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The Last Hero Of Nostalgaia review | PC

21/10/2022

 
The hero with a sword faces multiple enemies

Riffing on an established game or franchise is a risky business. Do it wrong and you're constantly compared to your inspiration and lamented by players for not being up to scratch, but do it right and you can quickly capture the attention of a passionate audience and win goodwill from the get-go.
James Michael Parry
by James Michael Parry

Blue Twitter bird logo
@james_parry

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Developer: Over The Moon, Coatsink
Publisher:
Thunderful
Platforms:
PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Players:
1-2

There's no escaping the fact that The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is inspired by SoulsBorne games, and developers Over The Moon (who you can meet in this video), who we last saw years ago putting together The Fall Part 2: Unbound, have made no secret of this fact.

However, this is far from a clone. Not only is there an inventive story here, complete with meta commentary delivered by a joyfully eccentric narrator, but the thought, consideration and depth put into the design and presentation is impressive.

The premise is that the world of Nostalgaia, deliberately designed to make us write "Nostalgia" by mistake constantly throughout this review, is being forgotten and reverting to an 8-bit, simplistic look and feel before disappearing entirely.

You are simply the player character, not highly regarded by the narrator – who seems to have better things to do – as you try to restore memory to the world.

Creating your character is an extremely detailed affair, with a plethora of sliders and options to customise it to your liking. Of course, there’s no visual change to the character in the game as a result, so you can play with that endowment slider as much as you like to little avail.

What does have an impact is your starting class, which sets up your starting weapons and skill points. Beyond that though, it’s fairly conventional RPG fare, with an attribute point allocated for each level, earned by collecting memory from fallen foes.​
Last Hero character customisation screen
The character creation screen gives you a lot of options, but don't expect to see much of it on screen
The enemies themselves have a variety of looks, depending on the area, and reflect different levels of graphical fidelity, depending on how much the memory of them has decayed. Some are in full 3D, but many are deliberately janky-looking 2D cut-outs, flailing their way towards you through the levels, with a similar vibe to the stained glass window knight in Young Sherlock Holmes.
The tongue-in-cheek presentation is one of the reasons the game feels refreshing and fun from the very beginning...
Don’t let the enemies’ simplistic look lull you into a false sense of security though, they hit hard and they hit fast. The bosses too have all the might and terror of your classic Dark Souls beast, with a sense of scale which takes encounters to a level beyond what you might expect from an indie game.
The last hero faces off against a large armoured creature with a large weapon
Memory isn’t just a souls or runes-like levelling mechanic, but a theme which keeps coming up throughout the world. With weapons in particular, many have a special ability which can be unlocked by taking them to a specific area of the world and performing a specific action.

This was one of the most interesting and unexpected mechanics, and encouraged us to explore the world in more depth, giving us an opportunity to pick up on more of the environmental storytelling.

One early area shows the NPCs are actually self-aware, with a sort of locker room complete with motivational posters like “Remember to occasionally miss!” and even a city of their own, as if the game were a day job.
The Last Hero stands looking over a town with a sign saying heroes not welcome
The tongue-in-cheek of the presentation is one of the reasons the game feels refreshing and fun from the very beginning, and the team has managed to sustain it as you gradually discover more of the world of Nostalgaia. You can even coop with a friend and explore together for maximum destruction of bad memories.

In all, the experience is everything you would expect from a pastiche of the FromSoftware formula, but also some unexpected fun and games thrown in for good measure. Ready your sword and get ready to take on both nostalgia and Nostalgaia with a well-placed heavy attack.

Pros
  • A great sense humour and a fun tone throughout, with great narration
  • The visual contrast between old and new graphical styles is handled beautifully
  • Combat is snappy, responsive and satisfying

Cons
  • The pitfalls and problems of SoulsBorne titles also crop up here, particularly the camera having a mind of its own
  • Could use a few more fresh ideas to make it really stand on its own
  • Controls might need some remapping to be comfortable (but, fortunately you can rebind the entire keyboard)

9/10​
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As Dusk Falls review | Xbox Series X|S

18/7/2022

 
Jay in As Dusk Falls

When a game lives and dies on its characters and story, both need to grab you and pull you into its world. In As Dusk Falls, the adventure's first action beat is a group of brothers breaking into a house, and straight away you're challenged by the near impossible – to remember a single four-digit code.
James Michael Parry
by James Michael Parry

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​@james_parry

As Dusk Falls logo
Developer: Int./Night
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
​Players: 1-8

We jest of course, but could we remember it mere minutes later? Not a chance.

In presentation, As Dusk Falls slips quietly between two genres – a visual novel and a more interactive, episodic adventure, once arguably perfected by the now-defunct Telltale Games. Part of the reason it might appear more like the former is the artstyle, which includes single frames of hand-drawn style animation, with some 3D background and lighting elements on top.

