Dom Peppiatt

“If you grit your teeth and pay out for the DLC, you won’t be disappointed: Sunbreak is an essential expansion for any Monster Hunter fan, and – paired with Rise – may well be the best entry point for anyone eager to learn more about this fascinating series, too.”

“It’s the perfect palate cleanser, taking anywhere between six and 20 hours, and absolutely essential if you’ve got a fondness for adventure games with a potion in their pocket, a cape around their neck, and a twinkle in their eye.”

“Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a B-movie game. It’s loud, dumb, and full of fun. You have to ignore a lot – a lot – of issues if you want to extract the joy from its chaotic heart, but once you commit, toy around with the weapons, penetrate its poorly-explained mechanics and forgive Jack for his one-dimensional personality, you’re left with a game that’s part Devil May Cry, part Nioh, and part Face/Off. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to play that?”

“Horizon: Forbidden West does a great job of building on the foundation that Zero Dawn laid out”

“It’s a shame, then, that some of the level design choices don’t really pair up with the engine Toys for Bob has built this love-letter to 90s platforming games in. Loose and floaty physics, an abundance of different mechanics that often feel part-baked, and some design choices that feel sadistic – rather than simply difficult – leave this approach to Crash Bandicoot feeling less like a true sequel, and more like a licensed spin-off.”

“Vicarious Visions has proved that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was more than just a product of its time, and that – like skating itself – it has every chance of penetrating the mainstream once again.”

“A fun distraction from the mainline Final Fantasy games, this is a game you're going to want to digest in small pieces. World of Final Fantasy Maxima is so sickeningly cute and twee that it sometimes comes off as unbearable (thanks to the main characters) but when you get past that, there is a compelling and intelligent battle system waiting for you. ”

“The Remaster is essential for anyone wanting to sample Dark Souls for the first time, but have exercised caution in jumping in thanks to the inevitable time commitment it will take: the Switch version will undoubtedly have an active online portion, it allows you to take the game at your own pace with the wonderful suspend/resume feature, and the reworked visuals make things that bit easier to read (at the cost of atmosphere in some cases).”

“After the canned PlayStation Vita version of the game, it's wonderful to finally be able to play Hyper Light Drifter on the go. The developer has pretty much stated that in its mind, the Switch version is the definitive version of the game – and you can tell. With elements that make it smoother for newcomers on top of everything that made the base game great, this is a port that truly feels at home on Switch, despite the occasional drop of frames.”

“NieR: Automata is unlike anything else you can play on Xbox One - all the best bits of Devil May Cry or Bayonetta mixed into a narrative that tastes like what you'd get if Lewis Carroll wrote Ghost in the Shell. A thought-provoking, self-aware romp. Recommended.”

“As a remastered collection, there isn't really a lot to say about the older games. They've been visually improved a little bit to fall in line with what you'd expect from a PS4 or Xbox One offering, but overall there are still some performance issues and, to be fair, the gameplay hasn't particularly aged well. When you get to the more recent games, this collection is a good excuse for fans that missed out on Ultimate Ninja 4 or Road to Boruto to get way more bang for their buck. If you're new to Naruto, it's also a fantastic way of exploring the series' rich history because – like a lot of classic anime – by the time you get into it, there's certainly a lot to catch up on.”

“Arriving late, yet feeling premature, check back in a few months time.”

“It's hard to understand why the game exists. Did Gaiman desperately want to attach himself to an ugly, boring puzzle game? Did the Odd Gentleman really think this was the best way to display his work? It's more of a mystery than the actual story of Wayward Manor itself.”