Richard Barker

It’s an intriguing and fun adventure that ensures TESO is definitely worth coming back and experiencing, maintaining the high level of quality that The Elder Scrolls Online has had with all its previous expansions.

Square Enix came out swinging at E3 2019 and there was a huge swath of announcements and ports. But what were the major takeaways from one of the best shows of the year? Well, these 10 are certainly right up there with what you need to know about Square’s excellent showing.

E3 2019 is here but EA forgoed the traditional press conference for a collection of livestreams, giving updates about some of their biggest games. While it was lacking in any major surprises or reveals there were still some interesting and exciting things to come out of the two hour event. But what were the 9 best and most intriguing bits of EA Play 2019?

Playing Darkwood feels like stepping into some dark twisted Eastern European fairytale. It’s undeniably magical, unquestionably disturbing, and often terrifying. It’s a world that will stick into your conscience long after you have stopped playing. An experience that connects emotionally and mentally, it never lets you go. Rarely has a title shocked me as often as this game has, and fighting through the woods is a tense and difficult challenge, but an endlessly engaging gameplay experience. It is a horrifying audio visual trip through the twisted rabbit hole.

Yes, it has major flaws for sure, but Murdered: Soul Suspect does not deserve to disappear like an apparition.

Xbox Game Pass may be one of the best deals in gaming right now, particularly as you get a huge variety of games for a pretty reasonable price each month. In the couple of months that I have owned Game Pass, I have played many games I probably would not have bothered taking in without it - and that is quite possibly the best thing about it; the opportunity for millions to get easy access to new experiences. So with that in mind, what are the hidden gems available on Xbox Game Pass?

Velocity G reminds me of a flash game that I could play on an internet browser, and not a particularly good one at that. The only difference is that I have to pay money for this one.

FAR: Line Sails has no dialogue and almost no explanation of the controls or the goal of the game, but it's so impeccably designed that it doesn't need them. The game gracefully pushes and teaches you the mechanics, so that everything comes to the player intuitively.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun is deeply inspired by the dungeon crawling party RPGs of the late ‘80s and ‘90s, hugely reminiscent of games like Wizardry or Bards Tale. It’s evident everywhere you look, from the gameplay, to the setting, to the story itself. And thankfully, it takes the best from that genre and creates a mixtape of fantasy role playing content that you can spend hours going through. It does not do everything right but it’s a worthwhile experience.

This is not a gritty crime drama or a tough look at fighting crime. It's a comedy, and the game makes fun of every aspect of that genre, offering many hilarious situations that you have to police your way through. In fact, Beat Cop had me in stitches almost all the time, laughing hard at some of the lines. Beat Cop is irreverent too with lots of cursing and “adult” situations that happen. And all that said, it’s easily one of the most enjoyable and fun games I have played this year.

I think everyone on the planet has written about Red Dead Redemption 2 at some point and for good reason, it's a huge experience with many aspects worth discussion. One of the most contentious points, however, is the pace of the game.

The original Xbox had a huge breadth of genres and types of games in its exclusive catalogue, a variety that I don't think was ever matched by future iterations of Xbox. Many of these games, a lot of people don’t know about, which is a shame because they are truly great. All of these hidden gems are worth a try and some can even be played easily on the Xbox One.