The game describes itself as “an original interactive drama”, and that definition feels accurate, given the intense themes covered, particularly around family and relationships.

You follow one of a handful of characters through different story threads spanning six chapters in two books. The first, Collision, arguably has a better realised vision than the first, as it centres around a specific location and the choices feel more connected.

As you progress, you will see your decisions impact the outcome of characters, and, at the end of each chapter, an overview screen reveals the sheer number of possibilities you didn't discover.
Zoe in As Dusk Falls
So who are the characters? First up is Zoe, who, rather than swimming at the pool, has taken to holding her breath underwater for as long as possible.

After meeting her, complete with a chilling monologue, we immediately jump back to 1998, where Zoe is now just a youngster, on a road trip across Arizona with family, for her dad Vince's new job.

The other main protagonist is Jay, one of those brothers doing a bit of breaking and entering. You can tell from the get-go his heart isn't really in it, and even though he's arguably the character that gets the most play, we found it the most difficult to sympathise or side with him.
Multiplayer can lead to some interesting conversations, even creating deadlocks in decisions you can break by overriding the other players' choices...
The gameplay involves timed dialogue options and simple quick time events, which can be taken on solo or by up to eight people, either locally, online or both, even joining in with their smartphone. There's even a streamer mode to open the decision-making to an audience.

Multiplayer can lead to some interesting conversations, even creating deadlocks in decisions you can break by overriding the other players' choices, though this only comes into play at key decision-making “outcome” choices, which require all players to agree.
Dante in As Dusk Falls at sign that says Desert Dream Motel
The music in the game combines a country road-friendly soundtrack with licensed songs, in particular a very effective use of Johnny case to accompany the drama as you close the first book. Otherwise, audio cues, force feedback and visual distortion play into the experience throughout, indicating when you need to act and when you need to sit back and take in the narrative.

The story itself is a fairly simple series of events, connected by a lot of layers of the characters. At times you can find yourself with no good option out of a situation, for example, you might be in an altercation with two other characters and need to side with one or the other, when you feel as though the character would choose neither and just leave.

Tension and suspense are racked up whenever you are forced into the aforementioned “outcome” decision points, which, fortunately, have no time limit, giving you that chance to think, or discuss, if you’re playing with others.
The Holt brothers wearing masks over their mouths in As Dusk Falls
Depending on specific choices, you could find entire threads are closed off to you for the remainder of the game, which is why it feels sensible the team have only put together two books here to begin with, rather than three, which might feel like a more natural fit, as they only have to work out two sprawling, interconnected stories rather than three.

It does leave questions hanging though. The way book two closes clearly begs for another, leading us to conclude the success of As Dusk Falls will dictate whether something like As Dawn Rises will follow.

Structurally, how consistently you answer questions can lead to your characters’ behaviour being believable or a bit erratic. Of course, humans are imperfect and can be illogical and unpredictable, but when your choice is a single response which could end a marriage (if the post-chapter summary is anything to go by), it can feel a little arbitrary.
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In the end, As Dusk Falls is a well thought-through story with some compelling moments, but exploring it with others might be what makes the game truly memorable. The performances are strong and just about avoid feeling like stereotypes, but limited options mean you can’t always make the characters act as you might in the same situation.

Given that it’s available day one on Game Pass, you’d be silly not to give this a try – especially since it will run just fine on Xbox One as well – and you’re looking at a fairly self-containing six-hour experience, with the potential for repeat plays to discover just how differently things might have gone.

For some, it might be the perfect first page to explore this sort of game, while for others, particularly wondering what happens next, you could be left wanting more.

Pros
  • Compelling characters and a strong story
  • Solid gameplay with plenty of accessibility options
  • Plenty of other choices to explore once the credits roll

Cons
  • Limited options leave you with no good choices sometimes
  • Visual design longs for full animation
  • Two books doesn’t feel like enough time to dig into some of these stories

8/10

Code provided by Xbox.​
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Elden Ring review | PS5

14/3/2022

 
My original Elden Ring character, an Astrologer, beneath the Erdtree

OK, let’s get the obvious out of the way – yes, Elden Ring is tough. This will be little surprise for anyone who knows developer FromSoftware’s track history, but it was important to give it a little more time than our usual reviews to really scratch the surface of this colossal experience, so here goes…
James Michael Parry
by James Michael Parry

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@james_parry

Elden Ring box art
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Players: 1+

Coming into this game as a relative newcomer, having had some substantial time with Dark Souls II but never really “getting” it, I was fully prepared for a damn good thrashing, but in the end Elden Ring challenged me in ways I didn’t expect.

The basics? You are a Tarnished, exploring a fantasy world known as The Lands Between. Unlike previous SoulsBorne games, the map is open world, which is probably one of the game’s biggest stand-outs.

