Xbox Series X|S Game Reviews
Review Sniper Elite 5 - The Best Sniper Elite To Date And A Sure Shot For Game Pass
Moisten Nagant
It's been seventeen years now since we first got a taste for Rebellion's superlative Sniper Elite series and, in the years that have followed, it's a franchise that has steadily grown and evolved into a sure thing, a safe bet, in terms of serving up slick, satisfying and highly replayable slo-mo sniper action for fans of exploding...
Review Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong - Big Bad Wolf's Vampire RPG Lacks Real Bite
Lacking Bite
While the wait continues for Vampire: The Masquerade fans to get their hands on the ever-so-slightly troubled Bloodlines 2, Big Bad Wolf steps into the breach with Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong, a narrative-driven RPG that returns to the World of Darkness, specifically Boston this time around, where the ancient Camarilla sect is...
Review Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising - A Distinctly Average Introduction To All Things Eiyuden
Nevaeh Had a Dream Come True
Suikoden's spiritual successor, the hugely successful Kickstarter project Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, isn't due to release until sometime in 2023 but, in the interim, 505 Games is treating us all to a precursor to the main event in the form of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising which launches today (May 10th) on Xbox Game...
Review Citizen Sleeper - A Unique Narrative RPG That's A Perfect Fit For Xbox Game Pass
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it?
Jump Over The Age, the developer behind the sublime alien ocean exploration adventure In Other Waters, returns with yet another wonderfully unique experience in the form of Citizen Sleeper, a life sim RPG that looks and feels like nothing else we've played recently. Here you assume the role of a...
Review Trek To Yomi - Stylish Samurai Action With Real AAA Polish
Bow to your Sensei
The plight of the sole samurai looms large in Trek to Yomi, as you're tasked with choosing your warrior's path and ultimately, fighting to survive a pretty hellish situation by the end. This stylish 2D action game from developer Flying Wild Hog is a delight throughout its runtime though, even if its combat sometimes stumbles in...
Review Rogue Legacy 2 - An Xbox Console Exclusive You Don't Want To Miss
On the House
The original Rogue Legacy separated itself from the pack back in 2013 by centring its fiendishly addictive platforming gameplay around a clever roguelike mechanic that saw players continuously spring back to life in the shoes of an heir to their previous character, inheriting all of their ill-gotten gains in the process, which they then...
The choice is yours?
It's been a good long while now since we first sat down and revelled in the endless ingenuity and inventiveness of 2013's The Stanley Parable and, in all honesty, there hasn't been another interactive story experience since that's grabbed us quite like this one did. It was/is a sublime game, a fantastic piece of actual art, and...
Review Chernobylite (Xbox Series X|S) - An Irradiated Indie Gem
Rad times
A sci-fi survival horror shooter RPG with base building, crafting and roguelike elements that features a choice-driven narrative, time travel, stealth, supernatural entities and an endgame heist on the Chernobyl power station? Yes, there are many different aspects to The Farm 51's Chernobylite, all of them vying for your attention at any...
Review Lost In Random - A Cult Classic In The Making
We're all mad down here
Update (Thu 14th Apr, 2022): With Lost in Random now part of EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, we're re-sharing our original review from last year to give you an idea of what to expect. Enjoy! Original Review (Tue 14th Sep, 2021): Lost in Random feels like the sort of game that would have come out 15 years ago. That's...
Review Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands - A Borderlands Fantasy Spin-Off Worth A Look
Borderlands x D&D
The latest Borderlands game Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has had an incredibly low-key launch compared to previous “mainline” entries in the series and a lot of other games this year. While it’s technically a spin-off – acting as a follow-up to the Borderlands 2 DLC, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, Wonderlands breathes...
Review MLB The Show 22 - Sony's Second Season On Xbox Game Pass
Solid contact
After the delightful weirdness of having MLB The Show 21 on Xbox last year, we can now settle into the annual pleasure of a new entry accompanying each real-world season. If you're coming back for a second year a lot will feel familiar, though MLB The Show 22 does make some tweaks to the formula (and it's even been wrangled onto...
Review Weird West - A Rootin' Tootin' Romp For Xbox Game Pass
Freaky Frontier
We've been keenly awaiting the arrival of Wolfeye Studios' Weird West for quite some time now, with a crack dev team put together by Arkane founder and former creative director, Raphael Colantonio, alongside former executive producer Julien Roby, it's an immersive action RPG that's shown real promise in previews and one that's got...
Review Tunic - This Zelda-Esque Adventure Was Worth The Wait
Star Fox
When we spoke to Tunic developer Andrew Shouldice recently about the various influences and experiences that played a key role in shaping his upcoming game, he made a point of highlighting the joy of poring over instruction manuals and paper guides as an aspect of gaming’s past that he and his small team have attempted to pay homage to in...
Review Shredders - An Ideal Snowboarding Game For Xbox Game Pass
Shred those slopes
We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Xbox console exclusive Shredders for some time now, especially since Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer highlighted it as a game he was particularly looking forward to last year, and it finally drops on Xbox Game Pass this Thursday, March 17th. It's inspired by the classic Amped games on...
Review WWE 2K22 - A Vast Improvement Over Its Predecessor
The bottom line, 'cause we said so
2K's WWE series has gone through a fair amount of ups and downs over the past few years, but the lowest point was undoubtedly WWE 2K20, which released with a plethora of bugs and ended up scoring a terrible 45 rating on Metacritic. The move prompted 2K to take an unprecedented two-year break in development, and the...
