 Since it’s now been re-released on the Switch 2, it’s finally time for our take on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Here are James' thoughts in this (long) overdue review. After over two years since the second new-school Zelda first came out on the Nintendo Switch, I’ve finally spent enough time in this twist on Hyrule to feel qualified to comment on Link’s latest epic adventure.
 While our favourite mute elf is still handy with a sword, the first and biggest twist in the gameplay is Link's new abilities. In the previous game, the Sheikah Slate brought a few familiar skills, but this time the Purah Pad – suspiciously Nintendo Switch-shaped – takes things to a whole new level. There are five main abilities, four of which you get in the starting area, and in many ways it feels like they give you the power to break the game. In another era of gaming, the sort of freedom you have to play with the world awarded here would be locked behind God mode-style cheat codes, but here the world is your oyster after only an hour or two of play. There are still limitations, thanks to some extremely smart game design, but the feeling that you can go anywhere in the world, which was a key design element for Breath of the Wild, is even more heightened this time. Bite the Ultrahand that feedS  Your most commonly used ability is Ultrahand, which gives you powers similar to the iconic Half-Life 2 gravity gun, though the game is very careful about what items you can interact with when using it. Not only can you move items around, but you can glue them together, making it easy to build rudimentary vehicles and even structures, which comes into the gameplay with some of the puzzle elements. More on those later. Next up we have Fuse, which takes the gluing skill and applies it specifically to weapons. While weapon degradation returns, the darkness spreading over the world has also dulled all the weapons – at least all the ones you’ll find on the surface. The combination of powers lead to some unique problem-solving options, some of which are more obvious than others, and lead to some inventive ways to traverse Hyrule... If you just ignore Fuse, you’ll find yourself breaking weapons left and right, not to mention not doing much damage. Instead, you need to grab a claymore and graft the horn of a slain enemy to it to make a giant hammer to turn the tables. You can also graft seemingly pointless things to the end of a weapon, like fruit or a stone, but these have their own handy uses as well. Next up is Ascend, which is a fairly straightforward one, but extremely useful. It allows you to phase through ceilings and terrain above you and end up on top. Depending on the location, this cuts down significantly on the amount of climbing you’ll need to do to traverse the world. Finally there’s Recall, which gives you the ability to turn back time for a specific item. If it’s a block you can stand on that’s fallen, you can ride it back up, or if there’s a puzzle which requires something to move in a certain way, if you can do it in reverse, then let the power do the rest. The combination of powers lead to some unique problem-solving options, some of which are more obvious than others, and lead to some inventive ways to traverse Hyrule. The Hyrulean Trail  There is a slight downside to the open world though, depending on what you enjoy about exploring in games. The feeling of being overwhelmed by the choice of what to do can frequently rear its head, or just the feeling of not knowing where you should go. Without giving away too much of the story, your first task is to investigate four regional phenomena, which turn out to be elemental temples, similar to the divine beasts, but almost everything else is a side adventure. Some of the side adventures are very involved, and many have a lot of charm and fun to them, but the only quests which get cut scenes and voice acted lines (at least some of the time) are the main ones. It can leave the experience feeling a bit lifeless when you aren’t on the main path, and can take away from the sense of urgency to fix the world when you can amble about at your leisure trying to summon Great Fairies or exploring wells. In gloom  The world is built on the map used in Breath of the Wild, but some significant work has been done to avoid it feeling like a retread. You start the game in a series of sky islands, which have mysteriously appeared, and across the landscape you'll find chasms, purpley red holes which allow you to enter the sinister-sounding Depths. Both of these areas successfully expand the world and give you new places to explore, but arguably the former has more of interest than the latter. You unlock the map by activating a series of towers across the surface world, which unveils a chunk for both the surface and sky maps, but The Depths are a different story – almost an altogether different, and arguably optional, game. Down