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Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order | Review | Xbox One

27/11/2019

 
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order | Review | Xbox One - Pass the Controller

Force fever is running high once again with the triple threat of a new Star Wars film - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - Disney+ series The Mandalorian and video game Jedi: Fallen Order all occupying the zeitgeist at the same time.

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 by James
 Michael
 Parry


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@James_Parry

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Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Players: 1

Despite feeling a little like overload, if you're at all inclined to visit a galaxy far, far away then Fallen Order will grip you from the get go. The game’s visual design and music in particular immediately succeed in pulling you deeply into George Lucas’ beloved world.

Cal Kestis, played by Gotham's Cameron Monaghan, is a fairly typical, plucky and sarcastic Star Wars protagonist. He’s joined (just as Battlefront 2's Iden Versio was) by a helpful companion droid, model number BD-1. As you might expect, the pair quickly form a bond and as the game progresses little BD gains helpful new tricks such as the ability to hack (or "splice") locks and robotic enemies alike.

Coming from the developers of Titanfall, and, more recently, Apex Legends, we came into the game expecting to discover that Respawn Entertainment’s trademark hyper-mobile movement was possible out of the gate. Instead, players are eased into utilising Cal's full suite of Jedi powers slowly as he rediscovering them throughout the story.

Set after Order 66 was enacted in Revenge of the Sith, the Jedi Order has largely been eradicated, with Cal's former master amongst those lost. He's been keeping a low profile, working in a starship scrapyard and not tapping into the Force, until the events of the narrative (ahem) force his hand. 

Controlling Cal is a weightier affair than franchise fans might be accustomed to from the comparatively arcade-y Force Unleashed series or the hero sections in the Battlefront series. Not being able to wall run at first seems odd when there are clearly telegraphed locations littering levels, but thankfully this is a skill you quickly remember from your early training as a child (with careful use of a flashback). Still, it's obligatory element like this which appear the most game-y, considering the polished and cinematic presentation as a whole.
Your lightsaber can be a brutal weapon, particularly when it comes to performing finishing manoeuvres, which you'd expect from the samurai sword the concept was originally based on. It feels surprisingly personal too, by the simple notion of letting you heavily customise your saber with collectibles found strewn about the game's various worlds, alongside the existing cosmetic microtransactions and pre-order bonuses. Before long, the offering will almost certainly be expanded to include tantalising new DLC linked to The Rise of Skywalker.

Exploring multiple worlds is the name of the game - and seemingly the flavour of the autumn after The Outer Worlds - thanks to friendly transport ship the Mantis, which you can also customise to an extent. Traversing around is a mix of platforming and climbing which borrows from titles like Tomb Raider and Breath of the Wild, but it's the collective library of FromSoftware that Fallen Order pulls its strongest influences from.

Falling in battle sees you respawn at a designated checkpoint that’s never too far away, with these meditation spots being equivalent to bonfires. You can upgrade skills there, while also replenishing your health and healing items at the cost of reviving lesser enemies. Should one of them kill you, you'll need to return to the perpetrator and land a single hit to retrieve the experience gained since earning your last skillpoint.

You'll know danger is around the corner when grumbling strings start to creep in, helping to build a sense of tension whenever enemies attack – often from blindspots as you move through doorways.
After the initial tutorial level, which is fairly cinematic and exposition heavy in its attempt to introduce a lot of mechanics, you'll find the game opens up and lets you explore. It’s possible to wander into locations where the difficulty spikes or you don’t have the necessary equipment to explore, which is an indication to turn tail and come back later. It can feel odd to do so, since we’ve been conditioned to see gaming Jedi as unstoppable, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with shifting expectations.

Having only been a youngster when the order fell, Cal isn't a master; not to mention it's been a while since he flurried a lightsaber around on a daily basis. You can knock the difficulty down at any time, however, dialling back enemy aggression and damage while giving you a wider window to parry attacks.

Fallen Order challenges you to discover the Force, just as Cal is rediscovering it, and on that front it definitely succeeds. Combat is satisfying and has the bite of challenge a lot of fans will have been looking for, and the setting is a delicious meal of sci-fi Star Wars goodness. Where it hits a few stumbling blocks are mostly technical issues and things which remind you that this is, after all, a game. Texture and enemy pop-in is fairly common, performance can occasionally slow down, and minute-long load times can really kill your momentum after being defeated in battle.

Still, for those who’ve been waiting for EA to do something really special with the Star Wars licence, Jedi: Fallen Order is exactly that.

Pros

  • Gorgeous presentation and world-building
  • Lightsaber feels like a dangerous weapon, rather than a toy sword
  • Has the signature excitement and wonder associated with Star Wars 

Cons

  • Technical stutters stop the game in its tracks, even on Xbox One X
  • No setting to bridge Jedi Knight (Normal) and slightly patronising Story Mode
  • Making the camera play ball, even when locked on in combat, can be tricky

9/10
0 Comments

Gears 5 | Review | Xbox One

12/10/2019

 
Gears 5 | Review | Xbox One - Pass the Controller

Gears 5 continues the story thread that was started in Gears of War 4, dropping Kait into the role of main protagonist supported by Del and an upgraded Jack bot – the latter being playable for the first time in Gears' history – in both the co-op campaign (for up to three players locally or online) and returning Horde mode.

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 by Chris
​ Brand

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@SuperCrisco

Gears 5 | Review | Xbox One
Developer: The Coalition
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Platforms: Xbox One, PC
Players: 1-5

Boot Camp is your entry point, with series veteran Damon Baird taking you through the basics one step at a time. The short tutorial is a welcome refresher for veterans and a necessary jaunt for newcomers, explaining the game's cover and movement systems, shooting, melee abilities and active reloads (which reload the entire magazine with higher damage "active" rounds).

Once that's out of the way, the opening Act serves as an extended introduction and there's very little to differentiate it from GoW 4, visually or mechanically. However, as you push forward the game opens up, quite literally, allowing you to explore open world sections. The desolate world of Sera is at times strikingly beautiful and the skiff used for traversal, particularly in the snowy section you'll have seen in the trailer, handles like a dream, effortlessly gliding across the huge, sweeping vistas. 

Throughout the middle Acts, optional side missions allow you to acquire upgrades for Jack to further augment the abilities that are unlocked via progression. Whilst the upgrades themselves aren't mandatory, they can be handy in a pinch, offering up significant boosts to the very useful invisibility and flash abilities, for example. Bear in mind though, your upgrades won't be bestowed on Jack when he's controlled by a human player.

The short firefights to get them not only serve as a welcome, action-filled break from the quieter exploring of the aforementioned open sections, but also serve as a great opportunity to stock up on ammo, change your loadout or grab a heavy weapon to take back to the skiff.

