Well Played

• PS5
• 9 / 10
• Australie

There’s simply nothing else on the market right now like this series – a tonally unhinged pop-cosmopolitan-apocrypha-anime-apocalyptic JRPG that plays like Pokemon on steroids. Just like the best SMT games, its plot is rich as syrup and just as opaque. Read too close into the nonsensical jumble of mythological creatures and themes and you’re sure to be nauseated. However, supposing you can appreciate the excess of everything and have played a few turned-based RPGs before, Vengeance is simply the most approachable and engrossing core Shin Megami Tensei game currently on the market and the best way to check out this weirdo series.

• PS5
• 6 / 10
• Australie

Lateralis Heavy Industries really nailed the run-and-gun gameplay that made Hotline Miami such a massive hit, but I appreciate that they didn’t just rest on that and push out a reskinned copy. Incorporating a satisfying time-slowing ability and a serviceable level of roguelike elements is admirable, but their implementation is at loggerheads with what makes this genre so special. The separate components of OTXO are all well-made, it’s unfortunate that, when put together, the result feels too muddled.

• SWITCH
• 6.5 / 10
• Australie

Where most Mario games will leave a smiling impression between bouts of frustration, this Paper Mario entry wants you to be laughing out loud as well. I’m just worried that the humour might not carry everyone to the finish line in light of repetition, laborious backtracking and uninteresting combat. But there’s no denying that this remake is polished to the smoothest presentable sheen, leaving a first impression I still love, even though it burned me out long before the credits.

• PC
• 6 / 10
• Australie

Which is the overarching tale of Senua’s Saga– for almost everything it does well, there is a better counterpart in its predecessor, the remaining new additions never fully realised. It is painstakingly crafted yet thoroughly unengaging, its ruminations on the human condition are not unwelcome but presented with unearned profundity and housed in gameplay that is apathetic to the player at best. Senua’s Sacrifice was a crunchy experience but, in its limitations, and focus, it blossomed into a striking, contained reflection of emotions through systems. Conversely, Senua’s Saga is undeniably gorgeous and well intentioned, but exhaustively preoccupied with its own reflection.

• XSX/S
• 8 / 10
• Australie

Paper Trail is a perfect example of a simple but engaging mechanic done well. Its difficulty is spicy enough to make you feel like a moderate origami genius, but not so difficult that you want to throw your crudely crafted swan into the fiery pits of hell. Folding reality itself may perhaps have lent itself to a bit more metastory meat, but a chill colourful aesthetic and a nice feeling of momentum should be more than enough to sate the average puzzle fan.

• PC
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

There is a special category in my heart for a game that offers a precise and calculated afternoon of good clean fun, and Little Kitty, Big City is an ideal fit for such a thing. The kind of game that you whip out to engage with loved ones who may not be all that close to gaming, to show them that the space is not just gloomy headlines and violence-blaming – it can be full of wonder and innocent charm. If you are a cat lover, you will love this game. Even if you are not, I challenge you to play this game and resist the urge to crack a smile.

• PS5
• 5.5 / 10
• Australie

While Harold Halibut doesn’t quite hit the heights it sets out to reach, you have to admire Slow Bros.’ unwavering commitment to its vision it spent 14 years bringing to life. Unfortunately, Harold Halibut’s stop-motion visuals do the majority of the heavy lifting, with the game’s repetitive and shallow gameplay reducing the overall experience to a tedious trudge through underwater space.

• PS5
• 6.5 / 10
• Australie

TMNT Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is a fun diversion for any fan like me that missed it the first time around. I didn’t mind it, despite its obvious flaws, but this console port should have done more. I’ll happily acknowledge that the original team behind the Wrath of the Mutants arcade cabinet did a solid job at the time to rekindle much of what made the originals so fun. It’s just, given the modern world we live in where Shredder’s Revenge exists, the timing on this port is unfortunate.