down, deeper and down  As you'd expect, The Depths are dark and fairly empty, a combination of gloom-infested terrain, gloom-infested enemies, and…pristine, non-decayed weapons. The only place in the game these can be found in fact. Stepping onto the gloom on the ground, which takes the forms of reddish-black goop leftover from a dark interpretation of Super Mario Sunshine, begins to erode your hearts until you find a way to cleanse them and then fill them up again. Zonai is the power source which drives various building materials, which can be combined into ground and flying vehicles to help traverse the world, or even take on enemies with flame and beam emitters... Exploring these areas also requires a lot of bright bloom seeds which dispel the darkness in a specific area and can be used to find your way, and careful use of Zonai devices. Relics of the past like the sky platforms, Zonai is the power source which drives various building materials, which can be combined into ground and flying vehicles to help traverse the world, or even take on enemies with flame and beam emitters. Build your own adventure  At first the Zonai devices seem gimmicky, each seemingly serving an obvious purpose for a simple puzzle and then can be discarded without a second thought. Combining them though is where the fun really starts to show itself, and you find the possibilities really start to open up and create some unique and exciting moments. In fact there are some areas of the map which can only be accessed with savvy invention, which is even more handy when you have the autobuild power which allows you to quickly access any contraption you’ve previously conjured up - assuming you have the materials. How long you can run your magnificent flying, driving and sailing machines depends on your toolbelt of Zonai power, which you can also upgrade your supply of with rare crystals, also hiding in The Depths. The endgame  It’s well-documented that I don’t always get to the end of Link’s adventures – I famously failed to even find the sail in The Wind Waker, something I’ve never lived down – and so I was determined to see the credits roll this time. After diving back in a the start of the year, my on-again, off-again style of play finally started to build momentum towards the end of the game, as my number of heart containers grew, I maxed out stamina, and I even started to find unblemished weapons in my exploration of The Depths. The temptation to look up a guide to help me, which I did do multiple times during the game when things felt a bit too much, was strangely absent as I took on the final descent below Hyrule Castle. Whatever supplies I had, whatever meals I’d cooked, whatever armour I’d discovered or upgraded was all set in stone now – my sights were set on the finale. Knowing there would be a lot of gloom about, I had a handful of meals ready to combat the known horrors, and I’d grafted a bunch of big spikey things to the ends of my weapons to make sure they packed a punch. In the end, The Master Sword (a potentially missable item in this game, hidden in a side quest) was all that was needed, with a bit of persistence, to dispatch the Demon King Ganon and I found myself at an odd anti-climax. I’m not sure if I expected something more punishing, or just that the drama of the multiple stages of Calamity Ganon in Breath of the Wild made me imagine there’d be more to come, but I managed to defeat him in only a single attempt in the end. Epilogue Despite not being entirely sure if I would ever finish the game, I’m glad I pushed through and got into it. Like its predecessor, Tears of the Kingdom brings plenty of classic Zelda experiences along with all the new bells and whistles thrown in to keep things fresh.
While purists might still lament a lack of dungeons – which, while a return to form in some ways, if anything less prevalent to the experience than in BOTW – the layered structure is a genius way to reuse the map while reinventing it at the same time, and it can’t be said that the team didn’t throw everything they had at it. It makes you wonder what they are up to now behind the scenes… If you are the one person with a Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 that hasn’t tried out this experience yet, I would say it’s worth the investment. It might not click straight away so give it a few more hours than I did (maybe up to 10), but if you do give it the chance you’ll find a game that transports you in all the best ways and shows you a great time along the way. Two Point Museum review | PC25/2/2025  In the future volumes of gaming history, the delightful Two Point Hospital will no doubt go down as one of the greatest spiritual successors in gaming history. A few years later, the Two Point Studios team proved they aren’t just a one-hit wonder with a successful spin-off Two Point Campus, that saw you taking charge of an inspiring university instead of a chaotic hospital.
