Game Reviews
Game reviews here are written to answer two questions at once: how does the thing actually play, and what is it trying to do? Combat, controls, pacing and performance get the same attention as story, structure and the ideas a game leaves behind.
There are no scores. Each review ends with who the game is for and what to expect from it, so the verdict stays readable after a patch, a remaster or a price drop.
[01] Latest ·
Unturned Review: Survival on Xbox One and PS4
Six years after its Steam debut, Unturned reached Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Its blocky look hides a punishing survival game with more depth than it first appears.
[R] How a review is built
Reading a review
Every review opens with the same spec line. This is what each field records.
Released
The date this version reached the platform it was played on. Ports often arrive months after the first release.
Reviewed on
The exact hardware the review was played on. Notes on frame rate, load times and resolution refer to this machine, so an Xbox One X review reads differently from one on a base Xbox One.
Also on
The other versions available when the review was written.
Developer · Publisher
Who made the game and who released it. Small studios often self-publish; the line shows which is which.
Price
The launch price in US dollars on the review date, kept as a record of the launch rather than a current offer.
The verdict
The closing section says who the game suits and what to expect from it. There is no score, so the verdict still reads correctly after a patch or a price cut.
Spec line from the Moonlighter: Between Dimensions DLC Review – Trick Weapons
The shelf, by platform played
Nintendo Switch
2 reviews
Xbox One
6 reviews
PC
3 reviews
Hardware & services
3 reviews
The index
- [02]
Oneechanbara Origin Review
Tamsoft remade the 2004 cult hack-and-slash and its sequel as one game with a new art style and a new playable character. It looks great and plays exactly like the mid-2000s.
- [03]
Destroy All Humans! Review
Black Forest Games rebuilt Pandemic's 2005 alien invasion for a new generation and changed almost nothing that mattered. That turns out to be exactly the right call.
- [04]
Moonlighter: Between Dimensions DLC Review – Trick Weapons
Digital Sun's shopkeeper roguelike already had one of the most addictive loops of its era. Between Dimensions adds new weapons, new risks and a brutal nine-floor dungeon for the endgame.
- [05]
Dogfighter -WW2- Battle Royale Review
Forty pilots, one shrinking zone and no buildings to hide in. Dogfighter -WW2- moves the battle royale into the sky, and the change works better than its rough edges suggest.
- [06]
2019 Game of the Year Nominations
2019 brought remakes done right, long-awaited sequels and a few debuts nobody saw coming. These are the games that made the shortlist, and why each one earned its place.
- [07]
My Time At Portia Console Review
Pathea's crafting life sim reached Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Switch in 2019. Its freedom to work, farm, dig or court at any pace makes it one of the best games of its kind.
- [08]
The Lion's Song (Switch) Review
Mi'pu'mi Games set a classic point-and-click adventure among the artists and scientists of early twentieth-century Vienna. Two of its four episodes are among the best adventure storytelling of 2018.
- [09]
Farming Simulator 19 Review: John Deere, Weeds and Multiplayer
GIANTS Software promised a new engine, new crops, horses, buildable farms and a rebuilt multiplayer. Almost all of it landed, and the result is the strongest game in the series.
- [10]
Audeze Mobius Review: 3D Gaming Headset
Audeze built its name on high-end planar magnetic headphones costing thousands. The Mobius puts the same driver type in a $399 gaming headset and adds head tracking.
- [11]
HITMAN: Definitive Edition Review – PS4, Xbox One and PC
IO Interactive rebuilt Agent 47 around six enormous sandboxes. The Definitive Edition puts all of them, and almost everything added since, into one package.
- [12]
God of War Review (Spoiler-Free)
Santa Monica Studio kept Kratos's past and rebuilt everything else: story, camera, combat, controls and structure. It is one of the best games of its generation.
- [13]
Far Cry 5 Review (Spoiler-Free)
Ubisoft moved Far Cry to rural Montana and built its open world around a doomsday cult. The result refines nearly everything from Far Cry 4 and shakes up the formula along the way.
- [14]
Sorcery Jokers Review
Sorcery Jokers looks like a light story about magic and cute characters. Around ten hours in, it becomes something much darker, and much better.
- [15]
Remothered: Tormented Fathers Review
Stormind Games built a survival horror game around hiding, listening and luring rather than fighting. Six hours long, it rarely lets the tension drop.
- [16]
The Escapists 2 Review
Team17 and Mouldy Toof kept the trial-and-error heart of The Escapists and fixed much of the friction around it. The result is more accessible without being any less of a puzzle.
- [17]
Utomik Game Subscription Service Review
Utomik offers unlimited PC games for a monthly fee, streamed in pieces so play starts before the download ends. Its library leans on classics and indies rather than new releases.
[R] Questions
Questions readers ask
Do the game reviews use scores?
No. Each review ends with a verdict that says who the game suits and what to expect from it. A number goes stale after a patch or a price cut; a description of how the game plays does not.
Which platforms are the games reviewed on?
Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PS4 Pro, Xbox One and Xbox One X, and PC. The spec line at the top of each review names the platform the game was played on and lists the other versions.
Are prices in the reviews current?
They are launch prices in US dollars at the date of the review. Most of these games have since been discounted or bundled, so the price line is a record of the launch rather than a buying guide.
Are there hardware reviews as well as games?
A few. The Audeze Mobius gaming headset and the Utomik game subscription service are reviewed alongside the games.