Latest Reviews
Can't fight the moonlight
Following on from 2021’s relatively successful revamp of Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water, Koei Tecmo returns with a remaster of the fourth title in its Fatal Frame/Project Zero series, Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. Originally released as a Nintendo Wii exclusive back in 2008, this is actually one of our...
The sweet elixir of death
As much as we absolutely adore Team Ninja's PC and PlayStation-exclusive Nioh series, it often felt as though it bogged itself down a little bit too much with the depth of its combat mechanics and a certain heavy-handedness when it came to the importance of stamina with regards to every single action you took in battle...
Review Atomic Heart - An Interesting Alt-History Crusade, But Not A True Great
Shaky Soviet adventures
Anybody who's ever played Irrational's BioShock Infinite will be immediately familiar with the opening sequence of Atomic Heart. You arrive at an 'idyllic' utopian city by boat — a city that happens to be floating amongst the clouds of a post-WW2 land dominated by Soviet science — before a short guided tour takes a turn...
Review Wanted: Dead - A Highly Disappointing Hybrid Slasher/Shooter
It sounded good on paper...
"A new hybrid shooter/slasher from the makers of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive!" Now, just wait a minute. We absolutely adore Ninja Gaiden, it's one of the all-time great hack and slashers. And Dead or Alive? Well...we mean, somebody probably likes that too, but let's not confuse the issue, the point is that Wanted: Dead...
Review Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition - Microsoft's PC Classic Makes Its Debut On Xbox
RTS historical battles…with a controller
Where do you start with Age of Empires 2? It’s arguably the greatest RTS (and perhaps one of the best games) of all time. When it made its debut back on Microsoft Windows in 1999, it received absolutely huge levels of praise for not only taking the series to the next level, but also bettering the genre in...
Review Hogwarts Legacy - A Harry Potter Fan's Dream, The Best Game In Franchise History
Somehow, it's lived up to the hype
Harry Potter games have always been popular on Xbox dating back to the early 2000s, but we've never had a particularly great one, perhaps aside from LEGO's Harry Potter Collection. Sure, the Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets games were definite highlights on the original Xbox, and maybe you even liked some...
A Little Dab'll Do Ya
Ooooooh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants! Whose videogame antics aren't really for me? SpongeBob SquarePants! Yes, SpongeBob SquarePants, the...eh...the square sea sponge who wears pants, is back for another bite at the video game cherry and, well, it's very much a case of us having seen it all...
Review Hi-Fi RUSH - Tango Gameworks Drops A Beat-Bopping Banger On Xbox Game Pass
A shadow drop, no less!
Well, it's been quite an unexpectedly exciting few days on Xbox Game Pass, thanks to Tango Gameworks, which went and stealth-dropped a bonafide banger in the form of Hi-Fi RUSH during last week's Xbox Developer Direct. Yes, it seems the entire internet has had a very positive reaction to this cel-shaded rhythm action game,
Review Persona 4 Golden - Xbox Game Pass Gets Itself One Of The All-Time Great JRPGs
It's time to climb the stairway to maturity!
Persona 3 may have been a pivotal point in the evolution of Atlus' stunning JRPG series, shifting the tone away from the straight-up bleakness of parts one and two and adding the franchise's now signature social elements to the mix, but it was 2008's Persona 4 that really dug deep into the relationship...
Review Persona 3 Portable - Atlus' JRPG Classic Still Feels Essential
To be this good takes Aigis
Originally released on the PSP in November of 2009, Persona 3 Portable is an "enhanced" port of 2006's JRPG classic that makes a few controversial excisions to the core gameplay whilst also adding enough new content and combat improvements that we actually reckon it's the best version of Persona 3 overall. Controversial!...
Review Monster Hunter Rise - The Next-Gen Version Is The Definitive Edition
Late to the party
It’s common to associate the Capcom brand with IP like Mega Man, Resident Evil and Street Fighter, but the series that’s arguably paving the way for the Japanese video game giant moving forward is Monster Hunter. It has shot to fame in less than 20 years and is now the second highest-selling Capcom franchise - with the 2018...
Review Rainbow Billy: The Curse Of The Leviathan - A Wholesome Wind Waker Style Adventure
Coming to Xbox Game Pass this week!
Update: Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is part of the Xbox Game Pass lineup for December 2022, arriving this Thursday, December 15th. Ahead of that date, we thought we'd republish this review so you can see what's in store! <related ids="141761"> Original review (October 2021): If you look at...
Like, seriously though bro, it's on Game Pass. Hahaha, you said ass.
Note: This review is for the PC version of High on Life, as we didn't receive Xbox code until this week. You'll find some early impressions based on the Xbox Series X version of the game in the "Second Opinion" section. OK. Look. We've been deep in conversation about High On Life...
Review The Witcher 3 - One Of The Greatest Action RPGs Upgraded For Xbox Series X|S
The White Wolf returns
Polish developer CD Projekt Red has been to hell and back with the release of Cyberpunk 2077. The futuristic ARPG originally shipped with major bugs, performance issues and AI problems, and overall felt like it simply wasn’t ready for launch. It got so bad that at one point, Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer...
Review Marvel's Midnight Suns: Firaxis Serves Up Another Stellar Slice Of Tactical Turn-Based Action
Simply Marvellous
There aren't many more reliable development teams than Firaxis when it comes to serving up top-notch turn-based tactical action, and with Marvel's Midnight Suns, the Baltimore-based studio continues to deliver the good stuff. Here they've avoided a simple superhero reskin of their superlative XCOM series in favour of strategic...
