To have a good time, you have to settle in and sing to its rhythm. It has a slow start, and the main story is highly repetitive, but if you are willing to get sucked into its lore, you generally won't mind. The shipbuilding is one of those systems for those who love that sort of thing. For those who don't, getting a new ship to do what you want can be pretty frustrating. It would be great if there were an auto-build feature based on your available parts. The game's gunplay is probably one of Bethesda's best, but still at an average quality compared to other FPS titles. There are plenty of dialogue options, but I found a lot of inconsistencies with NPC responses not matching up to previous relationship decisions. The skill tree is comprehensive, letting you build based on your playstyle, but with certain content being locked behind your ship's capabilities, you discover too late that you have to invest in specific skills to progress.

By far the best of the trilogy, as opposed to the popular opinion. The batmobile is a fun addition, albeit clumsy, to drive around the tight streets of Gotham. It took a while to get used to a new UI layout, but once I got the hang of it, the thugs feared my presence. The side stories were a fun activity alongside the main story, and a lot can be done while naturally driving around the city. In combat, I felt that Batman was much more capable of quickly dispatching crowds of enemies, thanks to the new suit. I would have scored this higher, but the numerous crashes I got while gliding around got tiresome. Not something I expect for an eight-year-old game originally for an older generation of consoles.

Of the three Persona games I've played (3, 4 and 5) this has my favourite cast and story. The gameplay doesn't reach the heights and presentation of its successor but I will look back on this fondly. There are moments, however, where the game does spout some questionable dialogue that didn't age well but I don't personally hold that against it. It has been added to the very small list of games that nearly made me cry, which could be counted on one hand. If you got into the series with Persona 5 as I did, I would heavily recommend playing Persona 4 Golden too.

On paper I should love this, a turn-based RPG with the One Piece crew in the style of Dragon Quest. However, something didn't quite feel right during my playthrough and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was making it fall short of the mark. My conclusion was everything just takes a little too long; the combat animations, changing characters in the overworld and even getting from place to place. Everything takes just one or two clicks more than it needed to, which doesn't sound like a lot but does add up over time. The game also relies heavily on the crew revisiting the memories of their past adventures. The original story that is there is rather mundane and very predictable. Despite that though, I'm glad it exists because it's always fun to hang out with the Straw Hat Pirates and they've never looked so good.

Trading guns for magic, you play as one of the special few who can wield all three colours of the arcane. You are armed with Blue (a Rifle), Red (a Shotgun), and Green (a Machine Gun) to mow down your foes. The writing is fun, and the voice acting is good. Although, you might struggle to find a character you actually like, as they are all different shades of asshole. The game claims you can build your character to fit your playstyle, focusing on powering up one colour or evenly spreading your points across all three. However, it then throws you encounters that require specific colours to defeat enemies, spitting in the face of those claims. Sometimes, a game can simply be "good". They don't have to all be masterpieces.

Many games try to capture that cool and cute charm of Pokémon, but this has got to be the one that's gotten the closest to that sun. Most battles are two-on-two with yourself and a swappable companion turning into the various beasts they record on their cassette tapes that inhabit the strange island. The game manages to balance the cute and vibrant setting with moments of unnerving oddities. It can be a bit confusing to get your head around the elemental balance of combat, but it's easy enough to overcome with a chart found online. The story isn't anything fancy, but it has enough charm to make the time spent playing an enjoyable one, especially if you are a fan of monster-catching games.

Probably the best iteration in this long-standing series. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio never disappoints in delivering the perfect blend of seriousness and zaniness while showcasing some of the best visuals. Changing the location from Japan to Hawaii is a breath of fresh air, which goes a long way. The combat is much improved from the previous game, which raised the bar for turn-based RPGs. It's a shame they kept the mechanic of getting a game over if the main character is knocked out. The only downside is that I wasn't personally a fan of the main side activity. Still, none of that detracts from its overall quality. No one makes me smile as much as Ichiban Kasuga.

Peter Parker and Miles Morales are excellent and play differently enough that it's not like the same person with a different costume. The game has improved on the formula since its last two iterations, becoming the best of the three. The story is fantastic, with twists and turns of differing predictability and a bit of variety to break up the pace. It can sometimes feel disjointed between the two Spider-Men, almost like you are playing two different storylines simultaneously. It all comes together nicely, though, so that feeling doesn't last long. There are a lot of side objectives as before, but they are fun to do and addicting if you are into that sort of thing.

After playing the first game only a month prior, I was sceptical about all the accolades it received. At first, this didn't shift until a certain point in the game, when I experienced something that blew me away. There are two protagonists in the story, and after a moment, you can swap between them in safe areas with minimal impact on the story and each other. This is because they are in different locations, different planes of existence. Each character and their side of the story plays slightly differently, one more investigative and the other more puzzle-solving. Both were satisfying to play in their own way. The music and sound are top-tier, with killer music and music that sounds like something will kill you. While there are minor jump scares, it doesn't rely on them like most games in the genre. Instead, it makes you feel an overarching sense of dread as you navigate the dark areas armed with a gun and a flashlight.

Felt like a true sequel to the original film, more so than the actual sequel. Voiced by the original cast, you join the Ghostbusters as a no-name Rookie to combat ghosts, gain some closure and dive deeper into the lore of Gozer. It's full of fan service, and as a fan, I loved every second of it. The audio wasn't great though, sounding like a lower quality than the game deserved but you do sort of get used to it after a while. The AI of the actual squad is quite bad though, there were a few fights I spent more time reviving than combating ghosts. I was pleasantly surprised at how spooky it was and wish there were more games like this.

It has a dull first half and a tedious ending, but that third quarter is excellent. It's a shame to see a Final Fantasy entry I love have such an unnecessary sequel, but it was nice to see some of the characters again. The first half of the game has you spend a long time playing the same period from different character's perspectives. In theory, this is fine, except when there are nine to get through before you start progressing the story meaningfully. I always find it weird that a King must pay to use the Inn inside his castle.

It feels like this was made by fans of JRPGs for fans of JRPGs. The sprite work is fantastic, along with the combat, characters and story. With your party's HP and TP fully restored after every battle, you can constantly fight at your best. The only thing that annoyed me was every time you are separated and reunited with your party, which happens often, it forgets your party formation. This wouldn't be an issue, but there are a total of 12 playable characters to spread over eight slots, so these resets can be quite cumbersome. After a while, you'll get access to mechs you can use to battle with. These are fun to use, and especially great for reaching earlier inaccessible areas. However, when you are required to use them in a boss fight, it can be more of a struggle because you can't use your well-constructed party members.

Most of the game takes place in Sotonbori, somewhere many series fans will know and love. With the events occurring within the same timeframe as Like a Dragon 7, it feels more like a proper ending for Kiryu than Yakuza 6. The game itself delivers the same over-the-top fights, side stories and mini-games galore. The side stories don't hit the same highs as previous instalments, though, and rather than encountering them throughout the city, they are dispensed by a central agent. At the end of the day, the games play fantastic, look fantastic and know how to give you an emotional gut punch that felt like it was delivered by Kiryu personally.