​During our initial playthrough, we did happen to fall victim to an unfortunate bug that forced us to restart Act 2 (a hangover from the game’s rocky launch, perhaps) losing around an hour of progression, but we claimed it back in half of that time and the setback was less of an annoyance than Del's stubborn reluctance to revive us when playing solo, which resulted in many avoidable deaths throughout the campaign.

Gears 5 | Review | Xbox One - Pass the Controller
Jumping into Versus mode, the game’s multiplayer offering, for the first time can be daunting. Arcade is casual, class-based fun with loadouts unique to each character, which in no way prepares you for the competitive scene. At the other end of the scale, there's the Ranked playlist. Even with cross-play disabled, and those pesky mouse and keyboarders kept at bay, you'll occasionally run into God-like players who are capable of carrying their (and hopefully your) team single-handedly, especially in King of the Hill and Escalation. The non-ranked versus is more accessible and co-op against AI is a good way of learning map layouts and weapon spawns, while providing a safe environment in which to practice with the Gnasher, though the difficulty can be ramped up to suit all skill levels.

Horde and Escape, though very different, complement each other. The former, a mainstay of the franchise, tasks five players with surviving 50 waves of increasingly difficult enemies, whilst the latter offers a more bite-sized co-op experience. Your three-person team, having infiltrated a Swarm hive and planted a Venom bomb to destroy it from within, must escape before the deadly gas kills you, too. Beginning only with a sidearm and limited rounds, you'll want to be conservative with ammo until your party has tooled up.
In both modes, duplicate characters are forbidden, which can cause problems when matchmaking. Levelling up and completing matches will award Skill Cards to further raise your damage dealing and survivability. These Skill Cards will allow you to hold your own on higher difficulties but if someone has already bagsied your main, you're left with the choice of using an under-levelled character or re-queuing. Regardless, there's no barrier of entry and all of our encounters through matchmaking have been positive, though not always successful. 

Despite a few minor issues, the new Gears recipe is the best yet. The story has enough presence without overstaying its welcome, open world areas are a nice addition and there's adequate co-op activities outside of the campaign to complete the package for anyone averse to PvP.

Pros

  • A thoroughly satisfying campaign
  • New enemy types and weapons are designed so well that they feel familiar
  • That same Gears brand of fast-paced multiplayer

Cons

  • Horde and Escape are a little too restricted
  • The Snub pistol is more effective as a melee weapon than a firearm

9/10
0 Comments

Borderlands 3 review | Xbox One

27/9/2019

 
Borderlands 3 review at Pass the Controller - shooting

Looting and shooting may be all the rage, but with the latest iteration of Borderlands boasting billions of guns, the series that popularised the genre is back. Does it have anything new to say?
James Michael Parry

by James
Michael
Parry

@james_parry on Twitter

​@james_parry

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Developer: Gearbox Software
​Publisher: 2K Games
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC
​Players:
1-4

At first glance, Pandora is much as we left it, with Marcus' familiar voiceover giving us the story context we need - though not confusing new players with talk of Handsome Jack's exploits, as he and Hyperion are long gone - and setting us on our journey across the wastelands.

There are four new vault hunters to choose from, as usual, and each of them have three skill trees, as usual, but now there's an action skill for each as well, which gives the characters more bespoke styles. As Zane the Operative, for example, you can use either a drone, a shield barrier or a doppelganger decoy. Each can be upgraded with passive buffs, such as one which makes your barrier a Halo-esque bubble shield.

In a chuckle-worthy move, which builds on the approach from the Pre-Sequel, your character now has a voice of their own and will quip back to NPCs and quest givers on occasion, as well as the odd holler in combat, which happens just enough without outstaying its welcome. The characterisation helps you to feel involved with the story but listening carefully it's clear the dialogue is designed in a way so that, whichever character responds, what they say is ultimately interchangeable.

You won't just be traversing the sandy wastes of Pandora this time around, with quests taking you to different planets as you go head-to-head with the Children of the Vault. The obnoxious streamer twins (like, subscribe and obey…) have united the bandit clans and are racing against you to harness the power hidden away in huge underground caverns adorned with the franchise's trademark inverted V symbol.
Borderlands 3 review at Pass the Controller - Zane
The plot sees you try to nab vault key parts before the Children of the Vault (or COV) do. Sister of the intergender twins, Tyreen Calypso, keeps gaining power as a siren - a class made famous by Lillith, Maya and newcomer Amara - and you'll be picking up plenty of familiar faces on your journey to help you take them down. In particular, Tales from the Borderlands' Rhys is back (though no longer voiced by the prolific Troy Baker) and brings the same endearing quirks with him, though unfortunately many of the other NPCs aren't as compelling without having had a game to set them up.
It's definitely the game to scratch that looter-shooter itch you might've been looking to satisfy.
Which leads us to an important fact – Handsome Jack is missed. He was always the pinnacle of the brand of amusement the series peddles in, none of the enemies, or the on-the-nose streamer pastiches the Calypsos themselves, have the same endearing quality. Even CL4PTR4P (or Claptrap) feels like the soul of the character has been lost from the change in voice actor, though not as noticeably as we'd feared from the trailers.
Borderlands 3 review at Pass the Controller - Lillith
A final, and unfortunate, point to make is the technical issues we came up against. Though there is local split-screen co-op, which is notable for its rarity alone these days, the performance suffers pretty consistently, especially jumping in and out of menus - which happens a lot with the loot management element. Elsewhere we ran into a bug which forced our Xbox to turn off at a certain point in a cutscene multiple times, insisting it was going to overheat, as well as other crashes and freezing.

While it's definitely more Borderlands, the game is a sequel which more than earns its right to exist, but generally plays it safe and falls back on its established rules and systems. It's definitely the game to scratch that looter-shooter itch you might've been looking to satisfy, especially for fans of the series, but, despite being a good entry point, ultimately falls short of its potential.

Pros

  • Explore strange (but familiar) new worlds
  • Gunplay is smoother and character playstyle is varied
  • Does the loot part well, with a constant sense of progression

Cons
​
  • Marred by technical issues, even on Xbox One X
  • Humour doesn't feel as fresh as in the past and Jack is sorely missed
  • Balance in co-op doesn't work as well as it should and so mismatched levels are noticeable

8/10
0 Comments

The Surge 2 | PS4 | Review

27/9/2019

 
The Surge 2 PS4 review

Ever since 2014’s Lords of the Fallen, which was a Souls-like game of questionable quality, German development studio Deck13 has been honing its craft within the genre. Pioneered by FromSoftware’s trademark flair for dark fantasy, unlike Lords, The Surge did very well to distance itself from a similar setting by looking to the future instead of the past. As such, it became a surprise hit and secured itself a sequel, which more than two years later is now in players' hands. 

