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Developer Supermassive Games is back with the eagerly anticipated second installation of The Dark Pictures Anthology, Little Hope.

Some years ago, my closest friends and I made the decision to play through Until Dawn as a group. Despite Until Dawn being a single-player game, we all felt that the opportunity to engage (and have the life scared out of us) with an interactive horror film was just too good to pass up. It was great, terrifying and clearly the folks at Supermassive Games were paying attention.

If you’ve already played the anthology’s first entry, Man of Medan, then you’ll know that with these shorter, episodic style games, Supermassive intends for these titles to be enjoyed amongst friends, and Little Hope is no different.

Ditching the ocean backdrop of Man of Medan, Little Hope sets itself squarely inland, telling a tale of rural America that transcends three different time periods: the 1600s, the 1970s and the present day. It might sound a bit daunting, but Supermassive has enlisted the talents of Hollywood star Will Poulter to guide us through it all as the game’s main character, Andrew.

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Little Hope begins with a scene of domestic unbalance in the 1970s, as two parents argue while their four children avoid the chaos as best they can. It all takes a rather dark turn when the kitchen stove catches on fire, engulfing the house and claiming several lives in the process. Flash forward to the present day and at the scene of a bus crash, five survivors who look identical to the family claimed by the house fire, decide to venture into the nearby town of Little Hope for help.

Andrew and his fellow survivors discover quite quickly that the thick fog surrounding Little Hope now prevents them from leaving, forcing them to endure whatever Little Hope has in store for them. What ensues is a story of struggling against one’s own demons, both literally and figuratively as the game dives headfirst into its own version of the Salem Witch Trials, and how trigger-finger accusations can often target the wrong people.

Little Hope sets itself up fairly well for an interesting story, but unfortunately it doesn’t quite stick the landing with a twist that only raises more questions that it answers. While I am aware that multiple playthroughs are necessary to get the full picture, my first playthrough involved a great deal of clue searching and even resulted in all the main characters surviving the night – an experience that I feel most people will have – but the narrative still came up short in explaining several plot points.

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What doesn’t help is that Little Hope has some trouble in dishing out the scares it needs to if it wants audiences on the edge of their seats. Without giving too much away, the monsters of Little Hope, once they are revealed, are shown to be decaying creatures that move at a snail’s pace, but somehow they’re always right behind our main characters whenever a seemingly unnecessary chase scene unfolds.

The fact that these monsters can be dealt with fairly easily in combat just makes them feel like more of a nuisance than a threat. Compare this to the superhuman Wendigos of Until Dawn – they were a force to be reckoned with and were near impossible to defeat.

On top of all this, Little Hope seems fairly determined to throw the same ghostly jump scare at you whenever it can. Sure, it got me the first time, but once you’ve seen it nearly a dozen times, it started to feel as though the characters themselves were beginning to feel the pangs of boredom.

When it comes to gameplay however, Little Hope has made some key changes that will no doubt improve the ease of access for a lot of players. Notably, there is now a signal before a button prompt appears, ensuring that you’re not caught off guard if you’ve decided to put the controller down for a moment.

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Gone are the infuriating sections that required you to hold the DualShock 4 incredibly still – or as I like to call it, the main cause of death for most of the Until Dawn crew. Instead, Little Hope replaces these segments for a succession of button presses tied to a heartbeat, offering a far more attainable win than before.

Dialogue options are no longer tied to buttons prompts either, with each confirmed decision requiring a long tilt of the analogue stick in a given direction. Not only does this prevent any accidental dialogue trees, but it also gives you a brief moment where you can reconsider your choice against the other options.

While the overall experience is lot easier now – and Little Hope loses the tension that allowed Until Dawn’s QTE events to become part of the horror – I do feel that this makes a lot of sense for a game that’s trying to be an interactive movie. If games like these are ever supposed to attract non-gamers, then the experience needs to be as accessible as possible, and Little Hope does a fine job here.

Still, I do wish that Little Hope had left some of its inspirations at the door. I’m well aware that the horror genre isn’t exactly a shining beacon when it comes to nuanced dialogue, but there are some moments in Little Hope that should have come with an emergency box labelled ‘Palm – Insert face here’.

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The worst of it happens near the start of the game, following Andrew’s first glimpse into the past, where he seems bemused by the local accents of the 1600s. To anyone living in the UK, the settlers featured in these flashbacks have an obvious (if slightly dated) northern accent, but Andrew responds with the line “are they even American?” – just incredible stuff.