 Building your museum is largely the same challenge as building a hospital or campus, a careful balancing act between keeping guests, staff, and the bank manager happy, while bringing depth and variety to the experiences. It’s not enough to have cool exhibits, they need to be properly preserved and maintained, which, in some cases, will involve keeping them frozen in the huge blocks of ice they’re discovered in, as well as decorated and organised in a way which gives the museum a natural flow. Two Point Museum has that great quality of being easy to try and difficult to master, and you can definitely play it at your own pace – literally in the sense that you can speed, slow, or even stop the passage of time... Those who remember the 90s classic Lemmings might appreciate some of the micro-management you can get into here, since you can add one-way doors to construct a journey through the museum from beginning to end, and create designated zones, which also helps with keeping things staffed properly, as you can make sure they stick to a specific zone as well, as needed. Digging into the finances of museum management does paint a stark, albeit realistic, picture of the state of these amusements in 2025, since you’ll earn far more cash from the gift shop, drinks machines, and even the donation stations than you will from ticket prices.  It would be easy to get drawn into a cynical mindset about how to create the perfect museum, were it not for the myriad of other aspects of the game keeping you guessing and pushing you to make the experience better and better for visitors. One new challenge which you’ll encounter fairly early on is that families start bringing their children to the museum. While information boards are fine for imparting knowledge to adults – a measure which can dictate how highly they rate and review the experience when they leave – this isn’t the case for kids. Since they are easily bored, you need to create interactive areas to keep them occupied, and later more and more specific needs and requests start to add up, as each individual visitor has a dream visit, and these become increasingly possible to grant as more options become available. The staff keeping things run smoothly are a very multi-talented bunch, with most roles having a job in the museum and something to do out on expeditions as well. If you aren’t careful, you’ll quickly find yourself short-staffed if you send off a large expedition, leaving ticket booths unmanned and bins piling up with rubbish.  This comes back to the balancing act of the game and constantly has you asking somewhat non sequitur questions like “Do I need to build that interactive dinosaur or is a gift shop more important?” or “Does this assistant need training in customer service or flying a helicopter?” As you progress through the game the safe and familiar Night at the Museum-esque setting gives way to more unusual locations, such as supernaturally-stricken mansions or industrial complexes, which open up different specialisms and bring their own unique challenges. While at first the game feels like just more of what we love about management sims, the depth and variety really start to ramp up to 11 as you get into the meat of the game. There’s plenty to put your stamp on in terms of customisation of your museum as well. While there are plenty of functional decorative items, which you will no doubt start to find your preferred options to splash around exhibits, there are also options to change walls or floors, and an opportunity for real creativity in how you make the space your own. The atmosphere in general is already great fun, with the series sense of humour and cheerful soundtrack back in full effect this time as well. While some might be tempted to get stuck in on ground level to some of the challenges, for us the beauty of this type of game is that you have that overseeing presence, which lets you spot when guests are getting caught in one area and you need to shift an exhibit or knock down a wall.  Two Point Museum has that great quality of being easy to try and difficult to master, and you can definitely play it at your own pace – literally in the sense that you can speed, slow, or even stop the passage of time.
It would be easy to get overwhelmed as a player, or feel like the team are just throwing every idea they have at this game, but it’s clear that after three games and various expansions, these talented folks have struck a balance which takes you to places you don’t expect and brings rewards that keep you wanting to play just a little bit longer. So grab your explorer’s hat and give it a go, who knows, maybe you’ll build something worthy of being preserved for years to come – or maybe it will just get overrun by defrosted bees and impatient children. Pros
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8/10 Avowed review | Xbox Series X|S19/2/2025  Fantasy is having a bit of a resurgence lately. Sure everyone always has kind words for The Elder Scrolls VI: Skyrim, but that was 14 years ago, and with other heavy hitters like Dragon Age and even Diablo sitting on their hands for a few years (“do you guys not have phones?”) it was mostly left up to the waning World of Warcraft to fly the AAA flag for the mythical realm in much of the 2010s and early 20s. Fast-forward to 2023 and the full release of early-access darling Baldur’s Gate 3 it felt like everything suddenly changed. There was a new Monster Hunter, a second grown up The Legend of Zelda, and an open-world Harry Potter game. Diablo even came back in full force, and a swathe of indies bringing fresh ideas to the table like Sea of Stars and The Plucky Squire. Fantasy felt fantastical, new, and exciting again for the first time in a decade, so much so that plenty of players are still exploring Faerûn to this day. And now, in this post-BG3 world, a new challenger approaches – Avowed.
