Ruinverse on Xbox is very much in that category of "just some JRPG". It does nothing particularly bad, but it does nothing particularly good either. It has a decent story, but the subtexts are so obvious, and the twist in the narrative can be seen coming from miles away.
Georifters is fun for a time, and packs in plenty of levels. However, the gameplay shows its hand early on, and struggles to develop from there. It throws in some new bits and bobs as you play, but soon it becomes quite repetitive, and the levels start to feel like a bit of a grind.
Do Not Feed the Monkeys is better played on other systems rather than on Xbox. Without a mouse or touchscreen to move through screens, you’ll find yourselves fumbling through the screens like your dad with a remote, when you want to feel like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. But don’t let it put you off the game as a whole: this is a witty, hugely original voyeurism simulator, and it’s well worth searching out elsewhere.
As you’d probably expect from a budget platformer that features a T-Rex main character, Tiny Hands Adventure on Xbox is awkward, unwieldy, and from a completely different time. If you’re blessed with patience and go all misty-eyed when someone mentions platformers like Croc and Bubsy, then you might find some enjoyment here. For others, it’s probably worth leaving this fossil in the ground.
Wonder Blade on Xbox is inconsistently fun. The wildly contrasting difficulty and bumpy pacing makes the experience feel slightly disjointed, however it’s all wrapped up in a way that will no doubt bring a smile to the most miserable of faces.
So, Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox. This is a game I had been looking forward to for what seems like a lifetime, and it was never going to live up to the high expectations that CD Projekt Red, I or the world as a whole has been putting on it. It's a great RPG, but at the same time it doesn't do anything grounding breaking in terms of style and gameplay. Yes it has bugs, there is an annoying UI and I can’t ignore the mission stutters, but similarly it's a game that I constantly think back to when I’m not gaming, looking forward to my next deep session with it.
SiNKR 2 on Xbox, much like the original game, is a great time. It is equal parts relaxing and satisfying for the majority of the 87 levels, and the difficulty is pretty well-balanced. Sinking a puck in a hole is just as satisfying as ever, and the low asking price makes the game all the more worthwhile.
Despite its cute visuals and some great moments of exploring the game’s world, Monster Sanctuary on Xbox feels relatively hollow. There is plenty of content to keep the most dedicated of min-maxing enthusiasts busy, especially if one ventures into online battles against others, but the game owes too much of its identity to the past. If it leaned more into the unique metroidvania ideas, had a more interesting story, and felt less like homework, Monster Sanctuary would have been something truly special.
It says a lot about a game when writing its review makes us want to close the laptop, boot up the Xbox and return to play it. So it is with Monster Train on Xbox, which chucks out a lot of Slay the Spire’s baggage to create a ride that’s more breakneck and exhilarating. Monster Train is more-ish to the extreme, and we’d worry about our social lives, if there was any social life to be had right now.
The opening stages have that gleeful abandon that a lot of mining games have, as our pockets filled with gold and unlocks made us into mining deities. The game kept widening out to add more and more things to do and we were smitten with how generous it was. That generosity had to come to an end, though: as Cave Digger ran out of surprises, the feelings of grinding started to take hold. Treat these feelings as a canary and get out before they choke out the enjoyment, and Cave Digger becomes a glittering recommendation.
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes on Xbox is an excellent Souls-like experience and one that any fan of the genre should play. It’s constantly rewarding and delivers a frantic challenge on the whole. There are some hiccups along the way but it’s not enough to bring down this trip into steampunk nightmares.
So, how best is it to describe Kid Tripp on Xbox? Short, but sweet. It might only be an hour long, but it’s entirely worth it. The gameplay and level design are both stellar, and the game is challenging without being unfair or overly-punishing. For less than a fiver, what more could you want?
This is the best RPG I've played this year, bar none, and as such I recommend it to anyone and everyone. The story sucks you in, the game looks beautiful and sounds amazing, and with hours and hours of content to go at, there isn't a mark against it. It’s a rare thing, but this is as close to a perfect game as you’re going to get.
We’re in danger of making Strike Force 2 - Terrorist Hunt on Xbox sound so bad that you might want to buy it. There’s some truth in that, but the laughs are all in the first level. The rest of Strike Force’s routine is re-tellings of the same joke, and for £15 you could get more from buying a whoopee cushion and burning the remaining tenner. Undoubtedly, there are people who have completed the COD campaign and are looking around for the next shot of military head-shottage, but you need Strike Force 2 like a hole in your own.
60 Parsecs! on Xbox is a game that is easy to pick up and easy to come back to. The mechanics are great, comedy is woven into all of the writing, and each playthrough feels different enough where the experience doesn’t just feel like a repeat of the last. If you want a space-themed survival comedy that can easily pass the time, then do yourself a favor and get 60 Parsecs!