• PS5
• 8 / 10
• Australie

As Tales of Kenzera reaches its natural conclusions and the woes of its crunchier challenges fall away, it’s hard to not be happy in the afterglow. Here’s a game that, while mechanically rather safe, takes huge personal and cultural swings, infusing the genre and industry writ large with almost singular emotional reflections and broader, deeply necessary, creative visions. If this is your genre, you’ll have a blast with its tight platforming and expressive combat, but even if it’s not, bite down and give it a go. We deserve more games like Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.

• PS5
• 7.5 / 10
• Australie

Open Roads is a journey I’m glad I went on, though the disappointing circumstances of its development do feel as if they loom over its final form. As a complete package there’s something to love, something to respect and admire, with two lead actors elevating the material well beyond what many others might have achieved. It’s just a shame it couldn’t have been bigger, bolder in its impact and exploration of its themes and its mysteries. Maybe it needed something darker, something stranger to lean into, but the results stand as a simple yet effective road trip that’s worth taking for an hour or two.

• PS5
• 6 / 10
• Australie

• SWITCH
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

• PS5
• 5.5 / 10
• Australie

Alone in the Dark (the franchise) being the progenitor for so much of what we love in survival horror, only to find itself afflicted by its own kind of curse in the decades following its initial success is genuinely tragic. This latest iteration comes closer than its predecessors to claiming a seat back at the table but its inability to conceive of an identity beyond contemporary mechanics and well-worn tropes leaves it wanting. There’s a version of Alone in the Dark 2024 that found a way to lean into its absurdist concepts and performances but self-seriousness and a lack of focus makes for a game fumbling for the lights. Slap the boards back over the windows of Derceto, maybe we can open it up again in another thirty years.

• PS5
• 9 / 10
• Australie

• PS5
• 7 / 10
• Australie

I cannot overstate how the game is just awash in a sea of aesthetics. Somehow everything is jarring, perhaps a little off-putting, but overwhelmingly it all somehow belongs. I think it can all be attributed to Jeff Minter likely bleeding the kind of creative juice that could only birth such an experience. That it all congeals into something cohesive is both a miracle and a testament to Minter’s vision. The game is a vibe, all you need do is settle in and ride it like a wave.

• PC
• 9 / 10
• Australie

Somebody needs to put those sickos at League of Geeks on a watchlist. They boldly advertised that they would put your friendships on shaky ground, and indeed I’m not even sure if I can view my mates the same way after this. Solium Infernum is a king-making game on steroids, where only the meanest motherfuckers will thrive and anybody lacking cruel, cold planning in the face of the unholy conclave will become little more than a serf for the landlords of Hell to use and abuse. For 90% of my games, I have been that pathetic pawn. Played best with as close to five human associates as you can muster (and preferably no loved ones), I would summarise Solium Infernum as being as riotous as it is relentless. Unless you throw yourself headfirst into this community or bring a full entourage, the bots will leave you mystified as to why this game deserved a revival. Now I need a cold shower, a cigarette, and a cry. Bravo, this is perhaps the most memorable strategy game I’ve ever played.

• PC
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

There is a very specific person who will find this game utterly compelling and won’t be able to put it down. This tale of industrialisation colliding with culture and superstition in pre-WW1 Poland has every confidence in itself and begs for your curiosity as you get to know the mysterious Wiktor Szulski and his hunt for emotion-hungry demons. This game is an immediate, though flawed, all-timer and belongs in the Polish canon of interactive literature for generations to come.

• PS5
• 7.5 / 10
• Australie

While personally I don’t think Brother: A Tale of Two Sons Remake feels like an essential release, it’s still a welcome and faithful reimagining. Its gentle pace and dark themes are sure to inspire many to spend a few hours traipsing across its beautiful magical land, even if I believe that those dark themes don’t ultimately crystallise into something truly cohesive. The visual makeover is at least profound and breathes new life into the title, and this is certainly the definitive way to experience the tragic yet heartwarming tale of our two suffering siblings.