Not a lover, not a fighter, but a gamer.
If you don’t find me down the pub, it’s because I’m never there as I’m playing video games. I consider Bioshock the greatest game ever made and love to express my opinions through writing!
Shantae and the Seven Sirens on the Xbox One is the best in the series yet. Despite some truly obscure pacing issues and some irritating map design, the base adventure remains extremely enjoyable, with rewarding exploration and a constant sense of progression. While the formula may need more quality of life improvements to really stand out in the genre, Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a step in the right direction and places the series on the right track for success.
With a more robust combat system, inventive quest design and more polish, Quest Hunter on the Xbox One could have been a true diving point for newcomers to the RPG genre. As it stands, it feels like a completely missed opportunity that’s inoffensive but lacks any degree of imagination, charm or gameplay hook.
Essentially, Arcade Spirits on Xbox One feels like an entry point to the visual novel genre. It lacks the depth, complexity and hook of games such as Phoenix Wright, but instead relies on its relationships to suck players in. With a slow build, it’s hard to recommend to anyone but veterans of the genre, especially with a script that never evolves beyond its basic humour. But its charm is hard to deny and, infused with the nostalgic factor, it can be downright difficult to resist at times.
With years of support, a fantastic throwback to games of olde and superb gameplay, Shovel Knight on Xbox One is an absolute treat. The initial campaign is worth the price of admission alone, but with the plethora of updates over the years, it’s a must have for any gamer. The package delivers something for everyone, beautifully marrying multiple genres in one satisfying bundle. Shovel Knight is a testament of getting your money worth for a game and has definitely dug itself a massive range of incredible content to enjoy.
When The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time hit the gaming market, it no doubt made a cultural impact which ripples through the gaming scene to this very day. Zelda, to some, is the pinnacle of gaming and the entry point to many enthusiasts. Building upon that idea was no doubt a very hard task that would ultimately be built around a lot of hype. Coming off the heat of Ocarina of Time was the broodier, big brother known as Majora’s Mask. It was a sequel that had impossible odds to contend with, but emerged victorious in paving its way.
Despite some hurdles, Moving Out proves to be a more than solid cooperative journey into the lifestyle of a removal service that I quickly found myself recruited for.
While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, Fury Unleashed on Xbox One is a love letter to old school platformers, 80's action heroes and the truly expressive features of comic books. Adding onto this is the ability to bring a friend along in co-op with a glorious frenzy of bullets. It’s a game that promotes the vision of ‘one more go’ and constantly asks you to push yourself further.
there’s still some charm that lies within Queen’s Quest 4 on the Xbox One. So while it may not be groundbreaking, it’s an easy recommendation for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
It seems a plethora of physics-based games have hit the market over the last few years. They have gathered a large audience so it’s only predicted, but now it feels as though the joke has run its course. For the first time, the genre is starting to show its age in Totally Reliable Delivery Service on the Xbox One, with a repetitive and frustrating experience. While there’s some fun and laughs to be had with co-op, and inventive customisation options, the laughs stop there.
Super Destronaut: Land Wars feels like a love letter to the game it so inspires to be, but loses everything that made it well-loved in translation. The concept is solid, but fails to ever reach the heights to create an addictive gameplay loop.
Younger gamers will no doubt find a slight amount of fun in the experience, but it will fail to push their skills any further or demand a large amount of attention. Gigantosaurus: The Game on Xbox One is a gigantic flop.
It’s often described as a ‘pop album video game’, but Sayonara Wild Hearts is more than that. It’s a love letter to both gaming and music, perfectly marrying the two mediums together in one expressive package. It’s an art form and one of the best indie titles to hit the Xbox One generation.
Unlike other games of the genre that are plagued with steep learning curves or slowly distilling new abilities to the player, Bayonetta provides a wealth of combat opportunities from the get go. Backed by a lusciously crafted world and creative level design, Bayonetta is one of the best hack & slash games of the genre.
Vanquish on Xbox One feels like a snapshot of the past. While the enhancements have done little to spice up the experience, the wonderful feeling of combat remains. It’s a punchy but hollow experience, but it knows what it is. It doesn’t particularly break any new ground, but it’s a reminder of the simple joys a linear based adventure can invoke.
Hayfever on Xbox One has the looks of a solid platformer but is a completely misjudged experience. The control system makes the game borderline unplayable, the sound design wears thin extremely fast, and irritating glitches have the potential to prevent progress. Much like actual hayfever, it’s disorienting, frustrating and downright annoying.
In a world where every video game idolises the hero, a villain stands up and says “enough is enough!”. Underhero is a playful take on stereotypical conventions that have plagued many gaming genres for years. Developer Paper Castle may miss the mark occasionally, but Underhero on Xbox One is an inventive take on classic gaming tropes.
Resident Evil Revelations 2 was a fascinating experiment with the episodic structure of games that was popular at the time. This worked to its advantage and tantalising ‘next time’ snippets sparked a community of players to carefully dissect and digest each episode’s contents for a hint at where the journey was taking them.
Whether Moving Out will have the same sticking power as Overcooked! remains to be seen, but although it borrows a similar formula, it’s evident it has an identity of its own. The levels are playful, the controls are accessible and the humour is consistent. Moving Out has the foundations to be a hit multiplayer experience when it hits Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC in April.
As Game Pass continues to evolve and switch things up, space needs to be made for upcoming new games. And that means shifting out some of the older games that we've had a good few months of playtime with.
There’s no doubt eFootball 2024 is a flawed game and, if a measly update is all that’s coming each year, it’s hard to see it ever being worthy of your time.
We love Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and we adore Lies of P. So news of a crossover of ideas, alongside some new DLC is something we are totally onboard with.
PAW Patrol World isn’t made for us adults. It’s Adventure Bay and surrounding areas, with all of the barriers removed. It’s a glorious playset, the entire TV series ready for kids to reach in and enjoy.
Gord’s slow pace and pretty punishing difficulty (even on normal) coupled with problematic controls prevent you from being able to get fully absorbed in a world which really intrigues.
Enjoyable with a good sense of story, characters, and some sharp writing, Afterdream keeps its suspense tight amid horror elements that are more fun than horrific.
It’s hard to make a case for Rayland 2 being your first choice when it comes to buying a new puzzle game. However, if you want to kill an hour or two, and you need an extra 2000 Gamerscore in the bank, then it’s certainly an option.