What can’t be taken away from Little Hope is the technology used for creating lifelike facial features and realistic motion capture. Until Dawn blew me away with its graphics but now Little Hope looks even better. At the rate this technology is improving, it isn’t too hard to imagine it getting to a point where you’ll forget that you’re even playing a game. It’s just a shame that there are a few visual and audio glitches peppered through Little Hope that undermine the industry-leading character designs.

As previously mentioned, the entirety of Little Hope’s story can be played in either local multiplayer or online – the latter of which is particularly handy at a time when it’s difficult to meet up with friends and family. For local multiplayer, participants get to choose with characters they’ll take under their wing, and then it’s a case of passing the controller around once one of your characters steps into the limelight.

It’s a fun way to enjoy the game, as it allows people to behave in the way that’s true to their own personalities, creating unique interpersonal relationships within Little Hope.

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Verdict

Over the course of its 5/6 hour campaign, I enjoyed my visit to the town of Little Hope (as much as one can then they’re being pursued by demons), but the game fails to live up to the expectations set by Supermassive Games’ previous masterpiece, Until Dawn.

The game still wows with incredible character visuals and a terrific sense of style, and while there’s enough content here to warrant at least several playthroughs, the story doesn’t quite live up to its high-concept set-up while a few glitches prevent the game from being as polished as it aims to be.

The post The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Review appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Electronic Arts hasn’t had the best track record with the Star Wars license, although recent years have seen the franchise experience a resurgence of sorts with Respawn Entertainment’s Jedi: Fallen Order and the long-awaited comeback of Battlefront 2, both of which were (largely) well received by die-hard fans. 

Now, the publisher is pushing the boat out (or perhaps spaceship is more fitting), and producing an experience that we’ve been waiting years for. Star Wars: Squadrons is a dedicated dogfighter that places a great emphasis on all the best vessels, conflicts and characters from the iconic series while painting them in an entirely new light. 

As Fallen Order has proven, Star Wars videogames are at their best when they aren’t lazily relying on the films that inspired them, choosing instead to carve their own paths forward with fascinating new characters and stories. Squadrons does exactly that, even if all of its elements aren’t executed perfectly. But for fans of the genre, this is positively essential. 

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Taking place after the Battle of Endor, Star Wars: Squadrons follows a duo of pilots from the New Republic’s Vanguard Squadron and the Galactic Empire’s Titan Squadron, with the stories of both pilots intertwining throughout the solo campaign. Together, they become entangled with a new venture known as Project Starhawk, with each side vying for either its destruction or completion.

It’s a compelling yarn, and witnessing the conflict from both sides fills the quandary with memorable characters and moral dilemmas. Before jumping into your respective spaceship, you’ll be free to explore a hub area by speaking to fellow comrades, although you’re oftentimes a passive participant being fed exposition instead of a valiant hero wanting to step up and save the galaxy. 

This can lead to some story moments feeling strangely underbaked. While the voice acting and dialogue are strong enough to carry much of the action, don’t expect anything worthy of standing alongside the classic films here. That being said, the fact that EA Motive has made any effort to craft new personalities with such a restrictive property is more than welcome, even if they don’t always get enough room to shine. 

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But once you’re inside the cockpit of an X-Wing, many of your complaints with the narrative float away into nothing. This immediately took me back to flying around the galaxy in Jedi Starfighter back on the PS2, but with far more depth, visual beauty and nuance. If you’re especially ancient and grew up with X-Wing and TIE Fighter on MS-DOS, Squadrons will feel like downright witchcraft in comparison. 

The wonder of soaring through space and firing missiles at screeching TIE fighters is wonderfully realised here with a magnificent sense of impact and speed, and it’s been designed with both veterans of the genre and newcomers in mind. The degree of control you have over your spacecraft can range from a few button presses to a fully-fledged HOTAS kit, with the latter transporting you to another world if you happen to also be playing in virtual reality. 

As for the accuracy of controls, they will be largely familiar to anyone who has touched a game in the genre before. As you veer left and right or bank up and down you’ll need to take into account your vehicle’s weight before locking onto your enemy and unleashing a barrage of missiles. The general flow of movement and combat takes some adjustment, but once you’ve settled into a groove it feels excellent, although it’s still very easy to become disorientated in the midst of a chaotic dogfight. 

