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Last reviewed: Mina the Hollower · 8 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.
Planet Zoo is, ironically, a relatively toothless park building game. It doesn't have the delicious chaos of the Jurassic World Evolution games or the thrills of building your own rollercoaster and then hoping it'll stay on the tracks in Planet Coaster. But it's a pleasant and charming game. There's an airy joy in creating a peaceful home for animals to live in, and the earnest conservationist slant of Planet Zoo is hard to fault.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is another incredibly solid but also super safe instalment in the series. Its campaign may be over in a hurry but it's still a fairly memorable one, featuring good characters and outstanding visuals. Multiplayer is another robust package, hosting a ton of content and the promise of more to come. The less said about Zombies the better, but this is a Call of Duty game doing Call of Duty things. Whether that's of any interest or not, you likely already know.
If we had to make a list of things that are totally radical then dinosaurs chasing and eating annoying fannypack-wearing tourists while we triumphantly hum the Jurassic Park theme tune would be top ten. Maybe even top five. We're here for that. Minor quibbles with the main campaign aside, Jurassic World Evolution 2 delivers an entertaining if simplistic park builder, that well-utilises the Jurassic World license, and throws in just the right amount of dinosaur-fuelled mayhem to boot.
The story is slight, the acting is rubbish, and the special effects are merely effects. The synthwave soundtrack is actually really good. It lasts an hour and change which, like most Wales Interactive movie-games, is absolutely perfect. You probably already know if you think you're going to like this, and if you do you're probably right. We liked it, but mainly for the wrong reasons.
While the platforming is largely very good, the game does have its drawbacks. The camera doesn't always give you the best view, and fights can be frustrating with imprecise projectiles and a lack of combative options. The boss battles in particular can be irksome things. Even with its flaws, however, this is a game offering lots of personality and refreshing, clean platforming fun.
What you’re left with is one of the better PSVR horror experiences, and one absolutely worth your time. Just be careful, as this one’s not for the faint of heart.
Riders Republic tries so hard to be cool that it deserves a roundhouse kick to the mouth, but Ubisoft's technical chops come out to play here, with an enormous online sandbox stacked to the metaphorical ceiling with high-octane events to complete. This is a game that the French publisher has clearly designed to be built upon, but even day one, with its mix of disciplines and multifaceted Mass Races, it's an entertaining ride. There are minor niggles for the French publisher to iron out, and we'd recommend muting the dialogue, but don't bail on this if you have even a passing interest in extreme sports.
Despite the gameplay and level design being pretty middling, we still think this game is worth a spin. It’s all about the atmosphere, and the organism itself, both of which are rousing successes and worth the price of entry alone.
David Tennant does infuse this story with a lot of life in the short time he’s featured, and a particular end sequence set on a cybership sets the pulse racing by tapping into the show’s mild horror. However, neither detract from the original experience’s flaws. The chief appeal of playing in VR was being able to immerse yourself into an episode, and even that has now been lost in translation.
Thankfully, the game's excellent presentation holds everything together, and at around 12 hours in length, Voice of Cards doesn't quite outstay its welcome. There are multiple endings to unlock as well, but additional playthroughs may be a tall order. Voice of Cards isn't the kind of RPG that you can rush through — its deliberately slow pace is part of the charm — but there is a slightly expanded New Game+ mode for those who fancy taking on the dragon all over again.
Pumpkin Jack isn't going to blow your mind here in 2021, but if you're on the market for a few hours of Halloween fun, you can't really go wrong. A game that knows exactly what it wants to be, and delivers with confidence.
With a compact, but dense world to navigate – most of the game takes place in one sprawling interconnected area – you’ll learn your way around in no time. This is aided by the game’s clever fast travel system, which cuts down on pointless back and forth greatly.
There is a lot to see and do here, and the fact that you can now play as a variety YouTuber – as opposed to be restricted to a single career – adds diversity to your day-to-day activities. But once you wrap your head around the flow and formula of the foray, it all becomes a bit of a grind. Perhaps there’s some meta-commentary from the developer here: that chasing trends for fame is less glamorous than it looks.
Released in Japan in the same month as Thunder Force IV, when magazines felt fatigued with an overabundance of Mega Drive shmups, Gleylancer became hidden behind the likes of Gaiares, Gynoug, Hellfire, and Zero Wing as competition. Yet, it could attract attention today, since using the Rewind feature to complete 11 stages in less than an hour snags easy Platinum Trophies on both PS4 and PS5. Once precious trinkets have been grabbed it's most fun to practice each stage using save states to improve your skills, and see how far you can legitimately progress. Gleylancer deserves better than to become lost again, as just another Ratalaika Games easy Platinum release.
For as much uncertainty there has been surrounding Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, the final game has delivered. Fun and frantic combat provide the basis for a long, extremely enjoyable campaign featuring the characters you love and the tracks your kids usually screw their noses up at. A great title that deserves to be expanded upon in the future.
Without any official licenses, the DLC captures the “feel” of F1, with recognisable sponsorship hoardings cleverly eschewing copyright headaches by not namedropping any brands specifically. All in all, it’s a nicely assembled add-on that both freshens up a very likeable game, but also pays homage to a sporting icon. At just £4.99/$5.99, you’d be mad not to make a pit stop on this.