If you love when a game tells you nothing, has exploration, puzzles and secrets - all your Christmases have come at once with Animal Well. Its intricate art and wordless storytelling make for a unique and immersive atmosphere. The puzzles are varied and rewarding. Crafting and sustaining this level of intrigue in a metroidvania without combat is an impressive feat. Above all, Animal Well is full of surprises, and the fact that it was all created by one person is remarkable.

In a contrite tweet, Sony have announced the cancellation of plans to enforce PSN accounts for HELLDIVERS 2.

We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we’ll keep you updated on future plans.

It’s unclear what this means for Steam players in countries the game was removed from.

After enjoying three months of almost universal acclaim, Sony - in an incomprehensibly stupid move - has decided to make PSN accounts a requirement to continue playing HELLDIVERS 2. Since the announcement, the Steam review score has tanked to Overwhelmingly Negative, the game itself is no longer purchasable in 177 countries, and Steam are allowing refunds outside of the regular playtime window. Indeed, the HELLDIVERS 2 dev team themselves are encouraging negative reviews and refunds. You have to wonder what in the world is driving this decision and their apparent commitment to it.

INDIKA is very clearly a game by and for people who enjoy satirical, surreal and profound arthouse cinema. Its eclectic mix of realistic 3D and pixel art 2D is underpinned and elevated by strong writing and voice acting - I was hooked from the first scene, and it even stuck the landing. The narrative is dark and compelling, the puzzles are engaging, and more than anything its thought-provoking themes and presentation make it unforgettable. I would love more games like this.

For all its egregious fan-service, turns out Stellar Blade is actually pretty good. You can tell Sekiro is there in its DNA somewhere - with a mild emphasis on parries - but I wish combat was a bit less forgiving and hack-n-slashy. There are a myriad of ways to approach each encounter, which is fun but again, lightens the difficulty a fair bit. I also wish there were more varied environments, which feel a bit samey at a certain point. Overall though, fun game with great music, cool enemies, boss designs and an engaging-enough story.

[Early Access] What’s not to like? Isometric soulslike combat, an incredibly dense world packed with verticality and hidden areas, combined with randomised loot to reward exploration. Impactful sound, great music, well-written characters, lore and… some of the best art I’ve seen in a game - every frame a painting. So far, the devs are showing what good looks like for an early access title, responding to feedback and frequent patches. Love.

I love that Team NINJA are always trying stuff out - since Nioh through Wo Long and now Ronin, they’re obviously keen to experiment. Unfortunately, while their previous ones have been hits, this one is a bit of a miss. Any real sense of a soulslike is gone, making way for aggressively mid Ubisoft type openworld checklist activities. The bloated scope reveals a lack of polish. Exploration is a chore and unrewarding. Combat is fun at first, but quickly becomes pretty mindless (and amazingly, from these guys, super easy). I hope they try the openworld stuff again, but for me this aint it.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 continues the legacy of its predecessor with expansive open-world exploration and super dynamic combat. I would’ve liked a bit more enemy variety, and the overall narrative is slightly underwhelming, but neither materially impacted my enjoyment. It certainly has its quirks, but after giving myself over to it, I experienced a sense of adventure not felt since BOTW or Elden Ring.

Good remake. The poignant story, as well as the varied and unique gameplay from the original are all here, and are still great. There are obviously massive visual improvements, and a few QoL things, making it a perfect entrypoint for those who’ve not played it before. Otherwise, unless you’re obsessed with the original, you’re probably good to sit it out.

I tried. I really did. Being so critically lauded, I battled with the feeling that I must be missing something. Many hours of unsatisfying combat, constant interruptions from either robotic or otherwise insufferable characters and eyerolling minigames. Turns out; it’s nostalgia and anime-brain that I’m missing, and if you don’t have those, the game is an admirably wide-scoped and gorgeous to look at chore. I get it, there’s a great game here for those predisposed to its sensibilities… but sadly that’s not me.