25th July 2022

Stray Review - The Cat's Meow

It's hard to overstate just how popular Stray has become online. With a cute protagonist and great art direction, it's easy to see why. This being said, games like this can sometimes get a little out of their depth when they suddenly explode. Stray lives up to its potential and even manages to hide a couple of nice surprises under its sleeve. Stray has you play the role of a cat exploring a cyberpunk world after the extinction of all human life. What is left are animals on the outside of the ga

Gfinity • 17th October 2022

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope review - All you need is a spark

When a game takes you by surprise, it becomes hard to really understand how good it is. This is why I can't help but look fondly at Mario and Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Now committing to the formula, Mario and Rabbids Sparks of Hope manages to do what few games can - follow up a surprise hit with a sequel that is just as competent. Relying on many of the factors that made the first game stand out, it builds on it in meaningful ways delivering an experience that is reminiscent of the first game yet

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Unpacking Review

You can tell a lot about a piece of art by how it makes you connect with its characters. Where some go for grand gestures and big moments, some deal with the intricacies of the everyday. The way someone presents themself is such an important factor in how you see them but that is ultimately all for show.

8Bit/Digi • 30th November 2022

Review | Sonic Frontiers (PS5)

A blue hedgehog flying through the sky, taking down colossal creatures to a ’00s style nu-metal soundtrack. This is where Sonic Frontiers is at its best. When you’re at full speed, flitting around the environment and taking on bad guys. Unfortunately, Sonic comes off the rails all too quickly. It’s hard to fully sum up Sonic’s swap to 3D. It nailed the landing with innovative controls and interesting environments, only to fail to match up to this with subsequent changes. There’s something that

Gfinity • 30th November 2022

Marvel's Midnight Suns Review - A strategic marvel

Seeing Firaxis' take on a new franchise with a more casual viewership may lead one to believe that they'll give up their roots for something with a broader appeal. Somehow, Marvel's Midnight Suns is a game that is open to newcomers but just as deep as their previous projects. Taking a spoonful of XCOM and adding it to the likes of Fire Emblem and even Slay the Spire gives a potent cocktail that is fresh, exciting, and very thoughtful. That cocktail is also alluring and can keep you up until 2

Gfinity Esports • 21st July 2023

Exoprimal Review - A strange beast

Exoprimal was consistently not quite the game I thought it would be going in. From the reveal trailer, I thought it might play like a semi-open world team-based action game. Subsequent trailers then showed cooldowns and ultimates, like those in arena shooters. In the end, I got neither of these options and that feels like it was for the best. Exoprimal constantly lulls you into thinking you have it mastered, only for it to shake up the formula a little and give you something else. It is both a

Gfinity • 21st December 2022

High on Life review - Failure to squanch

Sometimes, you can find an odd amount of enjoyment in the things that used to make you laugh as a kid. Juvenile humour is often at its best when it serves a point and has clarity. This is what makes those 20 minutes bursts of Rick and Morty work - It is over the top and sincerely childish but uses it as a framework to talk about much more. High on Life tries so much of the same material but rarely captures the brevity and heart it begs you to find. It's a game with meta-depth, from inside jokes

Gfinity Esports • 17th July 2023

Dead By Daylight End Transmission review - One great step for man

Dead By Daylight chapters have always been a bit hard to review. Take the last chapter, Tools of Torment. There's some really interesting lore there and a few fun map reworks. As time has got on, it has aged even poorer than at release, due to some meta changes and the community finally understanding how The Skull Merchant's mechanics work. When I first saw The Singularity, I was rather impressed by both their design and the atmosphere of the trailer. Since then, this DLC has gotten better and

RealSport101 • 21st March 2022

Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok REVIEW - Strength in the power to let go

It's hard to understate just how huge the last couple of Assassin's Creed games have been. Though the mysteries managed to shake up the moment to moment gameplay of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, it really has to justify adding more to what it already has. Dawn of Ragnarok is both a justification and an indictment of the very formula it lays upon.

