4.5/5 Review

There’s a good chance that you will love Omno just by looking at the screenshots, but get hands on and you’ll very quickly learn why that love is real. Yes there are a couple of niggles, particularly in the accuracy of the gliding, but apart from that this is a gaming experience that is near damn perfect.

Audio repetition aside, Orcs Must Die! 3 is a little gem. The campaign modes are deep and varied, the weekly challenges are full of variety and both the Endless and Scramble options mix up the gameplay just enough to warrant some time with each. Throw in the simple to set up online multiplayer and you've got an extremely accomplished action tower defense brawler that the vast majority of gamers will thoroughly enjoy.

Death’s Door on Xbox is fantastic. Its mysteries are alluring, its world is uniquely sensitive and funny, its combat is harsh and fast. It feels like stepping into a dream space with all of its fantastical designs, elevated by one of the best soundtracks of the year. From almost every perspective, Death’s Door is a game that compels you to keep playing. You’ll be powerless to say no.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is superb. If you’ve ever played the PlayStation exclusive The Last of Us, you will feel very at home with A Plague Tale. Already regarded as one of the best games of the last generation, the next-gen improvements solidify it into a must play-title.

Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and developed by USC Game Innovation Lab, Walden, a game is a narrative-driven open-world adventure with survival elements. Such elements are expected to be minimal though, as it attempts to create more of an educational and inspirational experience that’s accessible to a wider audience. Does the heavy focus on storytelling and discovery ensure Walden, a game is a must-play, or does artistic approach and potentially limited gameplay hinder the enjoyment?

On one hand, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! delivers an unbelievably surprising, chilling and suspenseful story. On the other hand, it will be a slog for those who don’t enjoy sifting through dialogue for 3-4 hours. Regardless, this is a story every seasoned gamer should at least try to experience.

ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights does almost everything right, with varied level design, a multitude of enemies, a good progression system, and a beautiful soundtrack.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is no doubt among the best Xbox platform exclusives of 2021, and a staggering showcase for your console of choice. It manages to translate an ambitious PC epic almost seamlessly into a console experience, where the play mechanics and control scheme are mapped perfectly onto the Xbox controller.

If you enjoy an ARPG, spending time with Scarlet Nexus is a no-brainer - the story and action is strong enough to suck you in and keep you playing. With time travel, psychic powers and huge monsters to kick in the teeth, it’s one hell of a roller coaster ride from start to finish. The slight let-downs of the side quests aside, this is a more than assured entry into the genre, that wholeheartedly deserves a whirl.

The Elder Scrolls Online - Blackwood is an excellent inclusion. The new companion system is an awesome gameplay enhancement, and despite their lacking in combat it's incredibly cool to have a partner to explore these worlds with. The new region is dense and gorgeous, offering a great selection of content to work through.

It is an utter treat to revisit Metro Exodus with the new enhanced version on Xbox Series X|S. I do recommend that if you are new to the Metro Series then play the first two games before picking up Exodus, however if you’ve played those and never managed to get around to Exodus, this is the perfect time to visit it.

Wingspan is an elegant, exceptional board game and it’s been delivered with real care to the Xbox. Console is a good look for it, as it automates things that are more unwieldy on a table-top, making it - dare we say it - the superior way to play. When Wingpsan was so rewarding to play in the first place, that’s an extraordinary achievement.

Green Hell is a hugely challenging, massively immersive game that will transplant you in the Amazonian jungles in both a good and a bad way.

Knockout City is basic on the surface but its core mechanics are able to provide so much fun that you may well struggle to put it down. It’s got all the fundamentals right and with just a bit more content added in, this could be something really special. If you’re looking for a unique spin on the competitive multiplayer angle, it’s absolutely worth a look.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth is one of those rare cases where several influences and moving parts come together to create an experience which feels unique as a whole. Every nook and cranny of the gameplay and level design feels thought-out and deliberate, and as a whole the journey is both memorable and challenging, with a gameplay hook that makes it hard to put it down.