Liam Croft

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Liam Croft·Oct 31, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Following the launch woes of Modern Warfare 3, the FPS heavyweight series marks a very strong and impressive return to form in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Its single player campaign is one of the franchise's best-ever efforts, the multiplayer is jam-packed with engaging content, and the Zombies mode seems just as good as it always is when Treyarch is leading things. It never really went away, but Black Ops 6 feels like Call of Duty back at its modern peak.

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Liam Croft·Oct 4, 2024

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Bloober Team has faithfully and respectfully recreated one of the survival horror genre's all-time greats, modernising Silent Hill 2 in all the right ways.

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Liam Croft·Sep 17, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

A substantial visual overhaul of Dead Rising is what will immediately stand out most, but where the Deluxe Remaster truly thrives is in all its gameplay touch-ups to make the classic play and feel like any other modern game. They all build to the definitive Dead Rising experience, where its time management feature can be properly appreciated.

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Liam Croft·Sep 3, 2024

Critic50/100

Agreement—

We generally love the marriage between story and gameplay that Supermassive Games creates, but without the many advancements of The Dark Pictures Anthology, The Casting of Frank Stone feels far too simple. With an uninteresting narrative to boot, the first effort to expand the Dead by Daylight universe is a misfire.

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Liam Croft·Aug 29, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Star Wars Outlaws gets by with a refreshed approach to the Ubisoft open world blueprints, fun traversal, and the themes and setting of a galaxy nobody could hope to replicate - but only just. So many of its core pillars, from the lacklustre reputation system to the basic combat and stealth mechanics, feel incredibly surface-level. There's little depth to invest in, leaving the game a fun enough investment in the moment that'll prove forgettable further down the line. It's a perfectly fine video game, which feels like an anticlimax given the IP it's attached to.

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Liam Croft·Aug 27, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

And while the differences between each zone are mostly just cosmetic, they all feel distinct enough with varied colours, enemy types, and overall themes. A chill soundtrack enhances the laidback and friendly tone kickstarted by the visuals and general gameplay direction, making Cyrpt Custodian a relaxing experience just as much as it is an entertaining one — an impressively accomplished game all in all.

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Liam Croft·Jul 17, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

As long as you can put up with some repetitive enemy design and the story not being all that, then Flintlock is worth a punt. It all comes together for a consistently good experience that never tries to break the bank to become something more. It does nothing insultingly bad; neither does it set a new benchmark for anything specific. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a good video game — nothing more, nothing less.

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Liam Croft·Jun 18, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Shadow of the Erdtree delivers more of the same style of content you loved two years ago rather than introducing new ways to engage. That's enough to consider it a fantastic expansion, though it's hard not to feel like you're just going through the motions again. With a new land to explore, a fresh set of bosses to fight, and extra lore to consume, it's so much more Elden Ring.

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Liam Croft·Apr 22, 2024

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU tells a touching, personal story of family, grief, and loss, but it's wrapped up in a game that makes appreciating that narrative a lot harder than it should be. A Metroidvania in only the most basic of ways, its combat and platforming are spoilt by basic design and structure, as well as controller issues and frustrating one-hit kills. At its best when left to simply tell its story, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU falters once you have to start playing.

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Liam Croft·Mar 21, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Rise of the Ronin isn't a bad game; it's something debatably worse: completely forgettable. With dated open world design and a monotonous narrative, the cracking combat of a Team Ninja title is left to try and pick up the pieces. It manages to get the title in acceptable shape, and with its Bonds system and culture clash, just about forms an experience one could enjoy. Where it falls apart is the fact the open world is so intrinsically linked to all these features and mechanics that it's impossible to find pleasure in them for any respectable length of time. Rise of the Ronin is designed to attract a wider audience than Team Ninja titles past; what they find might put them off for good.

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Liam Croft·Mar 4, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It may not be the next single player terror fans of its predecessors are looking for, but The Outlast Trials successfully translates the series' formula for a co-op setting. Hiding from gory psychopaths and utilising night vision is still the name of the game - now you simply do it alongside up to three friends online. Though silly enemy AI and some repetitive visual assets drag the experience down, The Outlast Trials is an example of a former single player game turned online title done right.

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Liam Croft·Feb 12, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden sees developer DON'T NOD reach a new development peak, as it marries an excellent narrative with engaging and enjoyable gameplay. Poor enemy variety and technical flaws hold it back from true greatness, but its excellent, story-focused side quests on the other side make a few drab combat encounters worth pushing through. The studio's best game to date, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a new IP we hope is here to stay.

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Liam Croft·Feb 1, 2024

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Incredibly bland gameplay and some overly frustrating chase sequences make Silent Hill: The Short Message a chore to play much of the time. While there are some intriguing full-motion cutscenes and heavy story details, they're not worth pushing through the dull sequences in between to experience them. Silent Hill: The Short Message is completely free, though, so all it's asking for is 90 minutes of your time to see if you enjoy it more than us.

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Liam Croft·Jan 23, 2024

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Like a Dragon fans will turn up in their droves for a new Yakuza story regardless of overall quality, but never has one been as utterly essential as Infinite Wealth.