Jon Bailes
This author account hasn't been claimed yet. To claim this account, please contact the outlet owner to request access.
Writing For
GamesRadar
Rock Paper Shotgun
PC GamerLatest Reviews
Animal Well is stubbornly traditional in keeping you in the dark as you embark on your adventure, but that's firmly to its credit as you unravel the mysteries sprinkled around its map. Puzzles involving animals, toys and mechanical devices demand creative thinking, while the sense that nothing is quite as it seems never lets up. This is an endlessly inventive Metroidvania with unfathomable depth.
A solid metroidvania with a timeless story to tell.
Broken Roads provides a strong draw with its Aussie take on the post-apocalypse and the philosophical strands running through its open-ended role-playing. Rather than leading to an interesting destination, however, these roads really are somewhat broken, with systems that don't feel properly integrated, bizarre leaps of logic and even bugs that lead you into dead ends.
Like the original game, Dragon's Dogma 2 excels when you're out in its open world with your pawn allies – finding hidden caves and treasure, fighting monsters, and generally losing track of time. Also like the original, it falls short in terms of quest design, convenience, and general polish. A somewhat conservative sequel, then, but one that retains the charm of its predecessor.
There’s much to admire in Ironwood’s car-based survival sim, not least the detail that’s gone into the old banger you pilot and the weird lands you have to explore, which force you to learn their quirks and keep your wits about you. As a crafting game, however, it’s rather unforgiving and laborious, requiring a lot of thankless graft if you want to stay on the road and unlock more inventive equipment.
Bombastic, funny and challenging, but still a bit buggy.
Some gripping ghost stories justify gathering around Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden's campfire, but an open world full of routine skirmishes and mindless repetition might just scare you off again. As Dontnod's longest game yet, Banishers underlines the value of a tighter focus.
Robocop: Rogue City reflects its protagonist's qualities. It's well-built and robust, a few glitches aside, and capable of triggering explosive action. Yet it's also mechanical in its design, its dialogue slow and plodding, and limited in its forms of interaction. Short on engaging mission design and the film's punchy satire, Detroit's finest needs better backup to enliven this drawn out adventure.
Endless Dungeon is an entertaining, polished, and finely-tuned roguelike, expertly blending action and tactics to fill each trip with dozens of impactful micro-decisions. While visibility can be an issue during packed battles, presentation overall is bright and clean, and supported by some classy character design. Co-op play is the icing on an already tasty cake.