Graham Banas

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Graham Banas·Nov 22, 2017

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Far From Noise is not a game for everyone. If you go in expecting traditional gameplay, you will be highly disappointed, but if you approach it with the understanding of it being almost like a picture book, then you will be in for a magnificently written reflection of yourself as well as musings on some of the heaviest topics about life. We went into this expecting a short title with a bizarre premise, and walked away having consumed a beautiful, occasionally melancholic story that helped us understand ourselves a little better along the way.

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Graham Banas·Oct 3, 2017

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Expand is a great puzzle game. Navigating your square through monochromatic mazes offers a wonderfully relaxing experience that somehow manages to be calming and wrought with tension throughout. While it's a relatively short title, its low price point and high fun factor make it a worthwhile venture. Sure, it may not have been a runaway success on its initial release, but we can only hope this title finds its audience this time around.

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Graham Banas·Sep 26, 2017

Critic80/100

Agreement—

In a year crowded with incredible titles, Ruiner manages to be a standout anyways. The red neon-plastered world presented by Reikon Games is beautiful, brutal, and terrifying. With some impressive art direction, great music, and a wealth of immensely satisfying combat systems, Ruiner offers essential top-down gameplay, and comes highly recommended.

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Graham Banas·Sep 11, 2017

Critic80/100

Agreement—

The latest in a long line of zero-grav racers, Redout: Lightspeed Edition is one of the best examples of the genre. It takes the best elements from those that came before it, and throws in some of the coolest things we've seen out of a racer in some time. The stitched together Boss Races are a particular standout, offering a phenomenal look into many of the tracks from the title all at once. Throw in beautiful level design with an exceptional colour palette, as well as great music and the best feeling of speed in the genre, and Redout comes away with 1st place among zero-grav racers for now.

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Graham Banas·Aug 21, 2017

Critic30/100

Agreement—

Observer is rough. Some neat narrative beats and a beautifully presented cyberpunk world paired with an exceptional performance from Rutger Hauer end up being the only redeeming qualities present in this title. This is a game that, despite being short, feels overlong, due in part to some tedious and obnoxious gameplay segments, and some of the least subtle “horror” we've encountered in recent memory. Throw in a bevy of technical problems and a third act that is complete nonsense, and Observer is, at best, a bit of a mess. To call this game a letdown would be an understatement.

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Graham Banas·Aug 5, 2017

Critic80/100

Agreement—

The Long Dark is a strong survival title, possibly even the strongest of the entire genre. A beautiful, but dangerous Canadian wilderness provides the backdrop to a challenging, but largely satisfying fight for survival. While micromanaging every facet of your well-being while trying to survive might sound tedious in description, it actually ends up being fun, satisfying, and even tense.  With three more episodes to come for this title's story mode, there's already tons of content to chow down on. Just watch out for the wolves.

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Graham Banas·Jul 28, 2017

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Sundered is a Metroidvania that's left us with mixed feelings. The gorgeous environments and enemy design help to make the title a visual treat. Unfortunately, the game doesn't really offer enough downtime to actually enjoy that element. It instead serves up near-constant enemy encounters and frustrating hordes of enemies that end up irritating rather than exhilarating. While the game controls very well, and the upgrade tree is incredibly impressive, its light procedural elements still end up being the most unique feature.

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Graham Banas·Jul 25, 2017

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Pyre marks Supergiant Games' third consecutive masterpiece. A bizarre blend of genres creates an excitingly original title aided by incredible world building and one of the most consistently interesting casts of characters we've ever seen assembled. This is all further enhanced by some outstanding artwork. Framerate issues and the odd difficulty spike detract from the overall experience, but can't prevent this outing from achieving excellence.

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Graham Banas·May 31, 2017

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Dating back to January of this year, Max's adventure has been quite a ride. After a couple of episodes that were pretty shaky, the French developer righted itself and delivered three consecutive home runs that absolutely blew us away, and this has culminated in a finale that delivers on everything that we could have possibly dreamed of. We definitely hope that Life Is Strange sees something of a second season, and we can't wait to see what DONTNOD does next.

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Graham Banas·May 8, 2017

Critic80/100

Agreement—

PREY continues the hot streak of big releases in 2017. While not flawless, this title offers an incredible sci-fi story about paranoia and the self, while sprinkling Arkane's always excellent gameplay on top. While things like the psychic powers fail to justify being in the game mechanically, the creative weapons and multiple gameplay approaches help to make the exploration of Talos-I really shine. Between the rewards for searching through the environments, and the fact that the game is a visual treat, a venture through this deteriorating Cold War-era space station is definitely worth your time.

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Graham Banas·May 3, 2017

Critic70/100

Agreement—

More a nifty little virtual reality experience than a game but with an almost overwhelming amount of charm, GNOG is delightful. While it by no means feels like a full-sized title, that doesn't mean it isn't fun. It may not take you too long to see all that it has to offer, but it's still an absolutely beautiful game that you'll want to get lost in.

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Graham Banas·Apr 26, 2017

Critic100/100

Agreement—

Giant Sparrow delivers beyond our expectations once again. A touching story about a tragically unlucky family hits all the right notes, making What Remains of Edith Finch a worthy successor to the studio's sublime The Unfinished Swan. A walking simulator with a smart delivery mechanism paints the picture of a family tree full of misfortune and sadness, but leaves room for some happiness and sunshine. Between the most realised home we've ever seen in a game, the incredible voice work, and the moving, intriguing story, this is the genre's new golden standard.

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Graham Banas·Mar 27, 2017

Critic60/100

Agreement—

The end result is complicated: it's a game we bounced off quite a lot but one we still greatly appreciate. The game does something new with the genre and it does it well for the most part, making the game worth at the very least giving a look.

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Graham Banas·Mar 5, 2017

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Night in the Woods is a truly magnificent adventure game. An eclectic array of different gameplay mechanics play off of a small American town vibe incredibly well. While the gameplay is fun and varied, the main attraction is the absolutely incredible writing. A college-aged life crisis story paired with some much darker and more sinister elements is used as the framework for developing some of the best-realised relationships we've seen in gaming. All of this set to an incredible soundtrack, while utilising a wonderful art style with exceptional use of colours that makes the experience that much sweeter. A few small complaints aside, this title offers a remarkable demonstration on how to write a game, and definitely stands out as one of the best Kickstarter releases we've encountered thus far.