Well Played

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• Australie

• PC
• 9 / 10
• Australie

As much a satire of management sims as of its tertiary subject matter, Two Point Campus is a resounding achievement in opening up this otherwise intimidating genre to players of all persuasions. Whether you want to pore through graphs and margins, or simply enjoy the macro machinations of bringing your microcosm of society to life across the many wacky universities, Two Point has you covered. Every concession is made to curb the intimidation factor without ever compromising the challenge and growth potential that makes these simulators so compelling. Plus, the sense of humour embedded in its DNA never wears its welcome and truly stands it apart from its peers. Student, staff, or nose-thumber of the academic elite, this is a good time worth enrolling your time in.

• PC
• 7.5 / 10
• Australie

Lord Winklebottom Investigates is a charming and enjoyable debut from Cave Monsters that doesn’t stray too far from the point-and-click blueprint. Its best assets are the things that make it stand out from other games such as its animal cast, clever and witty writing, and gorgeous art style, but it’s unfortunately undone by some minor gameplay drawbacks.

• XSX/S
• 8 / 10
• Australie

• PS4
• 4 / 10
• Australie

Adventures of Chris fumbles almost all of its ambitions, both as a game and as a piece of media that is at least trying to say something about non-traditional body experiences. It is riddled with fat jokes that are presented as being bad, while also having Chris chug down milkshakes and belch to regain health. Elsewhere, its gameplay resists the kind of rhythm you need to find in a platformer, instead becoming overly messy to both control and engage with. I can see its heart, especially as a piece that is grappling with the memories of being the fat kid, but it undermines itself as often as it tries to delight.

• PC
• 7.5 / 10
• Australie

• PS4
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

• PC
• 9 / 10
• Australie

Once things begin to click, every level of Neon White is an entertaining fever dream that you can’t help but play over again to best your results. The entire package is excellent, but it’s that rush of adrenaline when every move and every quick flick transitions at times seamlessly that drives the experience beyond even initial expectations. When the game slows down to reveal important character moments, it’s a chance to catch your breath, before diving back into the next lot of cleverly paced levels that are wonderfully designed to make the most of the concept without overburdening you with mechanics or brash visuals. Neon White is excellence defined as a speedrunner’s dream.

• SWITCH
• 7 / 10
• Australie

• PC
• 8 / 10
• Australie

Across my journey with Card Shark, I amassed ill-gotten wealth and discovered amusing (and alarming) characters that uncovered a tale with exciting twists, full of pompous aristocracy and political intrigue. While the game does request your full and proper attention to achieve the very zenith of your trickery, you’ll feel incredibly accomplished at what skullduggery you can achieve.

• PS5
• 7 / 10
• Australie

Silt is an enjoyable puzzle adventure game, but it doesn’t really do much that the genre hasn’t seen before. The ability to possess creatures and use their unique abilities to solve puzzles is decent fun and does force you to think in some instances, but the lack of a coherent narrative paired with a slight lack of originality in its gameplay sees it fail to be as memorable as the games that appear to have inspired it. If you’re keen on a Limbo-esque experience that you can see through in a handful of hours, Silt is still worth a try, but the stark reality it faces is that there are so many games like it that do things better.

• PC
• 6 / 10
• Australie

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• Australie

Fans are in safe hands with Sniper Elite’s latest stealth sandbox. Rough edges and last-gen visuals and design leave this entry feeling slightly laggard in 2022, with the series needing to really shake up the formula. The mostly standout French levels and exceptionally tactical stealth action keep things just fresh enough for this fifth outing. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more gruesomely rewarding assassination sim this side of Hitman but be prepared for a sprinkling of jank on your sniping escargot.

• PC
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

Eternal Threads comes together as a solid, engaging narrative that keeps things simple, with a cleverly implemented time manipulation mechanic that easily allows you to jump back and forth through every possible outcome. And you’ll want to explore those outcomes, because there’s plenty of interesting threads that could otherwise go unnoticed. It might not do anything altogether ground-breaking, but as an overall package it’s hard not to recommend this thoroughly enjoyable tale.

• PC
• 6.5 / 10
• Australie

I’m a little disappointed in Salt and Sacrifice. It’s certainly not a bad game, but it makes a lot of changes that remove the charm and heart of the original, favouring more standardised mechanics instead. One of the more egregious design choices is definitely the new hunt system for named and nameless mages, which creates an arbitrary progression block and breaks the flow of the game. I’m not sure what happened between this game and its predecessor, but the graceful understanding of Metroidavanias as a whole is lost in this game, and what remains is not as compelling as the original.

• PS5
• 7 / 10
• Australie

Trek to Yomi may not be the complete samurai package, but it’s still one that’s worth experiencing. The combat may not be as precise and varied as one would hope and there are definite frustrations felt during boss fights and certain encounters, but that shouldn’t overshadow the game’s stronger qualities. An exceptional visual style, some solid voice acting and immersive audio will draw you into this violent, mystical and surprisingly affecting tale of revenge.

• PC
• 6 / 10
• Australie

• PS4
• 9 / 10
• Australie