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Last reviewed: K-Pop Idol Stories: Road to Debut · yesterday
there's no denying that Age of Mythology’s gameplay can feel simplistic, which is ironic, considering how influential the series has been. Having played a bunch back in the day, the missed campaigns are appreciated, but we can’t see ourselves regularly returning to the well.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn't quite BioWare back to its absolute best, but it is the most cohesive and emotionally engaging RPG that the studio has delivered since Mass Effect 3. Its shift to crunchy action combat is an improvement over Inquisition's middle-of-the-road approach, and although the game feels a little light on meaningful player choice, the storytelling pulls no punches when it actually matters. This is a gorgeous and gripping adventure, backed by a cast of endearing heroes and deliciously devious villains.
Mark McMorris Infinite Air gets the fundamentals roughly right and has quite a bit of customisation, but that's about all there is to it. It's a blank, newly laid sheet of snow – fresh and clean, but nothing exciting comes of it.
Billed as a horror game, Yomawari: Night Alone ultimately feels like it falls more on the side of tragedy. Sure, it has its jump scares which can get the blood racing, but the town and its supernatural inhabitants just feel a little too charming to be considered a real threat. The story, with its sad undertones, will definitely tug at the heart strings the more that it unfolds - far more frequently than it'll scare you, especially once you become accustomed to the ghost's surprise visits. Yomawari is satisfying in its own weird way, but those looking for a good scare may be disappointed that any potential threat is short-lived.
Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel misses the mark. It fails to fill a large, fresh environment with tangible reasons to stay there any longer than a few hours, and although the new weapons and gear are some of the best in the game, you'll want to play about with them somewhere other than The Painted World. Each boss battle feels generic and produces a dead end, feeling unrelated as a result. The experience constantly builds itself up but never climaxes, falling flat without spectacle leaving you to lug your new arsenal of weapons and gear back to the Firelink Shrine, your work in The Painted World apparently complete. The Arena finally constructs a functional environment for something long curated by the community, but removes something in the process thanks to reward-less matches that fail to emulate the underground fight club feeling found in the main game.
The definition of a bigger and better sequel, Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2 doesn't try to fix what isn't broken, and instead focuses on building upon the foundations of the first game. With a crazy amount of content to blast through - both online and offline - an improved combat system, and new ways to develop and customise your very own Dragon Ball hero, this is very much the definitive XenoVerse experience, and an absolute must for fans of Akira Toriyama's manga and anime epic.Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Contrary to common opinion, Farming Simulator's always had the root of a great game buried beneath its Eurojank surface, but now that nugget's really starting to blossom. This edition doesn't reinvent the veal [Sorry – Ed], but it refines what's enjoyable about the originals, and sprinkles some Miracle-Gro on top. It's still an acquired taste, and you're going to need to be patient to get the most out of it, but if you've ever dreamed of being an agricultural extraordinaire, then this is a series now very much in its hay-day.
Following on from I Am Setsuna earlier in the year, Square Enix has produced another RPG with traditional elements for the current generation, and it's once again found success. World of Final Fantasy offers a polished and pretty adventure through a lovingly made world, and even though its story is let down by some poor writing, the addictive process of capturing and training monsters is enough to keep you playing. All in all, this is a great little spin-off.
Batman: Return to Arkham isn't the greatest ever remaster, but the price offers excellent value and the gameplay of both Asylum and City still hold up. Couple two of the greatest superhero games of all time with their DLC, and you get a lot of bang for your buck here.
While it can't resist urge to go over the top at times, in doing so, it at least delivers one of the best Battlefield campaigns to date.
RIDE 2 is a game for motorcycle enthusiasts without question. However, it's a game that is lacking in excitement for the material it covers. There's a great amount of content and production values, but not a whole lot of hook to the gameplay to keep you drawn in. While die-hard motorcycle racing enthusiasts may find some enjoyment, few else will be enticed.
Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky is an advertisement for the mantra that less is more. There's an enjoyable ten hour game here, but it's buried in a repetitive and frustrating forty hour experience in which the majority of the content not only feels superfluous, but actually detrimental to the whole. The story it tells might be good enough to justify grinding through the uninspired battles and platforming sections were the game dramatically shorter, but as it is the sporadic narrative can't save what is a largely tedious affair.
EVE: Gunjack is a nice little title to help round out the PlayStation VR launch. Really fun to play for short stretches and then come back to repeatedly, it's a worthwhile venture. A very low price point – $9.99 – paired with some immersive environments makes this a game that, while probably unknown to many, should be sought out. For anyone that likes good, simple fun, this is for you.
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through a haunted world. What the game lacks in plot originality, it makes up for with its interesting and unique game mechanics, as well as its wonderfully designed cast. It can be accursed with repetition, but there's ultimately a lot to wrap your head around, and the many tactical nuances do a lot to keep boredom at bay.
Viking Squad isn't the most creative or exciting beat-'em-up on the market, but it's easily one of the most consistent. Packing a colourful campaign across a series of varied stages - complete with alternate routes that add a lot of replay value - this is a well made arcade brawler that's especially fun with friends.
Harmonix Music VR somewhat justifies its existence. Having a drawing app available for PlayStation VR out of the gate is nice, but everything beyond that is kind of pointless. 'The Trip's' kaleidoscope visuals are great for a couple of songs, and it's a wonderful starting point for VR beginners, but the remaining two experiences are redundant and unappealing. This is something that will be nice to have at launch for a few people, and for anyone that wants a drawing app now, but a year or two – maybe even sooner – from now, this will be a long forgotten relic of the peripheral's launch.
We know it sounds like we're being down on Mantis Burn Racing, but it should be made clear that the fundamentals here are spot on. The racing itself is fun and fast-paced, and the upgrading system works well to keep you coming back for a good few hours. It's just unfortunate that pretty much everything else doesn't quite measure up. The music, the environments, and the presentation all fall behind, which is a shame, as VooFoo Studios has the foundations of a strong top-down racer. With updates, the game could blossom into something more interesting, but as of right now, its decent gameplay just about overtakes its shortcomings.