Lynley James
The wide assortment of abilities at your disposal, coupled with immersive gameplay and truly palpable, often bone-chilling atmosphere, easily make it one of Remedy's most refined and masterfully crafted works to date.
Forza Horizon 4 is one of the best racing games of this generation, and a perfect open-world driving showcase for the Xbox One, Xbox One X and PC.
For fans of Arkane waiting for a Dishonored 3, this will not scratch that itch, nothing can, but it will give you a new Arkane sandbox to play in - a new universe to practice your death dealing skills in, and a terrific new mystery to lose yourself in.
Hitman 2 is a worthy successor to the first reboot. While it could’ve been a meaty expansion, given the focus on refining mechanics rather than introducing new ones, it's a perfect sequel to a near-perfect game, and why would you mess with perfection?
Hitman 3 is an excellent conclusion to the World of Assassination with insane amounts of replay value, especially if you have access to all the locations in the trilogy.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 successfully builds on the first game with a stacked story, engaging open world and great improvements in all the right places - an almost perfect superhero recipe.
Gears 5 is The Coalition’s coming-out party, showing the world that the Gears IP is in good hands, and that the future for fans of the series is bright.
If you enjoy stealth and tactical games and even some Japanese history I suggest that you pick it up. The game can be tough as nails and the temptation to rage quit when nearly an hour of progress is lost because you saved in the wrong place is there, but the satisfaction when you get things just right will soon have you coming back for more.
At the end of the day, AC:Origins is an intriguing game. The extra time has allowed the developers to sort out some technical issues that have plagued the series while also adding in improvements. The story, however, is nothing new or fresh, and the structure has not evolved beyond the now familiar Ubisoft open-world recipe.
Everybody’s Golf is a worthy addition to the series and a welcome addition to the PS4 library. If you want a game for when you have ten minutes to spare, or one in which you can challenge yourself as you seek to set better scores on the leaderboards, look no further.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a good game buried beneath some crassness. The mechanics are perfect for newcomers and veterans alike to the turn-based JRPG-inspired gameplay, and while the story isn’t as good as it should be it holds the space between battles together nicely.
Full Throttle Remastered is a wonderful love letter to a genre past its prime and a very good game for those wanting to experience classic gaming at its finest.
Anyone expecting a true combat flight sim will be disappointed as this is not that type of game, but for everyone else wanting to feel like Maverick taking on the unnamed bad guys in Top Gun, this is the game to play.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a pleasant surprise, definitely the better of the two Square Enix published Marvel licensed games.
The Sexy Brutale is a small game, set in a limited space, with big ideas. The plot is merely the container for a very clever puzzle game, and what a container it is. It is a very creepy game, standing in contrast to the bright cartoon-like art style. The sense of dread and foreboding as I raced against the clock to prevent each death literally gave me nightmares.
Conan Unconquered is a welcome addition to the RTS genre as it looks to change things up with a more defensive focus. The flaws in the game are not enough of a problem to stop me from recommending it to fans and newcomers to the genre. In fact, I would heartily agree to any invites for a co-op multiplayer session if you've picked it up.
It is a promising new direction that they are taking the franchise in and I hope the developer gets the chance to iterate on this formula as we desperately need a modern sniper game.
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts is fast becoming what I want CI to concentrate on as it is far more interesting in terms of design, story, and mechanics than the mainline series.
Thankfully, combat is where the game shines. The gunplay is fantastic and the new contextual cover system works well, with only one or two instances where I couldn’t break or enter cover. The new jet pack is probably the best addition to the game.
The Escapists 2 is a fun puzzle game with a unique premise, and while the game could use a more detailed tutorial system, once you invest the time to learn the different systems you will be rewarded with a fun mental workout.