Scott Baird

“Nioh 3 is an incredible game that expands on the core gameplay of its predecessors and drops players into a vast world where they can unleash their combat potential to their heart's content. It's a huge step-up for the series as a whole, and I'm excited to see where it goes next.”

“The best way to describe Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return Special Edition is that it’s a product of a different time. It’s not a bad game because someone threw out a piece of unfinished trash. It’s bad because it comes from a much less refined era. While the changes in the Special Edition do alleviate the annoying parts, you’re still better off playing one of the many other better Metroidvanias on the market.”

“PowerWash Simulator 2 isn’t reinventing the wheel. The game knows its audience and is happy to feed their rabid desire for more cleaning. It may not win over any people who were turned off by the original, but if you enjoy dad games and an easy activity while listening to music or videos, then this is exactly what you need in your life.”

“While it has the trappings of the World of Darkness, this game does a disservice to Vampire: The Masquerade.”

“The developers of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles went above and beyond in not only recreating the feel of the original game but also upgrading nearly every aspect of it. It’s hard to improve upon a masterpiece, but Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles accomplishes just that, and I hope that it doesn’t get ignored come awards season, in such a stacked year full of great releases.”

“Topping the original Hades was a damn near impossible feat, but Supergiant Games pulled it off. While it still has some of the accessibility issues of its predecessor, Hades 2 manages to improve upon the combat, world-building, and content of the first game, making Melinoe’s journey stand out. It may not surprise or shock Hades fans with originality, but it upped the stakes in a way that makes it a must-play game.”

“Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion isn’t ready for launch. The performance and balance issues sour what could have been an excellent mecha experience. There are a few bright patches, interesting ideas, and a ton of potential for the game. It could be, and maybe it will be better in a few updates' time, but it’s not worth checking out at launch.”

“The level designs are overly drab, and the vehicle sections wear out their welcome, but the actual battles against hordes of demons are as fun as ever, and you’re given tons of awesome tools and toys to unleash on them.”

“Star Trek Infinite is a challenging game to recommend. Grand Strategy games on their own do appeal to a certain mindset, and a Star Trek coat of paint isn’t going to make someone like Stellaris if they didn’t enjoy the gameplay before. A Star Trek fan might be more willing to try the game to sit in the big seat and have the feeling of running the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Star Trek Infinite will reward you with incredible depth and replayability if you stick around long enough to learn its intricacies. You need to meet Star Trek Infinite at its own level, and if you’re unwilling to learn all of its systems, then this might not be the game for you.”

“Ultimately, Desktop Dungeons: Rewind is a cleaned-up repackaging of one of the most visually basic PC games of all time, with the Dragon Quest overworld-style sprites of the original brought to life in a whole new way. The gameplay is still as gratifying as ever, with countless hours of content on offer to those who want to master the art of dungeon crawling. While it might be light on brand-new content for the veterans, it's still a filling experience for those who want to gorge themselves on numbers wrapped up in images of monsters and spells, especially one that keeps you wanting to play a little more.”

“Asterigos has a great world design and a combat system that is similar to the Souls series, while being faster and more action-oriented. It's just the exploration elements that let the game down, as the city of Aphes can sometimes feel a little too empty for its own good, and its residents a little too verbose. Those who don't mind backtracking and skipping dialogue should be able to see through the muddy parts and enjoy Asterigos' finer points.”

“Tactics Ogre: Reborn has some great updates over its predecessor, but some changes work to the game's detriment, and concepts like the level cap would have been better served as the basis for a higher difficulty mode. Tactics Ogre: Reborn can be a punishing and sometimes unfair experience, but those who rise to the challenge will find a lot of content to explore, an engaging story to experience, and a fantastic battle system to master.”

“Moonscars is an amalgamation of different ideas merged into one 2D Soulslike package, and while a few feel undercooked, the rest manage to tie everything together into an excellent action-RPG experience. The gorgeous visuals are also worth experiencing, as it's rare to see a gameplay pull off an art style as well as Moonscars. The dark world of the clayborne is a fascinating and deadly one, and like its clay protagonist, the player only gets stronger as each death reshapes them.”

“Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a great remake of a good game. The visual overhaul of the graphics looks great and the new QoL features help iron out some of the rough edges that are present in many games of its era. The sameness of the stages and the short runtime are blows against the game, but it's still a fun experience, and worth checking out for fans of platformers.”

“The games in Sonic Origins are among the best Sonic the Hedgehog titles in existence and this package is a great way to experience these games, especially for new fans who were introduced to the franchise by the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. The people who already own these games in some other form won't find anything particularly worthy of a double-dip, as even the convenience of owning them all on a modern system is undercut by all of the original versions of the games being available on the Sega Genesis Classic collection. Those who don't already own the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games can get them in a neat package in Sonic Origins, with a few extra features to keep them interested after the credits have rolled.”

“The Legend of Wright is a unique title that really captures a moment in time. It perfectly encapsulates the nostalgia for the days of old-school RPGs and creating games during lunchtime with school friends. Kenta's game doesn't last for long and it has some frustrating moments, but The Legend of Wright is worth experiencing, as there is nothing else like it out there, and its shortcomings can easily be forgiven due to its overwhelming charm.”

“Daemonhunters is a challenging game and can often tip the scales a little too hard against the player, but overcoming the odds is part of what makes it fun. Fans of the strategy genre who are seeking to be tested should check it out, as should fans of Warhammer 40k, as Daemonhunters is one of the best games to ever hold the Warhammer 40k license, even with its brutal difficulty.”

“Salt & Sacrifice has the potential to be a great game, but it badly needs balancing fixes to allow it to live up to its potential, especially in regard to its battle system. A few tweaks to the stamina meter, the dodge roll & blocking mechanics, and the enemy attack patterns would do wonders for the game, as would a way to skip the chasing sequences and jump straight to the Mage bosses. As it stands, Salt & Sacrifice is a game full of frustrating moments that bog down the rest of the experience.”

“There was some reticence from the Vampire: The Masquerade fanbase when Bloodhunt was announced, due to how incompatible the setting of the tabletop RPG is with a battle royale. Is Bloodhunt accurate to the world of Vampire: The Masquerade? Absolutely not, but that doesn't stop it from being a blast to play. Bloodhunt is a super-powered gothic vampire battle royale that offers a more adult tone and faster-paced action than its contemporaries.”

“Heartless Lullaby has the potential to be expanded into a full experience that can give Vampire: The Masquerade fans their own equivalent to a Baldur's Gate title. As it stands, the current version of the game is worth checking out as a free title that only takes a short period of time to finish, especially as a taster for the Vampire: The Masquerade games that are coming soon. It's easy to see why Heartless Lullaby won the Vampire Jam, as the team did an amazing job putting together a game in a month, and it will hopefully lead to more World of Darkness content from the studio in the future.”