Xbox

Where once the squad-based tactical shooter was a rarity, I feel that these days I’ve been inundated with them. This is a good problem to have as long as new entries to the genre, such as Chains of Freedom, pass the simple “is it as good as…

Roguelikes used to be somewhat of an enigma to me. I never used to see the appeal of smashing my head against a wall over and over to progress in small increments. Then I got shown some very good ones, such as Slay the Spire, Cult of the…

From the moment Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 boots up and almost without fault across its 25 to 50 hour runtime, the player will be treated to a modern masterpiece that wows with its visual and aural delight — often in spite of its macabre…

Now, the previous game had similar themes, but this was presented in a much more linear way. Your fox would go from level to level, completing traversal puzzles in semi-open areas. You could explore to find secrets if you wanted, or you…

Games like Blue Prince make me wary. With a 90+ rating on Metacritic, this is a game that has met with widespread critical and mass approval, yet it left me feeling a little bit underwhelmed. Blue Prince is a puzzle game first and foremost,…

In CarGo!, you and your co-op buddies are tasked with delivering goods from location to location, with a goal of selling a product for profit. Make enough profit and you’ll earn stars that will unlock more levels for more silliness. You’ll…

I first became interested in I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream about ten years or so ago when it had its first re-release on Steam (having originally been released almost thirty years ago on MS-DOS). I didn’t persevere for very long when I…

There’s a lot to unpack in the story, and I feel that a lot of people, particularly in my age bracket, will get something from it. You have elements of loss of youth, acceptance of failure, and what I felt was the concept of mid-life…

Immersive Sims like Thief, Deus Ex and later Bioshock and Dishonoured used to be some of my very favourites. First person games with non-linear ways to make your way through large, complex levels — often driven by a compelling narrative.…

The original Commandos was one of the smartest, best looking and most innovative games of its time. Back in 1998, there was practically nothing like it, but in the nearly thirty years that have followed, various remakes and remasters of…

When Amerzone landed in my inbox, I could hardly believe it. Not only was it only just a few months ago that Microids published a plush, incredibly well-crafted remake of the thirty year old Empire of the Ants, but now they’ve gone ahead…

Lost and alone, you find yourself stalked by a horrifying monster that seems to link to your past. The only option is to solve the riddles within to try and find a way out alive.

When you complete a combat encounter, you’ll get to choose which path to take next, much like in Hades. Many of these will lead you to a tree which will allow you to form an alliance with one of your unlocked heroes. Each hero has a…

If you know Robin and I, then you'll know that we have been blasting through every single type of Hidden Object cat game that we've seen appear on our Xbox. This time, we took on Cats and Seek Osaka. This hidden cat game isn’t exactly…

At a glance, this appears to be a fairly by-the-numbers shooter. It does have a neat twist in that your helicopter can pivot. Now, this isn’t the only game to do this by a long shot, but it does play into the manoeuvrability of choppers,…

Woah, that’s a big claim right? The undisputed champion of ARPG’s usurped by a free-to-play effort from a lesser studio? I’m sorry Diablo IV fans, but it’s true — Path of Exile 2 is bigger, badder and much more enjoyable to play, with…

Much like other games of its ilk, Dreamcore has you lost in a bizarre liminal space with the sole objective of finding your way out. You see the world through your character’s body-cam, giving the game an eerie found-footage motif that also…

Gameplay is somewhat like the more recent Ballionaire, with you getting a set number of spins in which to reach your target. After each spin, you get to add a new symbol to your reels so that you have a greater chance of winning big money.…

It's been 22 years since The Thing released for PS2 & Xbox, which is actually longer than the time between the launch of the game and the movie that its story was based on: John Carpenter's The Thing. When I heard that The Thing:…

The spooky scenes are a mixed bag. Some of them are some basic flickering lights or some blood trickling from the ceiling, which are fine, if generic. The interesting ones were when seemingly live-action footage was placed into the action.…