Matt Gander 
Even as a console owner in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, I knew that the Last Ninja trilogy was held in high regard amongst owners of the C64 and ZX Spectrum. It was often championed in the multiformat magazines of the era and could be seen riding the UK sales charts high. Even when the …
By our estimation over sixty new releases are due across the PlayStation and Xbox formats this week. Sure, a lot of these are smaller indie games and belated conversions, but there’s still a very strong chance of something excellent going unnoticed. As for the reason behind the new release avalanche, it seems to be down …
Something forever fascinating is hearing about indies that have become sleeper hits, selling vast amounts despite little in the way of promotion and barely making a whisper on social media. Earlier this year, I learned of Castle of Heart, a 2.5D action platformer that shifted over 300k units on Switch alone. Even more impressive is …
The Switch 2 sees a flurry of new releases this week, some of which haven’t gained much traction in the press. So, let’s change that, at least by a modicum. Coming from leftfield are the colourful light-gun party package BANG! BANG! BANDITS, top-down roguelite Royal Revolt Survivors, the surreal open-world RPG Dread Delusion – which …
Commercial software for the Amiga 500 was slow to surface when the home computer entered the market 1986. Then came along Defender of the Crown, which showed off what the Amiga was capable of. So impressive was this strategy experience that it remained a benchmark for years, while also making Cinemaware a studio to keep an …
As the first console to reach 100m sales, the PS1 had a long life, with new games appearing as late as 2005 – at which point the PS2 was well established. Even the UK Official PlayStation Magazine, known for running far past the console’s prime, no longer existed by then. Many late PS1 games were …
A comedic horror game that ends before the joke ceases to be funny? That’s an idea daft enough to work. And it does, for the most part. Weary city goer Matthew heads to his buddy’s riverside holiday home to recuperate for a few days. While tidying up a mess left by unruly teens, a wheelie …
Last week was busy for new releases, and the latest UK retail (physical) chart reflects this, with four new arrivals within the top 40. Firstly, though, Resident Evil Requiem remains no.1 for a third week running. It isn’t the only RE game in the top ten, with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Gold Edition at #7 …
Talk about a long time coming. Open world role player Crimson Desert began development in 2017 as an online prequel to Black Desert Online before becoming a standalone single-player adventure. How developer Pearl Abyss had the foresight to see how the online/live service landscape was fairing in 2026 is a mystery. Arguably a good call, though. …
We last crossed paths with Kain and Raziel in 2024’s robust and lengthy Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered double-pack. This brought together the technically accomplished 1999 original, which pushed the ageing PS1 hard, and the slightly disappointing combat focused sequel from 2001 – a relatively early release for PS2. Defiance is often heralded as a …
The Switch eShop is in almost perfect harmony this week, offering a pleasing mixture of anticipated big-name titles, intriguing indies, retro gems, and a sprinkling of oddities. Not too hectic, not too calm either. The dust hasn’t had a chance to settle on Resident Evil Requiem and yet Capcom are back with Monster Hunter Stories …
For whatever reason, March 26th is shaping up to be an exceedingly busy day for new releases, with around fifteen games due. The noughties style 3D platformer Dracamar from Petoons is about to crash the party, hitting PS5, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC that very day too. An archipelago of Mediterranean islands provides the …
Picture the scene. It’s 1998, and you’ve just installed the first-person shooter SiN onto your 166mhz Pentium processor packing PC. It’s sure to give your 4MB 3dfx Voodoo graphics card a good workout. Which it does – SiN had all the hallmarks of classic, poised to rub shoulders against the likes of Half-Life, Quake II, andUnreal. …
A certain controversial billionaire would have us believe that mankind’s salvation lies within the stars. The developers of this slow-life settlement builder clearly feel differently, believing that the solution lies within mountains once deemed inhospitable. Through a combination of nutrient rich soil, fresh streams, and precious mineral reserves, everything is at hand for a modest …
The Acclaim published Basketball Classics has been bouncing around on PC for a while, gaining ‘very positive’ reviews on Steam thanks to its old skool sensibilities. While it’s tempting to call it a spiritual successor to NBA Jam, it closer resembles the 8-bit era and offers 5-on-5 matches rather than 3-on-3. A new version has …