Reviews

A great return from a venerable franchise. Great game of running, shooting, and maybe running away.

Look, I remember 1993. I remember the pixelated chaos that felt like a fever dream in a dark basement. For years, shooters tried to be "smart" or "tactical," losing their soul in the process. Then Doom (2016) showed up, kicked the door off the hinges, and reminded us that we don't need a reload button to have a good time. It is a massive return to form. This isn't a game about hiding behind waist-high walls. It is a game about forward momentum. You run, you gun, and you perform glory kills that feel like a jagged shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. The loop is simple: see a demon, turn it into red mist, and keep moving before your brain has time to realize how ridiculous it all is. The graphics are sharp, though the sound is mostly there to keep the blood pumping rather than win any awards for subtlety. It is challenging, but it never crosses the line into being unfair. It respects your time by giving you exactly what you want: pure, unadulterated carnage. If you miss the days when games were about the dance of death instead of navigating menu trees, this is your sanctuary. THE VERDICT Visual Design 9/10 Hell has never looked this crisp or beautifully oppressive. Sound Design 8/10 Functional and heavy, though it leans on the music to do the heavy lifting. Gameplay 10/10 The most satisfying movement and combat loop in a decade. Longevity 9/10 I finished the 12-hour campaign and immediately wanted to go again. Fun Factor 10/10 Pure, cathartic joy. It makes you feel like a god. OVERALL 10/10

A rock-solid, if slightly repetitive, retro-feeling blast.

Back in the day, we used to get our stories from the back of a box or a manual that smelled like fresh ink. We didn’t need a twenty-minute cinematic to tell us why we were shooting robots; the flashing red lights and the "danger" siren did the heavy lifting. Deadzone Rogue feels like it was born from that same DNA, but it’s trying to wear a modern suit that doesn't always fit perfectly. You know the story already. You wake up on a derelict ship-the ISS-X, because apparently, space naming conventions haven't evolved since 1998—and you start blasting. The first thing that hits you isn't the story, but the sheer weight of the gunplay. It’s meaty. It’s responsive. It reminds me of those late-night Quake sessions where the movement was so buttery you forgot you were holding a plastic mouse. Prophecy Games nailed the "feel" of being a walking tank, especially once you start stacking elemental augments. Turning a standard shotgun into a void-spewing harbinger of death is the kind of power trip that keeps you clicking "one more run." But then, the cracks start to show. While the art direction is sharp—leaning into that gritty, industrial sci-fi look that would make Ridley Scott nod in approval-it’s like a beautiful stage with only three sets. After ten hours, you’ve seen every metallic corridor and reinforced blast door the ship has to offer. The enemies suffer from the same "clone-wars" syndrome. You’ll be fighting the same robotic spiders and biomechanical drones in Zone 3 that you were swatting in Zone 1, just with more health bars. It’s a bit like eating a great steak every night; eventually, you’re just chewing for the sake of it. The biggest missed opportunity here is the storytelling. I’m all for mystery, but relying on "Data Pads" scattered in random rooms feels like a chore from a 2004 RPG. I want to feel the ship’s history through the environment, not by pausing the frantic action to read a digital diary. That said, I’ve put 27 hours into this thing. Why? Because the difficulty curve is a more than good enough. It respects your time. Whether you’re chilling on "Adventure" mode or sweating through "Nightmare," the game scales the tension without ever feeling like it’s cheating. Plus, the devs are actually listening-dropping new content and tightening the screws faster than I can clear a sector. It’s a solid, reliable shooter that just needs a bit more soul in its machine. THE VERDICT Visual Design 8/10 Gritty, cohesive industrial aesthetic. Great lighting and feedback. Sound Design 6/10 Clean gun sounds and a decent OST, but overall unremarkable soundscape. Gameplay 8/10 Buttery movement and addictive, elemental-based gunplay. Longevity 10/10 27 hours in. Average "Main + Extras" is ~21h. I'm clearly hooked. Fun Factor 7/10 High-octane fun, slightly dampened by repetitive enemy types. OVERALL 7/10

I am a mighty Pirate named Chop

You know the feeling. It’s that phantom itch in the back of your brain that only a good "Game of Chop" can scratch. You start the evening thinking you’ll just gather enough fiber for a bedroll, and suddenly it’s 2 AM, your floor is covered in wood shavings, and you’ve somehow pioneered a new era of naval architecture.Windrose is that kind of obsession. It’s a pirate-themed survival crafter that understands the primal satisfaction of a well-felled tree. In an era where "survival" often means "struggle against a menu," Windrose makes the act of gathering feel like a rhythmic dance. On land, the loop is tight; you’re not just surviving, you’re conquering. The tech tree is a traditional grind to "just one more unlock," branching out with a logic that feels earned. You start with a stick and a dream, and before long, you’re looking at blueprints for frigates and Caribbean-style haciendas. The transition from land to sea is where most games of this ilk usually trip over their own anchors. Not here. Slipping from the shore onto the deck of a vessel you built with your own two hands-literally-is a high I am looking forward to as my starter dingy just doesn't cut it. The sailing isn't just a loading screen with extra steps; it’s a genuine extension of the gameplay. However, the "Soulslite" combat on land still has some barnacles on it. While the posture-breaking mechanics and parrying are responsive, the game has a nasty habit of throwing "death-by-numbers" at you. I spent 4.5 hours in this world, and a significant chunk of that was spent staring at a "You Died" screen because a pack of boars or a horde of undead sailors decided my personal space was an open invitation. But even when I was dying, and I was dying a lot, I wanted back in. There’s a soul here that modern AAA "pirate simulators" (looking at you, Skull and Bones) completely missed. It’s the difference between a theme park ride and actually holding the compass. THE VERDICT Visual Design 8/10 Stylized realism that nails the "Gloomy Baltic" meets "Tropical Caribbean" vibe. Sound Design 6/10 It's good but I can play it on mute Gameplay 8/10 Exceptional tech tree and building; land-to-sea transition is seamless and satisfying. Longevity 8/10 4.5 hours is just a drop in the bucket, and I'm playing more Fun Factor 7/10 Addictive "Chop" loop hampered by frustrating combat spikes and frequent deaths. OVERALL7 /10 A diamond in the rough that needs a bit more polish on its blade.

