PC / Mac

Aland Wake
GamingByte Size ReviewPC / MacPS5Xbox Series X

Alan Wake Remastered: Have torch, will travel

Gerard Campbell 1406 Views ,  ,  , 

Alan Wake is not your typical video game hero.

He’s not a former soldier skilled in the art of warfare or a wronged man out for revenge: He’s a writer in a tweed sports jacket with leather elbow pads (over the top of a hoodie) who runs out of puff after he’s sprinted for a few seconds. He’s an every day man.

Alice. He’s hoping to cure the writer’s block that has stifled his creative flow for two years but he quickly finds out that all is not what it seems in this seemingly sleepy town.

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Insurgency: Sandstorm
GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPS5Xbox Series X

Insurgency: Sandstorm, PS4/PS5 Review

Guy 3964 Views ,  ,  , 

Rainbow 6 has become a toxic, fluro-laiden, run and gun fest. Ghost Recon is now a soulless open-world monstrosity which as of last week is set to become of all things, a Battle Royale!? And Splinter Cell has been missing in action for almost a decade. What I’m getting at is that the goods on offer for the Tactical console gamer are slim pickings at the moment.

But thankfully dear squad mates, I have good news! Insurgency: Sandstorm has finally migrated from PC to the console and there is now some solid tactical shooter goodness to be had.

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Deathloop Retrospective
GamingFeature ArticlePC / MacPlaystationPS5

Deathloop retrospective

Richard Armitt 2212 Views ,  ,  , 

After guest writer Mark delivered a hefty Deathloop review previously. Dylan and myself thought it would be worth having a Deathloop retrospective to chew over some of the key elements.

We’ve chatted back and forth over an extended period. Rather than a review crammed into a short period we wanted to follow our own journey.

Thanks to Bethesda ANZ for the review codes.

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Hot Wheels Unleashed
GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPS4PS5Switch ConsoleXbox Series SXbox Series X

Hot Wheels Unleashed, PS5 Review

Richard Armitt 1145 Views ,  , 

Well, the cars are the stars. It’s that simple, yes its a sturdy arcade style racer that’s accessible and entertaining, but grinding the collectible and familiar cars. That’s where it’s at.

It’s a cool game, with fun bells and whistles. I really like the concept, I don’t like getting frustrated at certain things. There is a buzz attached to finding a rare car, but under the hood, they’re not that different. Although I tend to melt them for Gear Bits or coins to upgrade or buy something else.

Hot Wheels Unleashed has plenty of fun factor for now, I just can’t see it staying exciting for long.

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Far Cry 6
GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPS4PS5Xbox Series SXbox Series X

Far Cry 6, PS5 Review

Guy 1654 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

not looking forward to Far Cry 6 at all. I haven’t been interested in a Far Cry game since the brilliant Far Cry 3. I’m happy to say Far Cry 6 has grabbed me in a big way and it is great fun.

There is no great mystery around what sort of game and genre Far Cry 6 is. It’s an FPS open-world action game. Exactly like all those that have come before. This time round it is set in a fictional Caribbean archipelago called Yara, which for all intents and purposes, is Cuba. Ruled by the ruthless “El Presidente” Antón Castillo played by Giancarlo Esposito. Yara is controlled by his military and as expected, there is a grass-roots resistance movement. Which it turns out needs my special ‘Guerrilla’ gamer skills to overthrow the “El Presidente”!

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Gearshifters
GamingByte Size ReviewPC / MacPS4PS5Switch ConsoleXbox Series SXbox Series X

Gearshifters, PS5 Review

Richard Armitt 1894 Views ,  ,  , 

Gearshifters is a game that fits right into a classic arcade niche. Up until recently it was completely off my radar, but for catching a Tweet and having my fancy tickled. It turns out this indie game is right on the money.

Red Phantom Games have pulled out a fun, playable homage to cult car games and arcade shooters. Now, I’m off for one more go before bed.

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Deathloop Retrospective
GamingGame ReviewsMicrosoftPC / MacPS5

Deathloop, PS5 Review

Richard Armitt 1462 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Thanks to guest reviewer Mark Isaacson for his in depth Deathloop review.

Set on the mysterious island of Blackreef, you play as highly trained assassin Colt, who awakes to find himself stuck in the same day, every day.

He must slowly piece together clues in order to kill eight targets (Visionaries) before the day ends.

Each visit to the island provides new opportunities to explore, new paths to various objectives and plenty of weird ways to mess up the timeline before it resets.

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Death Stranding Directors Cut
GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPlaystationPS4PS5Sony

Death Stranding: Directors Cut – PS5 Review

Guy 1684 Views ,  , 

Death Stranding Directors Cut is an odd descriptor for the re-release of a Hideo Kojima game. Kojima is renowned for being that unbridled Game Director with creative freedom aplenty. So, one would expect a game he made was already his “cut”.  And I would argue this was especially true regarding the genre bending, Postman Pat simulator, Death Stranding.

Rest assured, Kojima has confirmed that this “sub-title” is essentially a Sony Marketers attempt of saying, this is the PS5 remastered version of Death Stranding with a few extra bits.

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Hell Architect
GamingByte Size ReviewIndie GamePC / Mac

Hell Architect, Byte Size review (PC)

Gerard Campbell 1376 Views ,  ,  , 

The management sim genre is one that has been around for as long as I can remember but I can’t say I’ve ever played one set in the realms of Hell that tasks you with making hell a better version of itself (is that even possible?)

That’s the idea behind Hell Architect, a management sim from Polish developer Woodland Games where you’re tasked as Hell Manager who is in charge of, well, developing the nine rings of Hell and making it a place Lucifer himself would be proud of.

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JBL Quantum Duo
Hardware ReviewsGamingHardwarePC / MacPlaystationSwitch Console

JBL Quantum Duo, review

Richard Armitt 4096 Views ,  ,  , 

I’m fond of my JBL products, that’s no secret. The 600 Headphones are absolutely my go-to for close up sound in game. That said it’s easy to overlook the need for crystal clear sound outside the TV. This is where the JBL Quantum Duo comes in, sleek, classy and full of colour.

This is a desktop set that offers versatility in a simple package and plenty of “cool kids” effects.

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Psychonauts 2
GamingGame ReviewsMicrosoftPC / MacXbox Series SXbox Series X

Psychonauts 2, review

Gerard Campbell 1493 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

Five years.

Five long years (actually, it’s more like five and a half years but what’s six months?)

That’s how long I’ve been waiting for Psychonauts 2 from Lucasfilm alumni Tim Schafer & his Double Fine Productions studio to be released since I backed it on crowd-funding platform Fig in January 2016.

I’ve long been a fan of Tim Schaefer’s work – don’t get into a conversation with me about how good Grim Fandango is – and while Broken Age didn’t do it for me, despite funding that, too, I jumped at the chance to crowd-fund Psychonauts 2 when I learned it needed help to be made. This was a chance to be part of game development history, right?

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