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Dogfighting isn’t simple a ballet of movement and weapons, you’ll also need to dynamically manage the power output of your vessel. You can reroute resources to provide additional power to your weapons, shields or thrusters at any given moment whenever you need to bolster the capabilities of your arsenal. It’s a delicate balancing act, and one that is essential once you’ve turned all the assists off and want to master the art of being an ace pilot.

You could honestly survive on easier difficulties without touching these modifiers at all, but being able to switch things around adds a welcome layer of strategy to the power fantasy, even if it’s a fairly barebones extension of the dogfighting experience. Such techniques become more essential in online multiplayer, as the patterns of real-life opponents are far more challenging to predict. Speaking of multiplayer, it has a robust selection of modes alongside more than enough progression options.

One of the first things you’re tasked with in Star Wars: Squadrons is to create your own avatar, which will translate to both the solo campaign and online multiplayer. You’ll unlock a number of cosmetics with each level, although given the first-person perspective, you won’t spend a lot of time staring at them. With that said, knowing you’re building your pilot’s reputation after each 5v5 dogfight brings a welcome sense of satisfaction.

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In terms of modes, online multiplayer is split into the aforementioned 5v5 Dogfights and Fleet Battles. The latter are larger, multi-stage affairs which focus on opposing teams completing specific objectives while trying desperately to wipe out their opponents. Carrying out strategic bombing runs on hostile frontiers or taking out the targeting modules on towering Star Destroyers delivers an undeniable thrill, but sometimes the pace of Fleet Battles can be feel very uneven, and debatably boring at times.

But these quiet moments do allow for contemplative moments of strategy, and if you manage to complete all of your objectives, you’ll be rewarded with the bombastic destruction of an enemy flagship. It looks spectacular in motion, and being caught up in your own individual battles as this wider layer of chaos unfolds makes you feel like a small part of an uncompromising galactic conflict. As excellent as these two modes are, the fact they they’re the only two available at launch might turn off more casual players.

Granted, you can only do so much with the premise of dogfighting when it comes to creating different spins on multiplayer, and those with a love for precision space combat likely won’t have many complaints, especially with how Squadrons handles progression. Climb the ranks and you’ll earn Requisition Points to spend on ship components and other cosmetics, making it feel like you’re a pilot gradually piecing together their own unstoppable vessel. Beginning as a fledgling Maverick and slowly evolving into a Galactic Ace will definitely have its charms if EA Motive doesn’t slack on future support.

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One last thing I want to touch on is virtual reality in Star Wars: Squadrons. The entire game has been created with both traditional play and VR in mind, meaning you can experience every second with a headset on your face. It’s brilliantly executed, and being able to reach out and touch the endless knobs and dials of each cockpit brings a stunning sense of authenticity to every passing moment.

Those who are inclined to motion sickness might struggle given the fast and unpredictable nature of Squadrons, but if you have a headset and the specs to support it, this is the best way to experience a game like this. I played with a PS4 controller in virtual reality and the controls are simple enough that I never found myself struggling or lifting the headset to constantly break the sense of immersion. It’s rare to see a publisher like Electronic Arts dedicate itself to virtual reality like this, and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.

Verdict – Should you buy Star Wars: Squadrons?

Star Wars: Squadrons is the dogfighting experience in the iconic sci-fi universe we’ve been waiting for, and is supremely passionate about making this something that genre veterans and hesitant newcomers can enjoy with minimal obstacles.

The lack of multiplayer modes and underwhelming narrative elements bring the package down somewhat, but when you’re in the cockpit and blasting away at the Galactic Empire, small quibbles like this quickly melt away into the background.

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Amnesia: Rebirth is a first-person survival horror experience from Frictional Games that shows what humanity is capable of when the last embers of hope have been snuffed out. 

The Dark Descent was a landmark horror title when it launched in 2010, launching the careers of internet megastars while showing that the genre could be far more than a rollercoaster ride of jump scares. It preyed on the paranoia of human consciousness, placing equal focus on both what you couldn’t see and the horrible monsters that preyed on the halls you tried desperately to escape. 

It bordered on campiness at times, but its dedication to an unsettling psychological branch of horror established its place as a legend in the genre, which made the underwhelming nature of its sequel that much harder to swallow. But now, after ten years and the critically acclaimed SOMA, Frictional Games has returned to the franchise that helped cement its legacy. 

