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Last reviewed: Halo: Campaign Evolved · 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.
This is all topped off by some beautiful visuals. Pixel art is used to full effect with gorgeous, colourful scenery that is just begging you to stop and admire your surroundings. Combine that with an entertaining narrative and fun puzzling and you've got a title which pleases in all the right places.
Monstrum crafts a genuinely frightening game of procedurally generated hide and seek.
While the gameplay is solid, we came away more impressed with the art direction and sound design than expected. The lightly stylised, cel-shaded look works for 1971, with the organic environments looking especially nice. The sheer variety of locations is impressive, too, including an oil rig, airbase, canyon, and nomadic village. Meanwhile, the exploration music is absolutely beautiful, though the combat soundtrack gets a bit repetitive.
Ion Fury is a shooter that phenomenally emulates what made the early FPS so wonderful. A timeless gameplay loop that effortlessly coaxes fun out of a formula so old it stretches decades into gaming's past, the game is an incredible amount of fun. The technical problems we encountered muddy the waters, but even with those present (and a fix incoming for that game-breaking bug) we enjoyed our time with the game enough that we still recommend that anyone interested in playing it, do so.
Those Who Remain is a psychological horror experience completely lacking in scares and atmosphere. Its uninspired gameplay loop has already been done better time and time again, resulting in a dull, unnecessary title.
Mafia II: Definitive Edition could have been a welcome distraction during the quieter summer months, but in its current state, it must be avoided at all costs. While its narrative and writing may still hold up 10 years later, the long, long list of technical flaws and glitches overshadows its few accomplishments. And that's all it deserves because this is the worst remaster of the PS4 generation.
You may be tired of open world collectathons, but Maneater bites back with more than enough novelty to make the format feel as fresh as Port Clovis' well-populated oceans. A moreish gameplay loop with a well-designed sandbox mean there's some-fin special here, and while it makome as a surprise, not even control and performance issues will deter you from flashing your teeth.
The controls are wonky and the mission design is straight outta last-gen, but there's still dumb fun to be had with Saints Row The Third Remastered. Even all these years later, it's a refreshingly stupid sandbox title that offers up some memorable moments -- it's just a shame that they're buried beneath tedious activities and gameplay that feels incredibly basic by today's standards.
But this is a novelty at best, and once you’ve squashed a few cardboard cars, you won’t be coming back.
Gorn puts you in the boots of a powerful gladiator and gives you everything you need to let loose on hapless opponents. When it's at its best, this is a satisfying PSVR experience, offering up truly physical and cathartic action with over-the-top violence. Sadly, it does run into some problems, such as iffy movement and motion tracking problems. There's plenty to like about this OTT title, but without these sticking points it could've been a real PSVR champion.
It was a risky gamble to tackle such an incendiary era of US history, but Mafia III handles it much better than an open world crime game has any right to. It masterfully hits the target in terms of its characters, story, and setting, lulling you into a misplaced belief you're playing something really special. Unfortunately, once the grind of taking over territory kicks in, and the lack of originality in much of its mission design is laid bare, it almost completely ruins the experience.
While there are undoubtedly higher-profile roguelikes on the platforms, this is still a fun one.
Super Mega Baseball 3 is a refinement done right. The series' accessible action remains easy to pick up and play, but teensy tweaks to systems such as base stealing add immeasurable depth to the overall experience. It's the multi-season Franchise mode that's the real star of the show here, though, adding just enough economical depth to keep you engaged in the storyline of your squad, while still ensuring that you spend more time out on the field than in spreadsheets.
Huntdown is an ode to the gloriously violent and ridiculous action movies of the 80s, revelling in cheesy one-liners, larger than life characters, and wanton bloodshed. It's challenging but largely fair, with some thrilling boss encounters that require a variety of tactics to bring to justice.
While some of the mashes show some fun combinations of genre tropes, the majority of what you'll play in SuperMash is a bit of a mess.