You can choose between 10 classes, each of which has differing RPG stats like strength, dexterity and intelligence, and specific starting weapons and armour. After gaining a few levels, done by spending the runes you get from defeating enemies at Sites of Grace, you can customise your build extensively, meaning the lines between classes are fairly thin.

​There’s also magic to contend with, as classes like Astrologer, Confessor and Prophet, which add a different element to the hack-and-slash play style veterans might be used to.

Getting into combat, classes and how the game works is only really explained to an extent. The on-the-nose-titled Cave of Knowledge serves as a tutorial area, which you could actually miss if you rushed through the opening area, which tends to do more to explain traditional combat than magic or arcane-based approaches.

Mastering mechanics like guard counters, parrys, backstabs and visceral strikes is crucial, and the difficulty of encounters varies wildly depending on how well you can execute these moves.

However, my combat experience overall didn’t follow the path of improvement I expected from dying over and over again. Let me explain.​​
As you gain levels, the number of runes needed to gain the next increases, so at times you’ll find yourself wanting to farm runes to gain levels before taking on a particular area or boss. One area I stumbled upon (though I since read is a well-known farming spot) is a hilltop in Stormhill near the Warmaster’s shack, which has five trolls just hanging out.

Each gives you 1,000 runes, and one in particular is more chilled out than the others, making it an easier target. Throughout my time with the game I explored this area many times (and if you try yourself beware doing so at night, as the Deathbird boss lurks nearby), and every single time the experience has gone differently.

​
What’s frustrating is that the method and timing might be exactly the same, but because the enemy AI is clever enough to not be entirely predictable, you never feel like you have a particular handle on the situation, and after one early attempt where I killed 3 or 4 trolls in a row I foolishly went in with a new-found sense of confidence, only to be cut down before defeating even one.​
Every experience of Elden Ring will be different. There are a lot of different options and approaches you can take – some which might be considered easier...but all are valid.
This is the sort of thing which means Elden Ring “isn’t for everyone”. Not because not everyone can “git gud” or because they aren’t capable, but because different people want different things from their gaming experiences, and here the rewarding feeling is earned by a lot of time, hours and determination to keep going back after being killed by Margit, the game’s first mandatory boss, depending on which way you go.

Bosses are a huge part (often literally) of this genre of game, and Elden Ring is no exception. One of the symptoms of an open world is that many of these battles are optional, or at least feel avoidable, since they can be tackled in different orders.

The tougher bosses have NPC summoning signs which you can use to bring a bit of coop support into battle, and the arcane skills known as Ashes of War can also include allies like wolves, a sorcerer or even jellyfish.

You can also team up with other players, the mechanics of which probably could be explained better, but, at this point, what did we expect? The important thing is, the option is there for those who want it, and if you’d rather play offline without any helpful (or deceptive) player messages littering the landscape, you can do that too.​
Big scary Elden Ring enemies
Every experience of Elden Ring will be different. With so many classes, builds, weapons and paths to choose, there’s no right way to work through the game’s map, and there are a lot of different options and approaches you can take – some which might be considered easier than others, but all are valid.

Visually, the game doesn’t give as striking an impression as the Demon’s Souls remake on PS5, though there are plenty of beautifully crafted vistas and memorable locations, just something about this game’s visual style doesn’t have the same contrast and impact.

There is a lot of colour however, with the rich greens, reds and golds of the landscape and sky feeling like a breath of fresh air compared to the greys and browns you might typically see in a FromSoftware production.

There are some technical rough edges as well, with a fair amount of noticeable pop-in textures for things like grass. While it doesn’t tend to affect gameplay, it does emphasise the amount of detail that’s packed into the world.​
Torrent the horse leaping in Elden Ring
Exploration on the other hand is a huge strength. Since sometimes you can run into a tough enemy and feel like you need a change, or to gain a few levels before heading back, having the option of picking any other compass direction and knowing there will be a completely different experience to discover is hugely exciting.

The score and audio design gains some big points as well, with the chilling, understated music swelling to raise the drama of an encounter, and you quickly getting to know sounds that come from touching a Site of Grace or summoning your trusty spectral steed Torrent.

In all, the journey across The Lands Between has been far more enlightening than I expected, with Elden Ring proving to be more forgiving, rewarding and yet more punishing than any game I’ve ever played.

Whether it’s an experience for you or not, you might have already made up your mind, but if you’re hesitant, I would say it’s definitely worth the benefit of the doubt. FromSoft have crafted an experience that's well worth a go.