Amnesia: Rebirth is a new kind of survival horror, touching on themes of motherhood and human fragility in ways I’ve never seen the medium achieve before, forcing you to confront terrors and make decisions that will shake your very core. At times it falls victim to cliched conventions, but these stumbles are small errors in an otherwise stellar journey. 

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You play as Tasi Trianon, a young woman who has left her hometown of Paris alongside her husband for an expedition in the deserts of Algeria. However, things go terribly wrong as a strange force causes your plane to crash, scattering the crew and leaving you fighting for survival. Tasi awakens in the wreckage, her friends missing and an unknown amount of time having passed. 

With her memories fractured, Tasi stumbles into the desert hoping to piece this harrowing mystery together. She soon comes across a network of caves, bloody bandages and hastily scribbled letters hinting at a tragic sequence of events she was seemingly witness to, but she can’t remember any of it. Shortly after this it becomes clear that something isn’t right, another reality is colliding with this one, the ruined fate of an ancient civilization threatening to bleed into our own. 

The discoveries you’ll soon encounter are haunting, magical and surprisingly beautiful. Tasi is forced on a journey that will see her confront her own humanity, weighing up the fate of her crew alongside the life of her unborn child. That’s right, our heroine is pregnant, and this aspect of her character will have a profound impact on the narrative as it unfolds. It’s an element of the human condition I’ve never seen the medium tackle before, and it’s executed with a mixture of heartbreak and wonder. 

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It would be a crime to spoil exactly where the story takes you, since it’s filled with a number of unexpected revelations that had me audibly piecing together events as I crept away from monsters in the shadows. Frictional Games has once again shown the horror genre’s potential for telling deep, brave and undeniably human stories. Being forced to face our worst demons can inadvertently reveal our greatest strengths, and watching Tasi and this ensemble cast of characters go through such a journey is a morbid joy. 

Amnesia: Rebirth plays in a similar manner to its predecessor, albeit with a few new mechanics which blend thematically with the narrative. You explore a number of demented locations from the first-person perspective, interacting with objects to solve puzzles and avoid the gaze of awaiting terrors in the darkness. Frictional Games once again places a deliberate focus on the danger of darkness, and how entering its clutches without a match or lantern by your side is borderline suicidal. 

But your means of splintering through the darkness are limited. Matches can be used to light candles and torches spread about the place, but they only last a number of seconds before reducing to embers. You’ll need to explore to find more, and I always found myself scrambling feebly hoping some would be hidden inside rotting drawers or hiding away in the innards of ancient glassware. The lantern is equally as precarious, with the light source eating up fuel like nobody’s business. 

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You always feel vulnerable, and there will be several moments where there’s no choice but to venture into the darkness on your own, hoping safety is but a few short footsteps away as opposed to your impending doom. This is an unexpectant catalyst to spur you onward, praying that some form of salvation could be awaiting Tasi around the next corner. This is seldom the case, with Rebirth taking a perverse pleasure in making you suffer, while never quite extinguishing the final flames of hope. 

Tasi can also cradle her stomach with the press of a button, the presence of her baby lessening her fear in the presence of eldritch threats. You’ll whisper comforting messages, and making use of the mechanic also results in fascinating nuggets of story which are more than worth uncovering. You’re not just fighting for Tasi’s survival, but also the fate of her unborn child. Having had a tumultuous journey of motherhood up to this point, she is determined to escape and give this infant a life worth living.

You’re are also in possession of a medallion which can open holes in reality, allowing you to walk into an ethereal world that has long been dominated by darkness. Once ruled by an Empress before falling to inescapable ruin, uncovering the past of this mysterious world is one of Amnesia: Rebirth’s greatest rewards, even if the truth that awaits is one that will only further Tasi’s pilgrimage of torment. Horror is at its best when the spectator is forced to confront how they would act in such a situation, and Frictional Games poses such dilemmas again and again until you’re left in a state of numb awe.

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In a strange twist of fate, Amnesia: Rebirth’s weakest element are the monsters themselves. While sporting compelling designs and proving to be positively horrifying when chasing you from the shadows, having to avoid them in tense yet monotonous stealth sequences is a tiresome bore, especially since getting caught results in a long respawning sequence before you’re once again allowed to take control.

Moments like this are certainly spooky, but the mechanical routines of each monster soon become clear, unveiling the strings that are being pulled instead of leaving the demons that pursue you shrouded in secrecy. Much of the time, I simply wanted to get these moments over and done with so I could continue with the story, having far more interest in Tasi’s eventual conclusion than the uninspired creatures that were determined to stalk me.