Review Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn Of Ragnarök - A Fantastical Outing
A Hugr-Rip-roaring adventure
It's been well over a year now since Ubisoft dropped the majestic Assassin's Creed Valhalla, our own personal favourite entry in the long-running franchise, and it's a game that's been well supported with supplementary story content 14 months down the line, with both previous DLCs, Wrath of the Druids and The Siege of...
Review Elden Ring - FromSoftware's Crowning Achievement
Rise, Tarnished
Can it really be almost thirteen years since we first clapped eyes on Demon's Souls? The very first time we sat down to tangle with FromSoftware's action RPG masterpiece we were blissfully unaware of the horror, the terror and constant, relentless death that awaited us. We were, of course, immediately hooked on it all, we couldn't...
Review GRID Legends - A Solid Arcade Racer That's Missing A Bit Of Flair
Needs more oomph
Codemasters tends to fly under the racing radar these days, especially when compared to the big boys of the genre. The team has pumped out consistent if unremarkable racers in recent years, with the F1 games probably being the best of that bunch. GRID sits somewhere in there, and the 2019 series reboot provided a decent platform for...
Review Infernax - Xbox Game Pass's Brilliant 'NES-Style' Action RPG
Crusader King
Yes, yes, we know, another retro side-scrolling effort amidst a seemingly never-ending stream of the things. It really can be quite hard to remain excited for such an overpopulated genre these days, no matter how much we love a bit old-school hack and slash action. However, this week sees the release of Berzerk Studios' Infernax, a...
Review OlliOlli World - The Best 2.5D Skateboarding Experience You Can Have
Skate or Die!
Skateboarding video games have made a comeback over the past few years – with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater returning to the spotlight in 2020 and EA’s Skate series also set for a return in the future. There have been some smaller indie efforts as well, like Skater XL,
Review Dying Light 2 - More Is Less In Techland's Latest
Dying Lite
Techland's Dying Light is, hands down, one of our favourite zombie-flavoured survival horror games released over the past decade. A uniquely gritty, ultra-violent affair that makes up for its narrative shortcomings with top-notch parkour gameplay and satisfyingly bloody combat, it's a game that took the tired zombie genre and gave it the...
Review Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction - Solid Extra-Terrestrial Siege Shenanigans
How will you REACT under pressure?
Rainbow Six Extraction really is such a great idea, a hugely appealing experiment that takes the often rather bland and samey world of Ubisoft's tactical military shooters and adds plenty of twisted alien sci-fi action and warped vistas to the mix. For the most part it's a mix-up that works too. Based on a...
Review Death’s Door - One Of 2021's Best Games, Now On Xbox Game Pass
"Deserves all the attention it will most likely get"
Update (January 2022): Death's Door is now available on Xbox Game Pass, so if you're keen to understand what all the fuss is about, we've republished our 10/10 ("outstanding") review from July 2021 below. Enjoy! Original review (July 2021): What do you get if you throw Zelda,
Review Nobody Saves The World - Another Indie Hit For Xbox Game Pass
Dungeon Master
Canadian Developer Drinkbox Studios is on something of a streak with great games, having released the excellent Guacamelee!, it's fantastic sequel and the brilliant first person dungeon-crawler, Severed. Now the studio is back with its latest adventure, Nobody Saves The World, and it's another cracker. A top-down dungeon crawler that...
Review Halo Infinite - Master Chief's Latest Outing Was Worth The Wait
Hail to the Chief
After a couple of weeks' worth of blasting around the same ten maps in its excellent multiplayer component, Halo fans are about to get their hands on the next part of their early Xmas present, the campaign component of Halo Infinite is finally here. It's been six whole years since our last mainline Master Chief experience and this...
Review Lawn Mowing Simulator - Who Knew Mowing Could Be This Fun?
Step aside Flight Sim!
Update (29th Nov, 2021): With Lawn Mowing Simulator making its triumphant debut on Xbox Game Pass this Thursday, December 2nd for Series X|S, we're republishing this review so you can see what the fuss is all about. Enjoy! Original review (9th Aug, 2021): As this reviewer looks out to his overgrown lawn which has been...
Review Sherlock Holmes Chapter One - An Interesting And Messy Experiment
Elementary!
The Sherlock Holmes series has gone on for quite a while and quietly pumped out new entries over the years. Steadily, it's grown more and more ambitious with each title and Sherlock Holmes Chapter One may be developer Frogwares' most ambitious title yet. While the series attempts to break into a more modern-day gameplay loop, it somehow...
Review Call Of Duty: Vanguard - An Enjoyable, Yet Familiar Romp
You've seen all of this before
Ten minutes into the Call of Duty: Vanguard campaign and you're jumping from rooftop to rooftop on a moving train. Yep, this is classic Call of Duty alright. Fast forward an hour and you're dogfighting in the air over the sea in a sky full of explosions. If all of this sounds fairly familiar then that's pretty much...
Review Forza Horizon 5 - An Amazing Game, But One That's A Little Too Familiar
We feel like we've been to Mexico before...
When the Forza Horizon series originally showed up on Xbox 360 in 2012, it was quite a surprise for fans of the racing genre and was perhaps the first real competitor EA’s Need for Speed series had faced in a long time. The Xbox Game Studios franchise has since gone from strength to strength and is now...
Review Demon Turf - Solid Platformer Let Down By Lacklustre Combat
It's good to be bad
When publisher Playtonic Friends was founded and one of the first titles revealed to be released under its banner was Demon Turf, it was clear the company saw something in it. After spending the last few weeks with it, it's clear the game is a fine-tuned platformer, inspired by genre classics such as Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario...