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam


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Developer: Deck13
Interactive

Publisher: Focus
Home Interactive

Platforms: PS4, Xbox
One, PC

Players: 1
With the release of Code Vein just around the corner, it’s easy to argue that the Souls-like craze is still as prevalent now as it was when the original first saw the light of day back in 2017. Yet still, none are doing it quite like The Surge 2, which by leaning into its sci-fi setting more than ever comes to offer a unique experience in a crowded space.

This time around you’ll create your own character, rather than being cast as a set protagonist, then embark to explore Jericho City (named in a not-so-subtle nod to its encasing quarantine walls) after awakening from a coma. So far so cliché, and honestly, you shouldn’t expect that to change.

Narrative is a much bigger focus in The Surge 2 and for the most part that design shift feels misguided. In this instance, more closely aping Dark Souls in the first game lent its story and quests an intriguing air of mystery, but here poor characters deliver hammy dialogue in unconvincing ways and mediocre quests are laid out plainly for the player. The game fares much better when you’re left to your own devices and a spattering of optional audio logs and environmental storytelling do the heavy lifting.

​Damning as that may sound, it’s all passable enough to muddle through and absolutely worth doing so to get to the excellent gameplay. The simple act of exploration in The Surge 2 is immensely rewarding; materially owing to the swathes of items you’ll find hidden away in out-of-sight places, and even mentally as you unravel vast and interconnected networks of pathways and looping shortcuts. Without a map to call up everything has to be kept in your noggin and, as such, the primal burst of endorphins that accompanies simply opening a locked door to find that you’re right back where you started (which is a good thing) cements that internal wherewithal.
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As much as we enjoyed scouring Jericho City, its walled isolation has conversely driven many inhabitants to cultism and general hostility. Luckily, your surgically affixed Exo-Rig is just the ticket when it comes to self defence, allowing you to (in the immortal words of the late Rip Torn) dodge, duck, dip, dive and… directionally deflect. As is often the case, a good offence can make for an even better defence and so the ability to wield otherwise impossibly heavy weapons will also comes in handy.
The Surge 2 PS4 review
The simple act of exploration in The Surge 2 is immensely rewarding...
Equipped for battle, players can target individual limbs on an enemy’s person and then utilise a mix of horizontal and vertical attacks as required in order to land blows. Targeting unarmoured parts (highlighted in blue) will result in an easier kill, whereas armoured sections (highlighted in orange) will take longer to whittle down though ultimately pay out bigger rewards. Through connecting with attacks you’ll build the power meter and charge your Exo-Rig’s batteries, one of which can then be traded for a limb-severing finisher that’ll grant you the weapon or a schematic to craft the armour that’s relevant to the limb in question.

Subsequent chops of those limbs on the same enemies will instead grant crafting and upgrade materials, as was the case in the original. When we reviewed that game we likened the upgrade and gear acquisition system to “a morbid shopping spree” and the same definitely applies here. It’s no less unique and engaging, serving as a perfect complement to the hefty, stamina-based combat mechanics that are already a joy in themselves. 
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If you’ve played a Souls-like before then you know what to expect from the moment-to-moment gameplay during combat, though some unique melee weapons help to mix things up and so too does the companion drone with its variety of ranged attacks. Equipping different injectables can have a similar effect, be they passive or active (the latter at the cost of a battery) in their inference of benefits like healing, increased defence, or even temporarily slowing enemies down. You’re limited in how many can be equipped, however, so choose wisely.

Without designated classes you’re free to experiment to your heart's content, though by trading in Tech Scrap - the game’s combined form of currency and experience points, earned through defeating enemies - you can opt to favour the health, stamina, or power attributes. For a small fee you can respec your points allocation, though most builds can be made to work in multiple ways regardless or counter-weighted one way or another over time, provided you don’t make a habit of losing scrap.
The Surge 2 PS4 review
In signature fashion, when you die in The Surge 2 you'll drop all of your earnings and need to retrieve them from the position of your death. Dying again whilst en route or failing to do so in good time means that they’re gone for good, but you can securely bank scrap at Medbay safe havens to avoid this. The practice isn’t entirely encouraged, mind, as carrying large scrap quantities applies a multiplier that means the rich get richer at great personal risk. 

New for the sequel, dropped scrap can also be used tactically as a sort of gradual healing totem when stood in close proximity and also to offer a full heal when picked up. This further plays into the exciting risk vs. reward mechanics already surrounding scrap and can be the cause of nail-biting moments during the game’s more challenging boss encounters, resulting from holding off on retrieval until the last possible moment.

A lot of the big bads are fought over multi-stage battles that don’t feel quite as gruelling as those seen in the likes of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, mostly thanks to the ability to generate healing items on the fly through being aggressive in order to accrue battery charges. That said, don’t think that this translates to bosses not being a threat.


With plenty of long-haul skirmishes on the cards, opting for the game's performance mode on PS4 Pro or Xbox One X comes recommended. The jump to a smooth 60 FPS provides a tangible advantage over the choppier 30 FPS found in quality mode, which otherwise puts the focus on improving the game’s weak graphics and bumps the resolution up from 1080p to 4K. Here it definitely isn’t worth the trade-off, even for those that generally favour looks, as the overall experience definitely suffers. 
Gathering upgrades is unique and engaging, serving as a perfect complement to the hefty, stamina-based combat mechanics that are already a joy in themselves. 
The Surge 2 PS4 review
Playing pre-launch we quite frequently encountered crashes and some lesser technical issues like texture pop-in and missing NPC dialogue, but with the day one patch installed they appear to be less common if not completely absent. With launch also came the opportunity to better interact with the asynchronous online elements, which include sharing graffiti tags to help or hinder players, hiding player banners in hard-to-reach places in the hopes that nobody will find them, and getting revenge for fallen players (like we did for YouTuber and outspoken game critic Jim Sterling) by killing enemies that bested them in their versions of the game. It’s all harmless stuff that helps to garner a sense of community between those sharing in the struggle of getting through what can be a difficult game, but without contributing anything more tangible than that.

The Surge 2 can feel a little bit “budget” in places, especially for those that played the first game and, as a result, will likely notice the recycled weapons, armour, animations and enemies. Despite these cut corners being coupled with a weak story and uninteresting quests, there’s no getting around the fact that even then Deck13’s exquisite world and combat design are enough reason to forgive it. With an expanded NG+ mode and a second ending to see (regardless of how disinterested we might be in its actual narrative contents), those gameplay elements are proving strong enough to tempt us back for round two even as we enter the busy release season.

