Stevivor's Reviews
AEW Fight Forever isn’t exactly a stupid idea from bad creative, it’s just a product scoped so small that asking a AAA new release price tag for it feels criminal. Matches are fun and entertaining, for a while at least, but absolutely every facet of the thing feels hugely undercooked. WWE 2K has been sorely in need of some real competition for years just as WWE itself has, but unfortunately AEW just haven’t pulled it off here as well as they did on television.
Diablo 4 is the triumph an embattled Blizzard needs to steady its ship, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
With a flashy and visually spectacular art style, excellent music and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humour, Street Fighter 6 should be on the radar of anybody looking to take a swing at a titan of the genre at its best.
Dramatic Labs has created something special with Resurgence, populating the Star Trek universe in very much the same way that Picard Season 3 has just done; there are also a few other parallels in there that I’ll leave for the player to discover. The resulting work has left me envigorated and enthusiastic that the developer can revisit the crew of the Resolute sooner rather than later, continuing to explore the final frontier.
Given that this is a full-price, premium game aimed at children, one that is designed to encourage children to buy real-world LEGO bricks, locking content behind season passes and micro-transactions feels gross. It’s not on the level of NBA 2K, but it’s still pretty bad. It’s a black mark against an otherwise excellent game.
The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is one of the most creative, satisfying and rewarding games I’ve ever played, all within a familiar and greatly expanded Hyrule.
Redfall is a truly exciting experience. It's great solo, has the potential to be great with friends -- especially if someone has a save so I can access that last 17 Gamerscore I need, thanks. It’ll be perfect for anyone who's loved an Arkane game -- sci-fi, fantasy or otherwise -- in the past.
Star Wars Jedi Survivor does what every sequel should do. It’s improved and iterated, adding new gameplay features and fixing issues as compared to its previous release.
Re-Boot Camp is a loving recreation of a pair of games that fans of the series have been wanting to return to for years. It’s extremely good at what it does, and with added features like multiplayer and a map creator, you can even go head-to-head with friends in a streamlined battle of wits. Make sure you’re ready for the battlefield before diving in – because this battlefield is ready for you
There’s little motivation to slog through extremely same-y missions and side quests. It’s this general feeling that permeates throughout Dead Island 2; what’s on offer isn’t broken or flagrantly bad (with the exception of the checkpointing system), but it is tired, antiquated and bland.
There’s a lot of fun to be had within Identity, from a delightful narrative, engaging characters and brain-teasing puzzles. It’s a small, yet refined package that’s sure to delight those into mysteries. Quite obviously, a bit of knowledge about the Tron universe will help players — and certainly add to understanding of lore — but isn’t necessarily required.
Nevertheless, the small problem that surrounds this title is that it plays quite a lot like Chapter One and — though better — still has that general feel of Sinking City. It also will serve to frustrate many because of the way it doesn’t attempt to hold your hand as you play. If you don’t mind that duopoly of deja vu — nor a bit of trial and error — then jump right in.
Crime Boss Rockay City has many flaws – but here’s the thing – I’ve had a blast playing it regardless. It’s clearly been made on a modest budget, and its celebrity cast feels largely like a pointless distraction, but the core design of its criminal empire simulation is really damn compelling. Every time I failed a run I wanted to immediately dive into a new one, which I think is a sign that it’s doing the roguelike thing very well on at least some lizard-brain level.
The Resident Evil 4 remake is a darker, more intense and safely faithful remake of one of the greatest games of all time. It’s the best way to play for new players with updated controls and a modern styling. It avoids the missteps of RE3 remake by staying very true to its source material – so close that it's reluctant to make improvements for fear of changing too much.
My prevailing feeling on WWE 2K23 on the whole is that it’s a welcome, if small, step up. Nobody who is coming over from WWE 2K22 will really be wowed by anything here, but the cumulative minor updates, iterations, additions and improvements are all very good and very welcome. Your mileage will vary depending on how worthwhile an overall modest update to last years title is to you, but for my money the few dozen hours of excellent sports entertainment that the pair of new MyRise stories and the Cena Showcase provide are worth the price of admission on their own, and WarGames is the juiciest possible cherry on top.
While I wasn’t jazzed with Scars Above and the way it tried to incorporate Soulslike elements, Team Ninja has certainly found its groove in Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. It’s very familiar, yet not, and with combat mechanics and a storyline that’ll keep you going. Those new to the genre as fans of Elden Ring might find more instant gratification with the likes of Dark Souls, but Wo Long could certainly cater for a player with time constraits. If you’re uncertain as to whether or not you’d find enjoyment within, don’t forget that this is a day one Xbox Game Pass launch title; a demo is also available on other platforms should you not have instant access.
While Scars Above has a predictable story, it’s nevertheless an engaging, interesting sci-fi title that would have benefited as a shooter/exploration hybrid rather than the Soulslike it wants to be. Your expierience will definitely vary, though if you’re intrigued by its premise at all, don’t be afraid to drop down to its lowest difficulty in order to try to experience it.
Horizon Call of the Mountain is absolutely beautiful and features some fun moments, but it bears repeating that it in no way feels like an $80 AUD game; it barely feels like a $60 AUD game and should have been included with the PSVR2 without an additional cost. It’s without a doubt a fantastic way to show off what the PSVR2 can do (eye tracking aside as it’s only used in menus and dialogue sequences). When your friends come over to check out your new toy they’ll come to see Horizon Call of the Mountain, but they’ll stay for Gran Turismo 7. While this offers fans a literally alternate perspective into a universe that many really love (myself included) and is a fantastic as a tool to show off the PSVR2, it lacks depth as an actual game. Challenge and balance are overloaded with tedious climbing sequences and not enough of the fun stuff.
If you’re a massive Kirby fan, this is for you. If you’ve got a passing interest, wait for a sale. It’s not that this is bad, or unpolished… it’s just another repacked game with a value proposition that lacks.
While it definitely departs from the usual formula for the series, Like A Dragon Ishin is undoubtedly worth your time. While this isn’t a story of true history, the game is happy to educate you on Japanese culture of the time – a helpful Glossary option will pop up for many terms unfamiliar to an English-speaking audience, so you’ll be able to tell your joshi from your goshi and shishi – and suddenly, Final Fantasy XIII’s naming conventions make a lot more sense. Becoming a badass, unstoppable samurai seems only right for someone who looks like Kiryu, and the story will keep you guessing to the end. Also those cucumbers are almost ready to harvest, so don’t forget to stop by the villa soon.