Luke Pace (Ichi Swagger)

While I always wanted to play the original Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, I was never able to without a gaming pc. When this one announced I was excited and when The Chinese Room took over I was sold. Much like their sequel to Amnesia, TCR’s take is both divisive and incredibly fascinating. Much like their work on Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, this is a different take on Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, but one I would argue is absolutely worth playing. I can only really speak as a newcomer, though I have heard there are less RPG mechanics this time around. That being said, the lie that “you get all your powers at the start and never level up” is false. You have a set of abilities that you can easily acquire through leveling, as well as powers from other clans that you can also get (though at a much greater cost). So while you won’t find any sprawling webs of skills, there are plenty and they are fun and powerful. As far as the moment to moment gameplay, I’m just absolutely in love. You’ve got a lot of freedom of movement, and everything feels wonderful (note that I’m playing on Performance mode). There are multiple ways of dealing with foes, and it’s fun as hell to TK pool cues at fools, drop kick unsuspecting thugs and even blow up ghouls with a Fist of the North Star style special punch. And that’s just off the top of my head. The atmosphere (as one would expect from TCR) is immaculate. The city feels like a big city version of Silent Hill, only with lots of people and street chatter. The story, dialogue and performances are top tier, and maybe I’m easily pleased, but I think the game looks stunning (especially considering it only takes up 21 gigs on ps5)! The face models are actually quite nice and the lip synching is actually good! So, if you have your heart set on reliving your past glories in VTM:B1, you may need to readjust. If you want a super fun, engaging and atmospheric vampire action rpg, I implore you to not miss out. This game (as I’m sure I’ve made obvious by now) is incredibly underrated. This is also an interesting time for The Chinese Room. Still Wakes the Deep was a horror masterpiece that was also sort of the end of an era. I didn’t really know how much of the studio was still The Chinese Room after Jessica Curry and Dan Pinchbeck left, but this gives me hope. I really want them to be able to work on the DLC without too much BS from the higher ups, and it’s hard to know what it’s like at the studio after so many people have been so harsh on the game. If they’re allowed the proper time and budget, this game will only get better.

Beau Is Afraid is quite possibly the most personal Epic ever filmed. Despite its absurdist trappings, it is beat by beat relatable in its extrapolations of everyday fears. It may seem all zany and madcap for no reason, but as a broad metaphor for one man’s terrified life it is incredibly concise, and expertly choreographed. Joaquin Phoenix is brilliant in a role that could easily fall flat, but there is also a shifting ensemble with some absolutely stellar performances including, but not limited to Parker Posey, Patty LuPone and Amy Ryan just for starters.

Meringue Interactive has a beautifully weird style that just pops. The gameplay on offer is simple, there are some puzzles but they are quite easy and more about style and narrative than working the ol’ noggin. While a game like this is absolutely going to divide people, take a look and see if it tickles you. For me, the second I saw About An Elf in action, so to speak, I was hypnotized, and after playing it I’m now obsessed. This game is weird, funny, random, surreal, cat-friendly and most of all, its own gosh darn thing. So if you actually are looking for something different, here, take, play, you’re welcome.