Grow your own adventure Your character, whichever race and class you choose, will always be godlike, and also will have no idea which god they are connected to. Exploring the secrets of your origins is a key theme throughout the game, and does succeed in making you care about your character’s journey. As well as name and appearance – and the visual customisation is pretty substantial – you get to choose elements of your character’s backstory. There's variety but also the game never paints you into a corner, as all your skills options are completely open regardless of your choices at the beginning. You can even respec for a nominal fee. All these touches go a long way to make the process of getting started stress-free, and allows you to get right into the game and immerse yourself in its story and world without getting distracted by numbers and options. There are stat points to apply and skills to unlock, but there’s a straightforward simplicity to how everything is explained, and it’s always clear when the weapon you’ve picked up is just something simple, or something fancy which is worth holding onto. In fact, Obsidian’s approach to who you are feels fairly relaxed and straightforward compared to the depth of something like Baldur’s Gate 3. That class flexibility could let you pursue all classes at once, though you’d be spending a lot of time grinding enemies. Better the mushroom you know While there are natural enemies like spiders to contend with, there are also kith – a lizard-like creature, that can come in all manner of types. This is mirrored by skeletons, who may even be priests that have a tendency to heal and revive other enemies, including bigger boss enemies. While the locals are generally suspicious, you're given free reign to explore and your status as an envoy tends to help you get to the bottom of most situations... Combat overall offers a solid challenge that does make you think, often just spamming attack as fast as possible isn't the way to go. There is a dodge mechanic, though locking onto enemies and moving around the space is difficult to master at first, especially if you're playing in first person. Fortunately, the game lets you switch between the two at your leisure. Exploring The Living Lands The structure of the game plays out fairly traditionally. You are tasked by the king with essentially investigating what's going on in The Living Lands – a group of islands away from the main kingdom that's experiencing this mysterious dream scourge. While the locals are generally suspicious, you're given free reign to explore and your status as an envoy tends to help you get to the bottom of most situations. Along for the ride, and with a useful amount of local knowledge, are your companions, chief among them is Kai, voiced by Brandon Keener who you may know better as Garrus from the Mass Effect series. As well as being a dab hand in combat, Kai is instantly likeable, bringing just the right mix of humour and charm, which can help with your diplomacy with the inhabitants. It’s a kind of magic While we opted for the fighter class, it doesn't take magic off the table. As well as unlocking magic through skills you can also use grimoire volumes which unlock entry-level (and later, with a skill point or two, more advanced) spells that can be used for various elemental effects, useful for opening some doors or mastering other simple puzzles. Combining the grimoire in combat with your main weapon can make for some interesting combinations, and it's nice to have an approachable way to do some magic without needing to invest skill points. These tactics are crucial for getting the edge in certain fights, as each type of enemy will attack slightly differently. At first you might find yourself being overwhelmed, but picking up the combat after a few tries doesn't take too long, and, unlike some games, the process of learning isn't punishing. Forging your destiny There are a few things the game doesn't spell out however, at least not at first, so it can take a while to feel like you've got to grips with it all.
One fun feature is that you can wear one piece of armour but take on the visual attributes of another, so you don't have to sacrifice your look for better stats. Or there's the fact that enemies in the game generally don't respawn, meaning adventure is the main way to gain experience and climb levels. In contrast, in your character menu there's plenty to read and absorb, but if you breeze through without reading the instructions the first time you'll find there's a lot of reading to do to remind yourself when it comes time to upgrade items, for example. In all Avowed is a fantastic, original experience which carries through Oblivion’s knack for characterisation and good writing while not getting side-tracked with too much depth. (If you're looking to romance your companions, for example, BG3 or Dragon Age are your best bet). While it might not push every visual boundary, the Unreal Engine does produce some nice looking environments, and above all the lasting impression as you explore is that the natural world has been left to define the landscape. Even more than that, there is colour everywhere, and even bioluminescence, particularly in areas where there is a lot of fungi around. There might not be the depth of Baldur's Gate – though, at this point, what other game does – but there's a huge amount to explore through a series of different locations and climates. Fantasy fans will feel right and home, and even if you're not, or you're on the fence, this is well worth your time. Pros
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9/10 Make Way PC review | Steam31/12/2023  There's something about arcade-style racing which makes it approachable for everyone. Even if you haven't played a game before, it tends to be easy to grasp that a car goes forwards and backwards, and turns from side-to-side, with just a few button presses. With effortless simplicity, Make Way is already sitting on the start line, raring to go.
