Video Gamer

Night call is thick with moody atmosphere and noir style; its writing is hit and miss, but it's tough not to be entranced by the central concept.

A wondrous world and keenly felt themes are slighted by unsubtle writing.

The Sinking City is well worth playing for the initial rhythm of its casework and the freshness of its setting, but its mechanics, like its mystery, end up flooded.

Judgment tinkers with the Yakuza template enough that it provides something for fans, as well as those who have always thought about visiting Kamurocho.

While the rewards in hidden areas aren't as satisfying as you might expect from a game like this, Gato Roboto's tense, creative boss battles with a talking rodent are an absolute delight.

Blood & Truth is an exciting shooter with some deft VR touches; its forgettable plot and characters are made up for by the intricate details of its world.

Layers of Fear 2 is crammed with cryptic messages about acting method: ‘You build one character. You destroy the other. There’s no other way,’ one voice croons early on. But I couldn’t help thinking that, in making a new game, you don’t have to destroy the other. There is another way.

When you and your two pals are sharing item pick-ups, driving in each other’s racing lines, and skimming past one another for a boost, Team Sonic Racing shines. It offers something different in the kart racing genre.

An exquisite atmosphere and fresh premise make up for some slightly obtuse puzzles. Observation brims with ideas and images that fill your head.

The satisfying action and relentless chaos of Rage 2 peppers a formulaic open world with thrills.

A Plague Tale: Innocence has some clunky writing in places, and its play gets stale after a time, but it prevails with a compelling mystery and a beautiful world.

Granted, the chase sequences are frustrating and the story falls a bit flat, but there's some wonderful attention to detail in Close to the Sun's environments, and tension is present even in the game's calmest moments.

Mortal Kombat 11 sees the franchise at its strongest yet, with finely-tuned scrapping and an ample amount of content providing one of the most rewarding fighting games of the generation.

Days Gone is a grim, beautiful B-movie; its action and writing are full of pulpy thrills, and by the end of it, I found myself liking a character called Deacon St. John – an achievement in itself.

Is this Miyazaki’s most enchanting world? You could argue that falling back on the natural beauty of Japan is cheating; then again, the landscape lends itself particularly well to Sekiro – the plated sweep of a temple roof that starts to resemble armour, and the canes of a bamboo forest, rattling like raised spears. No other developer makes places that feel like this, and you realise what FromSoftware must be to other studios around the world: a shadow that keeps coming back.

Hypnospace Outlaw is a perfect recreation of what the internet once was, and in some ways still is: a glorious mess of friendship and anarchy. It’s probably good we don’t have auto-playing music anymore, though.

The loop is satisfying, because the shiny carrot at the end of the stick is within touching distance at all times. Those looking for reason behind it all will feel cheated. The Division 2 could have been more. But, hey, as far as dull, well-made third person shooters without a single thing to say on absolutely anything, this is a pretty decent one.

Not that ‘Kick doors... shoot men’ needs any development; it’s the stuff around it. The more I played the game the more those words rose above the clamour. How frustrating that such brilliant simplicity be scuppered by strained mission design and a fragile frame rate. If you like the idea of RICO, my advice would be thus: ‘Kick doors... shoot men… wait for patch.’

It harks back to the moment, in Steamboat Bill, Jr., where the front of a house falls on its hero, and he’s saved in similar fashion. Few games can get away with invoking classical literary heroes like Dante and Virgil in the same breath as Buster Keaton. How’s that for divine comedy?

The Occupation is a game of intriguing ideas and sublime atmosphere; the tension of its real-time thrills gives way to a romance with journalistic sleuthing.

Anthem has potential. In its present state, it’s a bit of a mess: underdeveloped, repetitive, and confused about what it wants to be. BioWare’s sci-fi shooter still has its moments, but they’re clouded by poor design choices and technical hiccups. Being a games-as-a-service product, there’s every chance things will be polished – and I really hope they are. For now, though, Anthem feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity.

Whilst the concept is there in the title, the intricacies of Ape Out’s are revealed the more you play. Every aspect creates a dazzling jazz mixtape that reverberates from eyes, to ears, to thumbs.  And you’re an ape. Which is great.

You could accuse the game of being dogmatic to its detriment. In a telling dent, the menus haven’t passed their MOT, spluttering and stalling as you navigate them. And if you listen carefully, you can hear the fidgeting of the developers at Codemasters, wondering why you aren’t out on the track. And why wouldn’t you want to be? For all the unforgiving curves, there’s nothing like nailing the apex of a turn, kicking up a cloud of russet, and barreling out the other end with your tyres crying.

There’s definitely sparkles of brilliance throughout Jump Force. The fighting arenas – ranging from New York, Mexico, Japan, Paris, and New Zealand – are vibrant and packed full of detail, while the characters are suitably stylish, retaining their iconic designs. Punch-ups are typically full of visual spectacle, too; it’s just a shame that there’s no real incentive to dig deeper into the game’s mechanics, as there’s a competent scrapper buried in there somewhere. As a 50th anniversary celebration of Shonen Jump and a fighting game however, Jump Force whiffs its knockout blow.

The mission structure is repetitive, the story’s utter wallop, and the baddies are there for shooting practice. But, damn it, it’s fun being an over-powered superhero scaling a building in Crackdown 3.