Alex Donaldson's Reviews
Nintendo Labo VR is basic, but it’s immediately more fun than its expensive peers
Hopefully this is just the start, with similar quality releases of the latter three games and hopefully a further sequel yet to come following this. Rest assured – these are a fantastic way to revisit familiar adventures for existing fans and a must-play in the genre for everybody else. At last, they’ve got a current release definitively worth bothering with.
It’s a confident game that plays it safe, offering simple iterations and smart tweaks to the already well-trodden and successful styling of the series to offer up an entry that, at the very least, is superior to its direct predecessor.
This is a game that’s elevated by that choice of art and the way that design interlaces and works to create new play opportunities within the sweet sandbox of each level.
By taking its grim post-apocalyptic world above ground into wide, open areas, Metro Exodus adds a smart and engaging twist while retaining the series’ identity.
Parkitect is the management sim I’ve been wanting for years
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate does indeed live up to its name. It’s a brilliant game today, as it launches, but tellingly it also leaves me incredibly excited about the future.
What’s surprised me most about reviewing it is that I hadn’t fully made peace with that fact and yet I loved this game anyway – something that’s arguably a testament to how well it executes on its vision.
Get some friends, some beers, some button mashing and some toe-curlingly tight encounters and you'll find the spirit of the original alive and well – and that's all that matters in the end.
That's when it feels most special, and it's then that what Insomniac has achieved here is most plain. Much of its design is familiar, but it appears here in a refined, polished form that makes it an easy recommendation.