Pros
  • An open world which redefines what an open world can deliver
  • Tried and tested hack-and-slash with tons of options and approaches
  • A careful balance between challenge and rewarding gameplay

Cons
  • Visuals lack punch at times and pop-in is fairly common, even on PS5
  • Difficulty spikes can be just too unforgiving and encounters inconsistently taxing
  • While the lore of the world is rich, the story takes a backseat a little too much, despite input from George RR Martin

9/10
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Mass Effect Legendary Edition Review | PS5

26/5/2021

 
A Reaper touches down

It’s been almost a decade since we last set foot on the Normandy, Captain Shepard’s iconic spaceship, and it feels good to be back. While Mass Effect: Andromeda was a perfectly passable Mass Effect experience, arguably with some of the most refined action in the series, somehow it didn’t have that special something. We just didn’t warm to the protagonist in the same way we did with Shepard - in fact, we’d struggle even to remember their name...
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​by James
Michael Parry

Twitter logo @james_parry

​@james_parry

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Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA
Platforms: Xbox X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5, PC
Players: 1

With a whole generation of new fans ready to become galactic paragons and renegades, the remastered trilogy puts players in the boots of Commander Shepard. Alongside a cast of varied companions, he or she must fight against an ancient race of mechanical enemies known as Reapers.

Not everyone has played these games before, so let’s start with a bit of a primer. On the surface, Mass Effect is about a soldier in an intergalactic military who gradually wins the support of both the establishment and the galaxy’s civilian races. Decisions during combat and in conversation decide if players do this virtuously, or with an iron fist.

Wielding skills in diplomacy can decide whether or not users need to pull out a weapon, right from the start. As the trilogy progresses, however, players increasingly come up against enemies which can’t be reasoned with. As a result, ME2 and ME3 rely more heavily on action to get the job done.

This was historically one of the series’ main sticking points, though there are a few tweaks in the Legendary Edition that attempt to tie all three games together as a more cohesive whole.

​ME1 brings much more of a traditional RPG approach, with a significant number of skill points to be spent across a large number of abilities that differ between classes. Later games simplify the process, with only a handful of active skills and a more deliberate upgrade path.
Shepard fights the Geth on Feros
There are tons of weapons, though they all conform to the familiar shotgun, pistol, assault and sniper rifle archetypes. In the first game these work on a cooldown rather than needing to reload, which can make for more strategic combat encounters. Any excess weapons can be assigned to teammates, sold and/or broken down into omni-gel used to skip hacking mini games and repair Shepard’s land vehicle.

In the second and third games, these more unique elements are nowhere to be found. Weapons need loading with thermal clips (presumably to speed up combat), for example.
There’s so much to cover here that it feels like we can only scratch the surface in terms of what players might discover.
Getting back to the first instalment, which has undoubtedly seen the most change, Mass Effect now has smoother combat mechanics in general. Improved cover mechanics, squad orders and a dedicated melee button are cribbed from its sequel to give players more control. That said, utilising biotic and tech powers (essentially magic and tech-based skills, respectively) can still feel quite clunky. Faster enemies are especially hard to take out, as they overwhelm the relatively immobile Commander Shepard easily.
BioWare have taken the time to smooth out the visuals and performance, too. While there’s still the odd janky animation here and there, players will notice the lighting improvements in the first game in particular, which would often require squinting to make out characters’ faces when they had helmets on.

The game runs from a fairly pedestrian, but reliable, 1080p at 30fps, all the way up to 4K UHD at an eye-watering 240fps on PC – provided the graphics card can handle it. What users get ultimately depends on whether they go for the “favour quality” or “favour framerate” graphics mode. For example, the Xbox Series X outputs up to 60fps at 4K UHD on the former setting and up to 120fps at 1440p on the latter.​
Garrus Vakarian
Characters and companions have always been the Mass Effect series’ crown jewel, however. While there are too many noteworthy examples to shout out individually (though we have discussed some of our favourites), it’s fair to say the depth of interaction varies quite significantly both between games and between squadmates and general NPCs.

The first title doesn’t go into too much detail straight away, but, in time, players learn about how companions differ and their individual values. Relationships with some characters can develop into romantic entanglements, all depending on how users behave. 

Where this system - and the accompanying dialogue - can start to creak is when users do things the game doesn’t really expect. In ME1, for example, an Asari consort is having problems with a client. Since the mission structure is fairly open, especially in the bustling Citadel, players might follow this quest line through to completion before another NPC suggests they check on the (already solved) situation.​
Liara T'Soni, your Asari companion and love interest
These kinds of inconsistencies follow through to romantic connections as well. Characters that are romanceable in one game aren’t always in the next, and being reunited with them can feel jarring instead of a natural continuation as would likely be the case in a single, longer game.

Dialogue options directly link to a meter which awards users points for paragon (noble) and renegade (ruthless) behaviour, too. There are benefits to hitting either end of the spectrum, which can lead to the system feeling like it encourages suboptimal decisions in certain situations.