SOMA suffered from a similar issue, so much so that Frictional Games eventually patched in a mode that removed the monsters altogether. But I fear Amnesia: Rebirth wouldn’t work without them, which makes such a conundrum all the more damning. It’s not all bad, with some moments of stealth placing my heart firmly in my throat as I prayed I wouldn’t be spotted. But when you are and have to break into a desperate sprint, you can practically feel the darkness beginning to swallow you whole.

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Verdict – Should you buy Amnesia: Rebirth?

Frictional Games has crafted one of the finest survival horror experiences in recent memory with Amnesia: Rebirth. It never forgets what made the original so compelling, placing as much importance on the haunting things you can’t see as it does on the ghastly monsters placed front and centre.

Combine this with a narrative that introduces daring themes we’ve never seen the genre tackle before with an excellent lead heroine and you’re left with a journey that sticks with you regardless of which ending you end up picking. Ironically, one of the only things holding Rebirth back from excellence are horror conventions it oftentimes feels determined to leave behind.

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Nintendo is finally running out of Wii U exclusives than can be ported to Nintendo Switch, unless they really want to resort to underwhelming stinkers like Devil’s Third and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival. 

But Pikmin 3 is a delightful strategy adventure well worth a second chance on a more popular platform, since millions of players likely aren’t even aware of its existence. Known as one of Nintendo’s more unusual franchises, Pikmin has players commanding a diverse army of alien creatures to murder wildlife, gather fruit and solve all sorts of puzzles across an unknown planet. 

It’s a cute and simple premise executed wonderfully, finding the right balance between sheer absurdity and mechanical satisfaction. Pikmin 3 Deluxe takes the third instalment and doesn’t change too much, opting for quality-of-life improvements and a few new gameplay segments featuring familiar characters that franchise fans will know and love. 

After playing through the opening hours of this new and improved classic, I’m already smitten with its clever mixture of strategy and resource management. It does a tremendous job of making the genre accessible for a younger audience while seldom taking your intelligence for granted. Each new puzzle solved and new gadget procured feels like a genuine triumph.

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Those who played Pikmin 3 back on the Nintendo Wii U won’t find much in the Switch port they haven’t experienced already, with the visuals and wide range of mechanics remaining largely identical. I don’t consider this a problem, since the original package is still downright excellent, but like many wayward titles that have found a second home on this new console, a little more meat on the bones wouldn’t have gone amiss. 

Pikmin 3 begins with a trio of scientists – Alph, Brittany and Charlie – as they crash land on an unknown planet. Searching the universe for a source of food to save their starving homeworld, this particular planet happens to be ripe with all sorts of fruit which can be blended into delicious juices. Seriously, these are some of the best pieces of virtual food I’ve ever seen. 

Split up and fearing for their lives, the first few missions follow our scientists as they seek to reunite, bumping into mysterious creatures known as Pikmin along the way. They immediately take a liking to our heroes, willing to be ordered around to murder bugs and construct bridges to surpass obstacles at the touch of a button. 

You control Pikmin by gathering them together with a harsh whistle before ordering them across the map using a reticle on the screen. This method of commanding your alien troops is rather intuitive, although in more chaotic situations it can be frustrating when armies of differing Pikmin fail to lock onto certain enemies, or ignore the threat altogether to bang their head against a nearby plant. 

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These are foils that held back the Wii U release, and haven’t been addressed here. The whistle that attracts Pikmin now has a much wider radius, which makes gathering them all up in the midst of a scuffle much easier. But those hoping for a dramatic overhaul of existing mechanics shouldn’t expect anything, this is a faithful remaster of the vanilla title for those who have yet to delve into it. 

One major new feature is the addition of co-operative play, allowing you to work through the story with another player by your side. Pikmin 3 Deluxe expects you to command multiple types of the adorable creatures at once oftentimes in different locations, so splitting up the workload with a friend by your side works very well indeed. All previously released DLC from the Wii U version is also present and accounted for, ensuring this is the complete edition in every sense.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s campaign is a gentle incline into its more complicated mechanic. The majority of Pikmin are given their own stage to breathe as you learn exactly how they work. Red Pikmin are masters of combat, while Yellow ones are excellent at digging and can conduct electricity to light up caves and destroy electrified barriers. Rock Pikmin are absolute bruisers, and won’t hesitate to charge into a wall to make an opening.