 This first phase plays out a little like Ultimate Chicken Horse, a mad dash to make your mark on the course before someone else adds a corkscrew to an already windy section, or throws in a speed boost just as you're putting down a bollard, doubling the jeopardy once you all get on the track. The final piece of the puzzle comes during the races themselves, as you're given all manner of weapons to cause even more grief for your fellow players. Whether it's more traditional weapons like chain guns, shotguns or mortars, or more surreal powerups like sticky gunge cannons, boosts or electromagnets, there's more than enough to mix things up.  Of course, if this all feels like a bit much, never fear - multiple modes give the option of different levels of mayhem, depending on your mood. A straightforward "Race" takes it back to basics, sticking to placing track pieces and then trying to outwit your opponents with skill alone. Contrast this with the aptly named "Chaos" mode, which not only throws in weapons and hazards everywhere, but also removes walls which help keep you on the track. If you take a step back and look at the bizarre gauntlet you've created, it's a surprise how quickly it grows into a twisting, turning nightmare... The madness is all fun and games though, as the balance of gameplay, and the fact that you can respawn at each checkpoint, mid-race, keeps the down time to a minimum. After even just a few track pieces have been placed, if you take a step back and look at the bizarre gauntlet you've created, it's a surprise how quickly it grows into a twisting, turning nightmare.  While this game is an indie title, largely put together by one extremely talented developer, in this case that's no caveat for quality. Performance is strong, the visuals have a crisp charm, and the music sets the tone perfectly for the borderline insanity to come. Even though there is a lot going on, the simplicity of the controls and the gameplay as a whole mean you can get up to speed quickly, and gradually get more comfortable with when to race and when to use a weapon, where to place a hazard or when to actually slow down to avoid them. With crossplay possible and offline and custom options for 1-4 players, there's plenty of replayability here already. Add to that the almost endless combinations of different track pieces - more of which are unlocked as you progress through levels after each race - and you've got a fun, energetic party game for the whole family on your hands. As we cross the finish line of the year, we look ahead optimistically to a release date announcement for the PS4 and PS5 versions, which are sure to be a huge boost to the player base, given the experience is very much built with a controller in mind.
In the meantime, you may struggle to get a full game online, but it's an experience that's best shared with friends you can shout at anyway. Make Way is another fantastic example of a simple idea executed well, and then iterated on to cram in more and more ideas, so it feels full to bursting with opportunities for fun and games. So, gather your friends and start your engines, the checkered flag awaits. Pros
9/10  While the Ghostbusters franchise has had its ups and downs in pulp culture over the years, the core idea of paranormal rat catchers has always leant itself to a game, and so Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is here for another round of busting, with an Ecto Edition Switch release of the 2022 game.
 The game is cross-platform, so the pool of players is big enough that you won’t have too much of a wait on your hands, and you can always try a private match with AI if you want to hone your skills before getting out there, but, generally the variety of experience is limited. The game could thrive if it happened to be dished out free on multiple platforms at once, bringing all the Ghostbusters enthusiasts together to have some fun with the experience... If you can get a group of friends together, it’s a different story, combining parts of Dead By Daylight and Left 4 Dead in a package with a few unique quirks. Over time you can beef up your character’s kit, and unlock additional cosmetic options, but otherwise the replay value is limited to a more creature-focused mode alongside matchmaking.  Musically, besides the main theme, the rest of the score is a little heavy-handed, a bit too eager to be playfully fun and a little too loud to really gel with the gameplay (though of course this is easily adjusted in seconds). Technically, this version does show cracks here and there, with some texture pop-in and a few low quality textures in general, but it still plays fairly smoothly and is robust enough to give you an end-to-end experience that isn’t distracted by bugs or crashes.  In all, the game achieves what it set out to do without really showing us anything we haven’t seen before. It feels like the sort of game which could thrive if it happened to be dished out free on multiple platforms at once, bringing all the Ghostbusters enthusiasts together to have some fun with the experience.
As it is, it’s not an essential experience on Switch, but certainly a serviceable one and something which younger players in particular might get a kick out of. Pros
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7/10 Worldless review | PC27/11/2023  One of our favourites from EGX 2022 is finally out and ready to be put through its paces, gather round as we give you the lowdown on Noname Studios’ Worldless.