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Gamedec Review

Gamedec is a game that instantly captured me. Its world is interesting, its premise unique - it immediately gets a lot of things right. It's one of those games that you don't just love in spite of its flaws - you partially love it because of them. Gamedec feels so excited to tell you what it has going on that you can excuse it tripping over its own feet to get to you. Let's start with that premise, shall we? Gamedec has you take on the role of a game detective who must enter online video games

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed is as Weird as You Think

The Destroy All Humans! remake last year was an impressive rendition of the classic game. It stayed true to its roots with its feel and humor whilst giving enough upgrades to make the purchase worthwhile. It's safe to say that if you liked the first game, the remake is perfect for you. That's why it's no surprise to see Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed making its way to Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and PC next year. For a game all about critiquing human beings themself and their predictability, T

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Glitchpunk is a Little too Much Glitch, Not Enough Punk

GlitchPunk is a game I’ve been following for some time. This old GTA-style cyberpunk adventure intrigued me months ago with its edgy veneer and willingness to commit to the homage. While it does some things well enough to conjure up the times of old, it also brings back some of the ‘90s biggest flaws Glitchpunk is a top-down cyberpunk game placing you in the shoes of an android bounty hunter. Upon booting it up, you are given little more than this and told to go on your way. You meet a man name

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Rogue Lords Review

The fight between good and evil is a tale much older than we can fathom. Having somewhere to fight against and something to work towards has kept us motivated - it has kept us alive. This being said, it’s not always enough. That story sometimes runs dry, you just have to hope everyone else is strong enough to keep you going. Rogue Lords will likely be quite familiar to you if you’ve played some of the best indie games of the last decade or so. Taking clear inspiration from the likes of Slay the

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Unplugged Review

I've been playing guitar for around a decade now but I've been playing rhythm games for much longer. This divide is always there in modern music games and how they commit is perhaps the most important part. The best games tend to take some of the most over-the-top caricatures and blend them with just enough reality to feel satisfying. You may never play the right notes but it at least follows the right pattern. Once it provides that, the rest of the fun is down to you.

RealSport101 • 21st March 2022

Ghostwire: Tokyo Review - A ghost town that feels alive

Ghost stories have a surprising depth to them in modern media. Sometimes, they are just used for a cheap scare - manipulating the uncanny valley to make our own instincts work against us. Other times, they are used to point out the vacuum human life leaves behind when it departs. Ghostwire: Tokyo is firmly caught in between these two fields and asks "what would that all look like under a neon glow?"

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Demon Turf Review

Platformers are infamously hard games to get right. They need to be challenging enough to be replayable without artificially injecting difficulty. You have to feel some sense of ownership over your greatest triumphs without feeling like you're being handheld. This is a fine balance that only the bravest try. Luckily, Demon Turf is a courageous and glorious attempt to reinvigorate the genre. Demon Turf puts you in the tiny shoes of young demon Beebz, who wants to take over the demon turfs to bec

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Sucker For Love: First Date Review

Lovecraft's work is something that games have infamously got wrong, be it something egregious like getting the stories themselves wrong or something small like not quite nailing the tone. The great thing about existential horror is if you make it just absurd enough, anything can work. Sucker For Love: First Date works way better than it has any right to. To put it simply, Sucker for Love: First Date is a satirical take on the visual novel genre with a Lovecraftian spin. It doesn't feel right ca

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Tentacular is a Fun Throwback to Early VR

Do you ever reminisce about the first time you tried VR? How even the simplest things will shock you - just because they actually work? Do you ever think back and wonder how you can capture the magic you first felt putting on that headset? Tentacular is a game that feels like those experiences, both to its benefit and detriment. As the name suggests, this game is all about tentacles. You play a huge octopus creature after their 16th birthday. In doing so, you have to get out there, get a job an

TechRaptor • 21st March 2022

Young Souls Review

Now that the Google Stadia is ostensibly on the decline, it seems likely that we will get the return of plenty of small indie exclusives that never got the fanfare they were hoping for. This gives them a chance to shine in a bigger player pool but also makes them compete against a much wider range of games. Young Souls, like the Stadia itself, is well worth the look but may not have what it takes to hang around long term. To give you the elevator pitch, Young Souls is an RPG / Beat 'em up set t

GameWatcher • 20th March 2022

Lost Ark Review

With so many studios trying to hit the coveted MMO market, one thing is clear if you want to succeed - your game has to be unique. You can make up for tonnes of mistakes if you can just carve out a market for it. Although it has its own issues of identity - with a Diablo-like fighting system and enough extra activities to feel full - Lost Ark is a game that I’m looking forward to seeing grow.