Even their personalities shine through in how they behave, conveying a mixture of playful mischief and cold determination when dispatching the planet’s inhabitants with a single command. Pikmin can carry the corpses of bugs back to their “onion ships” to spawn more of their kind, a tactic which becomes essential as the tougher battles make short work of your comrades.

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Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s brand of puzzles don’t tax the brain too much, but do require a bit of quick-thinking to avoid a swift genocide of your colourful creatures. The earlier levels act as simple tutorials, but aren’t afraid to throw a handful of boss battles at you which require specific tactics to conquer. One creature might be covered in an armoured exoskeleton which requires a helping of rocks to shatter, while a flying behemoth will only sink to the ground after being stunned by light.

Figuring out these solutions is oftentimes trivial, it’s about getting your Pikmin into the correct position to execute such strategies without dwindling your numbers that proves challenging. I loved moments like this, spurred onward by a frenetic pace which made each arena feel like a miniature battlefield. But the world is designed with objects such as plant pots, canned food and other everyday objects that it feels like you’ve been shrunk down to the size of ants.

The strategy genre is normally quite daunting for newcomers, so Pikmin 3 marching onto the Switch and offering such a broad and diverse take on the genre is more than welcome. There’s really nothing else like it, and I can’t help but giggle at the morbid cycle of life that this world is more than happy to depict. Pikmin will reign fury upon the planet’s ecosystem with absolutely no qualms, taking corpses for themselves as sustenance.

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Pikmin 3 Deluxe introduces a new prologue and epilogue starring Olimar – the original game’s protagonist. From what I’ve played thus far, these are additional chapters which flesh out the plot of Pikmin 3 while explaining why evidence of Olimar and company are all over the planet itself. It remains to be seen how substantial these missions will be, but it’s great to see Nintendo is appealing to fans with the return of such classic characters. Olimar remains a lovable goofball.

First Impressions

While it isn’t the port of Xenoblade Chronicles X my heart is aching for, Pikmin 3 Deluxe is still a welcome addition to the Nintendo Switch library, and will hopefully introduce this strange yet satisfying strategy outing to a whole new audience.

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After the astounding popularity of Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogy, it was only a matter of time until Activision realised that faithful remasters which paid homage to the past wasn’t the only option for its beloved orange marsupial. 

He’s proven more popular than ever, forcing us to ask the question whether it was time for some new blood to be dropped into the pool of platformers. Turns out that you can certainly teach an ageing mascot new tricks, since Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time pushes the franchise to new heights, building upon the nostalgic foundations so many are familiar with in some fascinating ways. 

An uneven difficulty and a lack of narrative interactions hold it back from true greatness, but Toys For Bob has crafted a sequel which more than lives up to the legacy established by Naughty Dog so many years ago. While many entries after the original trilogy faltered under the weight of their own ambition, It’s About Time strikes a perfect balance between old and new. 

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Crash Bandicoot 4 sets itself up for a monolith task by immediately establishing itself as a canon sequel to the original trilogy, knowingly holding all of the expectations that come with such an identity on its shoulders. Neo Cortex has once again been defeated, cursing the antics of Crash and Coco who have left him stranded in a time prison. With the help of his fellow villains, he inadvertently rips a hole in the fabric of reality, which as you’d expect, has some chaotic consequences. 

Now relaxing on their home island, Crash and Coco are immediately swept into a new adventure where they must gather four unique masks and repair the fabric of space and time. So, it sounds like another day in the life of these marsupial siblings. It’s a simple yet endearing setup as our heroes dive through several different worlds each with their own distinct themes and mechanics. 

It’s both a traditional sequel and a daring expansion of the original formula, which if I’m being honest, was showing its age. Seconds are jumping in the opening level, it is clear that Toys For Bob has mastered the way Crash Bandicoot feels, with each character controlling with a satisfying sense of grace as they leap onto crates, across chasms and onto unsuspecting enemies. If I’m being completely honest, this is the best Crash has ever felt. 

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Beautiful animation work and a handy icon which appears beneath you when making risky jumps makes things far less frustrating than before, even if some deaths can still end up feeling unwarranted in the midst of harder stages. The difficulty is also uneven, with earlier levels proving obscenely challenging while some later environments turning out to be a breeze when smashing crates and avoiding obstacles. 

