Brodie Gibbons
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Venba is a sweet, short-lived episode that presents the place held by food and cooking within our lives and cultures as near-on divine. It explores familiar relationships, as well as the ones we keep, for better or worse, with food itself, and left me with plenty to ponder as the credits rolled.
Though it’s iterative in a lot of ways, Forza Horizon 5 is a near-faultless open-world racing experience that’s so sure of itself and its offerings that it goes the extra mile to sprinkle in the kinds of fan service that people go wild for. As a game it’s tremendous, but it’s also a brilliant, interactive postcard for a culture that is passionate about few things more than their country and their cars.
Just like Rocksteady did for Batman, Arc System Works has carried Dragon Ball to the upper echelon, crafting a tag-fighting game that captures not only the series' distinctive style but its spirit. FighterZ stands alongside other versatile, yet accessible, games like Marvel vs. Capcom with ease in what is the best fighting game in recent memory. It's a shame the servers hamstring the experience so badly, rendering the game's online a bit of a mess.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle delivers both high calibre adventure, story and performance in spades, to the point it feels as though it’s wading into “uncharted territory” for its publisher. The decision to bop a Nazi should be a foregone conclusion, however the lack of balance in stealth and combat systems kept me in limbo, and left Indiana Jones and the Great Circle just a stone stele’s throw from true greatness.
The humanisation of Eris Morn, a once bleak caricature shrouded in mystique, along with a number of brave narrative turns help Shadowkeep along to a thrilling conclusion that sets Destiny up for another year to come. Though the core tweaks haven't all landed, Shadowkeep takes a beatseat to only two before it in terms of delivering rounded, high-quality expansion experience.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a triumph in world-building, character craft and downright skulduggery. Being bad has never felt so good as Rockstar toe the realism line while still keeping their sharp, trademark tongue in cheek. It's the keen attention to detail where Rockstar succeeds and this outlaw prequel comfortably outperforms their best works and in time, I believe, will be regarded as a once in a generation game.
After crafting one of the most arresting tactics trilogies of all-time in The Banner Saga, which had a recognisable identity in its own right, I do applaud Stoic for venturing beyond the relative safety of their pedigree in trying something new. It doesn’t offer the same emotional resonance, however Towerborne’s seeming goal of “Castle Crashers except pretty” delivers on what is a mindless, yet moreish, brawler.
Arizona Sunshine 2 is a bloody, pulpy and, most importantly, meaty experience that turns undead dismemberment from a somewhat dated trope into a fun workout that gives you more than enough toys to play with. And with a loyal pup at your side, this sequel is not only a blast but it feels like the killer app the platform has been needing.
Metro Exodus shows some heart, and it's clear the developers have poured a lot into this third chapter of Artyom's story. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that keep the game from hitting the standard set by its predecessors. Pacing is hamstrung by the ambitious misfire of an 'open-world', while performance issues and glitches mar much of Exodus.
The Last of Us Part I is, for all intents and purposes, the same The Last of Us that you know. It doesn’t take liberties to completely reshape the experience and nor should it. It does, however, smartly enhance the original’s combat through A.I. advancements, and drags the original’s production values over the line to create a product that can stand unified with its more polished sequel. The Last Of Us: Part I is without doubt the most definitive version of The Last of Us on the market.