There’s so much to cover here that it feels like we can only scratch the surface in terms of what players might discover. For those who’ve done it all before, the nuanced characters might feel more primitive than you remember, and the gameplay transition between each game can take some getting used to.​
Shepard fights a Husk with an omnitool
For those who are new, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is a real treat. It’s filled with thoughtful touches and memorable moments that are up there with some of the most dramatic set pieces in gaming history. It might not feel quite as polished as a modern game, but BioWare and EA have done the work to smooth out some of the rougher gameplay and visual edges. It’s now easier and more enjoyable than ever to follow the journey of Commander Shepard from beginning to end, allowing players to fully appreciate the epic space opera in comfort.

Pros

  • Colourful characters you want to go on continued adventures with
  • Freedom of choice in where to explore and how to treat others
  • Pleasant visual and gameplay upgrades throughout the series

Cons
​
  • No dedicated PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions
  • Binary choices can feel arbitrary at times
  • Progressive lean towards action trades style for substance

8/10
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Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition Review | Xbox One

28/1/2020

 
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition | Review | Xbox One - Pass the Controller

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire reached its crowd-funding goal within one day of the campaign's opening. Two years after a successful PC release, Pillars of Eternity II - Ultimate Edition has now landed on consoles, including three significant DLC expansions and a host of smaller additions.

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by Chris Brand
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@SuperCrisco

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Developer: Obsidian
Entertainment

Publisher: Versus Evil
Platforms: Xbox One,
​PS4, PC 

Players: 1
You start (or continue, having played the original) your journey as a formless entity confined to a veil between life and death. Known as the In-Between, this area is crammed with forlorn ghosts of your past that echo all around. One of the Gods has gone rogue and the rest aren't thrilled about it; as a Watcher (someone that can communicate with the deceased) you have unique talents and are granted a second chance at life, provided that you play ball.

Deadfire’s intro recounts events from the first Pillars of Eternity game, but, crucially, leaves out many of the finer points. It's here you'll either import an existing character, decide your backstory from a handful of presets, or choose to delve a bit deeper. When opting for the latter there's little context to accompany each decision shaping your past, though it's clear which are benevolent and which are less so, allowing you to easily mould the protagonist’s reputation as you see fit.

Unlike fellow Obsidian RPG, The Outer Worlds, Pillars of Eternity featured a class-based character system and its sequel permits multi-classing. Whilst this can be used to compensate for any weaknesses in your preferred choice of class – pairing a ranged wizard with a melee fighter, for example – it's not recommended for beginners, as stronger abilities will take longer to acquire and the most powerful skills will be locked out completely.

It's a rather slow burn at first, due to the plethora of game settings which can be tweaked and toggled to personalise your experience - and that’s before taking the general complexity of Deadfire’s combat system into account. Having a universe of lore to catch up on also delayed our progress through the opening hours considerably, if, admittedly, self-electively. PoE II contains an exhaustive codex bursting with information on people, places, stats and language that can be summoned with a click of the left stick whenever a highlighted word or icon appears.

World building is Obsidian's forte, after all.
Pillars of Eternity is tied together with gorgeous visuals evocative of classic D&D, an emotive soundtrack that bounces between melancholy melodies and jovial jingles, and NPC dialogue which is fully voiced thanks to a partnership with Critical Role.

PoE II’s story can unfold in numerous ways depending on your decisions, with characters divulging more information if you pursue the right line of questioning or pass skill checks. Scripted Interactions (small text-based segments) play out similarly, awarding loot or opening up shortcuts to those who possess a high enough level in one or more relevant skills.

A new combat scheme was introduced to PC post-launch and is present on consoles from day one, offering players the option to either engage in standard real-time-with-pause encounters or alternate turn-based battles. The latter is much slower in pace, making gameplay more akin to something like Mutant Year Zero or Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. 

Pathing is an issue in smaller maps, however, which can make turn-based mode a chore. When faced with a choke point, characters may decide to take the long way around, attempting to circumnavigate the globe and attack enemies from behind, in the process wasting multiple turns and leaving the party exposed. This persistent niggle, along with the excruciatingly slow pace, caused us to abandon our first playthrough after around 20 hours and start again using real-time-with-pause. No, you can’t switch mid-playthrough.

This actually proved to be a blessing in disguise; literally, as each achievement earned will award a specific number of Blessings to be used for a head start in subsequent playthroughs. By leveraging windfalls like cash and increased stats, we managed to catch back up fairly quickly and the combat experience was a lot smoother.
You'll gain access to a ship fairly early on, which not only provides the means to travel throughout the eponymous Deadfire Archipelago, but also allows for ship-to-ship combat. Multiple vessels are available to purchase, each with differing stats, and can be upgraded to provide you with extra firepower, stronger sails and a more durable hull. Every victory on the high seas awards experience to you and your crew, increasing your captain level and your crew's abilities. It's a fun little addition that’s easy to get to grips with, though it can be bypassed entirely by boarding enemy ships and engaging in traditional combat instead.