 ALRIGHT, WE'LL BITE, WHAT'S ABSORPTION? While defeating enemies is all well and good, the ultimate test in combat is to weaken and then absorb the essence of your foes. While you can get away with just winning encounters, really to gain physical or magical skill points in serious numbers, you’ll need to squeeze them out of your enemies. To do this, you need to hold your own in combat long enough to fill a meter, and then trigger a timed series of button presses to complete the move. The trick is that the weaker the enemy, the more prompts will be revealed. If you try to take a shortcut, you’ll be presented with prompts obscured by question marks and have to try your luck. Fortunately, the presses you do get right do count for the next time around, so you can come back and complete the sequence rather than starting from scratch. It feels somewhat similar to Pokémon’s traditional catching system, but without the random element of unfairness when that Squirtle you thought was in the bag manages to run away.  HOW DIFFICULT IS IT? This is always a hard question to answer, as it’s so subjective. That said, the balance between frantic button presses and really working out the optimum timing of counters to protect your shields and give you a fighting chance in harder battles takes a while to get the hang of. There’s the odd boss too, usually larger and testing your skills so far to the limit, as you might expect, but there’s no sense of an uneasy difficulty spike. What is encouraging is that a failure in any face-off doesn’t mean all is lost – you can go again with everything reset, no questions asked. Any battle where you didn’t absorb the enemy also remains on the level for you to revisit later, perhaps when you’ve picked up a few skills.  ANYTHING YOU WEREN'T A FAN OF? The map and skill trees, while very much in keeping with the style of the rest of the game, could be a little easier to follow. Otherwise your mileage will vary depending on how much patience you have for roguelike trial and improvement when it comes to the combat, and the platforming side is solid without really breaking the mould or really making you sit up out of your chair.  FINAL THOUGHTS?
Worldless is a beautiful, challenging journey which has some very clever design layered on top of a solid, fun game. Depending on your mood, you might find slogging away for long sessions a bit of a grind, but the satisfaction when you get the hang of an enemy and steal their power is huge. Definitely not one to discount as “just another indie game”. 9/10  Start your engines racing fans, it’s time for a big motorised party as the latest iteration of Ubisoft’s racing franchise The Crew drifts onto our screens with The Crew Motorfest. Though we’re admittedly far from racing experts, we’ve taken Motorfest for a quick spin to see if it can hold its own in the Forza Horizon-dominated party racing scene in our mini review series, Taken for a Quickie. Let’s powerslide into it…
 Do you feel the party atmosphere?om the starting line you’re invited to create a character, starting with one of a series of archetypes in some sort of hipster convention line-up, and then your new character is immediately thrown into the Motorfest itself. You’re introduced to playlists – a curated series of races with a loose theme connecting them together – and given the map to explore, but if you choose a waypoint too soon it will get wiped and you’ll be steered towards the objective instead. Bit of a buzzkill. Doing the directing is your AI assistant Cara (seriously). Their upbeat British voiceover is a little on the eager side for our taste, and goes a long way to setting the tone of the initial part of the game. Generally, it comes across like a new kid at school who really, really wants to make friends, rather than a chilled out, free-roaming party experience where you can do things at your own pace.  I see it’s a “Motorfest” not a “Carfest”?Well spotted! There are other types of vehicle in this game, specifically boats, planes and motorbikes – and there's even a quad bike. While we didn’t explore them much in our limited time, there’s the option to mix up your play experience by hot-swapping to a different vehicle type every now and then – but they aren’t available straight away. Rest assured, it’s still a car-focused game at heart, but a lot of time and effort has been put into having these other vehicles be more than just a gimmick, but legitimate additional strings to Motorfest’s bow.  What about the “crew” part?Like previous entries, there is a big focus on multiplayer and how it can enhance the experience. Since the game is always online, unlike some other titles, there’s no option but to see other drivers zipping around as you explore. When you start, you’re on foot and can wander around a bit before getting in your car, to give you the opportunity to crew up with other players. The reality though is that most already seem buddied up, and online interactivity in games like this is hit and miss across the board, so you certainly can’t rely on it – unless you already have a premade crew of your own. Once you’re joined up, if you get invited to an event you don’t have the vehicle for, you’ll be loaned one, just like in the singleplayer playlists. Is there anything you don’t like?While destruction in racing games isn’t everything. Interacting with other roadsters in general Motorfest feels a little…off. While you won’t smash into fellow players in freedrive – they become ghost cars whenever you get close – you certainly can crash into AI traffic. While it’s certainly sparse, especially for a vibrant island of over a million inhabitants, the times when you do come across other cars, you can be stopped dead if you aren’t careful. There’s no shunting other cars out the way either, you’ll think you’ve smashed into a rock. Since there are so few NPC vehicles trundling about on the roads, and you don’t challenge them to races like you might in say, Burnout Paradise, it almost feels like an afterthought left in from early in development to try to bring some life to the island outside events, which can feel a little lifeless for such a colourful holiday destination. The end result is an experience which is a little isolating when you're playing in singleplayer, rather than getting you excited to join crews, or build one of your own, to take the fun up to 11.  So, what’s the verdict?There are a lot of tried-and-tested concepts executed well here, though those looking for more than mere dashes of creativity and the odd sprinkle of genius might be driving home with a flat tyre.
