The Callisto Protocol takes PUBG Battlegrounds full circle. Well, sort of. The former isn’t a 100-person fight-to-the-death battle royale, but it is a horror game that shares the same universe. The latter, of course, began life as a mod for zombie survival shooter DayZ – it itself a mod within …
Read More »Jump scares, dont care: why I long for more exploration-based horror in 2022
They say a picture paints a thousand words. But while playing Resident Evil Village over the Christmas break, one particular in-game photograph conjured just a handful of expletives. Those of you who’ve finished the latest entry to Capcom’s abiding survival horror series will know the one. The one found on …
Read More »Elden Ring story explained: everything we know about the lore
The Elden Ring story and lore behind the game is, much like the Souls games, a bit hard to decipher. We pieced together the little bits of information from the trailers (especially the most recent story trailer), and the network test. There’s also a fair bit of theorizing going on …
Read More »The 25 best games of 2021
The best games of 2021 reflect what a weird and truly unpredictable year it has been. As the world struggled to return to normalcy, exiting lockdown but leaving us no less isolated, the video game industry shifted in response. Many of the blockbusters we had expected to play this year …
Read More »The GTA Trilogys Vice City underlines the importance of autonomy in sandbox games
On November 9, 2002, I promised my mate Gav he could borrow a pair of smart shoes for his aunt’s birthday. I told him I’d meet him “halfway”, at the bridge that divides Cathcart and Merrylee in Glasgow at 7pm, which, to be fair to him, was much nearer my …
Read More »Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearls EXP Share makes the remakes too easy for their own good
Remaking a game from scratch is never an easy task. The job of capturing the essence of the originals while also reinventing them to match expectations established by modern alternatives is a tightrope-walk at the best of times. In the past, Nintendo seems to have succeeded in this task. Gen …
Read More »5 moments that defined the first year of Xbox Series X
It’s been a busy (and expensive) console launch year for Xbox and although independent stats show PS5 ahead in sales, Microsoft has claimed the Series X is its fastest selling console ever. The machine has seen some excellent games, with Psychonauts 2, Tetris Effect Connected, and Yakuza Like a Dragon …
Read More »DICE is addressing my biggest Battlefield 2042 concerns following its open beta
Communication is going to be key in Battlefield 2042. That’s been true of every Battlefield game to an extent, given the series’ particular penchant for rewarding strong teamplay and generating chaos across massive multiplayer arenas. But in Battlefield 2042, everything is bigger than ever before: the maps, the player count, …
Read More »The Grand Underground alone has sold me on Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
The Pokemon Company is really dedicated to becoming the tourism board for the Sinnoh region. Because not only are we going back to Sinnoh’s origins with Pokemon Legends: Arceus in January, we’re also taking a modern-day trip to Sinnoh with Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl this November – giving …
Read More »Outer Wilds Echoes of the Eye trades joyful exploration for overwhelming unease
Remember how cute and fun the Outer Wilds was? Aside from being a jaw-droppingly clever game, it somehow managed to make this tale of entropy and lost chances oddly adorable, pootling around in a spaceship held together with little more than duct tape and optimism, exploring planets barely a mile …
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