Not everything is quite so plain sailing, though. Every now and then an exit would bug out, forcing us to reload a previous save. In addition to this, ability names aren't shown outside of the skill trees and you'll spend the majority of your time in a party of five. That accounts for a lot of available abilities at any one time and, as such, necessitates a particularly good memory unless you want to fall back on guesswork.

Issues aside, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has a rich story with branching narratives, an incredibly in-depth party AI system and endless replayability thanks to its Blessings and multi-class mechanics. It’s a game that any self-respecting RPG fan will enjoy, regardless of whether or not they’re familiar with the original.

Pros

  • A wide range of available classes and builds
  • Exciting and tactical combat
  • Story digs its claws in and urges you on

Cons

  • Turn-based mode adds nothing but frustration
  • Ability names should be visible in combat
  • … Seriously, avoid turn-based mode

8/10
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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
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Pokémon Sword and Shield | Review | Nintendo Switch

22/11/2019

 
Pokémon Sword and Shield | Review | Nintendo Switch - Pass the Controller

​The road to the Galar region has been a rocky one for Nintendo and Pokémon fans alike, but when it comes to deciding how this pair of new Nintendo Switch games fare, we'll be focusing on what is here more so than what isn't.

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​by James
Michael
​Parry

Picture

@James_Parry

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Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Players: 1
As the first mainline Pokémon titles on Switch, expectations were high coming into Sword and Shield - which we’ve lumped together here due to them being largely identical. The overall experience is ultimately very, very familiar to regular players, with a more traditional gym badge structure returning after Sun and Moon's departure from the well-trodden format, and battles pushing the nostalgia button hard by leaning into familiar tropes.

Sun and Moon, alongside Let's Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee, brought new elements to the table. In Sword and Shield, however, normalcy and familiarity consume about 80-90% of the game, leaving little wiggle room for the few new elements to shine.

One returning feature is the ability to Dynamax Pokémon, overpowering and over-sizing them for three turns of badassery to surpass previous features like Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves. The novelty is initially impressive, but after a few times it wears off as you impatiently ride out the lengthy and unskippable animations.

Some Pokémon also boast Gigantimax forms, which function in much the same fashion only while also tweaking the visual design and granting a signature move to Pokémon. Nintendo made a song and dance about the “new” Gigantamaxing feature, yet this song is barely a remix.

​What does strike up a new tune is encountering significantly over-levelled Pokémon in the Wild Area. Coming up against these presents a chance to push your battle skills early on, but also shows off creatures in something more approaching a natural environment. While Pokémon do prowl about as you wander elsewhere in the game, the large evolutions present in the Wild Area carry an exciting visual impact that brings back memories of the Safari Zone, recapturing some of the child-like wonder of early Pokémon series exploration.
A cross between Teletubbyland and Breath of the Wild's rolling plains, the Wild Area itself could use a bit more intricacy. Biomes and various weather effects seem to shift from hail to sun and back again largely without rhyme or reason, but you'll lose plenty of time pottering about nonetheless. For the collectors amongst you, it's also a great opportunity to fill your Pokédex and diversify your party early on.

The story is by the numbers as usual, so those hoping for a deep, meaningful conversation with an NPC hanging out in a Pokémon Center will continue to be disappointed. A cheerful tune greets you whenever you do visit, though in this region there doesn't seem to be any Poké-helper for the nurse.

Elsewhere, the soundtrack is an awkward mix of sound effects we've been hearing for years (decades even), an increasingly archaic lack of spoken dialogue, and some charming new themes composed for the Wild Area and various cities. So fun are these latter spins on British culture, visually as well as musically, that you might find yourself spending longer than you should lingering in any one location.
​

While some rockstar Pokémon like Pikachu and Eevee get full sound effects - the creatures often saying their own names with a springy sense of joy - most don't have as much aural character, instead relying on adorable animations to help you bond with them as you play together in camps.
Animations overall are a strange mix, though. Even brand new additions like the three available starters (Scorbunny, Sobble and Grookey) have either well-choreographed displays for their unique moves, or completely generic ones which don't seem to match the move at all. You can go from the delight of a bespoke Wooloo "Tackle" to Scorbunny merely jumping on the spot to covey a "Double Kick" – even when it kicks merrily for some other moves.

Shortcomings don't end there, as the game also struggles to make the most of its new platform. Some locations and scenery really shine in terms of their design, but generally you'd be forgiven for assuming that Sword and Shield were 3DS ports.

That might still be enough for many players; after all, it’s almost impossible to escape the joy of setting out on an adventure to go from Pokémon zero to hero. Getting properly invested in a team and playing with their movesets to feel like you have all the bases covered is constantly rewarding, in spite of the eye-watering number of type combinations that are now available.

