USD ($)
EUR (€)
First of all, a massive, massive, MASSIVE apology for the delay in this month’s feature. The fault is all on me. I have been working on some classified, top-secret, hush-hush stuff that has left me with little time for writing. In other words, all my uni work is due in and my head has been falling off! But alas, here it is, your monthly fix of video games that we have been playing this month.
There were only 4 suggestions for you this month until my hero Paul came in clutch with an entry to slip into the mix! I have stoked a flame under the bloggers here, and I have many people writing entries for next month’s special feature. Stay tuned for that one for sure!
Mass Effect Legendary Edition – Sophie Jones
The Mass Effect Trilogy is my favourite gaming series to date. I have played each one more than once because clearly, I have too much time on my hands. With 2023 underway, I decided it was time to jump back into Commander Shepherds boots and do it all over again. This time I’m equipped with Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
For those unfamiliar with Mass Effect, it is a game where players take on the role of Commander Shepherd. Set in space this adventure will have you exploring the galaxy, fighting an unknown threat, and shooting most things on sight. It’s a storytelling masterpiece and great for those who love roleplaying games. But Mass Effect was first released in 2007, which didn’t make it the nicest to look at or play.
The Legendary Edition has upscaled Mass Effect 1 and brought it into the modern age. It’s a dream to play and the clunky controls of this classic are much better to handle. The edition doesn’t just include a revamped Mass Effect 1 but also Mass Effect 2 and 3! This means you can have all your Mass Effect games in one place. Something I am far too excited about.
It’s worth noting, this isn’t just your usual remaster. The developers haven’t just upped the resolution. This game allows new players to access Mass Effect for the first time and enjoy it without battling old systems. For super fans, like me, it’s a perfect way to relive the trilogy all over again.
As a PC player I wasn’t sure if Mass Effect Legendary Edition would deliver the same impact on Playstation. Especially as I use a PS4. But this game still looks beautiful on this system and runs great.
Right, there is a galaxy out there for me to save, so I best get back to it.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Dan Hilton
I have been getting swept up in all the footage being released from the Baldur’s Gate 3 beta lately. Or alpha? Or something. Anyways, that game is looming on the horizon, like a nosy granny looking for their opportunity to ask you if you are eating enough. Larian Studios is one of my favourite gaming companies at the moment and I have wanted to taste the sweet nectar of Baldur’s Gate 3 so much that I have decided to revisit their previous masterpiece: Divinity Original Sin 2.
I absolutely love this game. I shouldn’t, because it is yucky tactical turn based combat, but the game has been so lovingly crafted that the combat doesn’t bother me. I actually enjoy it. Every enemy encounter has been hand crafted as some sort of puzzle where taking advantage of your surroundings is almost critical for your success. Positioning your team plays a crucial role too as you need to balance the strengths and weaknesses of dividing the party up or stick as a unit. Staying together makes it much easier for team mates to protect each other, but also opens the whole party up to area of effect abilities. If you don’t have your thinking cap on, you are going to struggle.
The world has also been expertly crafted. Abilities have uses both in and out of combat. The locations have many paths to follow and quests can have different outcomes depending not only on the team mates you decided to keep in your party, but also what tags your character has. Being a certain race, nobility, personality traits, undead etc all open up different dialogue options for different people depending on their own personalities. You can even take a skill that allows you to talk to animals, who also have their own biases at times.
It honestly feels like every element of this game work perfectly in tandem with each other. This I why I am so excited for the release of Baldur’s Gate 3. They have been working on that game for so long, and I can only imagine what treats they have in store for us. I can hand on heart say that Divinity Original Sin 2 is one of the best games I have ever played. And, I have played a lot of games! Give this a try, and don’t worry, playing Divinity Original Sin 1 is not needed at all to play this one.
God Of War Ragnarok - Paul Blyth
I’m a bit late to the party with this one, but when it comes to God of War I always have been. I haven’t played a single GoW on release day, or release month. In fact, God of War Ragnarok is the only one that I’ve got around to playing in the year it originally released. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them, it’s just that they get lost in my every-growing “to play” list.
But Kratos’ latest outing clawed its way to the top faster than the other titles, thanks in no small part to the excellent God of War (2018) that saw a complete change of pace, setting, mythology and attitude for the bald ball of rage. All the violence was still there, but Gow 2018 saw a more mature and contemplative Kratos, one whose previous battles weighed heavy on his heart. Rather than being the driving force of the battles, this adventure saw the Spartan reluctantly dragged into combat. Ragnarok continues this theme and leans heavily into the calmer side of Kratos.
