Fraser Gilbert

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·May 1, 2026

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Double Fine has given us another charming Xbox first-party title in the form of Kiln, which might be light on content, but nevertheless is a fun time both on and off the battlefield. The pot-creation system is a genius take on a character creation suite, matches are frantic but offer plenty of room for strategy, and the overall presentation is really high quality. Moving forward though, it's going to need regular new content to remain fresh and give players a reason to keeping coming back, otherwise I fear this online-only game might get doused a little too prematurely.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Sep 5, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions plays the best game of Quidditch we've ever seen in video game form. There's good fun to be had both solo and with other people online, and the customisation aspects are pretty cool too - especially considering there are no paid microtransactions to be found. We have concerns about longevity considering the limited campaign and singular 3v3 multiplayer mode, but the quality of the gameplay should be enough to keep our brooms from getting too dusty in the foreseeable future.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Jul 22, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

The third outing for Frontier's excellent F1 Manager series is the best yet, implementing a series of new features that don't reinvent the wheel by any means, but add up to a more enjoyable and in-depth experience overall. Better yet, it's launching at a price of just £29.99 / $34.99 on Xbox consoles, which makes it significantly cheaper than this time last year! Casual fans may be perfectly happy with F1 Manager 2023 on Xbox Game Pass for now, but anyone who really enjoys this series will want to join F1 Manager 2024's starting grid ASAP.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Jun 11, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Of course, this all relies on you enjoying the repetitive loop that Rolling Hills offers, and if you don't... well, you're not going to stick with it. That's the downside here - it's a game that some people will bounce off very quickly, especially considering it's very easy in the first few hours. However, if you become as enticed by it as we have, you'll be in for a great experience with Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends on Xbox Game Pass.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Mar 13, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator is a pretty addictive new addition to the genre, but it's giving us a rough ride at launch. It does the basics well for the most part, and features an impressively large and detailed version of Barcelona to cruise around in, but the unintelligent AI drivers, poor performance and various other irritations are significant drawbacks. This has all the potential to be a good (or even great) game, but it's going to take a few patches to get there.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Mar 4, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

WWE 2K24 is undoubtedly one of the best wrestling games in Xbox history, but it's also a game that prioritises incremental upgrades over any kind of major overhauls, so casual fans may struggle to justify a full-price purchase. As dedicated wrestling "marks" though, we think the new MyRise stories, superb improvements to MyGM, nostalgia-driven Showcase mode, additional match types and various gameplay adjustments are all worth the price of admission.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Feb 6, 2023

Critic90/100

Agreement—

It felt like Hogwarts Legacy was always going to struggle to live up to the hype, but somehow Avalanche Software has managed to deliver an absolutely fantastic open world adventure that will surely go down as comfortably the best game based on the Harry Potter franchise so far. If you've been following its progress for a while and were keeping your fingers crossed for good reviews, we're pleased to report that it's definitely been worth the wait.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Aug 31, 2022

Critic70/100

Agreement—

For the first entry in a brand-new series, Frontier has done a great job with F1 Manager 2022. The 3D race engine is consistently engaging and visually stunning for a management game, the user interface is well-designed, and even the controls are easy enough to get to grips with on Xbox. There are definitely balancing issues that need to be ironed out at launch, but if Frontier can add some updates pretty sharpish, we'll happily bump this review up to at least an 8/10.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Aug 4, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

If you enjoyed Two Point Hospital on Xbox Game Pass, you're going to love Two Point Campus as well. It's a great sequel in a superb simulation series, and the college/university setting feels like the perfect next step for Two Point Studios' brand of silly, strategic fun. It's also one of the most enjoyable Xbox simulation games out there thanks to its well-designed control scheme, complete with a single-player campaign you'll almost certainly get invested in.So, does it pass the test...? Absolutely!

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Jul 13, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

So, that's PowerWash Simulator in a nutshell. It's a really chill addition to Xbox Game Pass that you'll likely end up enjoying a lot if you're into this sort of thing, while others will inevitably think it's boring and too repetitive. It does what it says on the tin though, executing on its concept very effectively, while the addition of online co-op with cross-play between Xbox and PC is a great touch.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·May 27, 2022

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Kao The Kangaroo is a hard one to sum up, then, because while it definitely feels low-budget, clunky and frustrating at times, it's also a platformer packed with plenty of fun and memorable moments. It feels like the developer went the extra mile to inject some ambition into this game and craft something that deserves a place alongside the behemoths of the genre, even if it can't meet the lofty heights of a Crash Bandicoot or a Super Lucky's Tale. It's nice to see Kao punching above his weight in 2022, and not just being relegated to an easy cash grab.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Apr 4, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

It always felt like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga would struggle to live up to its lofty promise of delivering essentially the most expansive Star Wars game to date, but the team at TT Games really have done an amazing job on it. We've still got a few nitpicks, and we also wish it included online co-op support, but there's no denying that it's a stunningly beautiful and brilliantly ambitious take on the world of Star Wars complete with endlessly enjoyable gameplay and enough side-content to keep you busy for many, many hours to come. We've been waiting so long for this game to arrive, and we're pleased to report the Force is definitely strong with this one.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Mar 16, 2022

Critic70/100

Agreement—

In our view, Shredders is an ideal Xbox Game Pass game. It's a game most players will get a few hours of enjoyment from, complete the missions and grab some achievements, and then move on. The dedicated fans will keep coming back for the fluid and rewarding gameplay, and maybe to get perfect scores on all those missions. If you go into it expecting a big-budget rival to the likes of SSX and Amped, you might be disappointed with what you find, but taken at face value, Shredders is a fun time and a worthy addition to the sports library on Game Pass.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Mar 10, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

WWE 2K22 isn't going to surpass the likes of "No Mercy" and "Here Comes The Pain" in terms of fan favourite wrestling games, but in our opinion, it's the best WWE 2K game to date. The gameplay is improved, the graphics are improved, and there's enough content here to keep you busy for a long time, even if some of the new modes haven't quite reached their potential yet. There are still some unwanted series staples here, such as clunky collision detection, but for the most part it's obvious how much progress has been made across the board over the past couple of years, and it's now up to 2K to take things to the next level with WWE 2K23.

Pure Xbox

Fraser Gilbert·Oct 22, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It's a transitional year for NHL, then. It's arguably better than ever on the ice, playing a mostly authentic and enjoyable brand of hockey that implements some subtle, but worthy new features to satisfy hardcore fans. It also looks meaningfully improved thanks to the Frostbite engine (and clearly a lot of hard work). But in terms of content and game modes, it's largely the same offering as last year, and that gets pretty old after a while. Hopefully, now that the engine transition is out of the way, we can look forward to some ambitious new modes and features in NHL 23 and beyond.