Hopefully the development compromises and sacrifices felt across Pokémon Sword and Shield will allow Game Freak to reassess and build on their successes to push the envelope in the future. In the meantime, there's a solid and enjoyable experience here, just not a new one.

Pros

  • New Pokémon have some great designs
  • The Wild Area is somewhat game-changing
  • Riffs on British culture are heartwarming

Cons

  • Only a handful of new elements
  • Human characters continue to be dull distractions from the titular stars
  • Many popular Pokémon don’t return, including some of the original starters

7/10
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Terminator: Resistance | Review | Xbox One

21/11/2019

 
Terminator: Resistance | Review | Xbox One - Pass the Controller

Arnold Schwarzenegger recently returned to the big screen in Terminator: Dark Fate, showing audiences a softer side to the relentless Cyberdyne Systems Model 101. That nostalgic entry is perhaps the best film in the long-standing action franchise since T2: Judgement Day, and similarly, Terminator: Resistance puts the series’ video game output on sturdier ground than most previous efforts. That being said, getting pegged as the best pick of a bad bunch isn’t necessarily worth much.

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam


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Developer: Teyon
Publisher: Reef
Entertainment
​
Platforms: PS4, Xbox
One, PC
Players: 1
Resistance is a first-person shooter in which shooting is a weak link. Conventional weapons dribble out limp audio feedback and lack almost any recoil, making for gunplay that immediately lacks punch. Robotic enemies stand stock still and whiff their shots from point blank range, letting you hit their weak spots for maximum damage without reacting. When you later “graduate” to more powerful plasma guns, despite boasting a promotion in stopping power, the firearms manage to feel even more akin to children’s toys.

To be fair, it’s still a marked improvement over the last action movie adaptation that developer Teyon and publisher Reef Entertainment produced in collaboration. Rambo: The Video Game was a bizarre on-rails effort that launched during the last console generation, earning a mauling that’s at least unbefitting of this inoffensively mediocre Terminator outing. 

The game’s set in the midst of the apocalyptic “Future War” scenario which audiences caught fleeting glimpses of in the original films. A pair of optional tie-in comics do a good job of telling the prequel story that leads up to players adopting the role of a resistance fighter in-game, but unfortunately, the war against Skynet begins to fall apart as Resistance proper takes the reigns.

Anybody familiar with the source material already knows that humanity prevails, so any drama would be derived from whether on not the largely original Terminator: Resistance cast makes it out alive. Most central characters are civilians that protagonist Jacob Rivers saves at the beginning of the game, who you might then opt to get to know a bit better by engaging them in binary dialogues. Scripting and the accompanying voiceovers are equally unenthusiastic, however, making it hard to care.

Many of these lite companions dole out side quests that are a highlight if only for breaking up all the drab shooting. Plenty of levels are wide open and engaging to explore, despite the sluggish movement controls and floaty jumping mechanics that you’ll use to navigate. It’s possible to pick locks and hack your way into hidden areas housing additional lore snippets, ammo, crafting components and valuables for trading. None of the latter elements are particularly vital, with enemies being so brain dead, but looting is nonetheless good fun for the pack rats among us.
Resistance is a first-person shooter in which shooting is a weak link.
Unfortunately, a lot of good will towards the level design evaporates when you begin to notice frequently recycled assets and even complete area retreads. In these instances you can switch vision modes in order to see through walls and very easily sneak past enemies, though in the process you’ll be sacrificing experience and the associated skill points required to upgrade abilities from three basic skill trees.

Visually, it’s about passable – outside of the distracting lip sync and facial animations that further detract from wooden conversations. Aurally the game fares even worse, with an odd bootleg of the iconic main theme being the best element for its inherent novelty value.

If you’re a Terminator fan that can embrace mediocrity with open arms - you’ve had plenty of practice, after all - spending a tenner when the price drops and around six hours of your time completing Resistance isn’t the worst idea. For everyone else, occasional flashes of a good game are likely to cause frustration as you wade through its variety of just passable game mechanics.

Pros

  • Some wide open levels make for engaging exploration
  • Choose to engage in firefights or stealth your way through
  • Optional side quests and character interactions

Cons

  • Reuses locations, at times axing the game’s strongest feature
  • Lacklustre gunplay
  • Neither sign nor sound of Arnie

5/10
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The Outer Worlds | Review | Xbox One

3/11/2019

 
The Outer Worlds | Review | Xbox One - Pass the Controller

If you've heard anything about The Outer Worlds it was likely in the same breath as some other properties, such as The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Fallout: New Vegas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and even titles without a colon in their name like Mass Effect or Bioshock. Those games appear to have influenced the developers (Obsidian themselves having worked on some of them) but it would be disingenuous to claim there's nothing to set this new IP apart from the precursors that were instrumental in its construction.