It’s a small complaint, but having the difficulty progress alongside your growing expertise would have been far more appealing, especially since Crash Bandicoot 4 is far more demanding than earlier entries in the series. Even in the first handful of worlds I was succumbing to several deaths across each stage, with crates hidden in devious locations that require some serious ingenuity to uncover. 

But moment-to-moment action still feels wonderful, with Crash and Coco being playable across all of the stages that aren’t otherwise designed for specific characters, which I’ll touch upon later. You’re now capable of a triple-jump from the outset, which can be combined with a sliding tackle to clamber up higher platforms and other nefarious locations. From the opening monmets, you’re expected to combine these moves together seamlessly. If you don’t, an immediate death awaits. 

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Crash Bandicoot 4’s platforming action is largely familiar in the opening hours. That is, until you stumble upon one of the game’s four masks. These nifty pieces of facewear are capable of pausing time, phasing objects in and out of reality and twisting Crash or Coco into a whirlwind which allows them to dispatch larger enemies and travel longer distances. 

Toys For Bob is leaning on this as being the defining mechanic of It’s About Time, and it’s executed with mixed results. Mask abilities themselves are incredibly fun and intuitive, leading to some engaging level design that shakes up the traditional platforming. However, it can oftentimes interrupt the flow of levels, and I’d rather mask abilities be isolated to their own stages and boss battles instead of meshing with everything at once. 

If you aren’t particularly great at certain mask abilities, such as the finicky whirlwind, revisiting levels to perfect them can be a nuisance. It doesn’t help that this particular ability can feel rather finicky at the best of times, mediocre in comparison to its excellent siblings. Stopping time and phasing platforms into your dimension gels with existence action perfectly, while some masks simply don’t.

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Luckily, instances like this are few and far between. While the majority of your time will be spent with Crash and Coco, you will also unlock additional levels starring Tawna and Dingodile. These tell existing events from a different perspective, often unveiling how the marsupial siblings came across conveniently placed objects which help them out of a tight spot.

I loved these levels, largely because they’re fundamentally different from the platforming you’ll have been doing for hours up until that point. Tawna is a taller and tougher bandicoot than her smaller comrades, meaning she is capable of jumping between walls to reach higher distances, and can also use a grappling hook to soar across chasms and smash hidden crates.

Dingodile is a heavier fella, having abandoned his past of villainy to open a restaurant amidst a murkey swamp. Armed with a leaf blower, he can suck crates or enemies towards him before blasting them forward to eliminate obstacles. Many of these puzzles involve carefully shooting TNT at nearby foes and collectibles, although be careful you don’t accidentally nuke yourself in the process.

There’s also inverted levels, which essentially flip the layout of levels while also applying a psychaledic visual element to stages you’ve already completed. These are entertaining extras, and differ enough from their original counterparts that they are well worth seeing through at least once. But be warned, the lack of visility makes them even harder than before.

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On top of this you’ve got time trials, bonus levels and videotapes which can be collected to grant access to even more additional levels which are arguably the hardest of the bunch. Taking place while Crash and Coco were unwilling prisoners of Neo Cortex, you must bounce across crates and other objects without making a single mistake. They’re fiendishly unforgiving, meaning series’ faithful will adore them.

The new aesthetic is a stark departure from the original trio of games, but I honestly think it looks amazing. Crash and Coco are cute, quirky and endlessly expressive in every cutscene, and their interactions with allies and enemies are ripe with charm. So it’s a shame that there’s so little dialogue throughout the campaign. Obviously, Crash doesn’t talk, but Coco has some cracking lines throughout as the story unfolds that are few and far between. I’d binge an animated series of this, so hopefully Activision will take the hint.

Verdict

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is an excellent platformer, and carefully builds upon the legacy established by Naughty Dog so many years ago. Its implementation of new mechanics isn’t without fault, bu ttheir ambition is worthy of admiration and they blend with the old-school platforming better than I expected them to.

Crash, Coco and friends have also never looked this good, with the refined aesthetic and lively animations bringing them to life in a way that I honestly think is better than any entry before it. While hardcore loves of the original trilogy might turn their noses up at some of Crash 4’s changes, they’re more than worth rolling with to savour the platforming greatness on display here.

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Another year, another iteration of FIFA. And, once again, FIFA 21 feels very much like a minor update on its predecessor. Even more so than previously, this feels like a title that could have followed in the footsteps of PES 2021 and opted for a smaller, less substantial update for a lower price. 

