Liam Croft

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Liam Croft·Nov 10, 2019

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Valfaris doesn’t do anything noteworthily new, but the hectic, intense, satisfying experience it offers shouldn’t pass you by.

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Liam Croft·Nov 1, 2019

Critic100/100

Agreement—

Following years of mysterious anticipation, Death Stranding delivers on all fronts. An accomplished, fascinating set of gameplay mechanics allow you to make deliveries the way you want to, while social features let the game live on once you've put the controller down. It may become slightly tiresome as you hit the halfway mark, but the phenomenal narrative is on hand to pick things back up again and its outstanding visuals are the cherry on top. Death Stranding doesn't raise the bar for any particular genre, it creates an entirely new one.

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Liam Croft·Oct 16, 2019

Critic60/100

Agreement—

By keeping simplicity at its core, Monkey King: Hero Is Back offers an entertaining if somewhat mindless distraction to the blockbuster titles releasing around it. Sure, it's a little bit too short, the narrative isn't particularly gripping, and it looks like an early PS3 game, but that all falls by the wayside in the heat of battle. Thanks to fun brawling mechanics, Monkey King: Hero Is Back does just enough to deserve your attention.

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Liam Croft·Oct 10, 2019

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Despite running into one too many difficulty spikes, Indivisible successfully blends the RPG and Metroidvania genres into one stunning experience. Its plot may be simple and some characters bothersome, but the 2D platforming that bridges the gap between those narrative beats is a dream. Indivisible is a little bit too forgettable in a couple of aspects, but it makes up for that when the tough gets going.

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Liam Croft·Oct 8, 2019

Critic30/100

Agreement—

The problem is that while A Brave Plan has some neat ideas for this narrative-based adventure, they’re implemented poorly.

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Liam Croft·Oct 6, 2019

Critic60/100

Agreement—

While its campaign is enjoyable in the moment, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep never manages to truly shake the fact that we already went to the Moon five years ago. For better or worse, this is just more Destiny, and that's a positive for those enamoured with the franchise, but anyone who was hoping for a more dramatic overhaul of its core systems and mechanics will be left wanting. Bungie has huge plans for the future of Destiny 2, but Shadowkeep only delivers a small piece of that vision.

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Liam Croft·Sep 23, 2019

Critic60/100

Agreement—

It can't hold a candle to a From Software joint, but The Surge 2 will satisfy those chomping at the bit for the next take on the genre.

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Liam Croft·Sep 18, 2019

Critic80/100

Agreement—

In refusing to dramatically innovate, Borderlands 3 continues to occupy a unique position in the RPG genre. Its blend of looting, shooting, and comedy makes for varied gameplay sequences, deep and meaningful player progression, and a couple of laughs along the way. It's not going to convert anyone who wasn't a fan of previous iterations, but in doing so, Borderlands 3 sticks to what it does best.

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Liam Croft·Sep 10, 2019

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Metro Exodus: The Two Colonels is adequate in every sense of the word - it doesn't do anything impressively well nor insultingly bad. It's just okay, and while that might be enough to convince fans of the series to take a short trip underground, it's something that anyone else can safely skip.

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Liam Croft·Aug 26, 2019

Critic70/100

Agreement—

There's no doubting that Control is a good experience, but it's not one that'll go down in the history books. Its explorative and combat-focused gameplay is a major highlight thanks to abilities that give you the chance to get creative, but the unreliable framerate that goes with it puts a stop to the enjoyment far too frequently. This is most definitely worth playing, but that's about as far as any substantial praise can go.

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Liam Croft·Aug 21, 2019

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Erica is an intriguing, admirable experience that those looking for something a little outside of the video game norm will surely latch on to. With an impressive set of performances, a story that'll have you hooked straight from the off, and meaningful decisions that have a major impact on the game, FMV is making waves all over again.

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Liam Croft·Aug 7, 2019

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Metal Wolf Chaos XD shows its age in pretty much every way, but its enjoyable and simplistic gameplay loop is enough to give you something to chew on. Alongside one of the most insane narratives in all of video games, it's a From Software joint that needs to be seen to be believed.

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Liam Croft·Aug 2, 2019

Critic50/100

Agreement—

The Church in the Darkness has some good ideas, but they're not properly realised. Gameplay never ventures out of its basic boundaries, while the narrative doesn't offer up enough variety or compelling subplots to engage with. The Church in the Darkness is competent for a couple of playthroughs, but it's an experience that you'll quickly forget about.

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Liam Croft·Jul 29, 2019

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Thanks to questionable tactics, a tedious and boring structure, bullet spongey enemies, and a narrative that's completely throwaway, Wolfenstein: Youngblood is far and away the worst entry in the franchise this generation. Some of its inventive combat mechanics remain intact, but they're completely overshadowed by throwaway side quests that we were tired of five years ago. This is a boring, tedious slog through Nazi-occupied Paris that you can probably skip.

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Liam Croft·Jul 18, 2019

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Etherborn is well worth checking out if brain teasing is your thing. As it toys with gravity and shifts surfaces to the forefront while you traverse them, mechanics come and go to keep the experience fresh at all times. This environmental puzzler doesn't last particularly long, but it's sure to provide an afternoon's worth of challenge and enjoyment.