Star Wars Outlaws is a fascinating, massive, incredibly realized game that has had a bevy of post-launch quality of life improvements. While I still believe most of the reviews were overly harsh, the fact is Outlaws is a much improved experience compared to day one. You play as Kay, someone with no Jedi powers, but while the game lacks in flashy lightsaber combat, you get gadgets, skill upgrades, weapons, vehicles, and of course Nix, your lovable companion, who acts as a multi-tool in his own way. Plus he’s super cute and loves to eat. One of the most interesting aspects of the game are its syndicates. While not the most complex system, it’s enough to make the mission structure and moment-to-moment gameplay more interesting. For example, you may think you’re in good with the Hutts, but maybe you accidentally bumped into a member on your speeder, or trespassed on a private base by mistake, and now what you thought was a walk in the park becomes a firefight. Or alternately, one can always appeal to a certain syndicate by doing missions that benefit them, only to use your “good reputation” to steal right out from under their nose. The most impressive moments to me, however, were going all the way from hyperspace, darting through meteors and space debris, to landing on a planet, driving my speeder through the woods and mountains, then running through a crowded town absolutely bustling with lively npcs, to then walk into a tavern so well designed, you can almost smell the musk, oil and beer. To be able to make all of these elements, from space travel to exploring a pub, equally immersive is an astonishing feat that absolutely deserves praise. If you have no patience at all for stealth, the game can be a tad stressful, though for the most part you are now free to get as messy as you need to in battle. It can also be easy to get overwhelmed. There are missions to be found in almost every corner of the world. Some are detailed and only require following the waypoint, while others are more like subtle hints that you must figure out on your own, and very quickly you will find yourself with literally dozens of options of where to go. None of this is game breaking of course, but again, to put it bluntly, this is a very well crafted game. I honestly find very little to dislike about Star Wars Outlaws. I understand why some people had some issues with it at launch, but when I think about the drought that we went through before Respawn brought us Jedi Fallen Order, I can’t help but feel so grateful that we have games like Outlaws, Fallen Order and Survivor. Single player, story focused, super polished games. AAA game development and licensed IPs do not often make for stellar art. But this is what I love about a full price AAA game. When it’s done right, it can be a big, beautiful, intricately detailed gaming odyssey. Massive Entertainment understood the assignment and then went above and beyond to continue to fine tune the experience based on feedback from the community. If you were on the fence, I hope that this nudges you off. Go play Outlaws. Have fun.

Right from the off this game had me hooked. Being tossed into this massive “omni-structure” with only basic gameplay tips and your desire to explore to get you started. Absolutely a devastatingly beautiful world to get lost in.

Atlas Fallen is a fascinating AA action/adventure game. From the developer of the original Lords of the Fallen, as well as The Surge franchise, one would expect another Souls-like, however, Deck13 has decided to spread its wings and make something more (dare I say…..) accessible. It has the soul of a PS2 game, and feels wonderful to control. While not without a little jank here and there, it’s a very polished experience with lots of fun movement tech, exploration, platforming and combat. I’m absolutely enamored with the game, but I worry its middling response will hurt the dev or push them back into Souls-likes. While another Surge or similar game would be fantastic, I’m very grateful that they took this risk. Let’s just hope this isn’t Hob all over again*. While not for everyone, I think those focused more on exploration will enjoy Atlas Fallen. Those of you who maybe don’t play Souls-likes but enjoy things like Assassin’s Creed. And if you’re one of those rare people who thought the game ReCore was onto something (guilty party, right here), this game is a must. *HOB was a brilliant gem of a game, and a big departure from developer Runic’s previous action RPGs, the Torchlight series. Unfortunately HOB was their swan song.

I am constantly blown away at how much negativity is thrown at Forspoken. It’s a fun, fast paced, easy to pick up game, with massive beautiful open worlds, engaging and wild combat, the performances are fantastic, it’s gorgeous on a technical level, and it’s got so much on offer. It’s even a game that can be taken on as a quick, shorter “just the main quest” experience, or easily expanded massively with side quests and exploration. I also love that a big company spent this much time and money on a new IP, and went with a slightly riskier title. If it looks and sounds good to you, I would highly recommend it. If you already bought into the narrative that it’s a bad game, I would still recommend it. Because it’s awesome.

I’m very confused why there are so many poor reviews for this game. I think people want to trash it because its an easy target as a spin off of an old movie that people like to poke fun at. I definitely wasn’t expecting much, but it is absolutely worth a ride for horror fans. It’s not perfect, but it perfectly captures the terror of getting lost in the woods, it has interesting game mechanics, if not wholly original (camcorder, flashlight etc [I won’t spoil how they work, because there is more than you’d assume to them]) and the puppy, for crying out loud, you have a dog! The whole time! That you can pet and give treats to! In all seriousness, I thought this was another fantastic Bloober game (they also did Layers of Fear 1 & 2, Observer and most recently The Medium). Great to play by yourself at night, or with friends for some fun scares. I played it on Game Pass for “free”, and then when I had to sell the Xbox I outright bought it on PS4. If that ain’t a recommendation I don’t know what is.