Includes PushSquare
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.
Through utterly superb set-pieces, gorgeous visual design, and an impactful soundtrack, Mixtape crafts one of the most meaningful story games in a long time. It's beautiful to look at, a joy to listen to, and so enjoyable to play - altogether, Mixtape is a sensational achievement.
Marvel's Avengers' least advertised aspect turns out to be its greatest asset, and it's exactly what hardcore fans were craving the most. The story and everything that comes with it is a real highlight, allowing the exceptional Kamala Khan to take the lead and bring with her enjoyable combat systems and fun parkour. The shocking framerate, along with bugs and glitches, should be fixed in the near future, but it's what the game has you do after the credits roll that quickly becomes its biggest downfall. Marvel's Avengers has a single player campaign that thoroughly excites, surprises, and delights. What follows brings it crashing back down to Earth.
Vicarious Visions has produced another excellent remake with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2. It brings those PS1 classics to the modern era with a wonderful visual upgrade, rock solid performance, and all the features you'd expect of a game released in 2020. Most importantly, though, it retains the specific feel of the franchise at its best, delivering an addictive, fast-paced, arcade-like experience. Old fans can rest easy knowing that the Tony Hawk games are back on form, while new players can dive into the skateboarding world for the first time. This game is sick, bro.
If you’re already a fan of Alan Wake, this is a brilliant experience that provides more juicy tidbits from the beloved property. If you’re new to Alan Wake, though, this is not the right starting point.
Wasteland 3 is a fantastic post-apocalyptic RPG. Great writing, satisfying, tactical combat, and a world full of memorable characters and meaningful player choice make this a no-brainer for fans of the genre. If you can look past the bugs, there's so much to love about this deliciously dark humoured excursion.
If you’re a fan of the genre, you could do a lot worse than picking up Ary and the Secret of Seasons. After all, ‘tis always the season for adventure.
With a sensible update or two, Nexomon: Extinction could evolve into a much more enticing experience. It's never going to have the charm of Pokémon, but it could yet be a decent alternative.
Despite not doing anything new, The Last Campfire is a lovely palate cleanser in between the bigger games this year.
Madden NFL 21 is stagnant, and while football fans will find things to enjoy, it's not like there's an alternative option available. The Yard is a genuinely promising addition, and we're looking forward to seeing how it evolves over the course of this season – and future games. But an embarrassing story and an untouched Franchise mode mean that it's the only real reason to upgrade. And while Madden Ultimate Team continues to be a time sink, the stale state of the on-field simulation means that this year's game fails to find its intended receiver.
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is a bit like when you fancy watching a game of footy but there's only the Scottish league on the telly. Sure, it looks like football to the untrained eye, and yes, occasionally it's entertaining just like real football, but you're mainly there hoping that someone is going to get chinned.
Project CARS 3 marks a significant departure for the series, abandoning most of its sim heritage in favour of arcade racing. Offering a variety of different cars and tracks, there's plenty of content on offer, making for a fun distraction, but it lacks the excitement we expect from wheel-to-wheel racing. It takes inspiration from all over the place, but it's perhaps most closely aligned with Sony's own DriveClub. It would seem, then, that the PS4 cycle is ending the way it began. We're just not sure we'd pick this over what's come before.
As a mostly solo experience, Crystal Chronicles is a decent, if somewhat repetitive dungeon crawler -- but this remaster should have been so much more.
Ultimately the result is a fun world, with fun characters that absolutely nails its boss fights, but settles for adequacy on all other fronts. As the first game from a new team, it’s not bad, though.
There's absolutely fun to be had here, though, and those looking for something different should try it regardless.
Spiritfarer is a game with a lot of moving parts, but most of its elements are well handled. Progression comes at a good pace as you upgrade Stella's ship, her abilities, and build relationships with a colourful crew. The crafting minigames are a weak spot, and the writing doesn't always land, but there's a lot to like about this maritime management title.
Descenders is a solid experience if you're looking for a time waster that you'll return to over and over. While constant screen tearing issues hamper its presentation quite a bit, the game has solid controls, as well as simple though endlessly entertaining mechanics. While the controls aren't the tightest we've seen, they do everything adequately and contribute to the fun. Add in the wide range of biomes to race through, including some more wacky ones towards the end of the game, and it makes for one fun package. And that's to say nothing of the fun little gimmicks, like the first-person mode and the trials-style courses. Descenders has everything you could possibly want in a downhill cycling roguelite.