But that isn’t the style of Electronic Arts, and if you’re a passionate FIFA fan then there’s still a lot of content packed in here. The usual Ultimate Team modes are present, there’s been a much-needed overhaul (though not in all the right ways) of career mode and the street-style Volta makes another appearance adding a small nuggets of narrative and a more free-flowing game to the overall package. 

Whenever I pick up the new version of FIFA, the first few games are spent trying to work out exactly what gameplay tweaks are new. With FIFA 21, this is harder than before as it feels very like its predecessor. It’s not completely the same though, with some changes feeling a little tacked on just to offer variety. The ball feels a bit heavy underfoot and as a result things are ever so slightly slower. After a few games you’ll probably forget this, but it’s definitely there at the start.

That heavier ball leads to far more wayward passes, even the from the top players, whether it’s from the AI-controlled players or yourself.

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A more obvious change, especially coming over from PES 2021, is a reworked collision system and smarter dribbling. FIFA has tended to, in the past, feel like a series of canned animations whatever you do. Players would trip in the same way, fall over the same way and it was easy to spot when this was going to happen. The improved animations here do change this slightly and collisions are a little more natural as a result. The same goes for dribbling, which is ever so slightly harder and a little more varied than before. 

Perhaps the most obvious change experienced players will appreciate is the improvements made to crossing and heading. Heading in FIFA 20 was terrible and far too difficult to use regularly. This time it’s much easier to attack a cross with your players head and it doesn’t always lead to the ball floating out for a goal kick.

But, really, the gameplay here is so similar to that of FIFA 21. That’s fine, this is still a good game of football that’s a lot quicker and more arcadey than PES. Just don’t come here expecting a revolution. Where FIFA 21 really makes itself a worthwhile investment is in the wide variety of modes and content it offers. Even if many of these haven’t seen changes.

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For the first time in what seems like a decade, the career mode has been redesigned. There’s now more focus on player development and training regimes, a morale system for your team, supposedly improved transfers and more options when you set up your game. Career mode has been maligned for ages, but it was still what I would spend most of my hours in. Having sunk a lot of time into this new offering, I don’t really think the changes make it any better.

It’s clearly trying to be more like Football Manager,  but the result feels hollow and, at times, incredibly dull. Take the training regimes for example. They happen multiple times a week and get incredibly dull incredibly fast. I did them a couple of times and then found myself simulating them just to get to the next match. The depth that makes this stuff interesting in FM is lost here.

The transfer system isn’t quite as ridiculous as it was in FIFA 20, with more realistic prices requested for the best players. You can now loan players with an option to buy too, something that should have been included before. EA has also still refused to remove the truly terrible silent manager interactions when you’re signing players.

What really seems wasted is the morale and player feedback system. Throughout my time with the game I don’t think this has made one bit of difference to how someone plays, especially when you’re controlling the players anyway.

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There are a few nice changes, though. You can give your team an influx of cash at the start if you want to play about with some of the best players and even alter how tough negotiating for players is. The new options to sim matches are great too, letting you jump in and out of the action or skip the rest of a game if you’re comfortably winning.

Volta also makes a return. This is street football, similar to the excellent FIFA Street games of old. Volta is fun, frenetic and skill-based football that’s great to play in short bursts. There’s a decent variety in locations and the gameplay is certainly more fast-paced than your usual 11-a-side match.

There’s also a little bit of story woven through Volta mode. You can create a character, customise their appearance and then level up skills as you play in tournaments across the world. It’s filled with bouts of awful dialogue and just about every football cliche out there, but it’s still fun. I do wish Volta was a little more bombastic, like its FIFA Street predecessor, as once you get past the quicker play it’s still very much the same FIFA gameplay.

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Finally, there’s FUT. This year Ultimate Team has new events, co-op play and live friendlies. If you buy FIFA every year solely for this incredibly popular mode then you’re getting more of the same. If you always leave it alone then there’s nothing much to get you involved. If you buy FIFA on PS4 or Xbox One then you are entitled to a free upgrade to the next-gen version, however EA has yet to detail exactly what’s new there.

Verdict

FIFA 21 is an often great football game, packed with content and modes. The few gameplay tweaks that are here make for a better overall experience and keeping Volta around adds some variety. The redesign of career mode though focuses on the wrong features and feels like a wannabe Football Manager without any of the depth.

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