Pros

  • Marvellous interconnected world design
  • Hard-hitting combat that’ll have you squeezing your controller on impact
  • Severing limbs is still a hugely satisfying means of gear and upgrade acquisition
  • Great weapon and general loadout variety
  • NG+ and multiple endings make for good longevity

Cons

  • Weak story, characters and dialogue
  • More defined quest structure evaporates the original’s intriguing air of mystery
  • Several technical issues
  • Underwhelming visuals
  • Recycles assets from the original

8/10
0 Comments

Control | Xbox One | Review

8/9/2019

 
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Remedy Entertainment has a particular brand of storytelling in its games. Since Alan Wake, and even Max Payne (whose voice actor James McCaffrey returns here in a supporting role), they have done things a bit differently, holding live-action scenes in high regard and treating the experience more like a film rather than a game with some story bits thrown in.

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 by James
 Michael
​ Parry

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@James_Parry

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Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Publisher: 505 Games
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Players: 1
The balance feels more finely tuned in Control than in Remedy's last venture, Quantum Break, where gameplay was broken up by extended live-action sections. Instead, Control’s live-action parts are limited to videos playing on screens around the world, or found in multimedia or messages that are used to drip feed obscure morsels of lore to the player.

You are Jesse Faden, a fairly plain protagonist looking for her brother who disappeared 17 years ago in mysterious and supernatural circumstances. Her story begins at the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), which resides in an X-Files-themed mystery box called The Oldest House. The establishment collects seemingly mundane objects that are imbued with otherworldly powers, for example causing people standing near them to freeze in place.

After a ritual that saw Faden named the new director of the FBC by The Board, an extradimensional power, she’s transported back into the agency’s building to find it has been decimated by an otherworldly and hostile force known as the Hiss, which has corrupted all but a handful of the building’s employees. With The Oldest House on lockdown until the Hiss are eradicated, it’s up to Faden, along with the few survivors and a tenuous connection to former FBC director Trench (voiced by McCaffrey), to rid the building of its unwelcome guests and track down her brother.

​Gameplay features a blend of third-person shooter mechanics (you’re armed with a morphing multi-use gun known as the Service Weapon) and a range of telekinetic abilities that you’ll put to good use against an increasing number of zombie-like enemies. While combat only becomes bigger and more frantic, rather than more elaborate or encouraging you to use your powers in any special way, the simple joy of picking up a bit of floor with your mind and flinging it at enemies can't be overstated.
There are downsides to the more bombastic action sequences, however. The initial visual impression of former office workers floating lifelessly in the air, repeating the odd phrase to themselves, is extremely effective at building a creeping sense of dread, but the moment combat begins you're quickly pulled back into the fact this is a game, which lessens the impact of the otherwise excellent and foreboding atmosphere at times.

Exploration in Control is non-linear, with new areas of The Oldest House opening up to players in a Metroidvania-style fashion as they progress through the story and gain new abilities. Disappointingly, the structural changes repeatedly referred to in the lore dumps strewn throughout the building aren’t as extreme or as frequent as hinted, with the player only really getting to read about them rather than experience them.

Besides the usual gating off of sections using doors of ever increasing clearance levels, there are environmental puzzles which call on you to put your telekinetic abilities to the test to activate switches or navigate certain areas. One particular brain-teaser called The Astray Maze requires some out-of-the-box thinking, while frequent trips to the Oceanview Motel allow you to pass through the astral plane and access otherwise out-of-reach areas.
The game’s setting is deliberately bland, its harsh, brutalist architecture contrasted by the bizarre happenings taking place within its walls. As the story reveals itself, some of the initial opening intrigue dulls a little, and the vague perspective of the internal monologue from Jesse begins to grate as she's consistently nonplussed by the weirdness of the situation unfolding around her, while a few of the more interesting elements of the game seem to suffer from happening off-screen rather in front of the player.

From a technical perspective Control often struggles, even when running on Xbox One X, with substantial slowdown any time you hop in and out of menus - a frequent occurrence given the lore heavy nature of the game and the number of upgrades available to the player - and even more so when battles get hectic. While performance may suffer, Control is still a very visually impressive game, especially on PC thanks to newfangled ray tracing support.

In all, even with the performance issues, the journey is ultimately very satisfying, and a definite step up from Quantum Break, but if you weren't sold on Remedy's style beforehand then Control is unlikely to do much change your mind. Still, in these days of games as a service and battle royale bandwagoning, a strong, narrative-driven single-player experience is a rare thing, particularly if you’re a fan of Xbox, and it's one which is unlike anything else out there right now.

Pros

  • A concept that feels fresh, executed well
  • Well-paced Metroidvania with high production values
  • Throwing stuff about with your mind is so satisfying

Cons

  • Performance stutters frequently, even on Xbox One X
  • Story and gameplay feel tonally divided
  • Map isn't very useful

9/10
0 Comments

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Xbox One | Review

2/7/2019

 
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Xbox One | Review - Pass the Controller

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a triumph. Crowdfunded to the tune of more than $5.5 million at the height of the Kickstarter craze, many of its peers released to lukewarm critical and commercial reception, but Koji Igarashi and company took the extra time to produce something truly special.

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam


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Developer: ArtPlay
Publisher: 505 Games
Platforms: Xbox
​One, PS4, Switch, PC
​(Steam)

Players: 1
After Konami made it transparent they weren’t interested in reviving the legendary Castlevania franchise, series pioneer Igarashi took the proverbial ball and ran with it. Having secured his funding goal more than eleven times over, he assembled a team and began work on the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night spiritual successor that the people wanted and Konami refused to make. Seemingly very little changed in the transition, as Bloodstained is essentially a Castlevania game in all but name.

As you might expect, Ritual of the Night is a traditional metroidvania - also dubbed an ‘Igavania’ in honour of Igarashi - which builds on last year’s more linear retro prequel, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. You play as Miriam, one of that game’s optionally recruitable protagonists, now intricately realised in 3D as she sets out to rid the world of demons summoned by a dark ritual.

Miriam is a Shardbinder, one of the last two remaining humans capable of harnessing demonic power; these powers manifest in-game as a wide variety of active and passive abilities, now capable of being turned against the denizens of Hell. By building up an arsenal, you’ll be able to deeper infiltrate the gothic castle at the core of Bloodstained and ultimately defeat the other, vampiric Shardbinder that uses his powers for evil. Sounds kinda familiar, huh?

It boils down very simply, but there’s a surprising level of focus placed on the narrative here, which is fleshed out with plenty of cutscenes and hammy dialogue exchanges (in your choice of English or Japanese) between the main cast. Throw in some text-based lore and the story manages to reach the realms of mild intrigue, which is actually somewhat of a compliment, considering the genre.
Igavania? More like egovania, amirite? ... Seriously though, Igarashi (above) is one of the greats!
​Gameplay has always been the bread and butter of metroidvania games, and Ritual of the Night certainly doesn’t disappoint on that front. Largely it’s very familiar in that you travel an enormous, satisfyingly interconnected map collecting new abilities - such as the power to fire yourself through narrow gaps like a ricocheting bullet - which in turn grant access to new areas. The well-established gameplay loop is incredibly moreish when executed in exacting fashion, as it is here, almost defying you to leave any small segment of the map unexplored.

