Well Played

• 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.

• PS5
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

• SWITCH
• 8.5 / 10
• Australie

As the Nintendo Switch winds down, so too do the bigger releases on the system, but there’s a few nuggets of goodness that remain on the release schedule. Mario vs Donkey Kong can be considered one such nugget, a nostalgia trip that will keep the kiddos entertained and the older kiddos occupied for a good while. I enjoyed a chance to rediscover its style, and the modern coat of paint and new modes are welcome additions to an otherwise solid piece of entertainment.

• PS5
• 9 / 10
• Australie

Ultros is a title with nothing to prove, but still somehow proves plenty. It’s old school without feeling old, and unhelpful without feeling frustrating. Your victories are yours alone, and that’s a cool thing to experience nowadays. There are a lot of games that like to pretend they are offering something unique, but really I have never seen a package quite like Ultros – crushing it on everything that matters. This is a title that deserves a spot on anyone’s watchlist.

• PC
• 9 / 10
• Australie

Turnip Boy’s world is a fun romp, simple to control and enjoyable to get to grips with. Once the first few runs are out of the way and you start to get a feel for it, it’s easy to get lost in the cycle of run, rinse, and repeat. The upgrades and weapons are suitably silly, and the supporting cast of characters provide plenty of tongue-in-cheek humour and cultural references to groan at. It raised a chuckle or two in me, and I’m sure the dev team enjoyed poking fun at the expense of the video game industry (and humanity in general). Not every joke landed, mind, but there’s more hits than misses.

• PS5
• 9 / 10
• Australie

Tekken 8 is exactly what I wanted it to be. Cohesive, silly, fun, ridiculous and brilliant. The King of Iron Fist returns with one more entry to close out its bombastic, chaotic story and it does it in style. The fighting feels great, the story is silly and fun, the music rules, and the visuals are fantastic. Combine this with the game’s new Special Style system which lowers the barrier of entry for new players and you have a Tekken game that easily caters to a wide variety of players.

• SWITCH
• 7 / 10
• Australie