The look and feel is on point, if a little over-the-top to really feel like its substance could ever live up to its energetic style, and the experience of driving is rewarding. The trio of difficulty options presented at the outset, which will be brought up again if you find yourself sailing through events a little too easily, are nice and straightforward and the act of actually driving isn’t too complicated. Being an ongoing live experience though means timed playlists and microtransactions are here from the outset, which won’t be to everyone’s tastes. The experience as a whole is a good bit of fun though, a commendable first effort following a sharp left turn for a series which began with the original protagonist getting let out of prison. The Crew Motorfest is a solid experience which should be more than enough to get your engine revving, but, depending on how much you throw yourself into it, your mileage may vary. Manic Mechanics review | Nintendo Switch14/7/2023  There's nothing quite like frantic same-screen coop action. While there are many similar experiences out there across consoles and PC, nothing quite has the same combination of challenges and chaotic moments as Manic Mechanics, and the Switch is the perfect place for it.
 The 25 levels offer an impressive mix of hazards and challenges to make your time in the garage even more manic, one particular favourite takes place, inexplicably, in a bowling alley, where you must avoid NPC bowlers themselves while flapping around. In the later levels there are even more things to worry about, as you start to reassemble vehicles on a production line, where they will only accept certain missing parts in missing places. This is where the concept of communication really comes into play. While it is possible to play Manic Mechanics yourself, unfortunately without helpful AI pals to assist you the garage can be a very big and unwieldy place – even with the ability to dash and throw items around to help speed up the repair. The difficulty is well balanced...as getting through levels, with a bit of luck, isn’t too tough, but feeling like you’ve really got the hang of it is another story... When combined with three friends though, it really takes the game to a new high, as you panic, rush and generally spam controls hectically, trying to beat both the cog score for the level (basically a one to three rating) and the high scores on the board. There aren’t any individual scores, so your teamwork is what makes the magic happen, and everyone gets to revel in success together. The difficulty is well balanced though, as getting through levels, with a bit of luck, isn’t too tough, but feeling like you’ve really got the hang of it is another story.  Between levels, the overworld has some fun little elements, but no mini games or anything for you to really feel like you need to spend time there. The levels are split into fun themed zones however, and seeing the aesthetics gradually shift and that be reflected in the levels themselves is great fun.
There are a bunch of characters to choose from, but no character customisation, which might have been a nice way to take the character element up a notch without affecting gameplay. In all the experience has just the right amount of moving parts to make each level feel different and gradually build in complexity to its chaotic and, appropriately, manic peak. As a party game, this game slips in right alongside other games in this genre like Moving Out, Overcooked 2 and even one of our forgotten favourites – Catastronauts, as a fun time which has only a few controls to remember but takes a long time to master. Do yourself a favour and pull into the garage to get a full multiplayer service and MOT immediately. Pros
Cons
9/10  It’s time to save the galaxy once again, as our favourite ginger Jedi, Cal Kestis, and trusty droid companion, BD-1, return, after five years since beginning their fight against the Empire in Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, to face their greatest challenge yet.
