Well Played

• PC
• 9.5 / 10
• Australie

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the kind of game that, if you can go in as blind as possible, you’ll be truly rewarded. Every moment feels meticulously designed, more so than just the intricate combat systems. Every cut scene has meaning, building blocks that form complex character relationships without the need to state the obvious. The world building of Clair Obscur is second to none, the journey never failing to capture the imagination as the hours tick by. And once the mysterious threads begin to take shape, it feels fresh and rewarding, the little moments holding greater significance across the journey once the origins are laid bare. It’s a journey I will long remember, and one that the rest of the industry should learn from; do not be afraid to take chances.

• XSX/S
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

To call South of Midnight a ‘perfect’ Game Pass title would be disrespectful because the reality is that our industry has become obsessed with bloated experiences, and it’s led us to believe that anything less isn’t worth paying for – at least at full price. The truth though, is that we need more creatives being just that, and South of Midnight is part of Xbox’s supposed plans to let its developers cook. We just have to hope that the kitchen doesn’t close when service is over, because we need developers like Compulsion Games to make games like South of Midnight – shorter experiences that tell new and exciting stories set in immersive worlds, even if the gameplay feels familiar, because nothing beats a good story.

• SWITCH
• 9 / 10
• Australie

• PS5
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

After the refreshingly smaller and more focused Assassin’s Creed Mirage, I’m hoping fans of the franchise are as ready as I was to get back into an unnecessarily big, action-packed RPG (is this technically a JRPG??) entry, because Shadows is easily the best so far. The cost of a slightly erratic throughline to the fiction is a small price to pay for a world that’s so rich, explorable, dripping in history and a reverence for the subject matter, and one that offers two distinct gameplay experiences within the AC paradigm. It does need to be said that this kitchen-sink approach is exactly the kind of unsustainable game design that’s destroying AAA space from the inside, as evidenced by this game’s tumultuous development and release cycle, so hopefully the next game is another smaller-scoped project. But this one’s come out pretty damned good in the end.

• PS5
• 5.5 / 10
• Australie

There’s a possibility that Tape 2 will swing much harder than 1, but it’s hard to imagine a satisfying continuation based on the established story so far. A languid character drama without characters, Don’t Nod can’t articulate or realise a take on its new world and systems. Despite moving its release date to avoid an uncomfortable collision with the latest Life is Strange, both Bloom & Rage and Double Exposure have ended up occupying the same space. Fumbling efforts to return to a time that perhaps never existed by capitulating to inelegant nostalgia and the numbing comfort of the known. Two games stuck on the wrong side of the camera lens.

• PS5
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

I feel like I’m repeating myself each year at this point, but the moment-to-moment gameplay in 2K25 is the best the series has ever seen. A packed roster of gorgeously animated wrestlers can be used across a suite of varied and enjoyable match types and modes that give new and returning players a range of options. The changes made to returning modes like Showcase and MyGM mostly improve the package, and the existing systems continue to shine. However, despite The Island being an addition to the product that can (and should) be ignored, it’s an invasive shift towards monetisation that this series has largely managed to avoid up until now, and it’s a move that fans of the series should keep a wary eye on.

• PS5
• 6 / 10
• Australie

Toward the end of Wanderstop, a rather brash character returns to the grove and asks Alta for a uniquely annoying cup of tea. This moment follows several narrative revelations, Alta and Boro having reached a point where they at least understand not everything can be fixed with a cup of tea but it might be worth still trying anyway. Alta, barely coping with this new way of life, asks Boro what she should do in these final days at the Wanderstop, to which he characteristically replies whatever she feels like; the point of this moment in time being that there is often no should do, simply what you wish to do for yourself. Looking over the extensive ingredients required for that last cup of tea, I finally took Boro’s words to heart. Wanderstop had achieved its lofty goals in perhaps the most abstracted way possible as I simply put the controller down and called my partner to listen to inane details about his day while the game uninstalled and I moved on with my life. I’d tell you I made a cuppa too, but that would be a lie.

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• Australie

I feel like we’re at a point now where “that’s just how the series goes” is wearing thin as an excuse for the more disappointing parts of a Like a Dragon release. And yet, I can’t help but lap it up every time. Slapping a pirate hat on the Best Boy, dropping him in the waters of the last game and calling it a day might not be moving the needle forward in any meaningful way, but god damn does it work. I think that if there’s a future in LaD, the next entry is going to have to really turn a corner, but for now, you can peg my leg and call me cap’n because I’m headed back out to sea.

• PC
• 6 / 10
• Australie

That euphoric sense of freedom hit as hard as it did if only ever in contrast to Avowed’s otherwise lethargic, if inoffensive, ambitions. There’s a fine enough time to be had in the Living Lands, combat systems to be enjoyed and visual spectacle that tells of a studio that understands the sincere joy of escapist worlds. But Avowed seems uninterested in being anything but escapism, its potentially sharper edges smoothed to a fault while its revolving door of forgettable, entirely too pleasant, characters prattle about you with proper nouns and lore in place of depth and vitality. Avowed is a game you’ll likely binge on Game Pass and never think about again, the video game streaming model finally catching up to its television counterpart.