From torchlit castle halls to moonlit cathedral towers, to dank sewers and myriad exotic locales beyond, a wide range of seemingly disparate areas are convincingly tied together by a unified aesthetic and intelligent, looping shortcuts. You’ll get to know the world of Bloodstained quite intimately as you backtrack to solve puzzles you’ve since discovered the answers to, or to reach designated save and fast travel rooms, which never becomes a chore.

That’s thanks not just to the exquisite 2.5D level design, but the tight platforming and deep combat systems you’ll engage with along the way. Miriam can acquire and equip outfits and weapons throughout her journey, the former of which offer various stat boosts and aesthetic changes when items are worn on the head, while the latter can completely change how the game plays.

Depending on preference you might opt for the greater range of a whip or a spear, the close-quarters finesse of a dagger, the balance of a one-handed sword, or the brute force of a laboured greataxe swing. That’s not to mention firearms and their different ammo types. Every harebrained enemy - be it a frog, a dragon, or a scissor-handed marionette straight outta Devil May Cry - has their share of quantifiable strengths and weaknesses, so it makes sense to switch things up on the regular. If you can master enemy attack patterns and Miriam’s graceful backstep dodge, as well as the necessary timing and spacing for your favourite weapons, hostile encounters become akin to dance.
An undisputed retro classic made modern, without sacrificing an ounce of appeal or introducing current industry ailments.
Combat has incredible nuance for those who seek to discover it, be that in hidden techniques for specific weapons, attack hit boxes that extend behind and/or directly above your person dependant on the animation, or the realisation that a weapon might be doubly efficient when used while crouched. A small complaint would be that once you do grow proficient, due to normal difficulty being the only option available on an initial playthrough, bosses especially go from an engaging challenge to a complete cakewalk. That and the game's technical performance can take a big hit when your screen-filling, death-dealing prowess matches theirs.

​
If you’re all about preserving the challenge, limiting your selection of Shards would be a good start. These crystallised forms of demon power randomly drop from enemies and tend to either grant access to one of their abilities or allow you to summon the relevant beast to fight alongside you temporarily. You can equip quite a few at once and they’re more often than not very potent, theoretically balanced out by limiting their use with a mana resource, but, unlike health, mana automatically regenerates over time so there’s little reason not to make liberal use of them. 

​Familiars are ever-present AI helpers that don’t consume mana, even auto-levelling alongside the leading lady, whilst elsewhere upgrades are carried out via a vendor at a peaceful hub location. Here you can buy/sell and cook/craft using materials most often discovered in chests, dropped by defeated enemies, or gifted as rewards for completing optional side quests.
With Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding also releasing in 2019, we wonder if Konami are feeling ashamed of their words and deeds...
Somewhat uncharacteristically, we’ve been loving the grind to gather ingredients, cook and consume all of the game’s recipes in order to claim their permanent stat increases, perhaps because it’s a simple pleasure to spend time in the Bloodstained universe. Another uncharacteristic find, at least for me personally, is the appreciation of quite an anime visual style; I’m coming around to the character models, but the colourful backdrops evoking the game’s stained glass motif I universally adore! More predictable is our love of the orchestral soundtrack, looping and grandiose in its modern interpretation of catchy retro classics.

In fact, that sums Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night up pretty well - an undisputed retro classic made modern, without sacrificing an ounce of appeal or introducing current industry ailments in the process. There’s a lot of game here, and it’s so compelling in its mechanics and audiovisuals that you’ll want to drain every last drop from the experience like a vampire affixed to its succulent neck.

Pros

  • Castlevania is (basically) back
  • Lavishly interconnected environments to discover and explore
  • Vast array of tools and enemies imbue combat with a similar sense of discovery
  • Beautiful overall presentation
  • Crowdfunded project that took the time to give backers exactly what they pledged towards 

Cons

  • Frame drops during busier moments, even on Xbox One X
  • First playthrough is limited to normal difficulty
  • Characters and story are just half decent for the screen time they’re given

9/10
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A Plague Tale: Innocence | Xbox One | Review

14/5/2019

 
A Plague Tale: Innocence | Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC (Steam) | Review - Pass the Controller

Ever since previewing the game on PC back in March, we’ve been itching to rejoin Amicia and Hugo De Rune, the noble siblings orphaned and destitute in A Plague Tale’s opening chapters. After replaying those harrowing first hours on Xbox One X, we picked up where we left off on the journey to cure five-year-old Hugo’s undiagnosed illness.

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam


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Developer: Asobo
Studio

Publisher: Focus Home
Interactive

Platforms: Xbox
​One, PS4, PC (Steam)
Players: 1
Controlling young Amicia, you’ll take Hugo by the hand and guide him through medieval France during the Hundred Years’ War, a time where the cultish Inquisition rose to prominence as much of the civilian population succumbed to deadly plague. It’s a grim setting which pervasively oozes death, disease and famine as you navigate mostly linear levels contained by invisible walls.

Whilst there are more elegant ways to guide the player, that’s not entirely a bad thing, since narrative-driven solo experiences are a breed currently facing their own plague of sorts. With its defined structure and gameplay pillars, which are consistently switched out, iterated on and reintroduced to keep a largely excellent pacing, A Plague Tale feels like one of those games from the “good ol’ days” we all like to reminisce about.

Asobo Studio and Focus Home Interactive tell a complete and uncompromised story here, which gradually builds and builds towards an almighty crescendo. Imagine Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons meets Resident Evil 4 for a sense of the tone, which might sound like an odd combination, but trust us – it works. A Plague Tale is one of the few more recent titles which has compelled us to keep playing through sheer intrigue as to what happens next, more akin to a good book or TV show than most games.

In spite of all the eventual craziness, empathetic relationships between family and friends are at the narrative’s very core. This helps to nip any resentment which might stem from the fact that, in many ways, A Plague Tale can be distilled down to an escort mission in the bud. It doesn’t feel like one, though, as Hugo and the additional young companions you encounter are all incredibly likeable characters, thanks to their unique practical gameplay contributions and the considered writing and delivery behind them.

It’s effective stuff, as evidenced by the fact we can forgive the cumbersome issues resulting from their presence. We’ve had character models duplicate, folks walk into walls and fall so far behind or run off so far ahead that their dialogue was inaudible, but most often it’s a simple case of clumsily stumbling over one another (figuratively speaking) in confined spaces.
A complete and uncompromised story, which gradually builds and builds towards an almighty crescendo.
You’re at least afforded a degree of control in telling your ‘main’ companion at any given time to wait, preventing them from getting in the way or meeting any misfortune during combat; unless you leave poor Hugo for too long, that is, in which case he’ll panic and unwittingly attract Inquisition guards.