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by Chris
Brand

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@SuperCrisco

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Developer: Obsidian
Entertainment

Publisher:
Private
Division

Platforms:
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Switch (2020)
​
Players: 1
It all starts in the Halcyon Colony, a far off star system in which corporations are the de facto government. Indentured workers are commonplace and The Board, composed of many corporate entities, respects nothing but profit. Once you're pulled out of stasis by Phineas Welles, a relatively sane scientist, you are given the task of helping the rest of the unfortunates on your ship who are still blissfully frozen, sticking it to The Man as you go (or not, should you elect to walk a different path).

The character creation process is much as one would expect, going into this with the aforementioned Bethesda RPGs in mind. The all-important attributes will lay the foundations for your playstyle, whether it's more Sam Fisher, Noam Chomsky, Rambo or an all-round "Sam Chombo" build. It's a rather streamlined, efficient, procedure without sacrificing build diversity nor the complexities that an open world RPG typically offers.

At this point, the game provides few options when it comes to allocating skill points, which may be discouraging, but this is completely mitigated by awarding you with a whopping 10 pips for each level gained. This method is further enhanced due to skills being contained within groups of 2 or 3, which allows you to buff multiple skills by adding a single point into their parent category (until a skill hits level 50, then it's business as usual).

Stepping out into the game's first open world area, we were taken aback by the use of colour. Vibrant hues are abundant among the flora and fauna that are native to the handful of celestial bodies you'll be required to explore, each with their own, slightly differing, ecosystems. Even in subterranean caves where earthy browns and muted greys are the norm, there's swathes of neon from glowing fungus and the occasional anti-personnel mines, which seem to have been purposefully placed but, as tourists to this particular patch of space, we can't be sure aren't naturally occurring.
As is the fashion, quests can be completed in a number of ways. If you aren't built for stealth or wish to avoid stealing, a silver tongue may grant access to restricted areas or there's the standard RPG trope of a quid pro quo arrangement. Failing that, most folks won't argue with a flamethrower. At least, not for very long.

Many of the faces you'll meet are exaggerated caricatures, some endlessly parroting the company slogan through fear of punishment, others holding a genuine belief in the propaganda. Whilst this could wear thin, it's well-written satire that’s wonderfully performed by the voice actors, and serves to illuminate the "real" characters that have a more prominent role. Parvati, a companion you'll encounter early on (and one of our favourites), is a pleasure to travel with, not only for her combat and passive abilities, but her wholesome, innocent charm.

Your party will often run into trouble, even if it's a conscious decision made only to test out the whacky Science Weapons hidden around Halcyon. Fights are fast and frantic with smooth gunplay, which will feel familiar to anyone who's played a recent Fallout or Borderlands, but they're over a little too quickly on the easier difficulties. On hard mode and, presumably, Supernova (where food, water and sleep become necessary) a bit of forethought is required.
Tactical Time Dilation is a more skill-based V.A.T.S which slows the action to a crawl, allowing you a few free shots to damage and debuff the biggest threats, while each companion has a special ability to both damage and stun foes. Utilising these abilities will give you an edge, though it's important to regularly update your loadout and use the correct damage types. Consumables can be mixed in with your standard health packs, giving short-lived bonuses to stats. So ubiquitous are these items, that we found ourselves using them before, during and after engagements, yet still our pockets were overflowing.

An, albeit minor, sticking point is the game’s Flaws mechanic. After taking enough of a certain type of damage, say, from a specific enemy or too much head trauma, you'll be prompted to accept or decline a Flaw, a permanent condition that negatively impacts your stats in exchange for an extra Perk. Up to four Flaws can be accrued on Normal Mode, while higher difficulties feature more. It's a great idea for those fully committed to the role-playing aspect, whereby too many encounters with a certain type of foe could trigger ‘anxiety’ (read: debuffs) when near that enemy, but the hit to your stats rarely seems like a fair trade as the Perks, whilst providing concrete benefits, are largely unimaginative.

With that said, there's nothing that really detracts from the experience as a whole and our biggest gripe is having to wait years for the inevitable sequel. The Outer Worlds is a better Fallout than Fallout 4 and the shorter runtime (around 20 - 30 hours) is offset by having more replayability than its contemporaries. The fact that it's also free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers is just icing on the cake.

Pros

  • A thoughtful narrative, interwoven with satire, that's begging for repeated playthroughs
  • Beautifully designed alien worlds with a fittingly eerie soundtrack
  • A brilliant cast of characters
  • Plenty of references for sci-fi fans
  • Some highly amusing dialogue options

Cons

  • Perks aren't exciting enough to make Flaws seem worthwhile

9/10
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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
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