I used to hate AC games

Since this is a game about history, let’s start off with my history with the Assassin’s Creed games. I own AC1, AC2, AC3 and AC4: Black Flag. I disliked all those games (well at least the first 3 anyway) because they force you to do stealth and it is game over if you don’t do it right. Trailing someone on your first mission is basically (in my head anyway) **NOT FUN**. Since I disliked the first few games, I did not bother with the rest up to now. To salve this apparent gaming slight (according to some of my pals), I read the books by Oliver Bowden (well most of them anyway) and I found them to be fun, if rather generic. Let’s call the books a good summer read over a pint, forgettable by the time you’ve got home. Since I am an avid reader of genre fiction, this seemed to be enough for me where the AC world was concerned. Spinning this out to with wider net, I have mostly avoided the Ubisoft identikit open world games that seemed to start with Far Cry 2. Yes, I played FC:5, but mostly because I could shoot my way through things. I also played GR:WildLands which was amusing multiplayer for sure, but mostly those open world games leave me stone cold. They become an exercise in painting a map more than playing a game. Anyway, back to AC:O. It turns out I have spent 147 hours on it (so far). I have bought the Season Pass separately, something I would never do as I’m old enough to believe that DLC has no place in the world. It took me 11 hours just to complete the prologue of this game, because I had to explore everywhere on the first island. But why? To be honest, I don’t know. If I was being unkind, I could just dismiss the game as Ghost Recon: Greece, since AC:O and GR:W share similar mechanics. There’s a story, that involves doing missions. When you find a base, or any area of interest, you spin up your device for viewing the map (a bird or a drone). You scope out the baddies, and then either go sneaky-sneaky or go loud to kill them all. Rinse and repeat (for apparently 147 hours) while the story revolves around you. That to me is about a 5/10 game at best. So why did this one grab me so much and thus become a 8/10 game? Is it the (now that I have a rig to run it on Ultra everything) absolutely stunning art design? Maybe. It is an undeniably wonderful looking game. It must be because I now understand why taking in game photos is a thing that should be applauded. Is it the overall setting, since I am a sucker for a good swords-and-sandals epic? Quite possibly. Let’s face it, ancient Greece is a fascinating time in human history. If nothing else from an architectural standpoint. I was listening to the No such thing as a Fish podcast the other day and learnt that the concrete they used around that sort of time is better than the concrete we use today (something about sea water). How can that era not be absolutely intriguing in real life, even if the plot of this game itself is fairly boilerplate? Is it because they have made it into a sort of RPG? More than likely, since it makes it more like Mass Effect 2. While the plot is mostly predictable, the fact that they have bolted RPG mechanics to it that affects how the plot unfolds deviates sufficiently from the formula to make me interested. The addition of cultist hunting is padding, as is becoming top mercenary, but it’s not arduous to do the side quests (though there is a bug which can prevent you some becoming top mercenary). To be honest, I think the reason I love this game (and I must do since I have just bought AC: Origins as well since apparently it’s similar) is because it’s quite like Mass Effect 2, it looks stunning, it plays well and it doesn’t penalise you for not doing stealth. It might have taken a lot of AC games to get it right, but I think this one is just plain right. It has taken something generic and now formulaic and made it better. All the others don’t really appeal and I won’t go back and play them. Yes, I might miss out on the over-arching plot, but to be honest I don’t care. I’m off to Greece to battle with the gods of Atlantis (the second DLC), much better than trailing someone for information. Well done Ubisoft, you’ve changed the formula and made a fan out of me again.

Is it a game?

Watching this game, listening to this game, choosing the path through this game. All of these things are excellent. The "gameplay" of dispatching your hero team to help the public, well personally it does nothing for me. Could I watch this all day long? Absolutely Could I play it all day long? I'm not sure Is it still an excellent experience? Without doubt

Not a Clue

Good grief this game is amazing. The world is so very good. I could literally wander around it for a long time (while trying to avoid the gribblies of course). If not for everything wanting to kill me, I still would be doing so. The variety of locations, the design, the craftmanship (craftpersonship?) in the design of the world is second to none. It still terrifies me though. If it were a craft-em-up, then I would never leave my starter home. (Now I'm imagining how much fun an Elden Ring craft-em-up might be). Summary impressions time: The game gives me no help on its systems The game gives me no help on what I am supposed to do The game gives me no help on what I should or should not fight, so I am running away a lot The game gives me no help on how to level up The game gives me no help at all Despite all the negatives, I cannot stop trying to get better at this damn game

Not just more of the same

Hades was an excellent game that I was reasonable at. I have never finished it and never will. The sequel is in some ways more of the same, you start a run and get some way through it. You meet a foe or foes you cannot conquer and you die. You then spend as long as you possibly can talking to any and all of the wonderful NPCs in the game. What sets the sequel apart really is that they are even better than the first game. So, if you like a game with a wonderful art style, great voice acting and soundtrack, that is tough as nails - then this is the game for you. If you own Hades, then you already know this and have bought it anyway