Review The Callisto Protocol - An Uneven Spiritual Successor To Dead Space
Get a GRP
Striking Distance Studios has made no secret of the fact that its inaugural effort, The Callisto Protocol, shares plenty of DNA with Visceral Games' genre-defining Dead Space franchise, and with a bunch of ex-Visceral staff, including Dead Space's co-creator, designer, animation director and co-developer all involved here, it should come...
Review LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga - The Force Is Strong With This One
Update: And now it's heading to Game Pass!
Update (Thu 1st Dec, 2022): With today's news that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is coming to Xbox Game Pass on December 6th, 2022, we thought we'd republish this review to give you an idea of what to expect. Enjoy! <related ids="141983"> Original review (Mon 4th Apr, 2022): This reviewer has...
Review Insurgency: Sandstorm - An Incredible, Immersive FPS Coming To Xbox Game Pass
Check your corners
New World Interactive finally brought Insurgency: Sandstorm over to consoles last September, following an almost three-year period as a PC exclusive. Sandstorm marked the follow-up to 2014's Insurgency, with both shooters delivering a masterclass in immersive and tactical close quarters gunplay. We can gladly say that the team was...
Review Battlefield 2042 - DICE's Latest Shooter Joins Xbox Game Pass
Modern Warfare
The latest game to join the November 2022 Xbox Game Pass lineup is Battlefield 2042 (courtesy of EA Play), so we've gone back and dug out the Pure Xbox review of the game from November 2021, which you check out below. However, Battlefield 2042 has obviously changed over the past year thanks to various updates, so you'll also find...
Review Gungrave G.O.R.E - Addictive Arcade Action That's Definitely An Acquired Taste
Kick their ass (on Xbox Game Pass)
The absolutely ludicrous Gungrave has finally returned! This brand-new entry sticks resolutely to the script laid down by earlier efforts in the franchise, presenting exactly the same flimsy but satisfyingly flamboyant arcade action as its predecessors, just with much prettier graphics this time around. This is a...
Review Evil West - Action-Packed Wild West Horror Let Down By Dull Design And Weak Narrative
From Dusk Til Yawn
Flying Hog Games, we think it's probably fair to say, has a bit of a marmite aspect to its back catalogue. Between Trek to Yomi, which we actually quite liked, and the multiple instalments of the ridiculously shallow Shadow Warrior series, this is a studio whose work you kinda either gel with or don't. It's brash, it's brutal,...
Review Somerville - An Engaging Sci-Fi Story Let Down By Dull Gameplay
Close Encounters of the Bland Kind
Somerville is an aesthetically pleasing slice of sci-fi that draws influence from the likes of 'War of the Worlds' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' to present the short tale of a bewildered man on the run from otherworldly machines as he attempts to reunite with his wife and infant son in desperate...
Review Sonic Frontiers - A Great 3D Entry And A Bright Future For The Blue Blur
A Sonic the Hedgehog game like no other
Sonic Frontiers takes 3D Sonic games to new heights with its “open zone” format. Instead of the same old style of progression you may have come to expect from this series, this new entry’s focus is all about exploring expansive natural environments and ancient ruins – speeding around doing what you...
Review Pentiment - Obsidian's Medieval Murder Mystery Is A Game Pass Delight
A narrative adventure most unexpected
We've been really looking forward to getting our hands on Obsidian's Pentiment ever since it was first announced back at the Xbox & Bethesda Summer Showcase in June of this year. A uniquely stylised narrative-driven murder mystery, it ticked all the boxes for us in terms of presenting a game world so...
Review Vampire Survivors (Xbox for PC) - One Of The Best Indie Games Of The Year
Included with Xbox Game Pass!
Disclaimer: This review is based on the PC Game Pass version of Vampire Survivors. The lead-up to the holiday period is often a battle between the biggest games and franchises. So, what’s all the fuss about with this indie game Vampire Survivors? If you haven’t heard about this roguelite bullet shooter, get ready...
Review Football Manager 2023 Console - Another Solid Season On Xbox
Help, we're addicted to FM again
For the second year running, Football Manager has arrived on Xbox Game Pass at launch in the form of both Football Manager 2023 (the PC version) and the newly renamed Football Manager 2023 Console, with the latter serving as a toned-down version of the PC experience for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The...
Review Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Infinity Ward's Best COD Since 2009's MW2
Modern W
2022 has been a slow year for AAA gaming, with much of the industry's anticipated lineup delayed until next year. However, like clockwork, a new Call of Duty game has managed to make it, with long-time developer Infinity Ward back behind the iron sights for another venture into the murky world of Modern Warfare. 2019's
Review Persona 5 Royal - One Of The Greatest JRPGs Of All Time Hits Xbox Game Pass
Love that Joker
Persona 5 has, quite rightly, been heralded as one of the greatest JRPGs of all time ever since it first released back in 2016. The first all-new numbered entry in the long-running Persona franchise since 2008's superb Persona 4, this really is Atlus firing on all cylinders, serving up a supremely stylish, action-packed and...
Review Amnesia: Rebirth - A Halloween Horror Adventure Worth Taking On Xbox Game Pass
What lies below?
Amnesia: Rebirth is now available on Xbox platforms, including Xbox Game Pass as one of the service's latest day one drops! We played through Frictional Games' recent horror adventure when it first launched on PS4, and we've now dipped back into the title on Xbox Series X to see how things hold up. Thankfully, this remains a great...
Review A Plague Tale: Requiem - An Incredible AAA Adventure On Xbox Game Pass
Ratified
A Plague Tale: Requiem is pretty much everything we'd hoped for from a sequel to one of 2019's biggest surprises in A Plague Tale: Innocence. Asobo's much-anticipated follow-up doesn't reinvent the wheel by any stretch, but it successfully builds on the team's debut effort, mixing in fresh combat options, new varied locales and an...
