Stefan L
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TheSixthAxis Latest Reviews
Europa Universalis V starts as it means to go on, dropping you into its recreation of the late Middle Ages just as England and France embark on their Hundred Years’ War and then as the Black Death washes through Europe. To that backdrop, whatever nation you choose to play as is going to have a pretty rough time of it early on, but that just breeds opportunity through the 500 years of human history this ambitious game looks to portray.
I love a good escape room, heading to an often rather innocuous door or shopfront in a less-than-prominent position in town, and then heading into a themed room that’s filled with themed puzzles and secrets to unpick. Since 2020, there’s been more than a few attempts to translate this experience to one you can enjoy at home, and between escape room envelopes, advent calendars, and online portals, it’s video games that manage to capture the tone best of all. Escape Simulator 2 is the latest, thoroughly enjoyable escape room puzzler.
Nate probably needed a bit of a wake up call, a nudge or a hefty shove to get him out of his parent’s basement, out of his onesie and into some proper clothes, and out into the real world, but Baby Steps teleporting him out to a strange world without giving him shoes or any kind of survival gear is probably a bit much. Heck, he might actually be in need of physical therapy to relearn how to walk.
King of Meat is a strange name for a game, to state the obvious, and yet it totally fits the daft modern cartoon vibe that it’s going for, with bizarro riffs on quirky jokes running throughout. Set in Loregok, a techno-medieval world that’s gone absolutely ga-ga for the titular game show, your path to stardom is to dive into the dungeons, overcome platforming challenges, battle past skeleton minions, and make it through to the end. And you can become a star dungeon designer as well.
Battlefield 6 has been a long time coming, arguably all the way back to when we assumed this was what Battlefield 2042 would be called. This is actually a return to what Battlefield has done best over the decades, with 64-player battles, a modern warfare setting, defined classes, and a steady sense of player progression that feels like the good old days. It’s as close to a modernised Battlefield 3 or 4 as you could hope for, and the franchise’s best shot to meaningfully challenge Call of Duty in almost a decade.
Nintendo truly are the masters of the controller gimmick, from the dual screens of the DS and Wii U, to the waggling motion controls of the Wii, and detachable Switch Joy-Con. Each one has come with first party games that really showcase their use, and for the Joy-Con 2’s optical sensors and mouse mode, that game is Drag x Drive.
The something-punk genres are easy reference material to reach for when cooking up a new game and setting, but you know what they’re missing? An abundance of salt. Abyssus is here to change all that, eschewing the random cogs, goggles and oily machinery of steampunk, and the dystopian body mods and neon of cyberpunk in favour of corrosively salty water and lashings of cosmic horror.
Donkey Kong Bananza is a smashing good time. With Pauline clutching onto the fur on his back as the pair race to the centre of the world, you’ll be rampaging across the landscape of each level, slapping rock-encased enemies around, and dig-punching yourself in a gluttonous frenzy of screen-filling button mashing as you search for the moreish bananas that DK goes ga-ga for.
FBC: Firebreak is an unusual game. Returning to The Oldest House from Control, but this time as a scrappy bunch of volunteer janitors, you have to confront the Hiss-controlled hordes and a slew of existential threats that are as mundane as they are potentially deadly.
How do you follow up a nigh on perfect video game? It’s a problem that Nintendo has faced more often than most, yet with each generation they release a game that brings new perspectives and twists while also refining the core ideas further. Mario Kart 8 in particular was the culmination of this iconic series first two decades. Sure, everyone might have their favourite that they grew up with or spent years playing in split-screen with siblings and friend, but Mario Kart 8 game refined and honed everything so, so brilliantly.