Chris McMullen
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Writing For
GameSpew
The EscapistLatest Reviews
This is a game where there’s not a radio tower, time trial or lengthy side-quest to be seen, and with a few exceptions, it’s down to you to make your own fun. And you know what? It’s an absolute joy to just get out there and mess around, embracing the...
There’s so much more I could add about Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife but I’m not about to risk spoiling the experience. Or, more selfishly, I’m not going to say anything that could dial back its fear factor; if you’re going to play this, you’re going to be as scared as...
In My Shadow’s story may not be as charming as it thinks it is, but the levels are full of appeal, particularly when you get to mess around with bicycles and other toys. Just watching the shadows each object makes on the wall is oddly soothing, like Resident Evil 7’s...
Why, for example, does the pool look like the Incredible Hulk has relieved himself in it? What’s the mysterious prize at the heart of the hedge maze, and why are people literally dying to get it? Was that guard was really still alive when their “friend” left them? As Inspector,...
Adios
Then there’s the man himself – he’ll follow you round the house during one of the free roam sections, then get in your way when you try to leave the room. It detracts from Adios‘ melancholy mood when you’re leaping around like Zebedee from The Magic Roundabout, hammering the space...
RetroMania Wrestling isn’t the most technically accomplished wrestling game out there, but it is a joyous arcade brawler that gets more entertaining the more people you can rope in to a match. Like the game that inspired it, it’s not going to occupy you for hours in a single sitting...
The one letdown has to do with Colossus Down’s two-player mode. Rope in another player and you can dial up the fun by fighting alongside them, you as MechaNika, them as The Great Bleeding Pig (don’t ask). But if you’re playing on Switch, even though you only use one analogue...
Disjunction doesn’t lean into cyberpunk quite as heavily as games like Cyberpunk 2077 or The Red Strings Club, but there’s enough sneaking and slaughter to keep you engrossed until the bitter end. It also warrants another playthrough where you force yourself to use stealth, meaning you’ll easily be getting your...
The more you push on into other lands, the more you realise that’s all there is to the game: gathering resources and running errands. There’s no diplomacy, no conflict, no real momentum to Airborne Kingdom, little to shake things up. The same could be said of Sim City or Cities:...
Overall, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos’ writing is excellent, with rounded characters who dodge most of the usual anime tropes. It may not have delivered the mech-piloting mayhem I was expecting, but it’s a smart visual novel, with enough interactivity, plot twists and emotional gut-punches to keep you engaged. Throw in multiple...
Visage
Still, with these minor annoyances aside, Visage goes far beyond cheap jump scares and will chill you to the bone if you give it half a chance. It might never completely shed its inspiration, but it spins it in enough clever (and unsettling) ways to keep you hooked. If you’re...
Ultimately, The Walking Dead: Onslaught feels like a VR version of The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, 2013’s mediocre first person shooter, also a Daryl-centric experience. There’s fun to be had if you experience it in small bites, but it’s so grind-heavy, repetitive and limited in scope that even if you’re...
