Alex Donaldson's Reviews
Nintendo made a fighting game with a slickness that only Nintendo can manage.
Middle Earth: Shadow of War builds on almost every facet of its forerunner carefully – and the result is generally very exciting, if uninspiring.
Final Fantasy 12 is an acquired taste, but it's amazing because it's different.
Nintendo doesn't do simple, straightforward sequels all that often, but this time it has.
Come prepared to learn and Endless Space 2 will impress, then sink its claws deep.
More Fire Emblem you say? I won't argue.
Parkitect is the management sim I’ve been wanting for years
The king of 3D fighters makes a triumphant return.
Look, here's the thing: Dragon's Dogma is one of the best games of the last generation. Now you've got a new chance to play it, because not enough people did.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze may be a simple port, but if you didn't own a Wii U this title is a must-buy.
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A definitive version of a classic, though its new content leaves much to be desired.
A solid add-on for players who really love settlement building, but also an underwhelming delivery of some solid ideas. It's no reason to return to Fallout 4, but this is another fine addition to an adventure in progress.
Sacred edges away from the RPG, but sadly in doing so edges away from fun also.
If you put the lack of missions aside as a consequence of the budget price tag, Banished is still a flawed game. There's brilliant concepts and a core that shines, but a troublesome interface and a general lack of breadth of content is clearly an issue. With all that noted, there's still something strangely and subversively compelling about it in the end. Knowing and feeling all I do, I still want to go back and play some more - and that is likely telling.
This unremarkable DLC quest is rescued by the new robot-building mechanic. This is no sole reason to head back to the Wasteland, but is a fine addition to a game-in-progress.
Your mileage with WarioWare: Move It will inevitably vary. What do you want from this game? If you want the classic microgames experience, it isn’t really here. If you want a killer multiplayer game to play with the family over the holiday season (assuming everyone is able-bodied), it’ll be ideal. I can’t wait to play this more with friends. But I don’t see any reason to boot it on my own again any time soon.
In its core mission, Sonic Superstars is successful. It recreates the foundation of 2D Sonic – some of the finest platformers ever made – well. Unfortunately, the new elements layered atop that are rather hit-or-miss. I personally don’t think this is anywhere near as good as Mania. But it’s good. In fact, it’s good enough that I expect fan debate about which game is superior to be fairly heated – which is a sure-fire sign that Sega is on the right track.
All that matters at the time of writing is the launch experience, though. Minecraft Legends is gorgeous-looking, and is thrilling in how it presents the Minecraft world from another angle. It also has a solid backbone for a captivating RTS. It just doesn’t go far enough, however - and the final result is a game that struggled to hold my attention the deeper in I got. It’ll be decent Game Pass fodder - but I can’t help but feel like this should’ve been so much more. It certainly won’t be for everyone, though I expect Minecraft-obsessed kids to have a blast regardless.
Where Octopath was fairly heavily promoted by Nintendo, however, it does feel like Diofield has been tossed into the ocean of the market to sink or swim. It’s the sort of game that probably doesn’t float very easily, either. It’s the sort of product that requires some marketing-shaped buoyancy aids. It was never going to cruise to success - and now I fear it never will. But it’s worth a look – and hopefully its ideas will go forward in other future projects. They’re certainly worth revisiting.