 While the landscape is even more sprawling than before, fortunately, there are mounts to help you navigate around and discover different secrets, as well as more (perhaps a few too many) shortcuts to connect the world together, as well as being able to use the meditation save areas as fast travel points. The gameplay itself is similar to its predecessor, though perhaps with even more of a reliance on climbing around than before - though thankfully you do retain the upgraded climbing speed from the latter part of Fallen Order from the get go. Cal continues to be both relatable and charming, but it's the adorable BD-1 who is still the true star of the show... If puzzles, and clambering about, aren’t your bag though, you might find the experience a bit choppy, as encounters generally feel more intermittent than before. Though when you do get into a battle, especially with some of the larger creatures and sub-bosses, you’ll be glad there are a handful of new lightsaber stances to use, two of which you can equip at a time, which help keep combat fresh and dynamic throughout. The Star Wars universe is built on its characters, and Cal continues to be both relatable and charming. While he doesn’t have the same, intense inner struggle we saw in the previous game, we can all relate to working hard and feeling as though we’re getting nowhere. But it's the adorable BD-1 who is still the true star of the show, of course, and you can even customise him in all sorts of ways this time around.  Sad news elsewhere in customisation is that the amount of poncho available for Cal himself are limited, though customisation overall has had a complete tune up. Since it is third-person, you do get a chance to see Cal’s threads in all their glory, and the character animation is fluid – especially when swapping between different saber stances. Skill upgrades return, with a few different trees to explore, and one for every stance, so you can really double-down on being the biggest badass possible with the claymore-style, crossguard lightsaber. On top of that are perks, which take up a different amount of slots depending on their power, and act as passive buffs for Cal, allowing for even more customisation to your specific playstyle.  The background characters are good fun as well. Our personal favourite was an aggressively Scottish able seaman called Skoova Stev, who you’ll find in various parts of the overworld searching for rare fish species, which you can then see in the aquarium back at home base. The actual act of finding the fish is fairly mundane, as you’ll usually just stumble across him, but on each encounter he’ll reveal a little more of a long, rambling story, as well as just generally having a bit of fun with you. These sort of characters are totally ridiculous and yet 100% Star Wars. The feel of this series, both the first game and Survivor, has always been very true to the franchise and it’s definitely one of its strengths. Joining Cal feels more meaningful because of how naturally he fits into this galaxy, and you feel like you’re making a difference, as the scale of the story is kept under control and not tied too closely to any big moments.  Whether the destination outshines the journey doesn’t really matter here, as the adventure you’re on is exciting and compelling, delivering exactly what’s promised in the most authentic feeling of being a Jedi for anyone outside the theme parks’ Galaxy’s Edge experiences.
Hopefully we haven’t seen the last of Cal and BD-1, and this is a chapter well worth Force jumping into. Pros
Cons
8/10  There’s nothing simple about making video games, which is why when a game comes along which goes out of its way to create an experience based on a few simple principles which really works, it’s worth sitting up and taking note, and Planet of Lana is that game.
 The story plays out in just over three hours, with a few new abilities unlocked along the way, and a constant is the beautiful soundtrack. The score is almost hypnotic, with its calming influence bringing the expansive world to life as a peaceful utopia, punctuated by creeping strings as the threat of danger from the robots on the hunt for Lana, which will not hesitate to take her out on the spot. Planet of Lana is a beautiful journey which transports you to a peaceful, and tense, other world which is fun and satisfying to explore... Controlling the character lacks precision in parts, making pulling of complex manoeuvres challenging, though if you feel like you have to do something particularly intricate, you’re probably overthinking it. It’s when you know what to do, but the intentional lag between button press and action catches you out, that the frustration starts to build.  Fortunately, there weren’t any moments where we felt really stuck on a puzzle, thanks to a forgivable but challenging difficulty level, and solving them was consistently satisfying. Outwitting the enemies requires both patience, persistence and, crucially, the ability to not fly into a blind panic, choose chaos and try to run past everything. More often than not, there’s really only one way to get past a situation, which means that, besides a few collectable shrines, there’s not a lot of replayability here. There is a great one-and-done, charming experience here, which – while more common in the indie space – is still hard to come by and definitely endearing. Lana’s determination and optimism comes through with just a few words, as does the emotion of how important her connections to other characters are to her.  Planet of Lana is a beautiful journey which transports you to a peaceful, and tense, other world which is fun and satisfying to explore. While it could have been too one-note, the diversity in the locations and the gradual development in the game experience pulls you through.
The gaps between gameplay sections do occasionally feel as though they are padding for time, but, largely, the mechanics, including the dream sequences which flash you back to the beginning of the game, all come together to create a cohesive and satisfying experience. Developers Wishfully have done a great job in making this game feel polished and complete, delivering a thoughtful, well-executed platforming experience that is well worth the time. Pros
Cons
9/10 |
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