Arguably it does this for a little too long. Everyone doing everything they can to avoid the inevitable Ragnarok becomes a little tedious. But the time taken throughout the campaign to flesh out every character, including “enemies”, breathes new life and gives new perspectives to Midgard and the nine realms. And, ultimately, the game and story are all the better for it with both keeping you guessing and subverting your expectations every step of the way.
Earth Defence Force 5 – Nick Welford
You are in the streets of a generic city surrounded by green and purple blood, explosions, and debris what once were tall buildings. The hot burn of plasma whizzes past you and you aren’t sure whether it’s coming from the numerous UFOs flying around above you or the 30ft frog warrior with a massive laser gun just down the road. This is madness. This is EDF!
Let’s get this out of the way right now - EDF is probably a bad game, but I love it. EDF is a quintessential game version of a B movie. In fact, of every sci fi B movie there may ever have been. It has giant insects, massive robots, UFOs and now Frog Warriors… oh and giant aliens in armour with flamethrowers. Those last ones are hella annoying by the way. And the reason I love it so is the last paragraph - name another game that lets you experience this mayhem?
EDF 5 doesn’t seem to improve graphically on its predecessors but it does refine things. Blood and alien gloop cover buildings and streets as you shoot up the various enemies. Enemies themselves show damage as you hit them and can be dismembered with your huge arsenal of weapons. In fact, I once saw an armless alien jump up try to get back in the fight!
That huge range of weapons over four unique classes is another great facet of this game. You can only take two weapons into each level but you can collect more during the levels and level them up too. Collection is another huge part of the series. Enemies will drop three types of pickups, armour which improves your health in future levels, health which restores your health in the level and those tempting green weapon crates which don’t tell you what you have grabbed until the end of the level. It is madness, it is bad, it is crazy and janky, and I absolutely love it.
Life Is Strange: True Colours – Dan Hilton
Let’s get real for a moment. Games don’t usually make me cry. I am an emotionally stable, big, grown-up, strong-willed man. Crying is not something I often do. I even attended a funeral on the day of writing this and didn’t even cry at that. Maybe I am just dead inside. But either way, Life is Strange: True Colours got me bad. It sucker-punched me right in the feels several times. The main character can see and feel other people’s emotions, but shame on me for not thinking it was going to be a game with so much emotion. I am going to get deep, bare some of my past and talk heavy spoilers in the rest of this entry. You have been warned. Skip to the last paragraph to avoid such things.
So here is the thing. I have lost people. I have lost a lot of people (as most people have). From family to friends, and even a partner. And seeing people in this game show real, heart rendering emotions just got to me bad. Especially the ones revolving around the loss of a main character. They exhibit believable reactions so tender that it sucked me in, and really made me care about the characters. Every single one of them.
When Gabe dies, it was so sudden, so unexpected, that I was genuinely in shock. He was such a loveable character which is easy to see from how the rest of the characters treated him and talk about him. When he was gone, I felt as though he was taken from me too. I cried. When you find his best friend a little later on and he is furious at himself, believing he let his friend die. And seeing the pain in his words and actions, oh man, I have been there. I cried. When you find his ‘list of things to do’ you see how genuine he is as he has a list of apologies he wanted to make, (some crossed off, some not). Right at the end was an uncrossed note: ‘forgive dad’. As someone who has had a strained relationship with their own dad, damn this hit me too. I cried again. I have 2 chapters left and damn it I have already accepted the need for tissues at this point.
The thing about this game is, it perfectly portrays emotions in a way that is so relatable, so real, so raw, that you feel them yourself. From the ways in which each character deals with their emotions, to the actions you take, to the journal entries, everything in this game evokes pure feelings. I went into this game expecting a small little narrative adventure. What I got was a heart rendering roller coaster of love, loss, anger, depression, fear, and pure joy. I feel as though anyone playing this game will relate to the individual character stories in some way or another. I implore literally everyone to play this game. It is a work of pure delicate mastery.
Credit Roll
So, there you have it, a few suggestions that we think you should check out. There will be at least seven entries in the next feature! And I may even need to split the feature into 2 if it gets too long, depending on the wise wisdom of my editor (all hail the queen!). I have teased that it is a special feature, but I won’t be telling you what is in store, you will just have to wait. Last year we did ‘Game of the generation’, so your only clue is that it isn’t that, or similar.
For now though, stay tuned, and happy gaming!