Platform: Xbox One
I am not good at driving games but I was dying to play this. Indeed I was very bad at it, but very much enjoyed the masterfully crafted artstyle and way it lovingly communicates the… art of rally.
I hate this phraseology, but it’s hard to avoid: Papers, Please meets Sim City. A crushing, brutal survival citybuilder which will have you searching your soul and stretching your ethical boundaries.
If you like Katana Zero or Hotline Miami, but wished they were in 3d (and had grapping & wallrunning), you’ll love this. Challenging but not punishing, and very fun. Great to look at too.
Roguelike set in and around surprisingly accurate corporate & IT-startup absurdity, even down to the artstyle - complete with trendy character design you’d expect to see on a startup website. Fun.
Buggy & janky, but if anything it only adds to its humour and charm. You drive through eastern Europe with your uncle in an absolute jalopy. Like the car, sometimes this barely works - and it’s great.
A very fun and extremely beautiful metroidvania-like exploration/adventure game which somehow feels a little unrewarding at times. Co-op is a bit of fun but don’t expect it to be an ongoing staple.
Turn-based survival with an insanely cool aesthetic, atmosphere and tone. Foreboding and dread are everywhere, but the game somehow manages to balance with an air of charm, irreverence & humour.
A mesmerising, hyperactive, colourful and emotionally rich rhythm game - super cool. Great design overall and fantastic music to carry it all the way to the end. Artistic, honest and addictive.
Spiritfarer is overwhelmingly beautiful, cathartic and well put together. Manages its fun and relaxation with a genuine emotional depth. Incredibly impressive. Great art, music, writing, characters.
Relies a lot on its IP, and benefits a lot from the inherent fun of VR (if you have it), but didn’t do much for me otherwise. Satisfies childlike dreams of flying an X-Wing, and the story is passable.