Rats are too numerous to fight head-on, so when we say combat it pertains to humans, who take no issue with running Amicia through with a sword and snatching up her younger brother. You can dodge incoming attacks to open up a counter window, though most often it won’t come to that since encounters are incredibly easy with a few early upgrades under your belt. There aren’t multiple difficulty settings, either, which makes toggling the incredibly generous aim-assist and HUD off the only ways to inject some challenge.

Ms. De Rune’s weapon of choice - the humble sling - at least unleashes projectiles with a satisfying thwip. As well as slinging rocks, you’ll routinely need to craft and chuck alchemical concoctions to turn the tides in your favour, for example corroding an armoured helmet in order to expose the wearer’s dome for a lethal headshot. Alternatively, you could take a more indirect approach, maybe breaking a lantern as means to ring the delicious dinner bell on an all-you-can-eat rat buffet.

Should you need to conserve resources (which we always had in abundance), it’s also possible to opt out of the murder game for the most part. More likely to have you playing pacifist are the instances where your actions are questioned by the impressionable young cast, which, in the absence of a concrete morality system, serve to make you think.

Following a guilt trip, it’s time to engage with the familiar stealth systems. Checkpoints are pretty frequent, so you’ll most often just need to memorise set enemy patrol patterns in digestible chunks, maybe throwing a few odds and ends to manufacture helpful distractions along the way. Getting spotted can result in an instant fail state, necessitating some trial and error to discern the best routes, probably to the frustration of some. There’s no real cause for concern though, since you can get away with basically sitting in an enemy's back pocket while crouched.
There’s no sneaking past rats, on the other hand, who’s beady red eyes can number in the on-screen thousands. These black-furred vermin tirelessly scuttle over one another in their endeavour to escape light, so you’ll often need to utilise makeshift torches to cut a path through them and between more substantial stationary light sources. In the later stages you’ll need to use advanced alchemy and your sling to set and extinguish specific fires from afar, herding and trapping them to facilitate your safe passage.

These lite light puzzles feel rewarding, despite the fact that you'll never really need to pause for thought, rather tackle them instinctively. As the rodents grow to become more aggressive, however, some set piece moments require you to switch off your brain and run for it; here the evocative original soundtrack is perhaps at its best, accelerating from sombre to breakneck as the orchestral string section frantically work up a sweat, inducing absolute panic in the player.

Much like the soundscape, A Plague Tale’s visuals are diverse and affecting, reveling in displaying the gnawed and gnarled reality of widespread death through a liberal littering of ravaged corpses. You’ll wade through human and porcine viscera, as well as slimy rat nests that almost reek right through the screen. It’s unpleasant, but outstandingly so, with exquisite lighting and textures telling a story which justifies the lengthy load times.
Much like the soundscape, A Plague Tale’s visuals are diverse and affecting.
Thankfully, the same is true at the other end of the spectrum, where A Plague Tale’s changing locations and weather effects can segue tone at a moment’s notice. These effective shifts don’t just mirror the current mood, but reiterate the wider theme of perseverance, and emphasise the extreme ways in which the sheltered De Rune children experience the world outside their estate for the first time. Rarely is a game’s presentation this meticulously considered, making it a real shame when character models and animations don’t meet the high bar now and then.

Their first original project following a history of ports, A Plague Tale: Innocence has put developer Asobo Studio on the map and almost certainly secured their creative future. Aided by Focus Home Interactive, Asobo have crafted a memorably melancholic adventure with a life-affirming side of joy.

Pros

  • Amicia and Hugo are a lovable leading duo, as are the extended cast
  • Page-turner of a story; you’ll want to play the next chapter to see what happens next
  • Meticulous, evocative environments and orchestral score
  • Rats are a unique enemy, giving rise to engaging puzzles and set pieces
  • Linear, single-player title without microtransactions(!)

Cons

  • Friendly AI quirks can be really distracting
  • So too can all of the invisible walls
  • Combat and stealth sections are competent, but lack challenge and excitement

8/10


If you fancy playing A Plague Tale: Innocence, be sure to enter our giveaway before 23:59 on Friday 17 May 2019 for a chance to win an Xbox One copy.
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World War Z | PS4 | Review

23/4/2019

 
World War Z | PS4 | Review - Pass the Controller

Based on the 2013 film of the same name, which was loosely based on Max Brooks’ original novel, World War Z the game doesn’t share a great deal in common with either. This survivalist shooter will be much more familiar to fans of Left 4 Dead, the zombie-slaying series which spawned and has defined a sub-genre for over a decade now.

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam
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Developer: Saber
Interactive

Publisher: Mad Dog
​Games

Platforms: PS​4, Xbox
​One, PC (Epic Store)
Players: 1 - 8
There’s no hiding that WWZ is an untimely and somewhat derivative release, but, regardless of that, developer Saber Interactive and publisher Mad Dog - responsible for other bizarre licensed games like NBA Playgrounds and Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn (which might not be as bad as you think) - have done a decent job of ensuring that perhaps their biggest project yet is still a good time.

Played from a third-person perspective, unlike Turtle Rock Studios’ seminal L4D and more recent cohorts such as Vermintide 2 and Earthfall, the undead epidemic at the centre of WWZ has already spread on a global scale. You’ll see that scale translated throughout the campaign’s four globetrotting episodes (playable solo or co-op), as you take in the iconic sights of New York, Moscow, Jerusalem and Japan.

Each location has a bespoke cast of four survivors, with each story being entirely standalone and comprised of two to three digestible levels. Barebones cutscenes accompany the brief character and location bios which are hidden away in menus, so there’s very little in the way of narrative motivation here, rather the cathartic pleasure of mindlessly deanimating the reanimate is what’ll spur you on.

With a hefty 16 selectable characters in total, it’s great that none are pre-assigned fixed classes, leaving the player free to mix and match their favourite aesthetic and mechanical choices in tandem. The six recognisable class archetypes - encompassing the likes of healer and different weapons specialists (firearms, melee, explosives) - each feature unique perks and starting loadouts which can be further customised in time.

You’ll begin any given level with a silenced pistol, or at least a basic melee implement, so it’s generally best to start things off stealthily. Anybody that’s played even a little Payday will know that many online players don’t have the patience for that, however, so docile pockets of undead will soon become a unified swarm.
There’s very little in the way of narrative motivation, rather the cathartic pleasure of mindlessly deanimating the reanimate is what’ll spur you on.
Zombies become a sort of hive mind once alerted to your presence, unflinchingly running towards their demise with no regard for anything other than killing their quarry. This is largely familiar stuff, but it takes on new life during regular scripted moments where they frantically clamber into fleshy pyramid structures to reach higher ground (launching explosives at the base to topple these is delectable) or fling themselves from above as makeshift projectiles.  

