Author: Chris Tapsell
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CD Projekt made Keanu Reeves a “real asshole” in Cyberpunk 2077 because his “star power” made players side with him
[ad_1] Keanu Reeves’ “star power” gave him such a draw that CD Projekt Red had to make his Cyberpunk 2077 character, Johnny Silverhand, especially “horrible” at first just so player’s wouldn’t constantly side with him in quest choices. That’s according to Paweł Sasko, who was lead quest designer on The Witcher 3 and…
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Atomic Heart review – confusion and fear reflects the growing concerns of an industry
[ad_1] A half-interesting game is buried by a mess of its own making – and represents an industry conundrum that will only continue to grow. There have been lots of questions about Atomic Heart, but maybe the biggest remains the question of just what exactly it is. As it turns out, like a lot…
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Company of Heroes 3 review – supreme competency without a big innovation
[ad_1] Navigating a tonal minefield with just enough confidence, Company of Heroes 3 is a big, refined, and beautifully textured addition to an already brilliant series. Let’s get this one out of the way early: there’s a certain strangeness – or worse – to talking about how good the bits where you get to…
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A Space for the Unbound review – a slice of life, and all its pain
[ad_1] Disparate parts pull together to form a beautiful game that’s only more potent for its awkward adolescence. Plenty of indie games deal with anxiety and depression, but few contain such raw and mighty anguish as A Space for the Unbound. Following a group of teenagers through the difficulties of school life and beyond…
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Warhammer 40,000: Darktide review – a horde of minor flaws can be overcome by faith
[ad_1] Much like its endless enemies, Darktide’s many small issues add up to a real nuisance – but stupendous atmosphere and vicious action just about prevails. If I were writing this a couple of weeks ago, when Warhammer 40,000: Darktide had only just launched and when reviews typically tend to go out, I’d have…
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A Pokémon Champion’s quest to master the unmasterable
[ad_1] A little while back, during one of the UK’s many mid-pandemic lockdowns, I turned to the most unremarkable of comforts: watching playthroughs of old Pokémon games on YouTube. These were, however, playthroughs with a twist. Like speedrunning attempts or non-lethal clears of stealth games, they involved more challenging, entirely self-imposed rules. In the…
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Football Manager’s new Console edition is the best you’ll get without a PC
[ad_1] I recently discovered that I am towards the micromanagement end of the scale when it comes to Football Manager. Or maybe more accurately, off the end of that scale, a spec in the distance visible only with the kind of magnifying glass I use to inspect my player’s daily training habits. I’m the…
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Gotham Knights has more than a Batman problem
[ad_1] In Gotham Knights, Batman is dead. “Like, dead-dead,” as WB Montreal put it during our preview, and in his place comes four sub-heroes: Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing and Red Hood. These are, barring any surprises, who you will play as in Gotham Knights. I played as three of them in the preview – Batgirl…
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FIFA 23 review – a fitting end to a brilliant and grotesque era
[ad_1] FIFA 23, like so many FIFAs before it, sums up the best and worst of football culture – a joyous game in the vice-like grip of profiteers. Exactly one win and one loss into my time with Ultimate Team in FIFA 23, I have a notification. The little bar in the top-right of…
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Metal: Hellsinger review – a rhythm shooter that has no right to be this good
[ad_1] A lean and tightly-restrained mashup of more than just Rock Band and Doom, Metal: Hellsinger captures the earnest spirit of an underloved genre. Forgive me, writers, but I could not recite a single lyric from the Metal: Hellsinger soundtrack. I want to say this is nothing personal – I can’t remember the lyrics…