Chris McMullen
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Writing For
GameSpew
The EscapistLatest Reviews
At its best, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted delivers the kind of jump scares and edge-of-your-seat tension the series is known for. But, minus a VR headset, it’s not a great way to experience Five Nights at Freddy’s, even factoring in the bonus games and the additional lore it...
Once you finish the story – which boils down to about five minutes worth of plot – you have the freedom to explore the whole island (loading screens do pop-up between areas). But the post-game activities – the ones that you engage with to 100% a game – are the...
And while the episodic format makes for some eerie, tightly-scripted drama, Dark Nights forces you to sit through a “next time on Poe and Munro” each time, giving away a chunk of the next story. Frustratingly, there’s no way to skip this and the same is true of other FMV...
There are, however, some rough edges to Stranded Deep. I never ran into any showstopping issues but there was an occasion when my inflatable raft just disappeared overnight, which seemed to be a bug rather than a feature. I constructed a wooden alternative but without the construction know-how to make...
It’s not a flawless experience; using lookout towers to discover new locations is a little old hat and the handling of SnowRunner’s smallest vehicles feels a bit off. However, even when you’re struggling up an incline with a 20-tonne load, SnowRunner is a joy to play. Driving around, making deliveries...
Even though it’s arrived nine years later than planned (it was cancelled and later resurrected due to the 2011 Japanese earthquake) this is a step back for the Disaster Report/Zettai Zetsumei Toshi series. There are a few highlights, but Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories has so many rough edges, broken...
If you’re expecting a full follow-up to Enter the Gungeon, with the same degree of depth, you’ll be disappointed. Exit the Gungeon is, at its best, a fun but shallow shooter, which doesn’t really deliver on its appealing premise. But if you’re prepared to take this light and fluffy sidequel...
And, thank sweet robot christ, you can skip the scenes you’ve already seen. With nine possible endings, there’s good reason to go back and play through The Complex again, whizzing through to the ending to see how else the story could’ve panned out. The icing on the cake is how...
Wattam
Wattam isn’t without its flaws; in particular, the more characters you gather, the harder it is to quickly switch between them. But even when your journey’s done, there’s more than enough here to draw you back in, whether you’re tackling the game in co-op mode, hunting for those few elusive characters...
Phoenix Point’s blend of combat, research management and global exploration is thoroughly compelling, even if the factions can be a little trying. Whether you’ve got fond memories of Julian Gollop’s original game or not, he and his team have taken old school strategy and dragged it kicking, screaming and gurgling into...
If Song of Horror’s remaining episodes can maintain the level of quality set out in its first two episodes, survival horror fans are in for a treat. The permadeath mechanic may be off-putting to some but it’s purposeful and it pays off, forcing you to be more cautious adds to...
Questionable humour aside however, the icing on the murder cake is the way that AI: The Somnium Files has you revisit scenes, following different plot branches to produce a different outcome (sometimes radically different) without needing to start all over again. Date may not be a great detective, but there’s...