You’re given enough firepower that these imposing setpieces are never outright frightening, which could be good or bad depending on your perspective. Fixed defence units including barbed wire, electrified floor panels and turrets can be placed in designated positions, while devastating heavy weaponry can be carried on your person to eradicate entire swarms single handed.

Special infected types are where you’ll need to employ a greater degree of finesse, although L4D players will already be acquainted with the sparse selection. Lurkers are Hunters that do a great job of waiting around corners before taking you by surprise with the ol’ pounce-and-pin manoeuvre. Gasbags are a marriage of Boomer and Spitter. Bulls are Chargers. Most telling of all, the Screamer is equivalent to... the Screamer.

You can mark these nasties on your teammates’ HUD, though in-game dialogue will most often vocalise their presence anyway, which is one of the few ways allied AI proves to be dependable. They can’t interact with mission objectives, don’t level up alongside you to meet the difficulty curve, and can’t be switched from the default Gunslinger class in order to compose a balanced team. You don’t even gain the ability to pause when playing offline, but hey, they’ll never incur friendly fire (which is always enabled) if you really must go solo.
Should sticking with the normal difficulty setting be your speed – meaning you don’t anticipate toughing it out being a problem – just be aware that an initial playthrough should only take around five or six hours. Longevity thereafter is gleaned by upping the stakes to earn better weapons and perks, which you’ll then use to repeat the cycle, only one notch higher on the five-step difficulty rung. Levels subtly change between runs, mainly in terms of enemy and item spawn frequencies and locations, helping to keep things a little more fresh along the way.

​
Even with randomisation it can become repetitive if you don’t dip in and out, which makes the unique PvPvE multiplayer a smart addition. Featuring separate classes and progression to that of the campaign, the mode has five classic game types in which two teams of four fight against one another and, at the same time, CPU-controlled zombies.

Its largely no-frills approach harkens back to a period during the last console generation where almost every game had competitive multiplayer, though in an oddly nostalgic way. That feeling is certainly helped by the fact it’s competent and fun enough on a base level not to feel just tacked-on.
Levels subtly change between runs, mainly in terms of enemy and item spawn frequencies and locations, helping to keep things fresh.
There’s an established early playerbase sticking around for the interesting dynamic of undead swarms which can cut off parts of a map entirely, but how long they’ll put up with the current balance issues is up for question. You can’t switch class mid-match, so if you made a choice that doesn’t synergise well with your team or effectively counter the opposition, you’re left no choice but to ride it out or quit. Certain weapons and strategies are overpowered, namely sprinting around with a double-barrelled shotgun and unloading both slugs or popping around a corner with the (thankfully quite limited) rocket launcher, yet the funk doesn’t end when you die. Spawns are incredibly inconsistent, as sometimes you’ll pop up right in front of an enemy with no temporary invulnerability to save your bacon, or, more to your advantage, right next to an unguarded objective.

​
Whether online or off, in our experience, the PS4 Pro and WWZ servers at least do a good job of handling all the hectic on-screen action. Visually the game is just decent, with some jumpy animations being the biggest sore thumb, but that’s always a worthy trade-off in favour of securing a solid technical performance.

At a budget price point, World War Z offers completionists a lot of game for the money, but anybody with a more one-and-done approach might end up feeling shortchanged by the brief campaign. For either camp, in spite of the strong sense of déjà vu overpowering a few original ideas, WWZ is a good candidate to kick back and relieve a hard day's stress with whenever the time is right.

Pros

  • Fundamentally solid, owing to the established Left 4 Dead structure
  • Ramps the scale up beyond L4D and other peers
  • Level randomisation and a glut of upgrades add staying power
  • Loads of characters, none of which are locked into a specific class
  • Old-school competitive multiplayer with an engaging twist...

Cons

  • … Which could’ve used a modern level of polish
  • At times uninspired and always familiar
  • Mostly ineffective use of the World War Z license
  • Friendly AI makes the campaign much weaker played solo
  • Undead tsunamis aren't as scary as they should be

7/10
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ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! | PS4 | Review

13/3/2019

 
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Bust out the hi-tops, gold chains, fluorescent trousers and square hair, gang, for it’s time to revisit the beloved 90s world of ToeJam & Earl. That’s right, the titular twosome are Back in the Groove.

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by Rob Holt
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​
@acousticmagic

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Developer: HumaNature Studios INC
Publisher: HumaNature Studios INC
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Players: 1 - 4
Those familiar with the previous SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis incarnations - Toejam & Earl and Panic on Funkotron - will know exactly what to expect here, as not much has changed in 20 years (take that as you will). Whether you know the series or not, though, you’re in for a serious nostalgia trip, albeit not without its flaws...

This Kickstarter-funded revival begins when ToeJam and Earl crash their spaceship into none other than our fair Earth, blasting the ship into ten separate pieces conveniently scattered across a truly bizarre depiction of the planet. They’re ready and waiting for you (plus potential chums) to find, on a journey which sees you discover mini-games, power-ups, stitch-ups, and a seriously kooky cast of characters in a collect-a-thon of radical proportions!

In true 90s arcade fashion, each Back in the Groove session begins with the tricky task of selecting one of the nine available (three of which are unlockable) characters. Once that mountain has been conquered, your quest to find the pieces of your ship begins. Those looking for dense story and deep gameplay should probably walk away, right about now - this one’s not for you.

​Each level of BITG is presented as a collection of isometric islands, all simply suspended in space. Some levels contain ship parts for you to find, others do not, but each stage always has worthy characters to seek out before unearthing the lift to the next level and riding it up to the proceeding piece of floating land.

The yes-of-course-he’s-dressed-as-a-carrot Wiseman character serves to level you up from the lowly rank of Cabbage, right through to Poindexter and the dizzying heights of Funklord, in a fun, but not particularly meaningful, RPG-lite system. There are healers (self-explanatory), sushi chefs (they’ll knock you up something tasty and rejuvenating for a fee), dodgy dealers (item tradesmen) and perhaps our favourite, Gandhi, who makes the surrounding area peaceful and vibrant.
​Let’s not forget the baddies, though: the cast of irritants and nasties feature earthlings of all flavours, encompassing autograph-hunting fans, FBI agents, and even sharks. That’s neglecting to mention the likes of ghostly cows, that corpulent, bald casanova, Cupid, and tornadoes that’ll knock you off the edge of a level, back down to the previous one. These foes are rarely threatening, mind, as there’s always a Sunflower forest to hide away in, playing a sublime little jingle whenever you walk into one.
Waltzing around as a bodacious alien, dressed as Vanilla Ice, bopping to a superbly funky soundtrack, is quite the treat in itself.
Now, you could be forgiven for reading all of the above and wondering what the point of the whole shebang is. A fair assessment, perhaps, but that’d be to miss the essence of BITG completely. Waltzing around as a bodacious alien, dressed as Vanilla Ice, bopping to a superbly funky soundtrack, is quite the treat in itself.

