping would deliver a dose of the warm and fuzzies. But then as Ashley, recalling a friend's advice, observes, "even though facing the truth can be hard, in the end it's always for the best." [6]
Go Mecha Ball
"That fairground rush, then, wears off over umpteen playthroughs, many curtailed more by misfortune than mistake. With more generous health pickups, and without such stark discrepancies between abilities and weapons, Go Mecha Ball's biggest frustrations could be eased. As it stands - or rolls - the combination of luck and skill required for success recaptures the era of Gottlieb and Bally. In more ways than one, Whale Peak's debut sure plays a mean pinball." [6]
Home Safety Hotline
"As the days go by, things grow more unsettling still. Anonymous emails from a disgruntled employee warn that you're in danger. Distorted voices and glitchy dial tones unnerve. And sporadic network outages force you to internalise as much of the bestiary as you can between calls (the hotline has a nasty habit of ringing just as you're reading through a particularly disturbing detail, or listening to a cryptid's cry). Fine voice performances mean the calls themselves often unsettle, though sometimes it's not until you realise the implications of your diagnosis that the chill reaches your spine. With a ed little more mechanical variety, this might've been a as minor classic. Even within its modest parameters, though, it is a terrific piece of worldbuilding - one that leaves us anxiously looking around our own home after we clock out for the final time." [7]
Raindrop Sprinters
"It could not be more straightforward; at times you wonder if there's almost too little to it. But the knowledge that each playthrough contributes to unlocking the other modes (see 'Inclement increments') will keep you playing for a good couple of hours at least, by which time you will most likely have grasped the conditions for unlocking seven skill-boosting 'badges' (finishing without them is a stern challenge in itself, requiring five successful runs through what eventually becomes a torrential downpour). There is genuine character in its presentation, too, from the four distinct jingles that follow successful sprints to the anticipation-heightening Cambridge chimes that precede a new run, the leaderboards celebrating the 'top five brave cats' and the game-over text - 'It's cooooooooold!' - that somehow mollifies the frustration of a run prematurely ended. It's a reminder that good ideas are timeless. Another 40 years from now, we suspect it won't have aged a day." [8]
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