SA Gamer's Reviews
Rise of Industry is a complex production/logistics management sim with a wide variety of options and difficulty settings. It's got a rather steep learning curve, however, and needs a fair amount of micromanagement to keep things running smoothly. If you're looking for a management game with some depth and complexity, Rise of Industry is worth a look.
Rise of Shadows makes Hearthstone feel more interactive again, but that might just be certain sets rotating out. While the new mechanics aren't great enough to build decks around, several cards add great value to existing archetypes.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that the latest entry in a series of simple puzzle platforming games about a mostly black and white, line-drawn square would not be that enjoyable. However, you'd be wrong. Very, very wrong. Against the odds, Hal Laboratory has made a truly wonderful title that is not only perfect for the Switch but is a triumph for the genre itself. And a heck of a lot of fun to play too!
Days Gone, when it has moments of clarity, skirts the line of being brilliant. It could have been an instant classic if it weren't for the giant missteps that happened with regards to the story's pacing and some very strange decisions regarding Deacon as a character. With an expansive open-world worth exploring and well-crafted mechanics, Days Gone is an enjoyable ride, but expect to get some bugs in your face.
Mortal Kombat 11's fighting, story, graphics and mechanics should have the game piercing the stratosphere, but the persistent online direction the progression systems have taken feels like something belonging to a free-to-play game.
World War Z is far from being as polished as it should be, but it's made well enough and has enough content to keep you and your friends busy for some time. The gameplay is fun and entertaining, but the game does need a bit more refinement to make it shine the way it's supposed to. Overall, not a bad co-op experience.
Anno might have gone backwards in time, but don't let that fool you. This is a step forward in terms of management and keeping players thinking and responding to multiple issues all at once. Settlements look vibrant and alive, with the music helping you while away the hours (until the narrator reminds you it might be time for a break)
One wouldn't think you'd be venturing into the dystopian universe of Pandora ten years later. But, here we are, and still as enjoyable as the first time around. The ramped up resolution and increase in frame rate does the cel-shaded art style justice and makes the environmental artefacts pop. This is marred by some screen tearing when swivelling your view around quickly, but with everything happening on screen, you'd be hard pressed to find that a bug that will make the experience less enjoyable.
This strange unknown game that takes place in rural Sweden tries its best to be a great open-world survival game and it comes dangerously close to it. However, it falters in almost all of its aspects and ends up being a frustrating and mediocre experience. Glimpses of something great are to be had, but this game should have been in Early Access and iterated upon instead of giving us an incomplete romp through the cold north.
A bright, fun and relaxing romp through a meticulously detailed and remarkably creatively-designed world that hits the mark of providing a family-friendly and very accessible entry on the Switch, while still having enough for more experienced gamers to enjoy.
The Division 2 is a product of years of love, labour and listening, iterating and reiterating on what worked in the previous game, and adding and changing based on developer and community feedback. Everything feels polished and thought out, making you come back for some more.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice really shows why From Software is the current king of making brutally challenging yet rewarding games. It looks amazing, has a more focussed narrative than what we've seen before and the combat is something quite unique and different. It might not be everybody's cup of tea, but once you get used to the game's rhythm and mechanics, it becomes an absolute blast to play.
It's a stealth or action game and is rubbish at both. The AI will drive you up the wall and the three protagonists are forgettable. There is absolutely nothing, other than some beautiful artwork and a decent soundtrack, that leaves any hope alive of it being any good.
Devil May Cry 5 feels like playing your favourite PS2 hack and slash, but with amazing current gen graphics. Get ready for a rollercoaster ride of style as you pummel, slash and blast your way through all the devils.
Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Video Game 2 conforms to the general annual update mandate. There is a new roster, some tracks, a few graphical tweaks and a whole lot of the same returning content. Unless this is your first outing, best wait for next year to see something more substantial.
DiRT Rally 2.0 is not an easy game to play, but once you get a hang of it, it will suck you in and challenge you to be better and improve all the time. The game is very well made and offers quite a bit in terms of gameplay and challenge. It is the gold standard for Rally simulation.
Anthem has moments that shine out and feel amazing, but you have to push through too much drudgery to reach those moments.
Trials Rising is a return to form for this classic physics-based bike game. Tandem brings a whole new element to multiplayer fun and contracts extends the challenges in the campaign to make this one game fans should not miss out on.
What should have been a glorious celebration of Weekly Shōnen Jump lands up just being a largely mediocre experience. Jump Force has its opportunities to shine but it never gets to carry those through. We're left with a game that has some enjoyable combat but is marred by some other design choices. If the game is about the clashing of various Jump universes clashing, they should have probably set it in the universe where Jump Force gets to shine.
Fans of the puzzle genre will find much to love in ChromaGun VR. Using droids to do your nasty work has never been as colourful. If you love a game that challenges your brain muscles then you're about to get one hell of a mental workout.