Home About Reviews Features Contact

Reviews

As you can tell from the reviews below, I have a pretty broad taste in games! I tend to lean towards RPGs, survival games, first-person shooters, Soulslikes and narrative-focused games.  

Although I cannot discuss my consultation and mock review work in detail, I have previously been asked to evaluate everything from MMOs to pet sims, sports simulations and horror games.

Eurogamer.net •

Europa review - ecological ruminations on a distant moon

[4/5] Did you know that Studio Ghibli got its name from an Italian plane? As the story goes, founder Hayao Miyazaki took inspiration from a World War II era aircraft called the Caproni Ca.309, which was used for reconnaissance in the North African desert. The plane was commonly known by its nickname Ghibli, which roughly translates to 'southern wind' in Libyan Arabic. A Ghibli wind is known as a fierce, hot and dry air current that carries dust from the North African interior towards the Mediterranean...
Eurogamer.net •

Spectre Divide review - a unique two-body concept falls flat

[2/5] For a new game studio, there are few genres as difficult to break into as that of the tactical shooter. With the space dominated by behemoths Valorant and Counter-Strike, newcomers are up against established games with deep tactical gameplay, distinctive world designs, and dedicated communities. Newbies face a demanding set of player expectations, with a checklist that includes immaculate gunplay, perfect pacing and ultra-clear level design as the bare minimum. And only when you get beyond that...
Eurogamer.net •

Last Epoch review - paradise for ARPG build-tinkerers that eventually loses steam

[3/5] I'm never quite sure whether I'm doing the right thing in Last Epoch, yet as I float around as an undead vacuum cleaner - hoovering up my enemies' health bars while my minions keep them distracted - I know that I'm at least having a good time.

I've opted for a lich build, and thanks to the flexibility of Last Epoch's skill trees, I've been able to dip into other subclasses to create my own personal playstyle. Is it a viable build for the hardest endgame battles? Almost certainly not, but I'm gl
Eurogamer.net •

Helldivers 2 review - team kills and bug-stomping thrills

[4/5] Ten minutes into a mission on the planet of Malevelon Creek, my squad and I emerge from a swampy treeline to finally catch sight of our target. This time it's a scientific base, and we're here to destroy it entirely. After clearing the area of enemies, I summon a hellbomb – one of the largest payloads in our arsenal – and manually arm the device.

We quickly move away, making space for the massive explosion that is to come. Yet as we scurry back towards the bushes, I spot a neighbouring facility
Eurogamer.net •

For a survival game, Enshrouded feels too safe

From the Steam Store description alone, you can tell that there are rather a lot of ideas bouncing around inside Enshrouded. Described as a 'co-op survival action RPG', this is a game stuffed to the gills with different mechanics and systems. It boasts NPC quests, mining, crafting and farming; combat skill trees and intricate base-building - and of course, a vast open world filled with dozens of hand-crafted dungeons and castles. All of which can be explored with the help of a grapple and glider
Eurogamer.net •

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria review - diamonds amongst the rough

[3/5] I, for one, am thrilled that we are currently seeing a spate of weird and wonderful games set in Middle-earth. Although these games take creative risks that don't always work out, it's fascinating to see how developers can interpret Tolkien's legendarium in ways that are a little bit unexpected. And it's particularly exciting when a game focuses on a specific location or people in Middle-earth to really explore them in detail. (Pencil that cosy Hobbit game releasing next year into your diaries.)
Eurogamer.net •

Fort Solis review - tense sci-fi spooks give way to a muddled ending

[2/5] If there's one thing that Fort Solis understands, it's that the worst horrors are not supernatural: they are man-made. Combine this idea with the unforgiving environment of space, and you have the perfect setup for a classic sci-fi tale. Set on Mars in the year 2080, Fort Solis sees you play as Jack Leary - an employee of a large mining corporation called Terra - who is called away from his engineering work to investigate an unusual manual alarm at a neighbouring base. Naturally, this occurs jus
Eurogamer.net •

Valheim Mistlands update review

Editor's Note: Hello! With Valheim releasing today on Xbox Game Pass, we're republishing this excellent piece from Emma Kent on its big Mistlands update from the end of last year, to give anyone thinking of diving in an idea of how it's going. Enjoy!

One of my very first buildings in Valheim, located in the warm safety of the meadows, was called 'Glamping Cabin'. My latest structure, located in the Mistlands, is titled 'Safety Cave'. It's a squalid hole inside a hollowed-out rock: an emergency
Eurogamer.net •

Lost Ark review - flashy combat that eventually wears thin

[No badge] If you mixed together Disney's "It's a Small World" theme park ride with Indiana Jones and Lord of the Rings, you might end up with something resembling the dungeons of Lost Ark. It's a game punctuated by set pieces where players roll through enemies like butter, gliding from one room to the next, all with gorgeous special effects and slick combat.

There's nothing subtle or particularly original about Lost Ark's settings - it combines nearly every MMO and fantasy trope into one leviathan campai
Eurogamer.net •

Star Wars: Squadrons review - a scrappy, compelling starfighter that excels in VR

[Recommended] If there's one thing I've learned over the last few days, it's this: being a pilot in the Star Wars universe is brutal. I have newfound sympathy for Porkins, the rebel pilot who briefly appeared in A New Hope, who must have entered his cockpit full of adrenaline and aspirations... only to have it all end with a stray laser. This is the reality of flying through the chaos of space battle, and Squadrons wants you to know it.

Made by Motive Studios, Star Wars Squadrons is really a game of two halv
Eurogamer.net •

Disintegration review - a quirky but troubled sci-fi shooter

[No badge] Back at last year's E3 - an event that now feels like a lifetime ago - I had a chat with V1 founder Marcus Lehto to pin down what Disintegration was all about. Due to the game's dystopian sci-fi setting and Lehto's background as the co-creator of Halo, I came away thinking Disintegration's narrative had the potential to explore some fascinating topics, including post-humanism and the threats to our world today.

In the end, Disintegration doesn't ever delve too far into these ideas: but what I d
Eurogamer.net •

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order review - solid combat mired in shallow storytelling and technical problems

[No badge] The annoying thing is, for the first ten hours or so, I absolutely adored Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. What a wonderful feeling to finally plunge into a Star Wars game with carefully-crafted alien worlds, references to delight die-hard fans, and new lore to expand that galaxy far, far away. Since EA acquired the licence for Star Wars games in 2013, fans have been desperate for a really good story - and an enormous amount of hope has been riding on this game.

On paper, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Or
Eurogamer.net •

The Jackbox Party Pack 5 review - a mixed party bag whose highs outweigh the lows

[Recommended] The pizzas are in the oven. The beers are fresh out the fridge. Some of us have even remembered to charge our phones. It's time for a Jackbox party - and this time it's all about the latest instalment in the series, Party Pack 5.

For those out the loop (or who haven't been students in a while), Jackbox party packs are collections of multiplayer mini game collections. You typically get five games per pack, which can be played by up to eight people on their phones (along with the console or PC ru
Eurogamer.net •

Super Mario Party review - silly, slick and spotty return for Nintendo's madcap series

[No badge] It's getting towards that time of the year again. With Christmas on the not-too-distant horizon, it will soon be time to consider which title will be the go-to choice for the festivities. For me, the criteria for a Christmas classic comes down to a few categories. Is it quick to learn? Is it humorous? Can I still play it after four glasses of sherry?

One potential answer to all of these questions is, of course, Super Mario Party. It's the 11th console entry in the series, so it's hardly Mario P