• PC
• 8 / 10
• Australie

Civilization VII is an excellent turn-based strategy game. As a Civ game, it looks and feels the same as its predecessors but with enough changes to leave long-time fans with something new to learn and hopefully cherish. At times I felt at odds with the decisions, but I always come back to the fact that I still enjoyed my time and will absolutely keep playing this game long into the future.

• PC
• 9 / 10
• Australie

Warhorse has been quietly cooking up the greatest first-person roleplaying series of the last however many years. It overhauls little from the first game, instead improving on everything that made it such an ambitious, unwieldy beast. The fact this sequel builds upon everything I loved, means it’s a sequel that improves more than innovates. Make no mistake, there are glimmers of a masterclass, action-packed role-playing game here that has me thrilled for whatever Warhorse has in store next. Kingdom Come: Deliverance should now be regarded alongside greats like Oblivion and New Vegas.

• PS5
• 7.5 / 10
• Australie

There’s still plenty to be grateful for if you’re a returning Sniper Elite player. Many fan-favourite game modes return, including the abundance of multiplayer options and the Axis Invasion mode that allows you to infiltrate another player’s campaign to hunt them down. The only new mode introduced here is Propaganda Missions, where-by recovering hidden posters across the main campaign unlocks the same maps with time sensitive scenarios that reward faster results. It’s a nice diversion that adds a few extra hours of gameplay, but from the perspective of a new entry in the series, Sniper Elite: Resistance remains light on new ideas and still at full price despite recycling much of its smarter concepts.

• PC
• 9 / 10
• Australie

Whiskers of Winter maintains all the charm and challenge that made Tails of Iron such a cracker of a game while improving the core gameplay loop, even if some new features do work better than others. Regardless of my minor issues, I had an absolute blast following Arlo’s journey and no doubt this will be up there with one of my favourites of the year, and for $36, it’s hard to argue that you won’t get your money’s worth.

• SWITCH
• 8 / 10
• Australie

As a package, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD isn’t exactly inspired stuff with nothing strictly “new” to offer over the Wii or 3DS versions of the game, but it manages to be a fantastic excuse to revisit Retro’s stellar DK debut thanks to sharp Switch visuals and the full suite of extra content and more approachable gameplay settings. If you somehow missed this one the first time around, I recommend you make like a banana peel and get around it.

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• Australie

For all it does to add value to the existing package, smooth over existing bumps and enhance presentation, FANTASIAN’s PC and console release is held back slightly by some of the fundamentals of the Apple Arcade original. But at the end of it all, Neo Dimension absolutely feels like the definitive version of an already-excellent little RPG that looks fondly back on Hironobu Sakaguchi’s gameography without using nostalgia as a crutch to skimp on innovation.

• PS5
• 7 / 10
• Australie

Lego Horizon Adventures will find an audience in its target demographic of young kids wanting something easy to pick up and play. But a short campaign and a lack of originality hurts the finished product for everyone else.

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• Australie

And Slitterhead deserves your making the effort. Its presentation is often atypical for the medium, more at home with avant-garde camera and colour blocking than contemporary “cinematic” standards. Yet, it’s a game that oozes self-assuredness and clarity of intent, from UI to plot to system. No one of these things are without blemish but each are distinctly present and deliberate all the same. Much like Siren before it, Slitterhead feels destined to be the hidden horror gem of its generation, the kind of experience that vaguely academic writers and sicko genre enthusiasts rave about even as someone watches the trailer and cocks an eyebrow at its immediately recognisable limitations. It’s a game out of time, out of lockstep with its peers, and barely able to pull together a human facade amid a wholly sympathetic lack of polish and violently terrifying abilities beyond its initial form. It’s a Slitterhead.

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• Australie

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is kind of a tough one to summate or score in a traditional review format. The mechanical elephant in the room here is obviously the question of whether this endeavour was a necessary one, or who it might be for, but I don’t think I’m here to ponder the necessity of a work or judge who should consume it. Despite being lukewarm on Horizon Zero Dawn when it first launched in 2017, I’ve come right around on the series since its fantastic follow-up. I’m also the owner of a big and expensive OLED TV along with an ongoing pre-order for the PlayStation 5 Pro, so I definitely think it’s for me, at the very least. If what you want is to re-experience Horizon Zero Dawn – or experience it for the first time – with some of the prettiest visuals you’ll see in modern gaming, this will get you there. But more than that, if you’re interested in game design and production, especially on the artistic side of the process, it’s a fascinating look at what is arguably a “best-case” remastering effort where ambition and capital were clearly in abundance.