Yes, the core gameplay of searchin’ ‘n’ findin’ might not lend itself to the most thrilling of loops, but throw into the mix procedurally generated levels, different difficulties, the kind of laughs that only local co-op play can provide, and mini-games that break up the monotony - on that note, the dancing game is great, but the auto-runner isn’t so much - and there’s scope for even the non-nostalgic to enjoy themselves.
Visually, ToeJam and Earl have thankfully been dragged punching and hollering into the can-only-meet-people-via-an-app age. Gawping at the cartoony wonder of trees, water, snow, desert and caricature-style NPCs is a dream, so it’s a real shame that performance can suffer on occasion, when, in all honesty, the game really isn’t pushing the limits of modern hardware. The mid-level elevator scenes are a prime example of this: fantastic Fresh Prince-inspired backdrops that chug and wheeze as the next level loads.
​
The undeniable presentational standout here, though, is the absolute funkathon of a score. Squelchy, popped ‘n’ slapped bass smashes through the speakers, throwing some serious aural shapes alongside subdued, crunchy beats. Kickstarter backers had the opportunity to get a copy of the soundtrack on vinyl, and of that fact we’re considerably jealous.

Where does all this leave us though, folks? In reality, ToeJam & Earl is as anti-mainstream as ever, and we appreciate that. If you like local multiplayer games, adore funkadelic basslines, or just have a hankering to revisit 1991, you’ll certainly have fun with Back in the Groove. Comrades with short attention spans, or who find early 90s pop culture and/or the basic trappings of dungeon crawlers abhorrent, though, should breakdance right outta here. PEACE.

Pros

  • Absolutely killer soundtrack
  • Gnarly visuals
  • Stays the right side of nostalgic rehash
  • Couch co-op is jolly entertaining
  • Good, old-fashioned dumb fun
  • Random and hard modes provide longevity, but...

Cons

  • … Core gameplay has the potential to get old quickly
  • Lacks depth
  • Frame rate issues
  • Might be too pricey (£16.99) for those on the fence

7/10
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The Wizards - Enhanced Edition | PS VR | Review

12/3/2019

 
The Wizards - Enhanced Edition | PS VR | Review - Pass the Controller

Carbon Studio’s award-winning spellcaster has made its way to PlayStation VR in “enhanced” form - now featuring a new stage, new cutscenes, checkpoints, performance improvements and more - but do these tweaks see the game hold up one year after its initial launch?

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam


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Developer: Carbon
Studio

Publisher: Carbon
​Studio

Platforms: PlayStation
VR, Oculus Rift, HTC
VIVE
Players: 1
You’re a wizard, as you might have already guessed, on an action-packed quest to eradicate enemies infesting the fantasy realm of Meliora. Anything deeper than that is mere narrative fluff, despite efforts to flesh things out with additional cinematics, as you’re guided by a sagely narrator similar in tone to the boisterous voice of Rebellion’s Strange Brigade.

As you travel throughout three distinct regions - spanning an idyllic township, dark mines and a stormy desert - you’ll encounter a variety of nasties to be dispatched with your arsenal of six elemental spells. This is where we’d assert that battle mage better describes The Wizards’ protagonist, considering just how lethal they are.

Casting isn’t limited by any kind of mana resource, allowing you to unleash havoc as quickly as you can whip out the nuanced hand gestures required to summon each of the game’s upgradeable magic tricks. Utilising two PlayStation Move controllers, you’ll motion to weave the arcane into existence while channelling your inner sorcerer; without this simple step - which poses an initial learning curve, but fast becomes second nature - the game would merely feel like a colourful iteration of your bog-standard shooter.

The often tangible feeling of power only grows as you level-up each spell individually, courtesy of gems found hidden in the environment and awarded in proportion to your score at the end of each level. As you gain competence and become all the more invested, you’ll begin to look more and more akin to a complete goof, but, inside that headset, you’re a carefree kid on a playground.

That’s an experience which has largely come to define the best that virtual reality has to offer, but, unfortunately, at times it can feel like The Wizards - Enhanced Edition is held back by the PlayStation platform, specifically the aged motion peripherals associated with it. Most motions translate well, though too often more complex spell gestures catastrophically fail in the midst of frantic combat. These situations aren’t excusable, but are at least understandable, though when a simple twist of the wrist fails to summon a fireball it’s hard to be as forgiving.
New to this iteration of the game is an optional head-tracked form of auto-aim, which is enabled by default and that’s definitely a good thing. Throwing is a motion that doesn’t often play well with the Move controllers, at least not with any real degree of accuracy, so the slightly sticky reticule is a must for reliably guiding your projectiles to their target. What’s more, it does a pretty good job of discerning exactly where you’re looking, allowing you to easily pick out priority targets in a crowd.

In-game movement and real-world comfort are handled well too, as The Wizards accommodates both teleportation and free movement, alongside seated and standing play. Expect to fiddle with your height settings if playing seated, mind, as we had to register at a minuscule 80 cm tall in order to align with the UI.
Utilising two PlayStation Move controllers, you’ll motion to weave the arcane into existence while channelling your inner sorcerer.
Getting this right also helps to achieve the perspective required to spot traps and puzzle elements, which litter the game’s eleven brief and fairly nondescript levels. Punctuated by a couple of visually impressive, but mechanically underwhelming boss encounters, the three-to-four hour adventure is fairly replayable due to the inclusion of Fate Cards. These gameplay modifiers are found hiding in chests and can be activated to turn the tides in or against your favour, most notably applying score multipliers to help with climbing the online leaderboards.
Then there’s Arena mode, which tasks you with defending three crystals, once again sights firmly set on outlasting the competition in order to climb leaderboards relevant to each of the three maps. It’s very familiar territory and, without co-op, it doesn’t really have legs.

At its best moments, when you’re fluently fighting off a swarm of ogres without feeling like the real battle is being waged with imprecise motion controls, The Wizards is an intoxicating realisation of any long-held magical fantasies. The PlayStation VR version can cause that illusion to crumble though, which is a burden not entirely shouldered by inferior hardware, as other games have managed to pull off the transition  just about seamlessly.

Pros

  • Satisfyingly gesture to summon spells from thin air
  • Auto-aim alleviates the pain of inaccurate throw gesture tracking
  • Accommodating comfort and movement options
  • Fate Card system lets you tweak difficulty to your exact liking...
  • … Combined with online leaderboards, that’s reason enough to come back for more

Cons

  • Motion controls are too often unreliable
  • Story falls flat, despite being “enhanced”
  • Run-of-the-mill boss encounters
  • Arena mode gets dull pretty quickly

7/10
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