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Last reviewed: Mina the Hollower · 5 days ago
A referential and joyful deep dive into the world of Batman, the latest LEGO effort from TT Games is elite brick gaming. Legacy of the Dark Knight just wants to be an enjoyable time, and it refuses to falter from that commitment. This new LEGO Batman will be some of the best fun you have all year.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an excellent action RPG that offers an even more hardcore take on the increasingly popular Soulslike formula. It's fast, frenetic, and hits like a truck, with one of the most mesmeric combat systems we've ever had the pleasure to master. It might scare off more casual players, but those looking for a challenge, well - you can stop looking.
Life Is Strange: True Colors had every chance of becoming the series' best game to date, but it's been let down by arguably its most important element: the story.
Tales of Arise went above and beyond our expectations.
The appeal here is building up a public transport empire, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly the time passes as you begin to expand routes and increase your fleet. It’s an acquired taste, for sure, but impressive how a game designed to replicate a real-life job can be so oddly relaxing when you’re behind the wheel.
Between the comic book character models and various backdrops, there’s an agreeable cartoon aesthetic here that does justice to the license on a meagre budget. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too barebones to fully justify its price point: the inclusion of licensed songs, like Eye of the Tiger, give it some panache – but the story mode is simplistic, with text-based cut-scenes tying events together, and there’s no online option or alternative modes to speak of. Even though what’s here is of a high quality, it feels like it could have done with an additional training montage or two, just to add a little more beef to its bones.
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch is a stellar Metroidvania adventure set in a beautifully realised world, replete with challenging combat encounters, rewarding exploration, and some spicy platforming action. Rayton Rabbit might be of diminutive stature, but he's punching well above his weight here in what is one of the best games of 2021 so far.
WRC 10 builds on the success of its predecessor with another impressive rally sim. The handling feels excellent on the track, and speeding through all the official routes is a real thrill. Alongside its meaty Career mode is a long list of ways to play, including the 50th Anniversary cars and events, which are a great addition. It's not perfect, lacking some visual polish and locking content in unusual ways, but overall, this is another step in the right direction for KT Racing.
With its heavy Fantasy Life vibes, there's a lot to like about Kitaria Fables. While the grind won't be for everyone, it's an accessible game that can eat up 20 to 30 hours of your time quite easily, thanks to its enticing mix of fighting, crafting, and farming.
While there are some slight technical issues, The Medium is undeniably a fantastic horror game. For fans of the genre, this game gets an easy recommendation.
Sonic Colors: Ultimate is the best version of an okay game. It's certainly among the hedgehog's better outings since his Genesis heyday, but it suffers from typically frustrating controls and level design. The Wisps provide variety and replay value, and the remaster adds some fun new features in addition to the visual enhancements. This 11-year-old Sonic title is one worth experiencing, but just be aware of its rough edges before you spin dash into the action.
Enemies are visually grotesque, and their blinding-rage aggression makes for an experience that, even if you’ve played previously, is a challenging experience. You have to make the most of all your weapons, although the classic strategy of “use your shotgun as often as possible” remains viable. Ditto for the rocket launcher, the weapon most closely associated with the game.
DualSense support is included to reflect your stamina through the adaptive triggers. Unfortunately, despite the generally simplistic presentation, performance is worryingly inconsistent on PS5, which is a shame. All in all, though, this is a fun if forgettable medieval romp: much of the appeal stems from seeing how GTA series staples have been adapted, like the Pimp-a-Horse drive-thrus which clear your Wanted level and the end of mission beats that accompany each quest you complete.
The 20 or so hours we spent completing Psychonauts 2 saw us indulging in plentiful side quests and content, simply to spend more and more time in a world we still don't feel entirely done with. There are very few games that offer an experience as good as this, with ingenious level design and heavier themes that never feel sludgy or, more importantly, preachy. Brilliant aesthetics go hand in hand with tremendous gameplay here and it's a genuine delight to say that it's all been worth the wait. It's so good, in fact, that we now want the original Psychonauts to be remade in this engine, with this fidelity, in order to finally do it justice. Psychonauts 2 is consistently creative, enormously fun to play, visually inventive and spectacular and spins a cracking yarn to boot.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is in no way the failure that Colonial Marines was. It's a fun squad shooter with just about enough features at launch to keep you coming back to replay missions and tackle the horde mode. However, it's not the strongest game of its type and really doesn't seem to fit the license.
Hoa is a lovely little game that pretty much anyone of any age can enjoy. It's not trying to do something new, but rather whisk you off on a short, beautiful adventure full of positivity.
Meanwhile, if you're just here to relax and create detailed island dioramas, Sandbox Mode is the way to go. Here, you can build to your heart's content without having to worry about score modifiers, switching islands at will. And it helps that Islanders is very aesthetically pleasing; there's real satisfaction to be found in the simplistic art style as you decorate each landscape.